Expert Analysis

• What Climate Migration Forecast Means For Risk Management

  

  Recent reports from international experts confirm that climate change is already causing environmental impacts and spurring migration of affected populations — so organizations must grapple now with how it will affect their operations and increase their risks in coming years, says Austin Pierce at V&E.

• How AI Can Transform Crisis Management In Litigation

  

  Attorneys should understand how to use rapidly advancing artificial intelligence technology to help clients prepare for potential catastrophic events and the inevitable litigation arising from them, from predicting crises before they occur to testing legal theories once they arise, say Stratton Horres at Wilson Elser and David Steiger.

• Supervisor Relationships Are Key To Beating Atty Burnout

  

  In order to combat record attorney turnover and high levels of burnout, law firm partners and leaders must build engaging relationships with supervisees, fostering autonomy and control, enabling expression of values, and building a sense of community and belonging, says Anne Brafford at the Institute for Well-Being in Law.

• How New Laws Could Tighten FDA Regulation Of Cosmetics

  

  Federal legislation on the use of perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances and other ingredients in cosmetics has a good chance of passing this year, so companies should track policy developments, identify any PFAS ingredients in their cosmetic products, and prepare for possible new safety and reporting requirements, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• What Stablecoin Industry Can Expect From Congress In 2022

  

  As congressional scrutiny of the crypto-asset industry grows, stablecoin issuers and exchanges should anticipate new legislative proposals and regulatory developments, as well as further inquiries and oversight action, from both parties in Congress this year, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• What To Do As PFAS Food Packaging Phaseouts Approach

  

  Attorneys at Hogan Lovells offer tips on compliance with the transition timeline for the federal phaseout of the chemicals known as PFAS from food packaging, the coming bans in California, New York, Maine, Vermont, Washington, Connecticut and Minnesota, and the states' differing definitions of packaging terms.

• Interconnection Process Is Key To Calif.'s Green Power Goals

  

  If California is to achieve its greenhouse gas goals and procure its desired mix of power generation resources, the California Independent System Operator will need to get better at keeping pace with surging interconnection requests, says Seth Hilton at Stoel Rives.

• Gov't Contractor Takeaways From Biden's Clean Energy Order

  

  Attorneys at Covington discuss how President Joe Biden's recent net-zero emissions pledge and related executive actions are changing the landscape of federal procurement, creating new opportunities and challenges for government contractors.

• 4 Consequences Of Gov't Contractor Antitrust Violations

  

  Along with criminal penalties, significant collateral repercussions can follow a government contractor's conviction for antitrust violations, so vigilant compliance strategies are a must as the U.S. Department of Justice turns its attention to this area, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• Opinion

  Electricity Market Competition Helps Consumers And Climate

  

  Lawmakers looking to combat climate change and increase consumer choice should encourage and expand competitive electricity supply markets, to free customers from inefficient and often corrupt vertically integrated monopoly utilities, says Todd Snitchler at the Electric Power Supply Association.

• The Rising Demand For Commercial Litigators In 2022

  

  Amid broken supply chains, pandemic-induced bankruptcies and a rise in regulation by litigation, strong commercial litigators — strategists who are adept in trying a range of tortious and contractual disputes — are becoming a must-have for many law firms, making this year an opportune moment to make the career switch, say Michael Ascher and Kimberly Donlon at Major Lindsey.

• When Fair Notice Precludes Punitive Damages

  

  The ongoing pandemic has done little to slow the continued proliferation of novel theories of tort liability, but even when courts approve, the U.S. Constitution's requirement of fair notice may prohibit punitive damages, says Mitchell Morris at Butler Snow.

• What Infrastructure Act Means For Transmission Line Projects

  

  The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority to supersede state siting decisions for electric transmission projects, but environmental review requirements make a sudden acceleration of transmission line construction unlikely, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

• How In-House Counsel Can Make The Case For Settling Early

  

  Following the recent settlement in McDonald's v. Easterbrook, in-house counsel should consider decision-tree analyses and values-driven communications plans to secure effective, early resolutions in litigation, saving time and money and moving the company mission forward, say Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein and Richard Torrenzano at The Torrenzano Group.

• To Retain Talent, GCs Should Prioritize Mission Statements

  

  With greater legal demands and an increasing number of workers resigning during the pandemic, general counsel should take steps to articulate their teams' values in departmental mission statements, which will help them better prioritize corporate values and attract and retain talent, says Catherine Kemnitz at Axiom.