Expert Analysis

• A Year Of Transition At The Agenda-Setting 5th Circ.

  

  Under the spotlight of hot issues this year, the Fifth Circuit has appeared to be an ideological court generating controversial decisions and attracting certiorari-grants — but in the shadows and liminal spaces of the everyday issues, the court and its members operate in a much more nuanced and less-divisive way, says Tad Bartlett at Fishman Haygood.

• The Key Laws Retailers Should Pay Attention To In 2024

  

  2024 promises to be another transformative year for retailers as they navigate the evolving regulatory landscape, particularly surrounding data privacy and sustainability laws, meaning companies should make it a practice to keep track of new legislation and invest in compliance efforts early on, say attorneys at Benesch.

• What's Ahead For Immigrant Employee Rights Enforcement

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice’s increased enforcement related to immigration-based employment discrimination is coupled with pending constitutional challenges to administrative tribunals, suggesting employers should leverage those headwinds when facing investigations or class action-style litigation, say attorneys at Jones Day.

• How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season

  

  Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

• 5 Trends To Watch In Property And Casualty Class Actions

  

  In 2023, class action decisions have altered the landscape for five major types of claims affecting property and casualty insurers — total loss vehicle valuation, labor depreciation, other structural loss estimating theories, total loss vehicle tax and regulatory fees, and New Mexico's uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage sale requirements, say Mark Johnson and Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.

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  Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.

• Parsing 2023's Energy Markets Enforcement

  

  A review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's and Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recently released fiscal year 2023 enforcement reports highlight the significant energy market enforcement activities, litigation pursued and settlements reached by both agencies, as well as their respective strategic goals and focus areas, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• FDA's Recent Litigation Records Are Strong, But Imperfect

  

  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has notched its share of litigation wins in recent years thanks to a number of key advantages, but the FDA has been less successful in certain highly visible arenas, Jonathan Berman and Colleen Heisey at Jones Day.

• ESG Investing Caught In Culture War Crosshairs In 2023

  

  As 2023 draws to a close, ESG investing remains a raging battleground in the U.S. culture wars, as illustrated by the array of legislative efforts across the country aimed variously at restricting or promoting the use of ESG investing — but it remains to be seen what practical impact, if any, these laws will have, say Amy Roy and Robert Skinner at Ropes & Gray.

• Lessons From DOJ's Wave Of Labor Market Prosecutions

  

  Attorneys at Patterson Belknap consider lessons learned and future meaningful challenges following the U.S. Department of Justice's first six criminal antitrust cases targeting employee no-poach and wage-fixing agreements, in which just one case resulted in a guilty plea.

• How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

• Insurer's '600-Lb. Life' Win Shows Why Fraud Suits Don't Stick

  

  A Texas federal court’s recent ruling that Philadelphia Indemnity Co. did not fraudulently induce Megalomedia, the production company behind reality show “My 600-Lb. Life,” into purchasing insurance, demonstrates why a policyholder’s fraudulent inducement claim against an insurer will rarely succeed, says Robert Tugander at Rivkin Radler.

• 3 Types Of Evidence Excluded Pretrial In 2023 TM Cases

  

  Dylan I. Scher at Quinn Emanuel reviews three areas of rulings on motions in limine from 2023 where parties successfully excluded evidence in a trademark dispute, for legal practitioners to consider for future cases.

• New Texas Funds For Water And Power Projects: Key Points

  

  Two amendments to the Texas Constitution recently approved by the state's voters, implementing public funds for water and energy projects, may incentivize private companies to participate in development of new water and power infrastructure in Texas — and could well serve as a model for similar partnerships elsewhere, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

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  The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape

  

  The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.