Expert Analysis

• Series

  Creating Botanical Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Pressing and framing plants that I grow has shown me that pursuing an endeavor that brings you joy can lead to surprising benefits for a legal career, including mental clarity, perspective and even a bit of humility, says Douglas Selph at Morris Manning.

• Supreme Court's Criminal Law Decisions: The Term In Review

  

  Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s criminal law decisions in its recently concluded term proved underwhelming by many measures, their opinions revealed trends in how the justices approach criminal cases and offered reminders for practitioners, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

• Opinion

  Budget Act's Deduction Limit Penalizes Losing Gamblers

  

  A provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that reduces the deduction for gambling losses is unfair to professional and recreational players, risks driving online activity to offshore sites, and will set back efforts to legalize and regulate the industry, says Walter Bourdaghs at Kang Haggerty.

• Opinion

  The Legal Education Status Quo Is No Longer Tenable

  

  As underscored by the fallout from California’s February bar exam, legal education and licensure are tethered to outdated systems, and the industry must implement several key reforms to remain relevant and responsive to 21st century legal needs, says Matthew Nehmer at The Colleges of Law.

• 6 Questions We Should Ask About The Trump Trade Deals

  

  Whenever the text becomes available, certain questions will help determine whether the Trump administration’s trade deals with U.S. trading partners have been crafted to form durable economic relationships, or ephemeral ties likely to break upon interpretive disagreement or a change in political will, says Ted Posner at Baker Botts.

• E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Relevance Redactions

  

  In recent cases addressing redactions that parties sought to apply based on the relevance of information — as opposed to considerations of privilege — courts have generally limited a party’s ability to withhold nonresponsive or irrelevant material, providing a few lessons for discovery strategy, say attorneys at Sidley.

• Opinion

  Section 1983 Has Promise After End Of Nationwide Injunctions

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the practice of nationwide injunctions in Trump v. Casa, Section 1983 civil rights suits can provide a better pathway to hold the government accountable — but this will require reforms to qualified immunity, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.

• Series

  Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Learning From Failure

  

  While law school often focuses on the importance of precision, correctness and perfection, mistakes are inevitable in real-world practice — but failure is not the opposite of progress, and real talent comes from the ability to recover, rethink and reshape, says Brooke Pauley at Tucker Ellis.

• Lessons On Parallel Settlements From Vanguard Class Action

  

  A Pennsylvania federal judge’s unexpected denial of a proposed $40 million settlement of an investor class action against Vanguard highlights key factors parties should consider when settlement involves both regulators and civil plaintiffs, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• Series

  Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw

  

  As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.

• Mulling Worker Reclassification In Light Of No Tax On OT

  

  The One Big Beautiful Bill Act's no-tax-on-overtime provisions provide tax relief for employees who regularly work overtime and are nonexempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act, but reclassifying employees may lead to higher compliance costs and increased wage and hour litigation for employers, says Steve Bronars at Edgeworth Economics.

• Clean Energy Tax Changes Cut Timelines, Add Red Tape

  

  With its dramatic changes to energy tax credits, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will reshape project financing and investment planning — and wind and solar developers, especially those in the early stages of projects, face stricter timelines and heightened compliance challenges, says Dan Ruth at Balch & Bingham.

• How Cos. In China Can Tailor Compliance Amid FCPA Shifts

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently updated Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement guidelines create a fluid business environment for companies operating in China that will require a customized compliance approach to navigate both countries’ corporate and legal systems, say attorneys at Dickinson Wright.

• Series

  Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.