Expert Analysis

• Birkin Bag Case Carries Competition Lessons For Retailers

  

  A recently proposed antitrust class action alleging that Hermès violated federal and California law when selling its iconic Birkin and Kelly handbags highlights some issues that other brands and retailers should consider, particularly given a prevailing landscape that seems to prioritize antitrust scrutiny, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic

  

  Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

• Circuit Split Brews Over Who's A Securities Seller Under Act

  

  A Securities Act section that creates private liability for the sale of an unregistered security is rapidly becoming a favored statute for plaintiffs to wield against participants in both the digital asset and traditional securities markets, but the circuit courts have diverged on who may be held liable for these violations, say Jeffrey L. Steinfeld and Daniel Aronsohn at Winston & Strawn.

• Breaking Down EPA's Rule On PFAS In Drinking Water

  

  Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized the first enforceable federal drinking water regulation for PFAS, which, along with reporting and compliance requirements for regulated entities, will have a number of indirect effects, including increased cleanup costs and the possible expansion of existing Superfund sites, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Banks Have Won Syndicated Loan Battle, But Not The War

  

  Though the U.S. Supreme Court's recent denial of certiorari in Kirschner v. JPMorgan preserves the status quo that syndicated loans are not securities, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's discomfort suggests that the underlying issues have not been fully resolved, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

• The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals

  

  Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.

• Compliance Strategies To Mitigate 3 New Areas Of AI Risk

  

  The era of artificial intelligence-assisted corporate crime is here, but several concrete mitigation strategies can allow companies to address the new, rapidly evolving threats posed by deepfakes, information barrier evasion and AI model manipulation, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• Refresher On Employee Qualifications For Summer Interns

  

  Before companies welcome interns to their ranks this summer, they should consider the extent to which the interns may be entitled to the same legal protections as employees, including the right to be paid for their hours worked and to receive at least minimum wage and overtime, says Kate LaQuay at Munck Wilson.

• The Drawbacks Of Banking Regulators' Merger Review Plans

  

  Recent proposals for bank merger review criteria by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. share common pitfalls: increased likelihood of delays, uncertainties, and new hurdles to transactions that could impede the long-term safety and soundness of the banks involved, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

• Opinion

  The FTC's Noncompete Rule Is Likely Dead On Arrival

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's April 23 noncompete ban ignores the consequences to the employees it claims to help — but the rule is unlikely to go into effect provided the ideological makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court remains the same, say Erik Weibust and Stuart Gerson at Epstein Becker.

• Unpacking The Bill To Extend TCJA's Biz-Friendly Tax Breaks

  

  Attorneys at Skadden examine how a bipartisan bill currently being considered by the U.S. Senate to save the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's tax breaks for research and development costs, and other expiring business-friendly provisions, would affect taxpayers.

• Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: April Lessons

  

  In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses three notable circuit court decisions on topics from the Class Action Fairness Act to consumer fraud — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including CAFA’s local controversy exception and Article III standing to seek injunctive relief.

• Perspectives

  Criminal Defendants Should Have Access To Foreign Evidence

  

  A New Jersey federal court recently ordered prosecutors to obtain evidence from India on behalf of the former Cognizant Technology executives they’re prosecuting — a precedent that other courts should follow to make cross-border evidentiary requests more fair and efficient, say Kaylana Mueller-Hsia and Rebecca Wexler at UC Berkeley School of Law.

• McKesson May Change How AKS-Based FCA Claims Are Pled

  

  The Second Circuit’s analysis in U.S. v. McKesson, an Anti-Kickback Statute-based False Claims Act case, provides guidance for both relators and defendants parsing scienter-related allegations, say Li Yu at Dicello Levitt, Ellen London at London & Stout, and Erica Hitchings at Whistleblower Law.

• 5 Employer Actions Now Risky After Justices' Title VII Ruling

  

  Last week in Muldrow v. St. Louis, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that harm didn't have to be significant to be considered discriminatory under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, making five common employer actions vulnerable to litigation, say Kellee Kruse and Briana Scholar at The Employment Law Group.