Expert Analysis

• SEC Rulemaking Radar: The Debut Of Atkins' 'New Day'

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's regulatory flex agenda, published last week, demonstrates a clear return to appropriately tailored and mission-focused rulemaking, with potential new rules applicable to brokers, exchanges and trading, among others, say attorneys at Goodwin.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

  

  Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.

• Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

  

  A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.

• A Changing Playbook For Fighting Records Requests In Del.

  

  The Delaware Supreme Court's recent decision in Wong v. Amazon, reversing the denial of an inspection demand brought by a stockholder, serves as a stark warning to corporations challenging books and records requests, making clear that companies cannot defeat such demands solely by attacking the scope of their stated purpose, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

• What To Expect As Trump's 401(k) Order Materializes

  

  Following the Trump administration’s recent executive order on 401(k) plan investments in alternative assets like cryptocurrencies and real estate, the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will need to answer several outstanding questions before any regulatory changes are implemented, say attorneys at Cleary.

• Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

  

  Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

• 'Solicit' Ruling Offers Proxy Advisers Compliance Relief

  

  The D.C. Circuit recently found that proxy voting advice does not fall under the legal definition of "solicitation," significantly narrowing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's regulatory power over such advisers, offering stability to the proxy advisory industry and providing temporary relief from new compliance burdens, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

• Evaluating The SEC's Rising Whistleblower Denial Rate

  

  The rising trend of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission whistleblower award claim denials represents a departure from the SEC's previous track record and may reflect a more conservative approach to whistleblower award determinations under the current administration, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

• State Crypto Regs Diverge As Federal Framework Dawns

  

  Following the Genius Act's passage, states like California, New York and Wyoming are racing to set new standards for crypto governance, creating both opportunity and risk for digital asset firms as innovation flourishes in some jurisdictions while costly friction emerges in others, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

• Parenting Skills That Can Help Lawyers Thrive Professionally

  

  As kids head back to school, the time is ripe for lawyers who are parents to consider how they can incorporate their parenting skills to build a deep, meaningful and sustainable legal practice, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

• Series

  Teaching Trial Advocacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

  

  Teaching trial advocacy skills to other lawyers makes us better litigators because it makes us question our default methods, connect to young attorneys with new perspectives and focus on the needs of the real people at the heart of every trial, say Reuben Guttman, Veronica Finkelstein and Joleen Youngers.

• The Crucial Question Left Unanswered In EpicentRx Decision

  

  The California Supreme Court recently issued its long-awaited decision in EpicentRx Inc. v. Superior Court, resolving a dispute regarding the enforceability of forum selection clauses, but the question remains whether private companies can trust that courts will continue to consistently enforce forum selection clauses in corporate charters, says John Yow at Yow PC.

• MIT Bros.' Crypto Charges Provide Fraud Test Case For Gov't

  

  As U.S. v. Peraire-Bueno, involving cryptocurrency fraud charges against brothers who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, moves forward after surviving a motion to dismiss, the case provides an early example of how the government might use the federal fraud statutes to regulate decentralized networks, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

• Why EpicentRx Ruling Is A Major Win For Business Certainty

  

  The California Supreme Court's recent decision in EpicentRx v. Superior Court removes a significant source of uncertainty that plagued commercial litigation in California by clarifying that forum selection clauses shouldn't be invalidated solely because the selected forum lacks the right to a jury trial, say attorneys at Clark Hill.

• How Sustainability Reporting Changed In The 1st Half Of 2025

  

  Sustainability reporting is evolving rapidly, with fewer S&P 500 companies publishing reports in the first half of 2025 than in the same period last year, suggesting that companies are becoming more selective and intentional about their reporting, say analysts at Orrick.