Expert Analysis

• 4 Privacy Trends This Year With Lessons For Companies

  

  As organizations plan for ongoing privacy law changes, 2025 trends that include a shift of activity from the federal to the state level mean companies should take an adaptive and principle-based approach to privacy programs rather than trying to memorize constantly changing laws, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

• Contract Disputes Recap: Delay, Plain Text, Sovereign Acts

  

  Three recent decisions addressing familiar pressure points show that even well-worn doctrines evolve, and both contractors and the government should reexamine their assumptions, says Zachary Jacobson at Seyfarth.

• 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.

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Vendor Selection, Standing, Impropriety

  

  In this month's bid protest roundup, James Tucker at MoFo offers takeaways from recent decisions that examine an agency's selection of vendors for a federal supply schedule procurement, whether agency noncompliance with procurement regulations provides standing and whether a contractor's impropriety is grounds for exclusion from competition.

• 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.

• 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.

• Insuring Equality: 3 Tips To Preserve Coverage For DEI Claims

  

  Directors and officers and employment practices liability are key coverages for policyholders to review as potentially responsive to the emerging liability threat of Trump's executive orders targeting corporate diversity, equity and inclusion policies and practices, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.

• 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.

• How 11th Circ.'s Qui Tam Review Could Affect FCA Litigation

  

  On Dec. 12, the Eleventh Circuit will hear arguments in U.S. ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, setting the stage for a decision that could drastically reduce enforcement under the False Claims Act, and presenting an opportunity to seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the act's whistleblower provisions, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

• Series

  The Biz Court Digest: Welcome To Miami

  

  After nearly 20 years in operation, the Miami Complex Business Litigation Division is a pioneer upon which other jurisdictions in the state have been modeled, adopting many innovations to keep its cases running more efficiently and staffing experienced judges who are accustomed to hearing business disputes, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• AI Evidence Rule Tweaks Encourage Judicial Guardrails

  

  Recent additions to a committee note on proposed Rule of Evidence 707 — governing evidence generated by artificial intelligence — seek to mitigate potential dangers that may arise once machine outputs are introduced at trial, encouraging judges to perform critical gatekeeping functions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

• Series

  The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Getting The Message Across

  

  Communications and brand strategy during a law firm merger represent a crucial thread that runs through every stage of a combination and should include clear messaging, leverage modern marketing tools and embrace the chance to evolve, says Ashley Horne at Womble Bond.

• Opinion

  Horizontal Stare Decisis Should Not Be Casually Discarded

  

  Eliminating the so-called law of the circuit doctrine — as recently proposed by a Fifth Circuit judge, echoing Justice Neil Gorsuch’s concurrence in Loper Bright — would undermine public confidence in the judiciary’s independence and create costly uncertainty for litigants, says Lawrence Bluestone at Genova Burns.

• Key Takeaways From Armed Services Board's FY 2025 Report

  

  The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals’ annual report reveals an increase in new cases filed, but a decrease in cases resolved, and fewer parties choosing alternative dispute resolution, despite the likely reduction in time and expenses incurred during a prolonged appeal process, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

• 10 Commandments For Agentic AI Tools In The Legal Industry

  

  Though agentic artificial intelligence has demonstrated significant promise for optimizing legal work, it presents numerous risks, so specific ethical obligations should be built into the knowledge base of every agentic AI tool used in the legal industry, says Steven Cordero at Akerman LLP.