Expert Analysis

• Bribery Verdict Offers Guide To Post-Pause FCPA Priorities

  

  A former Goldman Sachs investment banker's recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act conviction offers insights into how the U.S. Department of Justice is applying its FCPA guidelines following the Trump administration's 2025 pause on enforcement, and illustrates the importance of a company’s escalation procedures and follow-through, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• 3 Steps To Mitigate The Cyber Risks From Employee AI Use

  

  Recent data showing a doubling in breaches tied to employee use of unapproved AI tools demonstrates a convergence of cybersecurity risk, data privacy exposure and legal liability that workplace policies don't often address, but business leaders can get ahead of these risks, say attorneys at Ogletree.

• How Viral Accusations Can Test Employers' Discipline Policies

  

  The employment fallout that appears to have followed a former Cornell University student's sexual assault lawsuit against seven fraternity members underscores that although employers often have freedom to fire employees over accusations, they must still make a defensible decision, says Michael Elkins at MLE Law.

• Series

  Being In The Peace Corps Made Me A Better Lawyer

  

  When I served in the Peace Corps, the people of the West African village where I was stationed helped me acclimate to my new surroundings and enabled me to develop problem-solving, teamwork and empathy skills that have bolstered my legal practice far beyond the ability to offer technical advice, says Brian Bewley at McGuireWoods.

• How To Use Root Cause Analysis In Misconduct Probes

  

  The public fallout facing Cornell University over its handling of a student's rape allegations shows the importance of conducting root cause analysis in sexual misconduct investigations to identify institutional conditions that require correction and provide an evidentiary foundation for corrective actions, says Jonny Frank.

• AGs' Paramount Settlement Reflects States' Growing Influence

  

  The recent California federal court approval of the California v. Paramount Skydance settlement illustrates how state attorneys general are gaining new independence and influence, and companies must account for state enforcement when assessing merger risks ahead of a deal's closing, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

• 2nd Circ. Eases Employer Defense Of Dress Code Rules

  

  The Second Circuit recently sided with Starbucks in a ruling that makes it easier for companies to defend dress code policies against unfair labor practice challenges, but employers shouldn't read it as a license to ban union insignia, say attorneys at Shipman & Goodwin.

• Rebuttal

  North Carolina's Funding Ban Is An Outlier, Not A Model

  

  A recent Law360 guest article argues that North Carolina's litigation funding ban should be adopted by other states, but that analysis overstates what North Carolina did and misjudges how the law will travel, says Dai Wai Chin Feman at the International Legal Finance Association.

• SEC's Insider Trading Duty Rule May Face Loper Bright Test

  

  In U.S. v. Jennings, pending in New Jersey federal court, the defense has an opportunity to challenge the rule defining the boundaries of the misappropriation theory of insider trading under Loper Bright, as the only litigated case testing the rule's limits relied on Chevron deference, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

• How A New Case Redefines The Birthright Citizenship Battle

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling last term in Trump v. Barbara, the Trump administration issued a new executive order attempting to limit the categories of individuals eligible for this status — and a pending court challenge to the new order shows where the legal battle lines are being redrawn, say attorneys at Fragomen.

• What Lawyers Should Know Before Accepting Crypto Payment

  

  As clients increasingly request to pay legal fees, retainers and escrow funds using cryptocurrency, lawyers should consider how only a handful of state bar authorities have addressed the issue with varying ethics opinions, as well as the related questions that no authority has yet answered, says attorney Felix Shipkevich.

• How To Use AI In Employment Contract Drafting

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Before using artificial intelligence to draft employment contracts, law firms and employers must assess practical ethical guardrails, appropriate use cases, core risk areas and validation workflows, says Samuel Mitchell at Smith Gambrell.

• NY Severance Rules Persist Despite McLaren Macomb Threat

  

  Despite recent calls to overturn the National Labor Relations Board's decision in McLaren Macomb, New York's robust regulation will remain intact, limiting practitioners' ability to offer nonsupervisory employees severance agreements with confidentiality and nondisclosure provisions, says Matthew Berman at Valli Kane.

• How Evergreen Language Can Sink Landlord Credit Support

  

  A recent pattern in court decisions interpreting letters of credit underscores the importance of using precise language when seeking evergreen protection, so landlords should seek explicit successive-renewal terms, verify issuer forms and calendar deadlines in order to preserve credit support, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

• Data Sale In Spirit Bankruptcy Raises Novel Privacy Risks

  

  Spirit Airlines' planned sale of deidentified business data to Google for artificial intelligence training exposes gaps in the Bankruptcy Code's privacy guardrails, particularly for employee information, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.