Expert Analysis

• Traversing The Shifting Sands Of ESG Reporting Compliance

  

  Multinational corporations have increasingly found themselves between a rock and a hard place attempting to comply with EU and California ESG requirements while not running afoul of expanding U.S. anti-ESG regimes, but focusing on what is material to shareholder value and establishing strong governance can help, say attorneys at MoFo.

• An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future

  

  Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.

• Tracking The Evolution In Litigation Finance

  

  Despite continued innovation, litigation finance remains an immature market with borrowers recieving significantly different terms as lenders learn to value cases, which firms need a strong handle on to ensure lending terms do not overwhelm collateral value, says Robert Wilkins at Lightfoot Franklin.

• How Plan Sponsors Can Mitigate Risk In PBM Contracts

  

  A recent lawsuit in New York federal court alleges that JPMorgan caused exorbitant prescription costs by mishandling the pharmacy benefit manager arrangement, adding to a growing body of Employee Retirement Income Security Act fiduciary breach litigation and affirming that fiduciaries must proactively manage their healthcare plan vendors, say attorneys at Hall Benefits Law.

• Series

  Volunteer Firefighting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  While practicing corporate law and firefighting may appear incongruous, the latter benefits my legal career by reminding me of the importance of humility, perspective and education, says Nicholas Passaro at Ford.

• Tax Takeaways From Georgia's 2025 Legislative Session

  

  Attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland discuss tax-related measures passed by the Georgia Legislature during the session that adjourned on April 4, which included a decrease in income tax rates, an extension of the time in which to a protest tax assessment and cleanup provisions related to launching the state’s new tax court next year.

• Limit On SEC Enforcement Authority May Mean Fewer Actions

  

  Following a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission final rule revoking the Enforcement Division director's long-standing authority to issue formal investigation orders, it's clear the division is headed for a new era of limited autonomy, marked by a significantly slower pace of SEC investigations, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

• Calif. Antitrust Laws May Turn More Zealous Than US Regs

  

  California is poised in the next 18 months to significantly expand its antitrust laws, broadening the scope of liability and creating a premerger review process that could be more expansive than review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, say attorneys at Munger Tolles.

• As SEC, CFTC Retreat, Who Will Police The Crypto Markets?

  

  As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission pull back from policing the crypto markets, the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have the authority to pick up the slack — although recent events raise doubts that they will do so, say attorneys at Skadden.

• Digesting A 2nd Circ. Ruling On Food Delivery App Arbitration

  

  The Second Circuit recently rejected Grubhub's attempt to arbitrate price-fixing claims, while allowing Uber Eats to do so, reinforcing that even broad arbitration clauses must connect to the underlying dispute and suggesting that terms of service litigation may center on websites' design and content, say attorneys at Greenspoon Marder.

• E-Discovery Quarterly: The Perils Of Digital Data Protocols

  

  Though stipulated protocols governing the treatment of electronically stored information in litigation are meant to streamline discovery, recent disputes demonstrate that certain missteps in the process can lead to significant inefficiencies, say attorneys at Sidley.

• Making Sense Of Small Biz Fair Lending Compliance

  

  Despite the uncertainty brought on by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent efforts to revise fair lending data collection requirements under Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the compliance dates have not yet been stayed, so covered institutions should still start to monitor any disparities now, say attorneys at Frost Brown Todd.

• Defense Strategies After Justices' Personal Injury RICO Ruling

  

  In Medical Marijuana v. Horn, the U.S. Supreme Court recently held that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act can be invoked by some plaintiffs with claims arising from personal injuries — but defense counsel can use the limitations on civil RICO claims to seek early dismissal in such cases, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• A Look At M&A Trends In An Uncertain Deal Environment

  

  Dealmakers are adopting more cautious and deliberate merger and acquisition practices, such as earnout agreements, joint ventures and strategic partnerships that mitigate risk and bridge valuation gaps, amid the slower pace so far in 2025, says Louis Lehot at Foley & Lardner.

• Opinion

  Ripple Settlement Offers Hope For Better Regulatory Future

  

  The recent settlement between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple — in which the agency agreed to return $75 million of a $125 million fine — vindicates criticisms of the SEC and highlights the urgent need for a complete overhaul of its crypto regulation, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.