Expert Analysis

• Autonomous Vehicle Liability Trends To Watch In 2026

  

  With autonomous vehicles increasingly making their own decisions, the liability landscape for AVs has changed over the past year — highlighting a number of important issues that companies and practitioners should keep a close eye on in 2026, says Farid Yaghoubtil at Downtown LA Law Group.

• Key Crypto Class Action Trends And Rulings In 2025

  

  As the law continued to take shape in the growing area of crypto-assets, this year saw a jump in crypto class action litigation, including noteworthy decisions on motions to compel arbitration and class certification, according to Justin Donoho at Duane Morris.

• Tips For Drafting, Negotiating Quantum Service Agreements

  

  Due to the experimental and volatile nature of quantum computing technology — at least initially — lawyers and legal practitioners should consider a few risks when drafting or negotiating a quantum-as-a-service agreement, including if the underlying hardware design is faulty or not appropriate for maintenance, say attorneys at Covington.

• Calling The AI Witness In 2026's Merger Reviews

  

  Organizations that anticipate facing a second request or merger clearance review in 2026 should collect artificial intelligence artifacts as part of discovery, and distinguish between human-generated and machine-generated materials, says Sean McDermott at FTI Consulting.

• Tracking The Evolution Of AI Insurance Regulation In 2025

  

  As artificial intelligence continues to transform the insurance industry, including underwriting, pricing, claims processing and customer engagement, state regulators, led by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, are increasing oversight to ensure that innovation does not outpace consumer protections, say attorneys at Fenwick.

• Series

  Knitting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Stretching my skills as a knitter makes me a better antitrust attorney by challenging me to recalibrate after wrong turns, not rush outcomes, and trust that I can teach myself the skills to tackle new and difficult projects — even when I don’t have a pattern to work from, says Kara Kuritz at V&E.

• How 11th Circ.'s Qui Tam Review Could Affect FCA Litigation

  

  On Dec. 12, the Eleventh Circuit will hear arguments in U.S. ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, setting the stage for a decision that could drastically reduce enforcement under the False Claims Act, and presenting an opportunity to seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the act's whistleblower provisions, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

• The Hidden Pitfalls Of Letters Of Credit In Lease Negotiations

  

  Amid a surge in commercial office leasing driven by artificial intelligence firms, it's crucial for landlords to be aware of the potential downside of accepting letters of credit — in particular, for amounts of security that are less than the statutory bankruptcy claim cap, say attorneys at Allen Matkins.

• Series

  The Biz Court Digest: Welcome To Miami

  

  After nearly 20 years in operation, the Miami Complex Business Litigation Division is a pioneer upon which other jurisdictions in the state have been modeled, adopting many innovations to keep its cases running more efficiently and staffing experienced judges who are accustomed to hearing business disputes, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• Identifying And Resolving Conflicts Among Class Members

  

  As the Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Nova Scotia Health Employees' Pension Plan v. McDermott International illustrates, intraclass conflicts can determine the fate of a class action — and such conflicts can be surprisingly difficult to identify, says Andrew Faisman, a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

• How AI Exec Order May Tee Up Legal Fights With States

  

  The Trump administration's draft executive order would allow it to challenge and withhold federal dollars from states with artificial intelligence laws, but until Congress passes comprehensive AI legislation, states may have to defend their regulatory frameworks in extended litigation, says Charles Mills, a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.

• Adapting To A Plaintiff-Side Mindset For Patent Monetization

  

  A recent decrease in risk for patent owners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, combined with increased corporate interest in monetizing patent assets, creates an attractive case for evaluating patents from a plaintiff-side mindset, but in-house counsel transitioning from a defense-side mindset to a plaintiff-side mindset should study certain considerations, says Kate Tellez at Steptoe.

• Recent Proposals May Spell Supervision Overhaul For Banks

  

  A slew of rules recently proposed by the federal banking agencies with approaching comment deadlines would rewrite supervision standards to be further tailored to banks' size and activities, while prioritizing financial risks over process, documentation and other nonfinancial risks, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

• AI Evidence Rule Tweaks Encourage Judicial Guardrails

  

  Recent additions to a committee note on proposed Rule of Evidence 707 — governing evidence generated by artificial intelligence — seek to mitigate potential dangers that may arise once machine outputs are introduced at trial, encouraging judges to perform critical gatekeeping functions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

• Terrorist Label For Maduro Poses New Risks For US Firms

  

  The State Department's recent designation of President Nicolás Maduro, and other Venezuelan government and military officials, as members of a foreign terrorist organization drastically increases the level of caution companies must exercise when doing business in the region to mitigate potential civil, criminal and regulatory risk, say attorneys at Freshfields.