Expert Analysis

• Where Ceding Control In Joint Ventures Ups Developer Risks

  

  With new data predicting liquidity will continue drying up in 2026, developers seeking relief via joint venture restructurings should understand how relinquishing an asset's control to a capital partner could have stark consequences, and where negotiations over governance and control triggers present the greatest legal and structural risks, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

• What US Arms Sales Reforms Mean For Defense Industry

  

  A recent executive order with the goal of increasing U.S. arms sales transparency, speed and government-industry collaboration carries both promise and risk for the defense industry as the government seeks to leverage the private sector and use commercial products for defense purposes, say attorneys at Fluet.

• Prepping For The Future Of No Surprises Act Enforcement

  

  This year is expected to be a transition point for the No Surprises Act framework from regulatory delay to operational enforcement, so stakeholders should use this time to stress-test systems, clean up processes and prepare for enforcement, say attorneys at Akerman.

• Charges Signal Tougher Stance On Execs' Bankruptcy Fraud

  

  The recent criminal charges stemming from the Tricolor and First Brands bankruptcy cases may represent a sea change in the willingness of federal prosecutors to use bankruptcy fraud as a basis to charge corporate officers more frequently alongside traditional statutes such as wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering, say attorneys at White & Case.

• A Tale Of 2 Self-Disclosure Policies: How SDNY, DOJ Differ

  

  Though the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York’s recently announced corporate enforcement and voluntary self-disclosure policy shares many similarities with that of the U.S. Department of Justice, the two programs differ in meaningful ways, including subject matter scope and timeline to declination, say attorneys at Wiley.

• Aligning Microsoft Tools With NYC Bar AI Recording Guidance

  

  The New York City Bar Association’s recently issued formal opinion, providing ethical guidance on artificial intelligence-assisted recording, transcription and summarization, raises immediate questions about data governance and e-discovery for companies that use Microsoft 365 and Copilot, say Staci Kaliner, Martin Tully and John Collins at Redgrave.

• Social Media Trial Raises Key Product Safety Questions

  

  The trial underway in a California state court against Meta and Google is unprecedented, because it marks the first time a jury has been asked to consider whether social media platforms' engagement-maximizing design can be treated as a product safety issue, or whether it is inseparable from protected expression, says Gary Angiuli at Angiuli & Gentile.

• What Employers Should Know About Calif. PAGA Proposal

  

  Recently proposed regulations concerning the Private Attorneys General Act evidence an intent by California's Labor and Workforce Development Agency to play a greater role in the prosecution of PAGA actions, including more oversight over the exhaustion notices and settlement process, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

• FINRA Guide Refines Rules Of The Road For Negative Consent

  

  A recent Financial Industry Regulatory Authority notice streamlines the use of negative consent letters to customers, particularly for introducing brokers and clearing brokers, but it also attaches greater responsibility to compliance, and firms must ensure use of negative consent remains firmly within FINRA's bright-line rules, say attorneys at Mintz.

• FTC Focus: Antitrust Spotlight On 'Acqui-Hires,' Noncompetes

  

  A recent Federal Trade Commission focus on labor issues, like 'acqui-hire' deals, in which only a company's workforce is acquired, and noncompetes, shows that the agency is scrutinizing these issues on a case-by-case basis, necessitating a meaningful look at these transactions, particularly in the technology and artificial intelligence industries, say attorneys at Proskauer.

• A Single DOJ Corporate Enforcement Policy Raises Questions

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice's soon-to-be-released uniform corporate criminal enforcement policy could address the challenges raised by the current decentralized approach, but it will need to answer a number of potential questions amid scant details, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

• Navigating Exclusion Decisions After SEC's No-Action Change

  

  Following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's November changes to the Rule 14a-8 no-action letter process, shareholder proponents have turned to litigation if companies excluded their proposals under the new framework, with three recent cases offering useful lessons for companies navigating exclusion decisions this proxy season, say attorneys at Cleary.

• 5 Different AI Systems Raise Distinct Privilege Issues

  

  A New York federal court’s recent U.S. v. Heppner decision, holding that a defendant’s use of Claude was not privileged, only addressed one narrow artificial intelligence system, but lawyers must recognize that the spectrum of AI tools raises different confidentiality and privilege questions, says Heidi Nadel at HP.

• Fed's Abbreviated Supervisory Statement Packs A Big Punch

  

  Language used in a recent three-page statement from the Federal Reserve Board charts a very clear shift in the supervision of banks and bank holding companies, departing from traditional "Fed speak" and emphasizing material financial risks in exams, says Joseph Silvia at Duane Morris.

• Making Effective Use Of DOD's 'Patent Holiday' Program

  

  The U.S. Department of Defense's new defense patent holiday program, designed to let companies experiment with otherwise latent technology without paying typical up-front fees, can help contractors enter new technical domains and markets, but requires careful attention to export controls and patent infringement risks, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.