Expert Analysis

• 4 Developments That Defined The 2025 Ethics Landscape

  

  The legal profession spent 2025 at the edge of its ethical comfort zone as courts, firms and regulators confronted how fast-moving technologies and new business models collide with long-standing professional duties, signaling that the profession is entering a period of sustained disruption that will continue into 2026, says Hilary Gerzhoy at HWG Law.

• Navigating AI In The Legal Industry

  

  As artificial intelligence becomes an increasingly integral part of legal practice, Law360 guest commentary this year examined evolving ethical obligations, how the plaintiffs bar is using AI to level the playing field against corporate defense teams, and the attendant risks of adoption.

• Opinion

  Judges Carry Onus To Screen Expert Opinions Before Juries

  

  Recent Second Circuit arguments in Acetaminophen Products Liability Litigation implied a low bar for judicial gatekeeping of expert testimony, but under amended Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, judges must rigorously scrutinize expert opinions before allowing them to reach juries, says Lee Mickus at Evans Fears.

• How Fractional GCs Can Manage Risks Of Engagement

  

  As more organizations eliminate their in-house legal departments in favor of outsourcing legal work, fractional general counsel roles offer practitioners an engaging and flexible way to practice at a high level, but they can also present legal, ethical and operational risks that must be proactively managed, say attorneys at Boies Schiller.

• 7 Strategies To Optimize Impact Of Direct Examination

  

  Direct examination is a make-or-break opportunity to build a witness’s credibility, so attorneys should adopt a few tactics — from asking so-called trust-fall questions to preemptively addressing weaknesses — to drive impact and retention with the fact-finder, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

• Series

  Nature Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Nature photography reminds me to focus on what is in front of me and to slow down to achieve success, and, in embracing the value of viewing situations through different lenses, offers skills transferable to the practice of law, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.

• Reel Justice: 'The Mastermind' And Juror Decision-Making

  

  The recent art heist film “The Mastermind” forces viewers to discern the protagonist’s ambiguous motives and reconcile contradictions, offering lessons for attorneys about how a well-crafted trial narrative can tap into the psychological phenomena underlying juror decision-making, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University.

• Opinion

  A Uniform Federal Rule Would Curb Gen AI Missteps In Court

  

  To address the patchwork of courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence, curbing abuses and relieving the burden on judges, the federal judiciary should consider amending its civil procedure rules to require litigants to certify they’ve reviewed legal filings for accuracy, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.

• 3 Defense Strategies For Sporadically Prosecuted Conduct

  

  Not to be confused with selective prosecutions, sporadic prosecutions — charging someone for conduct many others do without consequences — can be challenging to defend, but focusing on materiality, prosecutorial motivations and public opinion can be a winning strategy, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

• Series

  The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Integrating Practice Groups

  

  Enacting unified leadership and consistent client service standards ensures law firm practice groups connect and collaborate around shared goals, turning a law firm merger into a platform for growth rather than a period of disruption, says Brian Catlett at Fennemore Craig.

• Tapping Into Jurors' Moral Intuitions At Trial

  

  Many jurors approach trials with foundational beliefs about fairness, harm and responsibility that shape how they view evidence and arguments, so attorneys must understand how to frame a case in a way that appeals to this type of moral reasoning, says Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

• Opinion

  Supreme Court Term Limits Would Carry Hidden Risk

  

  While proposals for limiting the terms of U.S. Supreme Court justices are popular, a steady stream of relatively young, highly marketable ex-justices with unique knowledge and influence entering the marketplace of law and politics could create new problems, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

• Perspectives

  Justice Requires Excluding Manner Of Death As Evidence

  

  A recent report showing that the unstandardized and subjective U.S. system of medicolegal death investigations contributes to unjust convictions should prompt courts and lawmakers to reject manner of death testimony in favor of more transparent and testable forensic evidence, say Peter Neufeld and Isabelle Cohn at the Innocence Project.

• NBA, MLB Betting Indictments: Slam Dunks Or Strikeouts?

  

  Recent fraud charges against bettors, NBA players and MLB pitchers raise questions about what the government will need to prove to prosecute individuals involved in placing bets based on nonpublic information, and it could be a tough sell to juries, say attorneys at Ford O'Brien.

• Series

  Knitting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Stretching my skills as a knitter makes me a better antitrust attorney by challenging me to recalibrate after wrong turns, not rush outcomes, and trust that I can teach myself the skills to tackle new and difficult projects — even when I don’t have a pattern to work from, says Kara Kuritz at V&E.