California financial institutions face a new fair lending examination framework in January that adds formal reviews for certain banks and makes violating applicable mortgage nondiscrimination laws independently enforceable under California banking statutes, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

The current U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement recalibration prioritizing fraud over technical violations has led to a drastic decline in enforcement activity, but the philosophy deviates from decades of enforcement that has always promoted compliance with its prophylactic requirements, says Gerald Hodgkins at Covington.

Due to the complexity of data center construction projects, plaintiffs attorneys representing workers injured at such worksites need to look beyond immediate hazards and examine the chain of decisions and constraints that may support an injury claim, say attorneys at Kherkher Garcia.

In Operafund v. Spain, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales recently barred a purchaser from replacing the original creditors in enforcement proceedings for an international arbitration award against Spain, underscoring the distinction between acquiring an award’s economic value and the legal entitlement to enforce it, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square.

Recent rulings in New Jersey and Michigan demonstrate that even states recognizing the diminished capacity defense may adopt different rules for litigating it, leaving trial courts to grapple with when and how such evidence may be introduced, says Adam Wright at Wayne State University Law School.

The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlements with Deloitte and Lockheed Martin over their diversity, equity and inclusion practices, launched by private whistleblowers, demonstrate to government contractors that federal enforcement can start from within, say attorneys at Hinckley Allen.

A pair of recent class actions filed against McDonald's in Illinois federal court show how antitrust challenges can arise when companies use artificial intelligence pricing tools and personalize prices for individual consumers, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.

Although the Eleventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates upheld the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions under the appointments clause, its narrow reasoning leaves unresolved questions about presidential control over relator litigation that could sustain further constitutional challenges, says Taylor Chenery at Bass Berry.

For counsel planning a personal phone collection as part of the litigation discovery process, it's important to take early steps to ensure that necessary information will be obtained without exposing unrelated information or running into access issues, says Jeremy Horowitz at MARA Forensics.

Connecticut's new artificial intelligence guidance for covered financial institutions is notable for its specificity and its broad inclusion of any AI system that materially influences business operations or risk management, detailing the need for written plans covering risk tiering, human oversight and vendor controls, says James Williams at Venable.

The Treasury and IRS recently released proposed regulations for the permanent extension of the opportunity zones program, with key points including revocations of inadvertent qualified opportunity fund self-certifications, voluntary decertifications and expanded reporting requirements, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

The recent Cyclospora outbreak in iceberg lettuce highlights the potential insurance risks of a contaminated ingredient or defective product creating a ripple effect throughout an entire supply chain, leaving companies with substantial costs that standard policies may not cover, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that concerns whether the U.S. Department of Labor may fine an employer for violating employment conditions in the H-2A visa program, but its eventual decision could chart the course for in-house adjudication across a broad swath of the federal government, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

Texas' pause on permits while it studies data centers' effect on its electrical grid highlights the nationwide problem of yearslong interconnection delays, where the ways developers, investors and customers bridge that gap — and decide who bears the risk when it widens — increasingly determine whether a deal works, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

Two recent rulings in California confirm that the plaintiff's knowledge drives waiver analysis under the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, underscoring that employers should build a strong evidentiary record and pick their battles, says Ellen Connelly Cohen at Call & Jensen.

The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision preliminarily enjoining a planned recapitalization of Cloudflare that would preserve the control of the company by its founder-controlling stockholders highlights that Delaware's new safe harbor statute for conflicted transactions doesn't protect founders or independent directors from liability, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

Character.AI's bankruptcy is charting a path for preserving value in an artificial intelligence business that depends on retaining unfinished technology and the employees who know how to develop it, while accounting for the firm's failure and its consequences for creditors, says Diane Dick at University of Iowa College of Law.

New York City's proposed Power Act could expose companies to sweeping private claims under its prohibition on unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices, making regulatory compliance reviews and litigation-risk planning essential for businesses serving city residents, says Brian Turetsky at Hinshaw.