Expert Analysis

• Series

  Officiating Football Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Though they may seem to have little in common, officiating football has sharpened many of the same skills that define effective lawyering in management-side labor and employment: preparation, judgment, composure, credibility and ability to make difficult decisions in real time, says Josh Nadreau at Fisher Phillips.

• How College Sports EO Raises Stakes, Casts Uncertainty

  

  The effectiveness of President Donald Trump's recent executive order urging national action to "save" college sports depends on NCAA implementation and judicial tolerance, neither of which is certain, so college athletics will remain governed by an unstable balance between executive pressure and judicial authority until Congress acts, say attorneys at Manatt.

• Written Consent Ruling May Signal Change For Telemarketing

  

  The Fifth Circuit's ruling in Bradford v. Sovereign Pest Control is a takedown of the Federal Communications Commission's prior express written consent regulation, and because Loper Bright empowers courts to disregard agency interpretations, Telephone Consumer Protection Act litigants now have an opportunity to challenge previously settled FCC regulations, orders and interpretations, say attorneys at Manatt.

• Prediction Market Platform Probes Merit Strategic Responses

  

  As the battle over the regulation of prediction markets is being waged between states and the federal government, investigations into insider trading allegations are increasingly originating from inside the exchanges themselves, creating obvious risks for market participants — as well as opportunities, say attorneys at Kobre & Kim.

• Shifts At DOJ Alter Corporate Self-Disclosure Calculus

  

  Though the Justice Department's new criminal enforcement policy clarifies the benefits of corporate self-disclosure, recent changes to prosecutorial priorities and resources mean that companies should reassess whether cooperation incentives still outweigh the risks of nondisclosure, says Hui Chen at CDE Advisors.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Draft Pleadings

  

  Most law school graduates step into their first jobs without ever having drafted a complaint, answer, motion or other type of pleading, but that gap can be closed by understanding the strategy embedded in every filing, writing with clarity and purpose, and seeking feedback at every step, says Eric Yakaitis at Haug Barron.

• Tokenized Securities Have Capital Parity, But Details Matter

  

  Recent guidance from the federal banking agencies clarifies that the use of distributed ledger technologies to issue and transact in securities will not affect the capital treatment of those instruments, but banks looking to apply parity treatment to tokenized securities should be prepared to document their qualification processes, say attorneys at Davis Polk.

• What Employers Should Know About Wash. Noncompete Ban

  

  Washington state recently passed one of the most expansive prohibitions on noncompetes in the country, marking a significant shift in the state's approach to restrictive covenants and requiring employers to carefully assess how this change will affect their current and future agreements, say attorneys at Cozen.

• Mitigating Multistate Risks As California Expands Tax Reach

  

  Though California's new sourcing rules and extension of the pass-through entity election have created uncertainty, practitioners should file protective returns to respect the law's ambiguity and take certain other steps to protect clients from the costs of losing a future audit, says attorney Delina Yasmeh.

• Evaluating Congressional Investigation Risk In Deal Diligence

  

  Given the increasing frequency and sophistication of congressional investigations into corporate business practices, companies conducting transactional due diligence should add procedures to assess and mitigate the unique challenges and wide-ranging risks that can arise from Capitol Hill’s scrutiny, say attorneys at Covington.

• Legal And Regulatory Keys To Sustainable Building Projects

  

  While the federal government continues to roll back environmental regulations, market momentum toward high-performance, energy-efficient commercial real estate as a defining driver of long-term value remains robust — so developers should understand how applicable standards and regulatory frameworks will affect projects, say attorneys at CGS3.

• Crypto Trading App Statement Advances SEC's New Direction

  

  While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's staff statement from last week carving out an exemption from broker-dealer registration for crypto-trading apps isn't a formal or permanent rule, it's the clearest signal yet of a quickly emerging coherent regulatory framework for digital assets, says Stephen Aschettino at Fox Rothschild.

• How Cos. Can Prep For Conn. Data Privacy Amendments

  

  Effective July 1, 2026, amendments to the Connecticut Data Privacy Act narrow the safe harbor for data used by banks, insurance companies and other financial services businesses, highlighting how state regulators plan to focus on how companies handle sensitive data and honor the data rights of the state's residents, say attorneys at Day Pitney.

• E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On ESI Control

  

  Several recent federal court decisions have perpetuated a split over what constitutes “control” of electronically stored information — with judges divided on whether the standard should turn on a party's legal right or practical ability to obtain the information, say attorneys at Sidley.

• Record Penalty Sets Stage For FinCEN Whistleblower Awards

  

  The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s record $80 million penalty against Canaccord, together with the agency's recently proposed rule on whistleblower awards, signals an increasingly aggressive enforcement posture and illustrates the significant financial stakes associated with reporting violations, says Marlene Koury at Constantine Cannon.