Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year

  

  As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.

• How Harsher Penalties For AI Crimes May Work In Practice

  

  With recent pronouncements from the U.S. Department of Justice that prosecutors may seek sentencing enhancements for crimes committed using artificial intelligence, defense counsel should understand how the sentencing guidelines and statutory factors will come into play, says Jennie VonCannon at Crowell & Moring.

• 2nd Circ.'s Binance Locus Test Adds Risk For Blockchain Cos.

  

  The Second Circuit’s recent use of the irrevocable liability test to rule a class action may proceed against decentralized crypto exchange Binance heightens the possibility that other blockchain-based businesses with domestic customers and digital infrastructure will find themselves subject to U.S. securities laws, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• Series

  Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

• NY Bond, Enforcement Options As Trump Judgment Looms

  

  In light of former President Donald Trump's court filing this week indicating that he can't secure a bond for the New York attorney general's nearly $465 million judgment against him, Neil Pedersen of Pedersen & Sons Surety Bond Agency and Adam Pollock of Pollock Cohen explore New York state judgment enforcement options and the mechanics of securing and collateralizing an appellate bond.

• Compliance Steps After ABA White Collar Crime Conference

  

  Senior law enforcement officials’ statements this month at the American Bar Association's white collar crime conference suggest government enforcement efforts this year will increasingly focus on whistleblower incentives, artificial intelligence and data protection, and companies will need to update their compliance programs accordingly, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

• Opinion

  Justices' Trump Ballot Ruling May Spark Constitutional Crisis

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that former President Donald Trump must be reinstated to Colorado’s primary ballot endorses an unnecessarily broad legal theory of disqualification from federal office, raising constitutional questions that will only become more urgent as the next presidential election nears, says Devon Ombres at the Center for American Progress.

• Investment Advisers Should Prep For Money Laundering Regs

  

  Investment advisers should prepare for a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed rule that would significantly expand anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism obligations by assessing illicit financing risks, and expect examiners to scrutinize unregistered advisers and those with certain foreign clients, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

• Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

  

  Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

• What 2 Years Of Ukraine-Russia Conflict Can Teach Cos.

  

  A few key legal lessons for the global business community since Russia's invasion of Ukraine could help protect global commerce in times of future conflict, including how to respond to disparate trade restrictions and sanctions, navigate war-related contract disputes, and protect against heightened cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• 3 Litigation Strategies To Combat 'Safetyism'

  

  Amid the rise of safetyism — the idea that every person should be free from the risk of harm or discomfort — among jurors and even judges, defense counsel can mount several tactics from the very start of litigation to counteract these views and blunt the potential for jackpot damages, says Ann Marie Duffy at Hollingsworth.

• CSA Case Could Shift Intrastate Commercial Cannabis

  

  In Canna Provisions v. Merrick Garland, cannabis companies argue that the Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to intrastate commercial cannabis activity; the Massachusetts federal court's eventual decision will be important to the cannabis industry for several reasons, including that the threat of federal enforcement would disappear overnight, says Hilary Bricken at Husch Blackwell.

• How AI May Be Used In Fintech Fraud — And Fraud Detection

  

  Recent enforcement actions in the fintech and finance industries show that the government is increasingly pursuing fraud enabled by artificial intelligence — at the same time it’s using AI innovations to enforce regulations and investigate fraud, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

• FARA Enforcement May Soon Be In The Halls Of Higher Ed

  

  Given Congress’ increased attention to rising foreign influence on U.S. college campuses, the U.S. Department of Justice may soon turn the Foreign Agents Registration Act spotlight on educational institutions and groups, which will need to review their possible obligations under the statute, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.

• What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

  

  Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.