Expert Analysis

• How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks

  

  Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.

• Opinion

  Aviation Watch: Investigating The SpaceX Rocket Explosion

  

  While the Federal Aviation Administration has promised to oversee an inquiry into the recent catastrophic failure of SpaceX's Starship/Super Heavy rocket, the agency's conflicts of interest and record of lax oversight make it imperative that an independent investigation be conducted, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

• Foreign Investment In Real Estate Is Getting More Complicated

  

  Increasing federal scrutiny and a proliferation of new state laws targeting foreign investment in real estate may complicate or prevent transactions even by U.S. companies or funds that have shareholders or limited partners from China and other countries of concern, say attorneys at Akin.

• Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip

  

  After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

• 5th Circ. Ruling Aids Insureds In Contractual Exclusion Rows

  

  The Fifth Circuit's recent insurance decision in Windermere Oaks v. Allied World, in favor of coverage, provides policyholders with guidance on how to distinguish between contractual and noncontractual claims when insurers deploy broadly worded liability exclusions to deny coverage, say Max Louik and David Ledet at Reed Smith.

• Why Pausing CFPB Small Biz Lending Rule May Be Prudent

  

  The plaintiffs in the recently filed Texas Bankers Association v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are requesting a stay of the CFPB's expanded reporting requirements for small business loan applications — a wise option in light of the pending U.S. Supreme Court challenge to the agency's constitutionality, say P. Russell Perdew and Louis Manetti at Locke Lord.

• 6th Circ. FLSA Class Opt-In Ruling Levels Field For Employers

  

  By rejecting the established approach for determining whether other employees are similarly situated to the original plaintiffs in a Fair Labor Standards Act suit, the Sixth Circuit in Clark v. A&L Homecare reshaped the balance of power in favor of employer-defendants in FLSA collective actions, say Melissa Kelly and Gregory Abrams at Tucker Ellis.

• Takeaways From Tribes' High Court Adoption Case Victory

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Haaland v. Brackeen, upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act, leaves the door open for individuals to bring equal protection claims, but generally bodes well for future tribal issues that reach the court, says Sarah Murray at Brownstein Hyatt.

• How Courts Are Treating SEC Disgorgement 3 Years After Liu

  

  Following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 Liu decision on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ability to seek equitable disgorgement of defendants' net profits, case law is veering significantly in the SEC's favor, and there are four key issues to follow, say Amy Jane Longo and Brooke Cohen at Ropes & Gray.

• 5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving

  

  Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.

• An Overview Of The Blockchain Patent Litigation Landscape

  

  There are now nearly 10,000 issued blockchain patents, and several cases have been filed that will affect the future of blockchain patent litigation, which may ultimately raise novel questions in patent law, say attorneys at Kramer Levin.

• Tofurky's Beef With La. Labeling Law Leaves Open Questions

  

  In Tofurky's recent challenge to a Louisiana law against intentionally misleading food claims, the Fifth Circuit sidestepped a central free-speech issue, but other courts may have to confront whether similar but more broadly worded statutes in meat-free labeling violate the First Amendment, say Henry Wainhouse and Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.

• 3 Abortion Enforcement Takeaways 1 Year After Dobbs

  

  A year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, confusion continues to abound amid the quagmire of state-level enforcement risks, federal efforts to protect reproductive health care, and fights over geolocation data, say Elena Quattrone and Sarah Hall at Epstein Becker.

• How States And Cities Are Responding To Biden EJ Efforts

  

  Recent developments in Chicago and Louisiana show different ways local and state regulators have reacted to the Biden administration's "whole-of-government" environmental justice efforts, and may test whether the administration's approach comports with legal precedents, says J. Michael Showalter at ArentFox Schiff.

• Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention

  

  The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.