Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Crypto Bills' Narrow Scope Guarantees Continued Uncertainty

  

  The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and Responsible Financial Innovation Act aim to make the $4 trillion crypto market more transparent and less susceptible to fraud, but their focus on digital assets sold in investment contract transactions promises continued uncertainty for the industry, says Joe Hall at Davis Polk.

• Parody Defendants Are Finding Success Post-Jack Daniel's

  

  Recent decisions demonstrate that, although the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products did benefit trademark plaintiffs by significantly limiting the First Amendment expressive use defense, courts also now appear to be less likely to find a parodic work likely to cause confusion, says Andrew Michaels at University of Houston Law Center.

• Series

  Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

• SEC's No-Action Relief Could Dramatically Alter Retail Voting

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently cleared the way for ExxonMobil to institute a novel change in retail shareholder voting that could greatly increase voter turnout, granting no-action relief that represents an effective and meaningful step toward modernizing the shareholder voting process and the much-needed democratization of retail investors, say attorneys at Cozen.

• SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

  

  The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

• Dropped Case Shows SEC Focus On Independent Directors

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent liquidity rule case against Pinnacle Advisors, despite its dismissal by the commission, serves as a reminder that the SEC expects directors to embrace their role as active, probing fiduciaries, says Dianne Descoteaux at MFDF.

• How Crypto Embrace Will Affect Banks And Credit Unions

  

  The second Trump administration has moved aggressively to promote crypto-friendly reforms and initiatives, and as the embrace of stablecoins and distributed ledger technology grows, community banks and credit unions should think strategically as to how they might use these innovations to best serve their customers, says Jay Spruill at Woods Rogers.

• Navigating The SEC's Evolving Foreign Private Issuer Regime

  

  As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reevaluates foreign private issuer eligibility, FPIs face not only incremental compliance costs but also a potential reshaping of listing strategies, capital access, enforcement exposure and global regulatory coordination, potential unintended effects that deserve further exploration, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• Opinion

  Expert Reports Can't Replace Facts In Securities Fraud Cases

  

  The Ninth Circuit's 2023 decision in Nvidia v. Ohman Fonder — and the U.S. Supreme Court's punt on the case in 2024 — could invite the meritless securities litigation the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act was designed to prevent by substituting expert opinions for facts to substantiate complaint assertions, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

• Opinion

  High Court, Not A Single Justice, Should Decide On Recusal

  

  As public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to decline, the court should adopt a collegial framework in which all justices decide questions of recusal together — a reform that respects both judicial independence and due process for litigants, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

• What Cross-Border Task Force Says About SEC's Priorities

  

  The formation of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's cross-border task force, focused on investigating U.S. federal securities law violations overseas, underscores Chairman Paul Atkins' prioritization of classic fraud schemes, particularly involving foreign entities, say attorneys at Cleary.

• Series

  Traveling Solo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Traveling by myself has taught me to assess risk, understand tone and stay calm in high-pressure situations, which are not only useful life skills, but the foundation of how I support my clients, says Lacey Gutierrez at Group Five Legal.

• 6th Circ. FirstEnergy Ruling Protects Key Legal Privileges

  

  The Sixth Circuit’s recent grant of mandamus relief in In re: First Energy Corp. confirms that the attorney-client privilege and work-product protections apply to internal investigation materials, ultimately advancing the public interest, say attorneys at Cooley.

• Del. Ruling Reaffirms High Bar To Plead Minority Control

  

  The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in Witmer v. Armistice maintains Delaware's strict approach to control and provides increased predictability for minority investors in their investment and corporate governance decisions, says Elena Davis at Ropes & Gray.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Client Service

  

  Law school teaches you how to interpret the law, but it doesn't teach you some of the key ways to keeping clients satisfied, lessons that I've learned in the most unexpected of places: a book on how to be a butler, says Gregory Ramos at Armstrong Teasdale.