Expert Analysis

• 5 Crisis Lawyering Skills For An Age Of Uncertainty

  

  As attorneys increasingly face unprecedented and pervasive situations — from prosecutions of law enforcement officials to executive orders targeting law firms — they must develop several essential competencies of effective crisis lawyering, says Ray Brescia at Albany Law School.

• $2B PDVSA Ruling Offers Insight Into Foreign-Issued Debt

  

  A New York federal court's recent decision denying a request by PDVSA, Venezuela's state-owned oil company, to refuse enforcement of $2 billion in defaulted bonds serves as a guide for the scope of review required in assessing the validity of foreign-issued securities with New York choice-of-law provisions, say attorneys at Cleary.

• Opinion

  It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem

  

  After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.

• Series

  Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

• SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

  

  The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

• Opinion

  High Court, Not A Single Justice, Should Decide On Recusal

  

  As public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to decline, the court should adopt a collegial framework in which all justices decide questions of recusal together — a reform that respects both judicial independence and due process for litigants, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

• How Gov't Reversals Are Flummoxing Renewable Developers

  

  The Trump administration has reversed numerous environmental and energy policies, some of which have then been reinstated by the courts, making it difficult for renewable energy project developers to navigate the current regulatory environment, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.

• Series

  Traveling Solo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Traveling by myself has taught me to assess risk, understand tone and stay calm in high-pressure situations, which are not only useful life skills, but the foundation of how I support my clients, says Lacey Gutierrez at Group Five Legal.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Client Service

  

  Law school teaches you how to interpret the law, but it doesn't teach you some of the key ways to keeping clients satisfied, lessons that I've learned in the most unexpected of places: a book on how to be a butler, says Gregory Ramos at Armstrong Teasdale.

• Importers Face Uncertainty As Court Stays Solar Tariff Ruling

  

  The overturning of a Commerce Department rule that allowed duty-free entry of solar cells between 2022 and 2024, now on appeal to the Federal Circuit, means the landscape for imported solar cells and modules is still in flux, while U.S. producers continue to rely on imports, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Series

  Adapting To Private Practice: 3 Tips On Finding The Right Job

  

  After 23 years as a state and federal prosecutor, when I contemplated moving to a law firm, practicing solo or going in-house, I found there's a critical first step — deep self-reflection on what you truly want to do and where your strengths lie, says Rachael Jones at McKool Smith.

• Series

  Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Painting trains me to see both the fine detail and the whole composition at once, enabling me to identify friction points while keeping sight of a client's bigger vision, but the most significant lesson I've brought to my legal work has been the value of originality, says Jana Gouchev at Gouchev Law.

• Using The GHG Protocol For California Climate Reporting

  

  With the California Air Resources Board's recent announcement that entities subject to the state's climate disclosure laws can use the Greenhouse Gas Protocol as a standard for structured, auditable reporting, a review of methods, data sources and disclosures under the protocol is timely for compliance planning, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.

• Protecting Sensitive Court Filings After Recent Cyber Breach

  

  In the wake of a recent cyberattack on federal courts' Case Management/Electronic Case Files system, civil litigants should consider seeking enhanced protections for sensitive materials filed under seal to mitigate the risk of unauthorized exposure, say attorneys at Redgrave.

• Unleashing LNG And Oil Exports With The Deepwater Port Act

  

  The U.S. Department of Transportation and its Maritime Administration are now poised to use the streamlined licensing process of an existing statutory framework — the Deepwater Port Act — to approve proposed offshore terminals for exporting oil and liquefied natural gas, thus advancing the Trump administration's energy agenda, says Joanne Rotondi at Hogan Lovells.