Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Proposed MDL Management Rule Needs Refining

  

  Proponents of the recently proposed Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1 believe it may enhance efficiency in multidistrict litigation proceedings if adopted, but there are serious concerns that it could actually hinder plaintiffs' access to justice through the courts — and there are fundamental flaws that deserve our attention, says Ashleigh Raso at Nigh Goldenberg.

• Meta Data Scraping Case Has Lessons For Platforms, AI Cos.

  

  The California federal court ruling that artificial intelligence company Bright Data's scraping of public data from Meta social media sites does not constitute a breach of contract signals that platforms should review their terms of service and AI companies could face broad implications for their training of algorithms, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• Opinion

  Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year

  

  As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.

• 2nd Circ.'s Binance Locus Test Adds Risk For Blockchain Cos.

  

  The Second Circuit’s recent use of the irrevocable liability test to rule a class action may proceed against decentralized crypto exchange Binance heightens the possibility that other blockchain-based businesses with domestic customers and digital infrastructure will find themselves subject to U.S. securities laws, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• Legal Issues When Training AI On Previously Collected Data

  

  Following the Federal Trade Commission's recent guidance about the use of customer data to train artificial intelligence models, companies should carefully think through their terms of service and privacy policies and be cautious when changing them to permit new uses of previously collected data, says James Gatto at Sheppard Mullin.

• Protested CFPB Supervisory Order Reveals Process, Priorities

  

  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s order announcing its first use of special oversight power to place installment lender World Acceptance Corp. under supervision despite resistance from the company provides valuable insight into which products and practices may draw bureau scrutiny, and illuminates important nuances of the risk assessment procedures, say Josh Kotin and Michelle Rogers at Cooley.

• Series

  Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

• Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons

  

  In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from consumer fraud to employment — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including coercive communications with putative class members and Article III standing at the class certification stage.

• Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

  

  Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

• 3 Litigation Strategies To Combat 'Safetyism'

  

  Amid the rise of safetyism — the idea that every person should be free from the risk of harm or discomfort — among jurors and even judges, defense counsel can mount several tactics from the very start of litigation to counteract these views and blunt the potential for jackpot damages, says Ann Marie Duffy at Hollingsworth.

• How AI May Be Used In Fintech Fraud — And Fraud Detection

  

  Recent enforcement actions in the fintech and finance industries show that the government is increasingly pursuing fraud enabled by artificial intelligence — at the same time it’s using AI innovations to enforce regulations and investigate fraud, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

• Takeaways From Groundbreaking Data Transfer Order

  

  A recent first-of-its-kind executive order and related proposed rulemaking lay the groundwork for important outbound U.S. data protections, but they may have unintended consequences related to the types of data and the subjects within their scope, say attorneys at Kirkland.

• What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

  

  Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

• Innodata Suit Highlights 'AI Washing' Liability Risk For Cos.

  

  A class action against software company Innodata over so-called AI washing, one of the first of its kind, underscores the litigation and enforcement risks that can arise from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's novel theory about misleading artificial intelligence capabilities, say attorneys at Bracewell.

• The Epic Antitrust Cases And Challenges Of Injunctive Relief

  

  The Epic cases against Apple and Google offer a window into the courts' considerable challenges in Big Tech litigation and establishing injunctive relief that enhances competition and benefits consumers, say Kelly Lear Nordby and Jon Tomlin at Ankura Consulting.