Analysis

PE Funds Use AI To Tailor Strategies Amid Heavy Competition

By Al Barbarino

Almost all U.S. private equity firms expect artificial intelligence to fundamentally change their investment strategies, according to a new BDO survey, as funds apply the technology across every stage of the deal cycle, from deal sourcing to diligence.

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SPAC Settlements Drove Down Chancery Deal Values In 2025

By Jessica Corso

A surge in the number of settlements in the Delaware Chancery Court last year was driven by the end of litigation against special purpose acquisition vehicles, but settling investors received less money than at any point in the past five years, Cornerstone Research has said in a new report.

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Enterprise AI Biz Valued At $6.4B After Latest Funding

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Enterprise-focused artificial intelligence company Island on Thursday revealed that its valuation soared to $6.4 billion after it closed its latest funding round with $400 million in tow.

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Massumi & Consoli Pairs With PE Group To Launch MSO

By Rachel Rippetoe

In a rare move, Massumi & Consoli LLP announced on Thursday that it is taking private equity investment through a newly launched managed services organization.

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Texas Utility Commission Looks To Quash Coal Subpoena

By Matthew Perlman

The Public Utility Commission of Texas is pushing back against a subpoena issued by BlackRock in a suit from Republican state attorneys general accusing asset managers of driving up coal prices by pressuring producers to lower their output to meet emission reduction goals.

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Deals Rumor Mill

PE And Activist-Driven Moves Lead The Week's Deal Rumors

By Al Barbarino

Activist investors are turning up the pressure on companies including Six Flags Entertainment and Knife River, while private equity firms GTCR and Reverence Capital are weighing a sale of asset manager Allspring Global Investments, and Clayton Dubilier & Rice and Warburg Pincus are in talks to jointly acquire Canaccord Wealth.

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Fried Frank Adds DLA Piper Asset Management Partner In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP has hired a partner from DLA Piper who focuses his practice on counseling sponsors and managers of private funds through regulatory matters, the firm recently announced.

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Troutman Adds Finn Dixon Investment Management Leader

By Christine DeRosa

Troutman Pepper Locke LLP has grown its Connecticut outpost with the addition of Finn Dixon & Herling LLP's former investment management practice leader.

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Tracking Texas: When A Promissory Note Is Not A Security

The Texas Business Court's recent application of the so-called family-resemblance test in Thompson v. Anchor Capital offers a useful road map for Texas business owners and lenders navigating the intersection of commercial lending and securities law and determining when promissory notes can be classified as securities, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

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Series

Playing Bid Whist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

As a child, I viewed bid whist as a family tradition and a source of friendly card game competition, but as a lawyer, I see it as a tool that has helped me cultivate skills like communication, teamwork, risk assessment and composure, says Keyonn Pope at Riley Safer.

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Litigation Spending To Keep Climbing While Biz Risks Mount

By Ryan Boysen

Big companies will increase their litigation budgets yet again next year, as navigating legal risk is now an essential element of achieving strategic business goals, according to a new report.

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Seyfarth Failed To Guard Client Data From Hack, Suit Alleges

By Lauren Berg

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on Thursday was hit with a proposed class action in Illinois federal court accusing it of failing to protect its current and former clients' personal information after the Chicago-based law firm this month disclosed a recent data breach.

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PACER Experiences Outages Of Some Court Dockets

By Matt Perez

PACER, the online public repository of federal court documents, experienced technical errors on Wednesday and Thursday preventing some users from accessing certain court dockets.

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New Eastern La. Judge's 5th Circ. Bid Goes To Full Senate

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. District Judge Anna St. John of the Eastern District of Louisiana, who was confirmed to her current post in March, is one step closer to being elevated to the federal appeals bench.

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Fla. Judge To Get Reprimand For Remark On Shooting Attys

By Madison Arnold

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a public reprimand of a state district court judge for "intemperate and caustic" comments about shooting attorneys during a hearing.

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Congressional Probes Raise Legal, 'Reputational' Risks

By Phillip Bantz

An array of companies and executives may face investigations over their dealings with the Trump administration if Democrats take control of Congress, raising the possibility that some may refuse to comply. But experts say holding out hope for a mass pardon or expecting the Justice Department not to pursue contempt charges is a risky bet.

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Analysis

5 Circuit Splits To Watch At The High Court

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court has been deciding fewer and fewer cases over the past three decades, with its caseload reaching a historic low just last term. While attorneys believe several factors have contributed to that trend, they say one of the most consequential is the court's apparent declining interest in resolving circuit splits. 

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Trump's Antitrust Pick Advances Amid Independence Worries

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump's pick to lead the antitrust division at the U.S. Department of Justice advanced to the Senate floor on Thursday, despite Democratic concerns about agency independence.

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Sen. Hyde-Smith's Opponent Seeks Blue-Slip Transparency

By Courtney Bublé

Four years ago, Scott Colom — the son of the first African American elected to the chancery bench in her region of Mississippi — was nominated for a federal judgeship. Now he's running for Senate against the senator who blocked his confirmation.

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Ed. Dept. Committee Sidesteps ABA Accreditation Issue

By Ryan Boysen

A key U.S. Department of Education committee on Thursday declined to weigh in on whether an American Bar Association council should remain a federally recognized accreditor of law schools, a day after the panel deadlocked on different proposals over the hot-button issue.

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