Expert Analysis

• 5 Lessons For SaaS Companies After Blackbaud Data Breach

  

  Looking at the enforcement actions that software-as-a-service provider Blackbaud resolved with state attorneys general, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission in the past year can help SaaS companies manage these increasingly common forms of data breaches, say attorneys at Orrick.

• Google Patent Case Is A Claim Construction Litigation Lesson

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent precedential decision in Google v. EcoFactor, which held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board erred in the claim construction it had unknowingly adopted, shows that litigators should be alert to claim construction issues that masquerade as something else, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

• 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.

• Understanding SEC's Focus Amid Lack Of Final AI Rules

  

  Although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed rules to govern artificial intelligence are likely far from being finalized, understanding existing regulatory provisions that could address AI risks with respect to development, disclosure, compliance and data protection could help firms anticipate and avoid pitfalls, say attorneys at Skadden.

• 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.

• Preparing For DOJ's Data Analytics Push In FCPA Cases

  

  After the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent announcement that it will leverage data analytics in Foreign Corrupt Practice Act investigations and prosecutions, companies will need to develop a compliance strategy that likewise implements data analytics to get ahead of enforcement risks, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

• Open Questions After Elastos Crypto Class Action Settlement

  

  The recent settlement in Owen v. Elastos Foundation resolving a class action fight over whether Elastos was required to register an initial coin offering with U.S. regulators has raised several questions that may be of interest to lawyers litigating cryptocurrency-related cases, including whether a crypto token constitutes a security under U.S. law, says Bradley Simon at Schlam Stone.

• USCIS Fee Increases May Have Unintended Consequences

  

  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ new fee schedule, intended to provide the agency with needed funds while minimizing the impact of higher fees on individual immigrants and their families, shifts too much of the burden onto employers, say Juan Steevens and William Coffman at Mintz.

• Del. Segway Dismissal Suggests Execs Not Liable For Biz Risk

  

  While the debate continues within the Delaware Chancery Court over whether Caremark liability applies to matters of pure business risk, the court's recent rejection of Segway’s suit against the ex-president who oversaw financial difficulties suggests the court is uninterested in undermining the deference the business judgment rule grants corporate fiduciaries, say attorneys at Dechert.

• 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.

• Generative AI Raises IP, Data Protection And Contracts Issues

  

  As the EU's recent agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act has fueled businesses' interest in adopting generative AI tools, it is crucial to understand how these tools utilize material to generate output and what questions to ask in relation to intellectual property, data privacy and contracts, say lawyers at Deloitte Legal.

• Exporters Should Approach Self-Disclosure With Caution

  

  A January Bureau of Industry and Security memorandum created an abbreviated process for disclosing export control violations that lack aggravating factors, but deciding which disclosure method to utilize remains a complex strategic undertaking to which companies must give careful consideration, say attorneys at Covington.

• 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.

• How Recent Laws Affect Foreign Purchase Of US Real Estate

  

  Early diligence is imperative for U.S. real estate transactions involving foreign actors, including analysis of federal and state foreign investment laws implicated by the transaction, depending on the property's nature and location, the parties' citizenship, and the transaction's structure, say Massimo D’Angelo and Anthony Rapa at Blank Rome.