Expert Analysis

• 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.

• Opinion

  FTC Rulemaking Risks Expansion Of Unfair-Method Bounds

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's plan to issue rules defining unfair methods of competition under Section 5 of the FTC Act arguably exceeds the commission's power, and isn't justified, because the current case-by-case approach to promoting competition through adjudication is preferable, says Sean Gates at Charis Lex.

• Germany's Google Controls Illustrate Global Antitrust Trend

  

  Germany's recent move to rein in Google with extended restrictions on anti-competitive behavior provides an example of the new aggressive stance regulators around the world are adopting as tech giants grow their power in the digital economy, says Andrea Pomana at ADVANT Beiten.

• What To Expect From Merger Guideline Modernization

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice's and Federal Trade Commission's recent request for comment on amending the merger review guidelines provides perhaps the clearest indication yet of where guideline revisions might focus, including on structural presumptions, the role of market definition and the effect of transactions on labor, say attorneys at MoFo.

• 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.

• 5 Global Digital Markets Regulatory Issues To Watch In 2022

  

  Francesco Liberatore at Squire Patton lays out the key regulatory developments that will affect global digital markets this year, from new enforcement measures aimed at electronic communications services in the European Union to increased cooperation between antitrust officials in the U.S., U.K. and EU.

• Aviation Watch: Resolving The FAA-FCC Fight Over 5G

  

  Concerns over interference with aircraft altimeters are delaying the U.S. rollout of 5G wireless technology, and it may take special action by the Biden administration to resolve the standoff between the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration over the issue, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

• Opinion

  Money Laundering Regs Too Unwieldy To Police Art Market

  

  As the arts and antiquities trade awaits the U.S. Department of the Treasury's new money laundering regulations — which apply the Bank Secrecy Act to the arts for the first time — whether they are reasonable, optimal or practical remains in question, says Alexandra Darraby at The Art Law Firm.

• Opinion

  FTC Should Rethink Market Issues In Facebook Case

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's antitrust prosecution of Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, may have survived the initial litigation stage this week, but the case still does not embrace the markets it purports to fix, says David Reichenberg at Cozen O'Connor.

• 5 Advertising Law Trends To Watch

  

  For the world of advertising, 2022 will bring new compliance challenges and considerations shaped by legal developments in everything from nonfungible-token commerce in the metaverse to the ever-growing impact of social media on young users, say Jason Gordon and Deborah Bessner at Reed Smith.

• 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.

• Ruling Confirms Causation Is Key Under NY Anti-SLAPP Law

  

  New York's anti-SLAPP statute gives defendants a powerful tool against speech suppression, but the New York Supreme Court's recent decision in RSR v. LEG Q shows that the law requires clear proof of a connection between protected speech and an allegedly retaliatory SLAPP suit, says William Brewer at Brewer Attorneys & Counselors.

• More Securities Class Actions May Rely On Short-Seller Data

  

  In light of a recent increase in global securities class action exposure, and ongoing reliance on short-seller research to substantiate claims, issuers should prepare for more frequent and severe fraud-on-the-market suits, say analysts at SAR.