Expert Analysis

• Identifying And Resolving Conflicts Among Class Members

  

  As the Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Nova Scotia Health Employees' Pension Plan v. McDermott International illustrates, intraclass conflicts can determine the fate of a class action — and such conflicts can be surprisingly difficult to identify, says Andrew Faisman, a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

• 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.

• Grounding Netflix's 'Death By Lightning' In Patent History

  

  In Netflix’s "Death by Lightning," U.S. President James Garfield's assassin declares that patent lawyers lack original ideas, but real-life 19th-century patent attorney-inventors were key to technological progress and the success of the American patent system, say Tasha Gerasimow at Kirkland & Ellis and David Gerasimow at Gerasimow Law.

• How Fed. Circ. Shaped Subject Matter Eligibility In 2025

  

  The Federal Circuit's most impactful patent eligibility decisions this year, touching on questions about obviousness and abstractness, provide a toolbox of takeaways that can be utilized during patent preparation and prosecution to guard against potential challenges, says Reilley Keane at Banner Witcoff.

• 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.

• 9th Circ. Ruling Upholds Employee Speech Amid Stalled NLRB

  

  The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in National Labor Relations Board v. North Mountain Foothills Apartments shows that courts are enforcing National Labor Relations Act protections despite the board's current paralysis, so employers must tread carefully when disciplining employee speech, whether at work or online, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• Series

  Preaching Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Becoming a Gospel preacher has enhanced my success as a trial lawyer by teaching me the importance of credibility, relatability, persuasiveness and thorough preparation for my congregants, the same skills needed with judges and juries in the courtroom, says Reginald Harris at Stinson.

• FTC Focus: Amazon's $2.5B Pact Broadens Regulatory Span

  

  Amazon's $2.5 billion deal with the Federal Trade Commission offers takeaways for counsel managing risk across both consumer protection and competition portfolios, including that design strategies once evaluated solely for conversion may now be scrutinized for their competitive effects, say attorneys at Proskauer.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Client-Led Litigation

  

  New litigators can better help their corporate clients achieve their overall objectives when they move beyond simply fighting for legal victory to a client-led approach that resolves the legal dispute while balancing the company's competing out-of-court priorities, says Chelsea Ireland at Cohen Ziffer.

• Series

  The Law Firm Merger Diaries: How To Build On Cultural Fit

  

  Law firm mergers should start with people, then move to strategy: A two-level screening that puts finding a cultural fit at the pinnacle of the process can unearth shared values that are instrumental to deciding to move forward with a combination, says Matthew Madsen at Harrison.

• Ending All-In Airfare Pricing Could Pose Ad Dilemma For Cos.

  

  The U.S. Department of Transportation's plan to scrap its requirement that airfare ads include all fees and taxes in price listings means that airlines, travel agents and other affected businesses must balance competitive pricing against the risk of alienating consumers, say Kimberly Graber at Steptoe and Serena Viswanathan, formerly at the FTC's Division of Advertising Practices.

• Considerations When Invoking The Common-Interest Privilege

  

  To successfully leverage the common-interest doctrine in a multiparty transaction or complex litigation, practitioners should be able to demonstrate that the parties intended for it to apply, that an underlying privilege like attorney-client has attached, and guard against disclosures that could waive privilege and defeat its purpose, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

• UK Getty Ruling Tests Balance Of IP Rights And AI Industry

  

  The recent Getty Images v. Stability AI High Court decision, rejecting copyright claims while upholding limited trademark infringement, will influence the creative community and U.K. artificial intelligence industry alike, and the training of AI models in the U.K. is still a risk, say lawyers at Powell Gilbert.