Expert Analysis

• Reel Justice: 'Obsession' And The Importance Of Precision

  

  In “Obsession,” the main character’s failure to define the limits of his wish results in an unexpectedly horrifying outcome, highlighting for attorneys why careful word choice is essential not only in briefs, but also in charging decisions, statutory interpretation and all stages of criminal litigation, says Veronica Finkelstein at Widener-Delaware Law.

• Int'l Bribery Enforcement Takeaways After SFO Conference

  

  While the U.K. Serious Fraud Office's recent conference demonstrated a global consensus on the importance of combating bribery and corruption, lagging enforcement from U.S. and U.K. regulators suggests that muscular supranational agencies may soon step up to lead cross-border investigations, say lawyers at Addleshaw Goddard.

• How Nixing Trade-Through Rule Would Alter Equity Markets

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent proposal to rescind the trade-through rule and the locked-and-crossed-markets prohibition represents one of the most significant potential changes to U.S. equity market structure in two decades, affecting exchanges, broker-dealers, and institutional and retail investors alike, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

• Lessons On Contingency Planning From OFAC's Iran Reversal

  

  The Office of Foreign Assets Control‘s abrupt revocation of a recent license easing sanctions on Iranian oil products shows commercial dealings relying on OFAC licenses or with higher sanctions risks should expressly address what happens if a policy change makes performance prohibited, says Michelle Roberts at Berliner Corcoran.

• A 3-Part Blueprint For Sentencing Variance Arguments

  

  Tom Goldstein’s upcoming sentencing provides a useful lens for defense practitioners seeking a variance from the guidelines range, serving as a reminder to distinguish those requests from guidelines challenges and build an evidence-based case well before the hearing, says Joseph De Gregorio of Sentencing Advocacy Group.

• Laptop Farms Highlight Identity Fraud Risks Of Remote Work

  

  Two U.S. nationals' recent sentencing in Massachusetts federal court for a scheme that enabled foreign operatives to obtain remote jobs at U.S. companies using stolen identities is a reminder that employers must recalibrate their remote hiring, onboarding and monitoring practices to mitigate evolving cybersecurity and geopolitical risks, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• Lessons From The DOJ's 1st Enforcement Policy Declination

  

  The first U.S. Department of Justice declination to prosecute alleged export control violations and national security offenses offers a window into the operation of the administration’s recently implemented corporate enforcement and voluntary self‑disclosure policy, and how companies' compliance and cooperation efforts should be targeted, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

• Series

  Bass Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Landing a trophy striped bass and closing a big deal both require cultivating the patience to finesse — not force — your way to desired outcomes, changing course when your old approach isn’t working and learning from the ones that got away, says Jon Ruiss at Alston & Bird.

• Roundup

  The Most Talked-About Supreme Court Decisions Of 2026

  

  This term, 11 U.S. Supreme Court decisions quickly became hot topics among Law360's guest writers.

• A New Defense For Medicaid Fraud Cases In Texas

  

  The Texas Supreme Court decision in LabCorp v. Texas last month, finding that the state's False Claims Act requires proof that an omission is material, is among the first to establish that the government's lack of reaction to the defendant's disclosures rendered alleged omissions immaterial, say attorneys at Sheppard.

• Fighting The Evidentiary Risks Of Deepfakes In Court

  

  Though courts and federal rules are only slowly developing frameworks for assessing digital evidence that could have been created or generated by artificial intelligence, litigators should understand what steps they'll likely need to take to successfully challenge potentially deepfaked exhibits — and fight questions about the authenticity of their own, say attorneys at MoFo.

• Agentic AI And Securities Law: Who Is The Adviser?

  

  Securities regulation has always been actor-based, but as agentic artificial intelligence becomes more common, it will push the law toward a partially system-based framework in which systems themselves, and the relationships between them and their deployers, are the focus of regulatory attention, says Joseph A. Hall at Davis Polk.

• Have Private Suits Filled Gap Left By SEC's Crypto Pullback?

  

  In the wake of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's regulatory retreat in the crypto space, private litigants have pursued claims across different types of crypto-related activities and market participants, but whether private lawsuits have replaced SEC enforcement remains unclear, says Simona Mola at NERA.

• Justices' Concurrences Foretell Fault Line On Appeal Waivers

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled 8-1 in Hunter v. U.S. that appeal waivers that produce a miscarriage of justice are unenforceable, but the decision's concurrences indicate future divisions over whether this exception will be used as a rare safety valve or to police ordinary but troubling plea errors, say attorneys at RJO.

• A Potential Turning Point For Short-And-Distort Claims

  

  A California federal jury's conviction of Andrew Left signals that the historically blurry line between securities fraud and legitimate criticism of companies is growing clearer, and that there is a viable recourse against so-called short-and-distort campaigns intended to create a false impression of the market, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.