Expert Analysis

• How '24 Statements Show FTC's Direction On Political Speech

  

  Two top Federal Trade Commission officials made concurring statements in 2024 that detailed a potential push to protect political speech, which have served as a preview of the commission's potential new focus on investigating social media and financial services firms to secure changes in those companies' internal business practices, says Benjamin Goldman at Montgomery McCracken.

• Attys Beware: Generative AI Can Also Hallucinate Metadata

  

  In addition to the well-known problem of AI-generated hallucinations in legal documents, AI tools can also hallucinate metadata — threatening the integrity of discovery, the reliability of evidence and the ability to definitively identify the provenance of electronic documents, say attorneys at Law & Forensics.

• What May Be Ahead In Debanking Enforcement

  

  President Donald Trump's executive order on politicized or unlawful debanking has spurred a flurry of activity by the federal banking regulators, so banks should expect debanking-related complaints submitted by consumers to increase, and for federal regulators to look for more enforcement opportunities, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

• Balancing Reliability, Competition In FERC's Pipeline Proposal

  

  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's proposed transparency requirements for interstate natural gas pipelines endeavor to improve electric system reliability but could also unintentionally foster coordination, says Lyle Larson at Balch & Bingham.

• SEC Crypto Custody Relief Offers Clarity For Funds

  

  A recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff letter supplies a workable path for registered investment advisers and funds seeking to offer crypto custody services by using state trust companies, and may portend additional useful guidance regarding crypto custody, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• DC Circuit Charts Path On FERC Orders In Loper Bright Era

  

  The D.C. Circuit's recent decision in Solar Energy Industries Association v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, upholding the agency's assessment of a power production facility's output, laid out an approach for addressing statutory interpretation in FERC appeals in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's game-changing Loper Bright decision, say attorneys at Bracewell.

• DOJ's UnitedHealth Settlement Highlights New Remedies Tack

  

  The use of divestitures and Hart-Scott-Rodino Act compliance in the recent U.S. Department of Justice settlement with UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys underscores the DOJ Antitrust Division's willingness to utilize merger remedies under the second Trump administration, say attorneys at Buchanan Ingersoll.

• When Atty Ethics Violations Give Rise To Causes Of Action

  

  Though the Model Rules of Professional Conduct make clear that a violation of the rules does not automatically create a cause of action, attorneys should beware of a few scenarios in which they could face lawsuits for ethical lapses, says Brian Faughnan at Faughnan Law.

• A Shift To Semiannual Reporting May Reshape Litigation Risk

  

  While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed change from quarterly to semiannual reporting may reduce the volume of formal filings, it wouldn't reduce litigation risk, instead shifting it into less predictable terrain — where informal disclosures, timing ambiguities and broader materiality debates will dominate, says Pavithra Kumar at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.

• TikTok Divestiture Deal Revolves Around IP Considerations

  

  The divestiture deal between the U.S. and China to resolve a security dispute over TikTok's U.S. operations is seen as a diplomatic breakthrough, but its success hinges on the treatment of intellectual property and may set a precedent in the global contest over digital sovereignty and IP control, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

• What's New In FDA's Latest Cell And Gene Therapy Guidance

  

  New draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with other recent initiatives, come together to promote cell and gene therapy product development by streamlining development and review pathways, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• CFIUS Trends May Shift Under 'America First' Policy

  

  The arrival of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' latest annual report suggests that the Trump administration's "America First" policy will have a measurable effect on foreign investment, including improved trendlines for investments from allied sources and increasingly negative trendlines for those from foreign adversary sources, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• How Gov't May Use FARA To Target 'Domestic Terrorism'

  

  After the Trump administration’s recent memo directing law enforcement to use the Foreign Agents Registration Act to prosecute domestic terrorism, nonprofit organizations receiving funding from foreign sources must assess their registration obligations under the statute, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

• What's Changing For Cos. In New Calif. Hazardous Waste Plan

  

  While the latest hazardous waste management plan from California's Department of Toxic Substances Control still awaits final approval, companies can begin aligning internal systems now with the plan's new requirements for environmental justice, waste and disposal reduction, waste criteria, and capacity planning, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.

• What CFTC Push For Tokenized Collateral Means For Crypto

  

  The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent request for comment on the use of tokenized products as collateral in derivatives markets signals that it is expanding the scope and form of eligible collateral, and could broaden the potential use cases for crypto-assets held in tokenized form, say attorneys at Dechert.