Expert Analysis

• After Watershed Year, Clean Hydrogen Faces New Challenges

  

  Clean hydrogen is on the verge of taking off — but over the course of 2023, it became clear that the regulatory landscape will be more stringent than expected, and the cost and timing of major projects will depend on a number of key developments anticipated in 2024, say attorneys at Weil.

• How To Start Applying DOL's Independent Contractor Test

  

  Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor finalized a worker classification rule that helpfully includes multiple factors that employers can leverage to systematically evaluate the economic realities of working relationships, says Elizabeth Arnold and Samantha Stelman at Berkeley Research Group.

• Will Justices Settle Decades-Old Split On Arbitrator Conflicts?

  

  Whether an arbitrator's failure to disclose a potential conflict of interest is sufficient grounds to vacate an arbitration award is the subject of an almost 60-year-old circuit split that the U.S. Supreme Court is positioned to resolve if it grants cert in either of two writs pending before it, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

• 3 Areas Of Focus In Congressional Crosshairs This Year

  

  Companies must prepare for Congress to build on its 2023 oversight priorities this year, continuing its vigorous inquiries into Chinese company-related investments, workplace safety and labor relations issues, and generative artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Protections May Exist For Cos. Affected By Red Sea Attacks

  

  Companies whose ships or cargo have been affected by the evolving military conflict in the Red Sea, and the countries under whose flags those ships were traveling, may be able to seek redress through legal action against Yemen or Iran under certain international law mechanisms, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

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  Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.

• Federal Courts And AI Standing Orders: Safety Or Overkill?

  

  Several district court judges have issued standing orders regulating the use of artificial intelligence in their courts, but courts should consider following ordinary notice and comment procedures before implementing sweeping mandates that could be unnecessarily burdensome and counterproductive, say attorneys at Curtis.

• What FTC CARS Rule Means For Auto Dealers And Lenders

  

  A newly finalized Federal Trade Commission rule is aimed at changing how auto dealers interact with customers in the financing process, but will likely also affect banks and finance companies — and consequences for lenders and servicers have been amplified by recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• 7 E-Discovery Predictions For 2024 And Beyond

  

  The legal and technical issues of e-discovery now affect virtually every lawsuit, and in the year to come, practitioners can expect practices and policies to evolve in a number of ways, from the expanded use of relevancy redactions to mandated information security provisions in protective orders, say attorneys at Littler.

• 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024

  

  Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

• Growing Green Tech Demand Spells Trouble For Groundwater

  

  Increasing demand for green technology is depleting the groundwater reserves used to extract and process the necessary minerals, making a fundamental shift toward more sustainable water use practices necessary at both the state and federal levels, says Sarah Mangelsdorf at Goldberg Segalla.

• 8 Privacy Law Predictions For 2024

  

  As the new year begins, looking back to several of last year's privacy law developments may help companies forecast what to focus on when updating their privacy programs, including children's privacy, so-called dark patterns and the collection of data by connected cars, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

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  ESG Around The World: South Africa

  

  While South Africa has yet to mandate the reporting of nonfinancial and environmental, social, and corporate governance issues, policy documents and recent legislative developments are likely to have a material impact in the country's transition to a low-carbon economy and in meeting its international obligations, say Glynn Kent at Eversheds Sutherland.

• 4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year

  

  As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.

• Environmental Justice: A 2023 Recap And 2024 Forecast

  

  A 2023 executive order directing each federal agency to make environmental justice part of its mission, as well as the many lawsuits and enforcement actions last year, demonstrates that EJ will increasingly surface in all areas of law and regulation, from technically challenging to seemingly ordinary permitting and construction matters, say attorneys at King & Spalding.