Expert Analysis

• Colo. Antitrust Law Signals Growing Scrutiny Among States

  

  Colorado's recently enacted Uniform Antitrust Pre-Merger Notification Act makes it the second state to add such a requirement, reflecting a growing trend and underscoring the need for merging parties to plan for a more complex and multilayered notification landscape for deals, say Puja Patel and Noa Gur-Arie at Cleary.

• FCPA Enforcement Is Here To Stay, But It May Look Different

  

  After a monthslong enforcement pause, the U.S. Department of Justice’s new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines fundamentally shift prosecutorial discretion and potentially reduce investigatory burdens for organizations, but open questions remain, so companies should continue to exercise caution, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• Ore. Coinbase Case Charts New Path For State Crypto Suits

  

  Oregon's recent lawsuit against Coinbase serves as a reminder for the crypto industry that not all states will simply defer to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's evolving stance on crypto-assets, highlighting why stakeholders should proactively assess the risks posed by state-level litigation and develop strategies to address distinct challenges, say attorneys at Steptoe.

• AGs Take Up Consumer Protection Mantle Amid CFPB Cuts

  

  State attorneys general are stepping up to fill the enforcement gap as the Trump administration restructures the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, creating a new regulatory dynamic that companies must closely monitor as oversight shifts toward states, say attorneys at Cozen O’Connor.

• Va.'s Altered Surcharge Law Poses Constitutional Questions

  

  Virginia's recently amended consumer protection law requiring sellers to display the total price rather than expressly prohibiting surcharges follows New York's recent revision of its antisurcharge statute and may raise similar First Amendment questions, says attorneys at Stinson.

• Philly Law Initiates New Era Of Worker Protections

  

  A new worker protection law in Philadelphia includes, among other measures, a private right of action and recordkeeping requirements that may amount to a lower evidentiary standard, introducing a new level of accountability and additional noncompliance risks for employers, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Series

  Volunteering At Schools Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Speaking to elementary school students about the importance of college and other opportunities after high school — especially students who may not see those paths reflected in their daily lives — not only taught me the importance of giving back, but also helped to sharpen several skills essential to a successful legal practice, says Guillermo Escobedo at Constangy.

• 5 Open Questions About FDA's AI-Assisted Review Plans

  

  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently touted the completion of a generative artificial intelligence program for scientific reviewers and plans for agencywide deployment to speed up reviews of premarket applications, but there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the tools' ability to protect trade secrets, avoid bias and more, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Jurisdiction, Price Range, Late-Is-Late

  

  In this month's bid protest roundup, Thomas Lee at MoFo examines three May decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims examining the court’s jurisdiction to rescind an executive order, the impact of agency error in establishing a competitive price range and application of the late-is-late rule to an electronic filing.

• How Trump Administration's Antitrust Agenda Is Playing Out

  

  Under the current antitrust agency leadership, the latest course in merger enforcement, regulatory approach and key sectors shows a marked shift from Biden-era practices and includes a return to remedies and the commitment to remain focused on the bounds of U.S. law, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.

• Justices' Ruling Lowers Bar For Reverse Discrimination Suits

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous opinion in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, lowering the evidentiary burden for plaintiffs bringing so-called reverse discrimination claims, may lead to more claims brought by majority group employees — and open the door to legal challenges to employer diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, say attorneys at Ice Miller.

• Fed's Crypto Guidance Yank Could Drive Innovation

  

  The Federal Reserve Board's recent withdrawal of guidance letters brings regulatory consistency and broadens banks' ability to innovate in the crypto-asset space, but key distinctions remain between the Fed's policy on crypto liquidity and that of the other banking regulators, says Dan Hartman at Nutter.

• DOE Grant Recipients Facing Termination Have Legal Options

  

  Federal grant recipients whose awards have recently been rescinded by the U.S. Deparment of Energy have options for successfully challenging those terminations through litigation, say attorneys at Bracewell.

• Attacks On Judicial Independence Tend To Manifest In 3 Ways

  

  Attacks on judicial independence now run the gamut from gross (bald-faced interference) to systemic (structural changes) to insidious (efforts to undermine public trust), so lawyers, judges and the public must recognize the fateful moment in which we live and defend the rule of law every day, says Jim Moliterno at Washington and Lee University.

• Loophole To Budget Bill's AI Rule May Complicate Tech Regs

  

  An exception in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that could allow state and local governments to develop ostensibly technology-neutral laws that nonetheless circumvent the bill’s ban on state artificial intelligence regulation could unintentionally create a more complex regulatory environment for technologies beyond AI, says Pooya Shoghi at Lee & Hayes.