Expert Analysis

• Series

  The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'

  

  The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.

• Lessons On Arbitration Carveouts From Diddy-Diageo Suit

  

  After Sean "Diddy" Combs brought a racial discrimination suit in New York state court against Diageo, the company has been unable to compel arbitration under its distribution agreement with Combs, underscoring the importance of narrowly tailoring arbitration carveouts for injunctive relief, says Rosanne Felicello at Felicello Law.

• Calif. Right To Repair Law Highlights A Growing Movement

  

  New legislation in California is a comprehensive victory for the "right to repair" movement — signaling that this push for legal reform represents a multifaceted challenge to the status quo not only on the consumer rights front, but also in the fields of copyright, software, antitrust and warranty law, says Courtney Sarnow at Culhane Meadows.

• NY Rulings Show Tough Odds For 'Made With' Class Actions

  

  Two recent dismissals of proposed class actions — over alleged misrepresentations of food product ingredients — in New York federal courts suggest a growing skepticism of challenges to "made with"-type claims, but companies that decide to make such claims should still consider options to mitigate litigation risk, say Ashley Simonsen and Kaixin Fan at Covington.

• Hollywood Labor Negotiations Provide AI Road Map

  

  Sigma Khan at Henein Hutchison uses the recent Hollywood labor strikes — one of the first instances of a mass entertainment industry legal conflict where concerns over artificial intelligence's intrusion into the workspace has become a crucial issue — to analyze how litigation, legislation and contracts can aid in a landscape transformation precipitated by AI.

• Opinion

  Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform

  

  The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.

• Calif. Delete Act Paves Way For Data Broker Accountability

  

  California's recent enactment of a law that will allow state residents to delete personal information held by some 500 data brokers shows there is renewed focus on holding an extremely lucrative but underregulated industry accountable — but doing so may require both legislation and litigation, says Karina Puttieva at Cohen Milstein.

• How 2nd Circ. Clarified A Key Right Of Publicity Claim Issue

  

  Mark Baghdassarian and Shannon Hedvat at Kramer Levin provide an overview of state law right of publicity claims, the federal Copyright Act, and how the two intersect in the Federal Circuit's finding in Melendez v. Sirius that the federal law preempts the state claims in cases like these.

• A Look At Competition Enforcers' 2026 World Cup Game Plan

  

  Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, competition authorities of the host nations, the U.S., Mexico and Canada, have recently launched a joint initiative to police collusive schemes, setting an example for other countries' cross-border collaboration — so companies pursuing tournament opportunities should take note, say Carsten Reichel and Will Conway at Norton Rose.

• TikTok Fine Highlights EU Approach To Children's Data Rights

  

  Following the Irish Data Protection Commission's recent fine against TikTok for breaching children's data protection rights, organizations should adopt a proactive approach and implement measures aiding compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation, says Carla Murray at Myerson.

• Series

  ESG Around The World: Japan

  

  Japan is witnessing rapid developments in environmental, social and corporate governance policies by making efforts to adopt a soft law approach, which has been effective in encouraging companies to embrace ESG practices and address the diversity of boards of directors, say Akira Karasawa and Landry Guesdon at Iwata Godo.

• How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing

  

  Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

• X Rebrand Of Twitter Will Keep USPTO Busy

  

  Trademark applications filed by X, formerly known as Twitter, for its namesake character mark face several registration hurdles at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including the ability to prove that the mark is sufficiently distinct and not generic, says Lindsey Sadler at Dorsey & Whitney.

• Opinion

  SEC Actions Against Musk Are Constitutionally Defective

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent subpoena enforcement action against Elon Musk may be constitutionally and statutorily deficient — and the commission staff who issued the subpoenas and the action may have been unconstitutionally appointed, say Alex Lipman at Lipman Law and Justin Weddle at Weddle Law.

• Opinion

  Judicial Independence Needs Defense Amid Political Threats

  

  Amid recent and historic challenges to the judiciary from political forces, safeguarding judicial independence and maintaining the integrity of the legal system is increasingly urgent, says Robert Peck at the Center for Constitutional Litigation.