Expert Analysis

• Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: January Lessons

  

  In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five rulings from October and November, and identifies practice tips from cases involving consumer fraud, oil and gas leases, toxic torts, and wage and hour issues.

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  Judges On AI: How Judicial Use Informs Guardrails

  

  U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado discusses why having a sense of how generative AI tools behave, where they add value, where they introduce risk and how they are reshaping the practice of law is key for today's judges.

• What Businesses Offering AI Should Expect From The FTC

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's move to reopen and set aside an administrative order against Rytr shows that the FTC is serious about executing on the administration's Artificial Intelligence Action Plan, and won't stand in the way of businesses offering AI products with pro-consumer, legitimate uses, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• Crypto-Asset Strategy For Corporate Legal Leaders In 2026

  

  As digital assets experience increased regulatory clarity, institutional adoption and technological maturity, in-house legal leaders must build strong policies this year and stay engaged with the evolving market to help their companies seize the opportunities of the digital asset era while managing the risks, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• What US Cos. Must Know To Comply With Italy's AI Law

  

  Italy's newly effective artificial intelligence law means U.S. companies operating in Italy or serving Italian customers must now meet EU AI Act obligations as well as Italy-specific requirements, including immediately enforceable criminal penalties, designated national authorities and sector-specific mandates, say attorneys at Portolano Cavallo.

• Cybersecurity Must Remain Financial Sector's Focus In 2026

  

  In 2026, financial institutions face a wave of more prescriptive cybersecurity legal requirements demanding clearer governance, faster incident reporting, and stronger oversight of third-party and AI-driven risks, making it crucial to understand these issues before they materialize into crises, say attorneys at Sidley.

• How 2025 Recalibrated Fair Use For The AI Era

  

  Although the Second Circuit's decision last year in Romanova v. Amilus Inc. did not involve artificial intelligence, its formulation of relevant fair use factors provides a useful guide for lower courts examining AI cases in 2026, demanding close attention from legal practitioners on both sides of these disputes, say attorneys at Cleary.

• 2026 Int'l Arbitration Trends: Next Steps In Age Of AI, Crypto

  

  Parties' use of artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies will continue in 2026, and international arbitrators will be called upon to evolve by building expertise in blockchain functionality, cryptography and decentralized finance protocols, and understanding the power and limitations of large language models, say attorneys at Cleary.

• Presidential Pardon Brokering Can Create Risks For Attys

  

  The emergence of an apparent “pardon shopping” marketplace, in which attorneys treat presidential pardons as a market product, may invite investigative scrutiny of counsel and potential criminal charges grounded in bribery, wire fraud and other statutes, says David Klasing at The Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing.

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  Adapting To Private Practice: 5 Tips From Ex-SEC Unit Chief

  

  My move to private practice has reaffirmed my belief in the value of adaptability, collaboration and strategic thinking — qualities that are essential not only for successful client outcomes, but also for sustained professional satisfaction, says Dabney O’Riordan at Fried Frank.

• Patent Applicants Must Get Biologics Enablement Right

  

  As artificial intelligence increasingly becomes a core driver in drug discovery, it is critical for drug companies to adapt their drafting strategies to the unique features of AI-generated inventions, and to pay particularly close attention to enablement standards, says Sanandan Malhotra at Novo Nordisk.

• 2026 Int'l Arbitration Trends: Awards Against Sovereign States

  

  The enforcement of arbitral awards against sovereign states is one of the most contentious and rapidly evolving areas in international arbitration, with three defining issues on the 2026 horizon: the scope of sovereign immunity, assignability of rights, and availability of fraud and corruption defenses, say attorneys at Cleary.

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  Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Start A Law Firm

  

  Launching and sustaining a law firm requires skills most law schools don't teach, but every lawyer should understand a few core principles that can make the leap calculated rather than reckless, says Sam Katz at Athlaw.

• 5 Compliance Takeaways From FINRA's Oversight Report

  

  The priorities outlined in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's recently released annual oversight report focus on the organization's core mission of protecting investors, with AI being the sole new topic area, but financial firms can expect further reforms aimed at efficiency and modernization, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.

• How SEC Civil Penalties Became Arbitrary: 3 Potential Fixes

  

  Data shows that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's seemingly unlimited authority to levy monetary penalties on market participants has diverged far from the federal securities laws' limitations, but three reforms can help reverse the trend, say David Slovick at Kopecky Schumacher and Phil Lieberman at Vanderbilt Law.