Expert Analysis

• Preparing For Mexican Drug Cartels' Terrorist Designation

  

  In the event President-elect Donald Trump designates Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, businesses will need to consider how their particular industry is affected and evaluate previously legitimate practices given the cartels' involvement so many sectors of the economy, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• Where Payments Law And Regulation Are Headed In 2025

  

  The Trump administration will likely bring significant changes to payments regulations in 2025, but maintaining internal compliance efforts in the absence of robust federal oversight will remain key as state authorities and private plaintiffs step into the breach, say attorneys at Stinson.

• What To Expect From Federal Cybersecurity Policy In 2025

  

  There are 12 cyber policy questions to keep an eye on as the new administration and Republican control of Congress present an opportunity to advance less regulatory approaches and revisit some choices from the prior administration, say attorneys at Wiley.

• 4 Trade Secret Developments To Follow This Year

  

  Significant developments in trade secret law are likely in 2025, and areas to watch include protection of AI-related innovations, the fate of the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban, and questions of the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act's extraterritorial reach, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

• Republican Trifecta Amplifies Risks For Cos. In 3 Key Areas

  

  Expected coordination between a Republican Congress and presidential administration may expose companies to simultaneous criminal, civil and congressional investigations, particularly with regard to supply chain risks in certain industries, government contracting and cross-border investment, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Certification, Lateness, SBA Eligibility

  

  In this month's bid protest roundup, Cody Fisher at MoFo examines three recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Government Accountability Office that address the treatment of a proposal that was timely submitted but received late, and highlight nuances of certification and small business eligibility requirements.

• 6 Predictions For Cyber Risk And Insurance In 2025

  

  This year is likely to bring with it some thorny and expensive cyber challenges, including increased ransomware activity, more data breach class actions and continued efforts to define business interruption loss calculations, say attorneys at Wiley.

• Series

  Illinois Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

  

  While the last quarter of 2024 didn't bring any notable state financial legislation, Illinois banks did see developments in the challenge to the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, and received some awaited guidance on credit line disclosures and bank-fintech relationships, say attorneys at Dykema.

• 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

  

  President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

• How Trump 2.0 May Change Business In Latin America

  

  Companies in Latin America should expect to face more trade restrictions, tighter economic sanctions and enhanced corruption risks, as the incoming administration shifts focus to certain non-U.S. actors, most notably China, says Matteson Ellis at Miller & Chevalier.

• Reviewing 2024's AI Patent And Copyright Developments

  

  Attorneys at Rothwell Figg provide highlights on procedural and substantive intellectual property issues pertaining to AI in 2024 from the Copyright Office and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, followed by what to expect in 2025.

• Trump, Tariffs And Tech: The Right To Repair In 2025

  

  The "right-to-repair" movement has helped make it easier for independent repair shops and consumers to repair their devices and vehicles — but President-elect Donald Trump's complicated relationship with Big Tech, and his advocacy for increased tariffs, make the immediate future of the movement uncertain, say attorneys at Carter Ledyard.

• E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

  

  Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

• Opinion

  Section 230 Debates Will Continue, With Or Without TikTok

  

  Regardless of whether TikTok is forced to shut down in the U.S. in the coming weeks, legal disputes will continue over social media platforms' responsibility under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act for harms allegedly caused by content shared on their apps, says Carla Varriale-Barker at Segal McCambridge.

• Impact Of Successful Challenges To SEC's Rulemaking Ability

  

  In 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission faced significant legal challenges to its aggressive rulemaking agenda as several of its rules were vacated by the Fifth Circuit, which could hinder the SEC's ability to enact rules extending beyond express statutory authority in the future, say attorneys at Debevoise.