Expert Analysis

• Why Appellees Should Write Their Answering Brief First

  

  Though counterintuitive, appellees should consider writing their answering briefs before they’ve ever seen their opponent’s opening brief, as this practice confers numerous benefits related to argument structure, time pressures and workflow, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.

• Questions To Ask Your Client When Fraud Taints Financing

  

  As elevated risk levels yield fertile conditions for fraud in financing transactions, asking corporate clients the right investigative questions can help create an action plan, bring parties together and help clients successfully survive any scam, says Mark Kirsons at Morgan Lewis.

• 2nd Circ. Peloton Ruling Emphasizes Disclosure Context

  

  The Second Circuit’s recent decision to revive shareholders’ suit alleging that Peloton made materially misleading statements makes clear that public companies must continually review risk disclosures to determine if previous hypotheticals have materialized, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

• Series

  Mindfulness Meditation Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Mindful meditation enables me to drop the ego, and in helping me to keep sight of what’s important, permits me to learn from the other side and become a reliable counselor, says Roy Wyman at Bass Berry.

• How Calif. High Court Is Rethinking Forum Selection Clauses

  

  Two recent cases before the California Supreme Court show that the state is shifting toward greater enforcement of freely negotiated forum selection clauses between sophisticated parties, so litigators need to revisit old assumptions about the breadth of California's public policy exception, says Josh Patashnik at Perkins Coie.

• AI Litigation Tools Can Enhance Case Assessment, Strategy

  

  Civil litigators can use artificial intelligence tools to strengthen case assessment and aid in early strategy development, as long as they address the risks and ethical considerations that accompany these uses, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

• Post-Genius Landscape Reveals Technical Stablecoin Hurdles

  

  The Genius Act's implementation has revealed challenges for mass stablecoin adoption, but there are several factors that stablecoin issuers can use to differentiate themselves and secure market share, including interest rate, liquidity, and safety and security, say attorneys at Olshan Frome.

• 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.

• How 9th Circ. Ruling Deepens SEC Disgorgement Circuit Split

  

  The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Sripetch creates opposing disgorgement rules in the two circuits where the SEC brings a large proportion of enforcement actions — the Second and Ninth — and increases the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court will step in, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• How Novel Del. Ruling Tackled Crypto Jurisdiction

  

  As courts grapple with cryptocurrency's borderless nature, the Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in Timoria v. Anis highlights the delicate balance between territorial jurisdiction and due process, and reinforces the need for practitioners to develop sophisticated, multijurisdictional approaches to digital asset disputes, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• 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.