Expert Analysis

• Justices' GEO Ruling Sets Gov't Contractor Immunity Limits

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in GEO Group v. Menocal will affect virtually every case in which a government contractor faces liability because they can no longer routinely assert their immunity under the government contract and must instead make a showing on the merits, says Terry Collingsworth at International Rights Advocates.

• When Fraud Involvement Disqualifies FCA Whistleblowers

  

  A Massachusetts federal court's recent dismissal of a False Claims Act relator in U.S. ex rel. Perry v. First Psychiatric Planners provides instructive insight into when whistleblowers may be denied their share of settlement proceeds, even if their involvement in the underlying fraud is a step removed, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• Lessons From Justices' Split On Major Questions Doctrine

  

  The justices' varied opinions in Learning Resources v. Trump, which held the International Emergency Economy Powers Act did not confer the power to impose tariffs, offer a meaningful window into the U.S. Supreme Court's perspective on the major questions doctrine that will likely shape lower courts' approach to executive action challenges, say attorneys at Venable.

• Key Takeaways As HRSA Aims To Revive 340B Rebate Pilot

  

  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recent request for feedback on the 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program demonstrates that it intends to correct the model's procedural defects, which is positive news for participating manufacturers, but a setback for covered entities, say attorneys at Manatt.

• Series

  Volunteering With Scouts Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Serving as an assistant scoutmaster for my son’s troop reaffirmed several skills and principles crucial to lawyering — from the importance of disconnecting to the value of morality, says Michael Warren at McManis Faulkner.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: In Court, It's About Storytelling

  

  Law school provides doctrine, cases and hypotheticals, but when lawyers step into the courtroom, they must learn the importance of clarity, credibility, memorability and preparation — in other words, how to tell simple, effective stories, say Nicholas Steverson and Danielle Trujillo at Wheeler Trigg, and Lisa DeCaro at Courtroom Performance.

• What US Arms Sales Reforms Mean For Defense Industry

  

  A recent executive order with the goal of increasing U.S. arms sales transparency, speed and government-industry collaboration carries both promise and risk for the defense industry as the government seeks to leverage the private sector and use commercial products for defense purposes, say attorneys at Fluet.

• Aligning Microsoft Tools With NYC Bar AI Recording Guidance

  

  The New York City Bar Association’s recently issued formal opinion, providing ethical guidance on artificial intelligence-assisted recording, transcription and summarization, raises immediate questions about data governance and e-discovery for companies that use Microsoft 365 and Copilot, say Staci Kaliner, Martin Tully and John Collins at Redgrave.

• A Single DOJ Corporate Enforcement Policy Raises Questions

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice's soon-to-be-released uniform corporate criminal enforcement policy could address the challenges raised by the current decentralized approach, but it will need to answer a number of potential questions amid scant details, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

• 5 Different AI Systems Raise Distinct Privilege Issues

  

  A New York federal court’s recent U.S. v. Heppner decision, holding that a defendant’s use of Claude was not privileged, only addressed one narrow artificial intelligence system, but lawyers must recognize that the spectrum of AI tools raises different confidentiality and privilege questions, says Heidi Nadel at HP.

• Opinion

  AI-Assisted Arbitration Needs Safeguards To Ensure Fairness

  

  As tribunals and arbitral institutions increasingly use artificial intelligence tools in their decision-making processes, ​​​​​​​clear disclosure standards and procedural safeguards are necessary to ensure that efficiency gains do not erode the fairness principles on which arbitration depends, says Alexander Lima at Wesco International.

• Logistics Update: What Immigrant Driver Rule Means For Cos.

  

  The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's new final rule restricting issuance of commerical driver's licenses for nondomiciled drivers will have immediate operational implications for motor carriers, but the broader effects will ripple through relationships between service providers and their sources of freight, including brokers and shippers, say attorneys at Benesch.

• Trans Care Enforcement Landscape Is Evolving Quickly

  

  The recent coordinated federal effort to reshape pediatric gender-affirming care through enforcement and funding pressure has created a rapidly evolving regulatory environment marked by shifting risk assessments and potential downstream market effects for healthcare institutions and life sciences companies, say attorneys at Arnall Golden.

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Timeliness Is Of The Essence

  

  Three January decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, illustrating that timeliness failures arise in different ways but always result in dismissal, show it is essential that contractors understand which events trigger the filing clock, calendar their deadlines immediately and file protests early, says Markus Speidel at MoFo.

• Series

  Playing Piano Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Playing piano and practicing law share many parallels relating to managing complexity: Just as hearing an entire musical passage in my head allows me to reliably deliver the message, thinking about the audience's impression helps me create a legal narrative that keeps the reader engaged, says Michael Shepherd at Fish & Richardson.