Expert Analysis

• Series

  Collecting Rare Books Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  My collection of rare books includes several written or owned by prominent lawyers from early U.S. history, and immersing myself in their stories helps me feel a deeper connection to my legal practice and its purpose, says Douglas Brown at Manatt Health.

• Opinion

  Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay

  

  Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.

• What Day 1 Bondi Memos Mean For Corporate Compliance

  

  After Attorney General Pam Bondi’s flurry of memos last week declaring new enforcement priorities on issues ranging from foreign bribery to diversity initiatives, companies must base their compliance programs on an understanding of their own core values and principles, says Hui Chen at CDE Advisors.

• Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example

  

  Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

• What Employers Should Know For Next Round Of H-1B Filings

  

  With the fiscal year 2026 H-1B visa period opening soon, employers should brush up on the registration and filing procedures, as well as organize applicable data, to ensure they are ready for this dynamic, multistep process, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Perspectives

  Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines

  

  KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.

• AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

  

  Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.

• What To Do When ICE Shows Up At The Hospital

  

  In light of recent executive orders and changes to enforcement directives permitting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to enter sensitive locations like hospitals, healthcare providers should understand how to balance compliance with existing health laws and patient care obligations, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

• Unpacking The Legal Foundation Of Trump's New Trade War

  

  President Donald Trump's recent executive orders and proclamations regarding emergencies at the U.S. border are based on statutory powers enabling a president to address extraordinary external threats — and could be used to fend off legal challenges to the tariffs levied on Mexican and Canadian goods, says Chris Zona at Mandelbaum Barrett.

• When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

  

  In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

• Drug Cartels' Terrorist Label Raises Litigation Risk For Cos.

  

  President Donald Trump's planned designation of some Latin American drug-trafficking groups as foreign terrorist organizations creates an additional and little-noticed source of legal exposure: U.S. civil litigation risk involving terrorism claims by victims of those groups, say attorneys at Covington.

• Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

  

  Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

• Birthright Order Denies 14th Amendment's Purpose, Origin

  

  President Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship invokes logic explicitly rejected by the framers of the 14th Amendment, demonstrating the administration's fundamental misunderstanding of the citizenship clauses' origins, jurisprudence, and impact on how Americans understand equality and national belonging, says Mauni Jalali at Quinn Emanuel.

• A Look At Order Ending Federal Contractor Affirmative Action

  

  To comply with President Donald Trump's executive order revoking affirmative action requirements in the next 90 days, federal contractors should focus on identification of protected groups, responsibilities of "diversity officer" positions and annual compliance reviews, says Jeremy Burkhart at Holland & Knight.

• Series

  Documentary Filmmaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Becoming a documentary filmmaker has allowed me to merge my legal expertise with my passion for storytelling, and has helped me to hone negotiation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are important to both endeavors, says Robert Darwell at Sheppard Mullin.