Expert Analysis

• Mass. Suit Points To New Scrutiny For Home Equity Contracts

  

  The Massachusetts attorney general’s recent charge that a lender sold unregulated reverse mortgages shows more regulators are scrutinizing mortgage alternatives like home equity contracts, but a similar case in the Ninth Circuit suggests more courts need to help develop a consensus on these products' legality, say attorneys at Weiner Brodsky.

• EEOC Suits Show Cos. Shouldn't Ax Anti-Harassment Efforts

  

  Companies shouldn't be so quick to eliminate anti-harassment programs in response to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's guidance cautioning against unlawful diversity, equity and inclusion programs, as recent enforcement actions demonstrate that the agency still plans to hold employers accountable for addressing sexual harassment, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.

• Reading Tea Leaves In High Court's Criminal Law Decisions

  

  The criminal justice decisions the U.S. Supreme Court will announce in the coming weeks will reveal whether last term’s fractured decision-making has continued, an important data point as the justices’ alignment seems to correlate with who benefits from a case’s outcome, says Sharon Fairley at the University of Chicago Law School.

• $38M Law Firm Settlement Highlights 'Unworthy Client' Perils

  

  A recent settlement of claims against law firm Eckert Seamans for allegedly abetting a Ponzi scheme underscores the continuing threat of clients who seek to exploit their lawyers in perpetrating fraud, and the critical importance of preemptive measures to avoid these clients, say attorneys at Lockton Companies.

• Hints Of Where Enforcement May Grow Under New CFPB

  

  Though the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has significantly scaled back enforcement under the new administration, states remain able to pursue Consumer Financial Protection Act violators and the CFPB seems set to enhance its focus on predatory loans to military members and fraudulent debt collection and credit reporting practices, say attorneys at MoFo.

• Only Certainty About FAR Reform Order Is Its Uncertainty

  

  The president’s recent order overhauling the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which both contractors and agencies rely on to ensure predictability and consistency in federal procurement, lacks key details about its implementation, which will likely eliminate many safeguards that ensure contractors are treated fairly and that procurements are awarded in a reasonable manner, say attorneys at Miles & Stockbridge.

• Maintaining Legal Compliance For GenAI In Life Sciences

  

  As companies continue to implement generative artificial intelligence to enhance all phases of drug discovery, they must remain mindful of legal, regulatory and practical considerations as best practices in this space emerge and evolve, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

• Series

  Teaching Business Law Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Teaching business law to college students has rekindled my sense of purpose as a lawyer — I am more mindful of the importance of the rule of law and the benefits of our common law system, which helps me maintain a clearer perspective on work, says David Feldman at Feldman Legal Advisors.

• SEC's Crypto Statement Offers Clarity On Disclosures

  

  While the crypto industry awaits a definitive rule from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on whether a crypto-asset is a security, its recent guidance provides a road map for registrants seeking to comply with current disclosure requirements and shows the commission is working toward a comprehensive regulatory framework, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• Disparate Impact Theory Lives On Despite Trump Order

  

  Although President Donald Trump's recent executive order directed federal agencies to stop pursuing disparate impact claims, employers may still be targeted by private litigants' claims and should therefore stay alert to the risk that their practices may produce a disparate impact on members of a protected group, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

• Choosing A Road To Autonomous Vehicle Compliance

  

  As autonomous vehicle manufacturers navigate the complex U.S. regulatory landscape, they may opt for different approaches to following federal, state and local rules and laws, as they balance the tradeoffs between innovation, compliance and speed of deployment, say attorneys at Sidley.

• Navigating The Expanding Frontier Of Premerger Notice Laws

  

  Washington's newly enacted law requiring premerger notification to state enforcers builds upon a growing trend of state scrutiny into transactions in the healthcare sector and beyond, and may inspire other states to enact similar legislation, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• Jurisdictional Issues At Play In 9th Circ.'s FCA Trade Case

  

  A decision by the Ninth Circuit in Island Industries v. Sigma Corp. could result in the U.S. Court of International Trade’s exclusive jurisdiction over trade-related FCA cases, a big shift in the enforcement landscape just as tariffs take center stage in trade policy, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

• Evolving Federal Rules Pose Further Obstacles To NY LLC Act

  

  Following the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent changes to beneficial ownership information reporting under the federal Corporate Transparency Act — dramatically reducing the number of companies required to make disclosures — the utility of New York's LLC Transparency Act becomes less apparent, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

• Deregulation Memo Presents Risks, Opportunities For Cos.

  

  A recent Trump administration memo providing direction to agencies tasked with rescinding regulations under an earlier executive order — without undergoing the typical notice-and-review process — will likely create much uncertainty for businesses, though they may be able to engage with agencies to shape the regulatory agenda, say attorneys at Blank Rome.