Expert Analysis

• How Project 2025 Could Upend Federal ESG Policies

  

  If implemented, Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's policy playbook for a Republican presidential administration, would likely seek to deploy antitrust law to target ESG initiatives, limit pension fund managers' focus to pecuniary factors and spell doom for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate rule, say attorneys at Mintz.

• Opinion

  FDIC's Foray Into Index Fund Rules Risks Regulatory Chaos

  

  A proposed Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. rule concerning control over passive index fund investments in banks is outside the agency's remit, clashes with an existing Federal Reserve process and would inhibit competition in the index fund sector, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.

• Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys

  

  Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.

• Opinion

  Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code

  

  As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.

• What To Make Of Dueling Corporate Transparency Act Rulings

  

  Although challenges to the Corporate Transparency Act abound — as highlighted by recent federal court decisions from Alabama and Oregon taking opposite positions on its constitutionality — the act is still law, so companies should comply with their filing requirements or face the potential consequences, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

• Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan

  

  Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.

• To Report Or Not To Report Others' Export Control Violations

  

  A recent Bureau of Industry and Security enforcement policy change grants cooperation credit to those that report violations of the Export Administration Regulations committed by others, but the benefits of doing so must be weighed against significant drawbacks, including the costs of preparing and submitting a report, says Megan Lew at Cravath.

• What FDIC Expansion Of Change In Bank Control Could Mean

  

  A recent Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposal pertaining to the Change in Bank Control Act has the potential to create uncertainty around investments by mutual fund complexes in banking organizations, which represent a stable source of capital for the banking industry, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

• State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

  

  Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

• How BIS' Rule Seeks To Encourage More Voluntary Disclosure

  

  Updated incentives, penalties and enforcement resources in the Bureau of Industry and Security's recently published final rule revising the Export Administration Regulations should help companies decide how to implement export control compliance programs and whether to disclose possible violations, say attorneys at Freshfields.

• Making Sure Your Co. Isn't In The Next Section 13(f) Sweep

  

  Enforcement actions taken against 11 institutional investment managers for alleged failures to file forms required by Section 13(f) of the Securities Exchange Act serve as a reminder that firms should carefully monitor their obligations to avoid becoming the target of the next enforcement sweep, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• 8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney

  

  A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.

• Opinion

  This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process

  

  In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

• Series

  Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

  

  Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.

• Applying High Court's Domestic Corruption Rulings To FCPA

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the domestic corruption statutes in three decisions over the past year and a half, it’s worth evaluating whether these rulings may have an impact on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, and if attorneys can use the court’s reasoning in international bribery cases, says James Koukios at MoFo.