Expert Analysis

• Benefit Plan Sponsors Must Plan For COVID Emergency's End

  

  With the help of recent agency guidance, health plan sponsors must carefully navigate this transitory period between the abrupt end of the COVID-19 national emergency declaration and the upcoming end of the public health emergency, say Finn Pressly and Edward Leeds at Ballard Spahr.

• Lawyer Discernment Is Critical In The World Of AI

  

  In light of growing practical concerns about risks and challenges posed by artificial intelligence, lawyers' experience with the skill of discernment will position them to help address new ethical and moral dilemmas and ensure that AI is developed and deployed in a way that benefits society as a whole, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

• What 2 Texas Lawsuits Mean For Health Care Access

  

  In the last month, Texas federal courts have seen movement in two lawsuits that could, in the long run, potentially upend a widely accepted health care benefit and pose problems for important health care funding mechanisms around the nation, says Susan Harris at Norton Rose.

• Don't Forget Alumni Engagement When Merging Law Firms

  

  Neglecting law firm alumni programs after a merger can sever the deep connections attorneys have with their former firms, but by combining good data management and creating new opportunities to reconnect, firms can make every member in their expanded network of colleagues feel valued, say Clare Roath and Erin Warner at Troutman Pepper.

• Considerations For 2024 Proxy Season After Exec Pay Rules

  

  Companies for the first time this proxy season faced uncertainty in the wake of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new pay-versus-performance rules and compliance-and-disclosure interpretations, but a proactive review of these rules will ensure companies can comprehensively satisfy their disclosure obligations, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• Without Stronger Due Diligence, Attys Risk AML Regulation

  

  Amid increasing pressure to mitigate money laundering and terrorism financing risks in gatekeeper professions, the legal industry will need to clarify and strengthen existing client due diligence measures — or risk the federal regulation attorneys have long sought to avoid, says Jeremy Glicksman at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

• Abortion Pill Rulings Will Hinder FDA Authority

  

  Although the Fifth Circuit recently stayed a Texas federal court's ruling that invalidated the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of a commonly used abortion medication, several points made by the courts are worth considering for their potentially chilling effect on FDA authority and the challenges they may create for the life sciences industry, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Every Lawyer Can Act To Prevent Peer Suicide

  

  Members of the legal industry can help prevent suicide among their colleagues, and better protect their own mental health, by learning the predictors and symptoms of depression among attorneys and knowing when and how to get practical aid to peers in crisis, says Joan Bibelhausen at Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers.

• Building On Successful Judicial Assignment Reform In Texas

  

  Prompt action by the Judicial Conference could curtail judge shopping and improve the efficiency and procedural fairness of the federal courts by implementing random districtwide assignment of cases, which has recently proven successful in Texas patent litigation, says Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper.

• Investor Proposals Show Abortion A Rising ESG Concern

  

  The 2023 proxy season's wave of shareholder proposals about abortion-related issues signals that the post-Dobbs world expects companies to seriously consider and articulate comprehensive strategies for addressing how abortion and other environmental, social and governance issues affect investors and employees, say Carrie Byrnes and Megan Juel at Michael Best.

• DOJ's Compensation Reforms Pit Cos. Against Their Execs

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice’s new policy, incentivizing compliance-focused corporate compensation programs and prompt disclosures of misconduct, will complicate the relationship between companies and their executives, and create potential ethical conflicts for counsel, say Solomon Shinerock and Annika Conrad at Lewis Baach.

• Do Videoconferences Establish Jurisdiction With Defendants?

  

  What it means to have minimum contacts in a foreign jurisdiction is changing as people become more accustomed to meeting via video, and defendants’ participation in videoconferencing may be used as a sword or a shield in courts’ personal jurisdiction analysis, says Patrick Hickey at Moye White.

• Top 5 Issues For Employers If Their Bank Suddenly Fails

  

  The sudden closure of a bank can create a host of ripple effects, and if such a liquidity crisis occurs, employers should prioritize fulfilling their payroll obligations, as failing to do so could subject employers and even certain company personnel to substantial penalties, say attorneys at Manatt.

• Prepare Now To Comply With NJ Temp Worker Law

  

  New Jersey temporary staffing firms and their clients must prepare now for the time-consuming compliance requirements created by the controversial new Temporary Laborers' Bill of Rights, or face steep penalties when the law's strict wage, benefit and record-keeping rules go live in May and August, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

• Takeaways From DOJ's Novel Insider Trading Indictment

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice's recently announced insider trading charges in U.S. v. Peizer mark the first indictment based solely on an executive’s use of a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, reflecting prosecutors' aggressive approach and providing insights for corporate executives, say attorneys at Cleary.