Expert Analysis

• Reviewing 2024's Crucial Patent Law Developments

  

  As 2024 draws to a close, significant rulings and policies aimed at modernizing long-standing legal practices or addressing emerging challenges have reached patent law, says Michael Ellenberger at Rothwell Figg.

• Series

  Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.

• 2024 Has Been A Momentous Year For ESG

  

  Significant developments in the environmental, social and governance landscape this year include new legislation, evolving global frameworks, continued litigation and enforcement actions, and a U.S. Supreme Court decision that has already affected how lower courts have viewed some ESG challenges, say attorneys at Katten.

• Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team

  

  In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.

• The Story Of 2024's Biggest Bank Regs, And Their Fate In 2025

  

  U.S. federal bank regulators were very active in 2024 with initiatives ranging from antitrust and capital to proposals regarding controlling shareholders and incentive-based compensation, but many regulations face an uncertain future under the new administration, say attorneys at Latham.

• 4 Trade Secret Pointers From 2024's Key IP Law Developments

  

  Four significant 2024 developments in trade secret law yield practical tips about defending trade secrets overseas, proving unjust enrichment claims, forcing compliance with posttrial orders and using restrictive covenants to prevent employee leaks of confidential intellectual property, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

• Gov't Scrutiny Of Workplace Chat Apps Set To Keep Growing

  

  The incoming Trump administration and Republican majorities in Congress are poised to open numerous investigations that include increasing demands for entities to produce communications from workplace chat apps, so companies must evaluate their usage and retention policies, say attorneys at Orrick.

• Using Contracts As Evidence Of Trade Secret Protection

  

  Recent federal and U.S. International Trade Commission decisions demonstrate an interesting trend of judges recognizing that contracts and confidentiality provisions can serve as important evidence of the reasonable secrecy measures companies must take to prove the existence of protected trade secrets, say attorneys at Finnegan.

• 2025's Midmarket M&A Terrain May Hold A Few Bright Spots

  

  Attorneys at Stoel Rives assess middle-market merger and acquisition trends, and explain why many dealmakers have turned cautiously optimistic about the sector's 2025 prospects, despite potential inflation and new Federal Trade Commission rules.

• When US Privilege Law Applies To Docs Made Outside The US

  

  As globalization manifests itself in disputes over foreign-created documents, a California federal court’s recent trademark decision illustrates nuances of both U.S. privilege frameworks and foreign evidentiary protections that attorneys must increasingly bear in mind, say attorneys at Hunton.

• Executive Orders That Could Affect Financial Services In 2025

  

  The incoming Trump administration is likely to quickly revive or update a number of prior executive orders, and possibly issue new ones, that could affect financial services by emphasizing market discipline rather than regulatory initiatives to drive change in the industry, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

• How New Merger Filing Rules Will Affect Economic Advocacy

  

  New rules from the antitrust agencies significantly change the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification process and will necessitate rigorous economic analysis earlier in the merging process as the information provided in the filings reflects important antitrust considerations, says Andrea Asoni at Charles River.

• Impact Of Corporate Transparency Act Ambiguity On Banks

  

  Even though banks generally needn't file beneficial ownership information reports, financial institutions must continue to monitor the status of the Corporate Transparency Act and understand its requirements in case the nationwide injunction that was issued against the CTA earlier this month is overturned, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.

• What 2024 Trends In Marketing, Comms Hiring Mean For 2025

  

  The state of hiring in legal industry marketing, business development and communications over the past 12 months was marked by a number of trends — from changes in the C-suite to lateral move challenges — providing clues for what’s to come in the year ahead, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

• The Prospects Of Pa. Gaining Its Own Antitrust Law After 2024

  

  In the only state that does not have its own antitrust law, Pennsylvania's business community's strong opposition to the Pennsylvania Open Markets Act signals a rough road lies ahead for passage of the bill after Republicans retained a narrow majority in the state Senate, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.