Expert Analysis

• How To Limit Accounting Fraud Risk As SEC Focus Persists

  

  Despite the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's pullback on crypto, cybersecurity and recordkeeping cases, accounting fraud remains a core enforcement priority, making it important for public companies and auditors to strengthen controls, investigations and whistleblower processes, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

• The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

  

  With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

• Opinion

  The SEC Should Institute A New Enforcement Scorecard

  

  Amid controversy over the recent release of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's annual enforcement statistics, the SEC should use a new scorecard that measures how well the Division of Enforcement detects and stops intentional fraud in order to refocus on its core mission of investor protection, says Peter Chan at Baker McKenzie.

• Series

  Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

• Documenting Business Purpose After IRS' 10th Circ. Win

  

  Following the Tenth Circuit’s recent Liberty Global v. U.S. decision, which held the economic substance doctrine does not require a threshold relevancy determination, taxpayers can prepare for potential audits by maintaining contemporaneous documentation and taking other steps that demonstrate the business purpose of transactions, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

• High Court's Cox Ruling Leaves ISP Copyright Rules Intact

  

  Though some commentators predicted a cataclysmic impact from the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cox v. Sony, in actuality the decision correctly maintains the status quo for internet providers' copyright infringement liability, says Courtney Sarnow at CM Law.

• How To Reconcile AI Opacity And Advisers' Fiduciary Duties

  

  Firms that treat fiduciary compliance as a foundation for responsible artificial intelligence adoption will be best positioned when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission moves from implicit expectations to explicit rules regarding advisers' core duties, as those are unlikely to change, says Ivor Wolk at Manatt.

• Insider Trading Safeguards Can Mitigate Sports Betting Risk

  

  As the rapid growth of sports betting heightens the risk that sensitive information held by coaches, players and staff may be improperly exploited, sports organizations can look to the securities context to safeguard information and address potential misconduct, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.

• Opinion

  Congress Should Ax Privacy Bill For Not Shielding Consumers

  

  The SECURE Data Act should be rejected because, despite Congress' claims, it would not meaningfully rein in data practices, but instead would weaken enforcement, eliminate stronger protections and prioritize data extraction over consumer protection and accountability, say attorneys at DiCello Levitt.

• New Risks Emerge As States Push Proxy Voting Legislation

  

  Recent state proxy voting laws have increasingly emphasized financial returns while intensifying scrutiny of proxy advisory firms and stewardship practices, creating new compliance challenges and risks, according to attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• DOJ's Stance On Antitrust And Patent Law Reflects Balance

  

  Recent statements of interest in patent litigation and a speech from a key U.S. Department of Justice official communicate the view that strong patent rights and competition policy are complementary, and offer important guidance for intellectual property practitioners and businesses navigating patent enforcement, standard‑setting and licensing, say attorneys at Wiley.

• Ruling Shows How Texas Law Altered Derivative Suit Outlook

  

  In the first test of S.B. 29's new ownership threshold requirement for shareholder actions, a Texas federal court recently dismissed Gusinsky v. Reynolds, a derivative action brought by a minority Southwest Airlines shareholder, offering key guidance for navigating the new Texas corporate litigation landscape, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

• 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

  

  The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

• How Data Center Accounting May Draw Enforcement Scrutiny

  

  As public and media scrutiny of the data center industry intensifies, regulators, enforcement authorities and Congress will likely focus on accounting judgments that rely on aggressive assumptions, opaque financing structures or rapidly evolving collateral classes, heightening the risk of investigations and inquiries, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• NY's Growing Enviro Reg Framework Will Transform Projects

  

  Three closely connected environmental rulemakings in New York state — concerning greenhouse gas reporting, remediation standards and amendments to the State Environmental Quality Review Act — have reached critical stages, and taken together, they will have major impacts on business operations, construction project timelines and transactional risk, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.