Expert Analysis

• Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

  

  In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five notable circuit court decisions on topics from property taxes to veteran's rights — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including class representative intervention, wage-and-hour dispute evidence and ascertainability requirements.

• A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

  

  After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

• Opinion

  Exxon Court Should Clarify Shareholder Proposal Exclusion

  

  ExxonMobil last month took the unusual action of asking a Texas federal judge whether a proposal from climate activists seeking to limit oil and gas sales could be excluded from its 2024 proxy statement, and the court should use this opportunity to reevaluate SEC policy and set clear limits on when shareholder proposals can be included, says Stephen Bainbridge at UCLA School of Law.

• What's On The Horizon In Attorney General Enforcement

  

  A look at recent attorney general actions, especially in the areas of antitrust and artificial intelligence, can help inform businesses on what they should expect in terms of enforcement trends as 10 attorney general races play out in 2024, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

• How High Court SEC Case Could Affect The ITC

  

  While the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy will likely spare the U.S. International Trade Commission from major operative changes, the ITC’s ability to issue penalties for violations of its orders may change, say Gwendolyn Tawresey and Ryan Deck at Troutman Pepper.

• Navigating The FCC's Rules On AI-Generated Robocall Voices

  

  The Federal Communications Commission's declaratory ruling issued last week extends the agency's regulatory reach under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to calls that use artificial intelligence technology to generate voices, laying out a compliance roadmap, but not making AI-cloned voices in robocalls illegal per se, say attorneys at Wiley Rein.

• Vodafone Decision Highlights Wide Scope Of UK's FDI Rules

  

  The U.K. government’s recently imposed conditions required for its approval of Vodafone and Etisalat’s strategic relationship agreement under its National Security and Investment Act jurisdiction, illustrating the significance of the act as an important factor for transactions with a U.K. link, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.

• Is Compulsory Copyright Licensing Needed For AI Tech?

  

  The U.S. Copyright Office's inquiry into whether Congress should establish a compulsory licensing regime for artificial intelligence technologies that are trained on copyrighted works has received relatively little attention — but commenters recently opposed the regime under three key themes, say Michael Kientzle and Ryan White at Arnold & Porter.

• Series

  Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

• SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

  

  As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

• Verizon Benefits Ruling Clears Up Lien Burden Of Proof

  

  A Rhode Island federal court recently ruled that a Verizon benefits plan could not recoup a former employee’s settlement funds from the attorney who represented her in a personal injury case, importantly clarifying two Employee Retirement Income Security Act burden of proof issues that were previously unsettled, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

• Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout

  

  While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

• Assessing Merger Guideline Feedback With Machine Learning

  

  Large language modeling appears to show that public sentiment matches agency intent around the new merger control guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department, says Andrew Sfekas at Cornerstone Research.

• Series

  ESG Around The World: Brazil

  

  Environmental, social and governance issues have increasingly translated into new legislation in Brazil since 2020, and in the wake of these recently enacted regulations, we are likely to see a growing number of legal disputes in the largest South American country related to ESG issues such as greenwashing if companies are not prepared to adequately adapt and comply, say attorneys at Mattos Filho.

• Series

  Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.