Expert Analysis

• 5 Things Associates Must Ask About Their Firm's Merger Plan

  

  The associates who navigate law firm mergers best ask the right questions early, such as inquiring about partners' plans, to assess how the merger could affect their workflow and career path, says Jackie Bokser-LeFebvre at Major Lindsey.

• Turning To The Courts When PBM Reform Falls Short

  

  The effectiveness of state laws intended to regulate pharmacy benefit managers remains uncertain, but litigation — utilizing tried-and-true theories like breach of contract and fair dealing — offers another mechanism through which stakeholders may seek relief from PBMs, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• 2 'Rocket Dockets' And The Rules That Propel Them

  

  The fastest civil trial courts in the country are currently in the Eastern District of Virginia and the Southern District of Florida, and their chief judges provide insights into the court rules that keep them ahead, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

• Operational AI Washing: Dismantling Claims Before Discovery

  

  Operational AI washing claims can be rebuffed before discovery extracts their true costs by turning the documentary record established in earnings calls and public disclosures into a layered defense, which can exploit the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act’s heightened pleading standards, say attorneys at Akerman.

• Opinion

  Attys Should Aid Clients' AI Use While Safeguarding Privilege

  

  Until legislatures enact laws expressly extending privilege to artificial intelligence queries, lawyers should try to shield their clients' case-related use of AI tools by offering them dedicated access on firms' enterprise accounts and utilizing a long-standing privilege precedent, says Joseph Rillotta at Meadows Collier.

• What End Of SEC Settlement Gag Rule Means For Defendants

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent rescinding of its gag rule prohibiting defendants from publicly denying allegations in settled SEC enforcement actions actually heightens the need to think strategically when negotiating resolutions and pursuing public denials of wrongdoing, say attorneys at Cleary.

• SEC's Co-Investment Relief Broadens Private Market Access

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent no-action letter to J.P. Morgan Investment Management permits open-end funds to co-invest with affiliates, removing a long-standing barrier open-end fund sponsors have faced in sourcing private market investments at scale, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• Your Next Litigation Hold Should Cover AI Chat Logs

  

  The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent decision in Fortis Advisors v. Krafton to treat a CEO’s artificial intelligence chats as substantive evidence is being read as a discovery warning to litigators, but there is a second duty-to-preserve lesson that is especially pertinent to in-house counsel, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

• Musk-OpenAI Verdict Shows Value Of Early-Stage Governance

  

  A California federal court's ruling last week in Musk v. Altman preserves the status quo at OpenAI, but signals to the technology industry at large that courts will not relitigate the governance decisions of early-stage organizations on a founder's competitive timetable, surfacing questions that will outlast the litigation, says attorney Alan N. Walter.

• Series

  Studying Foreign Languages Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Studying Italian and Japanese has shown me that learning a new language can benefit a legal career in several ways, including by demonstrating the importance of approaching problems from a fresh perspective and the value of practicing patience with colleagues and clients, says Anna King at Genworth Financial.

• 10 US Patent Pressure Points For EU Life Sciences Cos.

  

  U.S.-specific patent issues can be challenging for European life sciences companies because they require decisions at the intersection of legal, scientific, regulatory and commercial functions, necessitating proactive, cross-functional steps from EU patent counsel, says Paul Calvo at Sterne Kessler.

• Sold Inventory May Drive Tax Treatment Of Tariff Refunds

  

  Companies determining the tax treatment of refunds expected following the U.S. Supreme Court's February decision invalidating tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act should consider whether the tariff costs have already reduced their income considering the cost of goods sold, say attorneys at McDermott.

• Del. Justices' Ripeness Ruling Shields Advance Notice Bylaws

  

  The Delaware Supreme Court’s recent decision dismissing two AES and Owens Corning stockholder challenges of advance notice bylaws as unripe provides corporations more room to insulate their nomination procedures from activist pressure, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• Operational AI Washing: Fortifying The Disclosure Record

  

  The same artificial intelligence-driven workforce narratives that once appeared in earnings calls and Form 8-Ks can easily become raw material for future operational AI washing claims, so companies must be careful when drafting public disclosures because winning a federal motion to dismiss starts months before a lawsuit is ever filed, say attorneys at Akerman.

• Tax Teams Get No Bright-Line Rule From AI Privilege Cases

  

  Three recent appellate decisions that considered artificial intelligence in the context of attorney-client privilege protections illustrate that taxpayers and tax practitioners alike must consider the pertinent facts on a case-by-case basis, with particular attention to confidentiality, disclosure risk and system design, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.