Expert Analysis

• How Litigating Antitrust Fix Helped GTCR Prevail In Court

  

  An Illinois federal judge's recent denial of the Federal Trade Commission's injunction request in the GTCR acquisition of Surmodics joins a developing series of cases in which deal parties have prevailed against government antitrust challenges by proposing a post-complaint fix and litigating the as-amended deal, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

• What Narrower FinCEN Reporting Spells For Industry

  

  As compliance costs soar, the potential slimming down of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regime is welcome news for banks, and would allow a shift in resources to ever-evolving cybercrime threats, say attorneys at Quarles & Brady.

• Revisiting Jury Trial Right May Upend State Regulatory Power

  

  Justice Neil Gorsuch’s recent use of a denial of certiorari to call for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit whether the Seventh Amendment jury trial right extends to states, building off last year's Jarkesy ruling, could foretell a profound change in state regulators' ability to enforce penalties against regulated companies, say attorneys at Sidley.

• How Nasdaq, SEC Proposals May Transform Listing Standards

  

  Both Nasdaq and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have increasingly focused their recent regulatory efforts on small and foreign issuers, particularly those from China, reflecting an intention to strengthen the overall quality of companies accessing U.S. markets, but also potentially introducing a chilling effect on certain issuers, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

• New NCAA Betting Policy Fits Trend Of Eased Restrictions

  

  Allowing NCAA student-athletes to bet on professional sports fits into a decade-long trend of treating college athletes more like adults in a commercial system, but decreasing player restrictions translates to increased compliance burdens for schools, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

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  Building With Lego Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Building with Lego has taught me to follow directions and adapt to unexpected challenges, and in pairing discipline with imagination, allows me to stay grounded while finding new ways to make complex deals come together, says Paul Levin at Venable.

• How Banks Can Safely Handle Payments For Gambling Biz

  

  As the betting market continues to expand, it's crucial for banks and fintechs to track historical developments in wagering and ongoing prediction markets litigation that can factor into a risk analysis for payment processing with respect to gambling operators, says Laura D'Angelo at Jones Walker.

• Wading Into NY Wetland Regs' 2025 Changes And Challenges

  

  Solar developers in New York should keep a weather eye on litigation challenging the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s recently expanded authority to regulate wetlands and waterways, which could erode the impact of a new permitting process meant to streamline solar development on protected wetlands, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

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  Law School's Missed Lessons: Networking 101

  

  Cultivating a network isn't part of the law school curriculum, but learning the soft skills needed to do so may be the key to establishing a solid professional reputation, nurturing client relationships and building business, says Sharon Crane at Practising Law Institute.

• Defeating Estoppel-Based Claims In Legal Malpractice Actions

  

  State supreme court cases from recent years have addressed whether positions taken by attorneys in an underlying lawsuit can be used against them in a subsequent legal malpractice action, providing a foundation to defeat ex-clients’ estoppel claims, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

• Takeaways As Justices Let 5th Circ. Pollution Ruling Stand

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent certiorari denial leaves intact a Fifth Circuit ruling that environmental justice organizations have standing to pursue a civil rights challenge to a parish's land-use practice, underscoring the importance of local governments proactively engaging with communities to address cumulative impacts of development, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

• AI's Role In Google Antitrust Suit May Reshape Tech Markets

  

  The evolution of AI in retail has reshaped the U.S.' antitrust case against Google, which could both benefit small business innovators and consumers, and fundamentally alter future antitrust cases, including the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against Amazon, says Graham Dufault at ACT.

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  The Biz Court Digest: How It Works In Massachusetts

  

  Since its founding in 2000, the Massachusetts Business Litigation Session's expertise, procedural flexibility and litigant-friendly case management practices have contributed to the development of a robust body of commercial jurisprudence, say James Donnelly at Mirick O’Connell, Felicia Ellsworth at WilmerHale and Lisa Wood at Foley Hoag.

• Next Steps For DOE's Large-Load Interconnection Reforms

  

  The U.S. Department of Energy's recent letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may mark a substantial expansion of FERC's open-access framework for large-load facilities, though the proposed timeline for the rulemaking appears to be extraordinarily short, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

• Adapting To Calif.'s Enhanced Regulation Of PE In Healthcare

  

  New California legislation enhances oversight on the role of private equity groups and hedge funds in healthcare transactions, featuring both a highly targeted nature and vague language that will require organizations to carefully evaluate existing practices, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.