Expert Analysis

• 4 Opinions Showcase Hurdles To Trademarking Names

  

  Four opinions issued by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board this year show that names are only registrable as trademarks when they point to the applicant and to nobody else, says Anton Hopen at Trenam Law.

• 'Demon Hunter' IP Suit Highlights Reverse Confusion Perils

  

  A metal band named Demon Hunter's recently filed lawsuit against Netflix, alleging that consumers mistakenly believe it to be connected to the "KPop Demon Hunters" movie, provides a useful vehicle for examining the reverse confusion doctrine and its practical implications, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

• 5th Circ. Embedding Decision Could Recast Copyright Claims

  

  The Fifth Circuit's decision in Emmerich v. Particle Media addresses decades of ambiguity surrounding whether embedded content can constitute copyright infringement, potentially affecting how defense counsel fight against such claims, say attorneys at Greenberg Glusker.

• Meta Deal Highlights Advisory Jury Issues, Litigation Risk

  

  The $17 billion settlement of youth safety claims brought against Meta offers lessons for all consumer-facing companies because the court made the rare move of empaneling an advisory jury and the case was built on what the company learned from its own studies, says Mark Morgan at McCarter & English.

• What State AI Election Laws Mean For The 2026 Midterms

  

  In the absence of federal rules governing artificial intelligence in elections and no consensus emerging across state laws, campaigns, their vendors and AI developers must address the risks associated with outdated rules written for other problems, says Matthew Shapanka at Covington.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Cultivating Good Judgment

  

  Law schools generally overlook the role that solid judgment skills play in real-world practice, but attorneys can bridge the gap by strengthening their abilities to assess a case’s strengths and weaknesses, develop and execute effective strategies, and provide clear recommendations to clients, says Manny Caixeiro at Venable.

• Attorneys Using AI May Have Ethical Duty To Redact Docs

  

  The trajectory of legal ethics guidance in recent years strongly suggests that as redaction technology becomes more accessible, the failure to use it when uploading highly confidential materials into artificial intelligence tools will become increasingly difficult to defend as reasonable, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.

• Series

  Juggling And Unicycling Make Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Because I juggle (sometimes with fire) and ride the unicycle, friends and family used to joke that I should join the circus, but I pursued the practice of law instead and learned that my hobbies benefit my profession in several important ways, says Morgan Eddy at Smith Currie.

• AI Note-Taking Suits May Fill Gap In Privacy Law Structure

  

  A recent class action against Granola joins other pending lawsuits against AI note-taking providers, highlighting the legal uncertainty surrounding these tools, but there are practical steps companies using "invisible" AI services can take to mitigate risk, including conducting inventories and reviewing access permissions, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

• 2nd Circ. Ruling Lays Out Administrative Right-Of-Access Blueprint

  

  In Civil Rights Corps v. LaSalle, the Second Circuit recently held that the First Amendment dictates a presumptive right of access to sealed attorney grievance proceedings, providing a framework for challenging other administrative regimes that operate behind closed doors, says Jonathan Ginsberg at Carlton Fields.

• How Rogue AI May Shape Corporate Liability, Responsibility

  

  Recent artificial intelligence cyber incidents offer a window into how companies deploying autonomous systems should document risk controls even when systems exceed their intended boundaries, as jurors may treat unexpected AI conduct as foreseeable evidence of inadequate safeguards, says Jorge Monroy at Verdict Insight Partners.

• Meta Layoff Suit Serves As Early Test Of AI Bias Claims

  

  A lawsuit in California federal court alleging that Meta's use of artificial intelligence in recent layoffs negatively affected employees on protected leave provides insight for plaintiffs about what evidence to preserve and how to build these discrimination claims, says Manny Starr at Frontier Law Center.

• Series

  Ballet Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  A lifetime of learning and performing ballet taught me that success — whether in dance or practicing law — comes only through hours of thorough preparation, boundless energy and relentless effort, says Sharon Katz-Pearlman at Greenberg Traurig.

• Series

  Taekwondo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Taekwondo has taught me to recognize when to fight for a position and when to focus on finding a solution, and that the best outcomes are often achieved by solving problems — all of which has improved my work as a bankruptcy lawyer, mediator and Subchapter V trustee, says Amy Denton Mayer at Berger Singerman.

• What To Know As Legal Duty To Consider AI Takes Shape

  

  While the U.K. Jurisdiction Taskforce’s recent statement on liability for artificial intelligence harms is nonbinding for both U.K. and U.S. lawyers, it highlights the importance of being able to distinguish between the availability of a tool and a professional obligation to use it, say Jonny Frank and Michael Costa at StoneTurn.