Expert Analysis

• Challenging A Class Representative's Adequacy And Typicality

  

  Recent cases highlight that a named plaintiff cannot certify a putative class action unless they can meet all the applicable requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, so defendants should consider challenging a plaintiff's ability to meet typicality and adequacy requirements early and often, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

• Yacht Broker Case Highlights Industry Groups' Antitrust Risk

  

  The Eleventh Circuit recently revived class claims against the International Yacht Brokers Association, signaling that commission-driven industries beyond real estate are vulnerable to antitrust challenges after the National Association of Realtors settled similar allegations last year, says Miles Santiago at the Southern University Law Center and Alex Hebert at Southern Compass.

• Age Bias Ruling Holds Harassment Policy Lessons

  

  A Kansas federal court's recent decision in Holman v. Textron Aviation, rejecting an employee's assertion that his termination for failing to report harassment was pretextual and due to age bias, provides insight into how courts analyze whether actions are pretextual and offers lessons about enforcing anti-harassment policies, say attorneys at Ogletree.

• Opinion

  4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

  

  As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

• What To Know About Bill Aiming To Curb CIPA

  

  A bill pending in the California Assembly would amend the California Invasion of Privacy Act to allow for the use of website tracking technologies for commercial business purposes, limiting class actions seeking damages under the act for industry standard practices, say Katherine Alphonso and Avazeh Pourhamzeh at Kaufman Dolowich.

• State Law Challenges In Enforcing Arbitration Clauses

  

  In recent cases, state courts in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Jersey have considered or endorsed heightened standards for arbitration agreements, which can mean the difference between a bilateral arbitration and a full-blown class action in court, says Fabien Thayamballi at Shapiro Arato.

• How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

  

  E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

• A Look At Florida's New Protected Series LLC Legislation

  

  A new law in Florida enhances the flexibility of using limited liability companies as the entities of choice for most privately held businesses, moving Florida into a small group of states with reliable uniform protected series legislation for series LLCs, says Louis Conti at Holland & Knight.

• Harmonized Int'l Framework May Boost Advanced Aircraft

  

  International differences in the certification process for advanced air mobility aircraft make the current framework insufficient — but U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy's recent announcement of a standards harmonization effort may help promote these innovative aviation technologies, while maintaining safety, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Series

  Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

• DOJ Enforcement Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

  

  Recent investigations, settlements and a declination to prosecute suggest that controlling the flow of goods into and out of the country, and redressing what the administration sees as reverse discrimination, are likely to be at the forefront of the U.S. Department of Justice's enforcement agenda the rest of this year, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

  

  Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

• Forensic Challenges In Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Cases

  

  Lawsuits over lithium-ion battery fires and explosions often center on the core question of whether the battery was defective or combusted due to some other external factor — so both plaintiff and defense attorneys litigating these cases must understand the forensic issues involved, says Drew LaFramboise at Joseph Greenwald.

• ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

  

  The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

• Federal Construction Considerations Amid Policy Overhaul

  

  The rapid overhaul of federal procurement, heightened domestic sourcing rules and aggressive immigration enforcement are reshaping U.S. construction, but several pragmatic considerations can help federal contractors engaged in infrastructure and public construction avoid the legal, financial and operational fallout, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.