Expert Analysis

• Risk Reduction Lessons For PE Firms From PowerSchool Suit

  

  A California federal court's recent orders allowing claims against Bain Capital to proceed based on a data breach at its subsidiary PowerSchool indicate that private equity firms need to strategically approach acquisition activities to avoid cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

• Why Ultra-Processed Foods May Be The Next Big Mass Tort

  

  With multiple federal lawsuits filed already this year over the alleged harms caused by ultra-processed foods, and policymakers targeting UPFs for increasingly strict regulation, the sector exhibits the same structural characteristics identified historically in major mass torts, say Ruth Levy at Womble Bond and Elizabeth Epes at Financial Asset Recovery Analytics.

• Class Actions Have Entered The Fight Over Prediction Markets

  

  While disputes brought by states over the regulation of prediction markets have claimed most of the headlines, class actions brought by ordinary citizens, particularly in Kentucky and Massachusetts, represent another avenue to challenge the legality of the prediction markets themselves, says Laura Chiu at DarrowEverett.

• Series

  Founding An Autism Academy Made Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Starting a nonprofit autism school with no building, no funding model and no guarantee that families would trust us taught me the importance of mission, patience and purpose — lessons that sharpened my practice and showed how meaningful work outside the office can make lawyers better, says Phillip Russell at Ogletree Deakins.

• Why Private Sector Should Watch Gov't DEI Firing Class Bid

  

  Former federal employees' class certification attempt in Fell v. Trump is worth following, as their challenge of the Office of Personnel Management's elimination of DEI positions raises questions about commonality in employee classes and protections for nonminority advocacy that reach beyond the public sector, says Shaun Southworth at Southworth PC.

• Opinion

  Rule Of Law Requires Gov't Engagement With Bar, Not Retreat

  

  A federal agency's absence from national and local bar conferences, most recently illustrated by the U.S. Department of Justice's withdrawal from a New York City Bar Association white collar conference, disserves the bar, the government lawyers themselves and, ultimately, the administration of justice, says Muhammad Faridi at Linklaters.

• How Boards Can Shrink The AI Governance Gap

  

  While companies have overwhelmingly embraced artificial intelligence, most lack corresponding governance structures and director-level fluency to oversee these programs, highlighting the importance of board and executive supervision to keep pace with growing litigation risk, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

• The Paradoxical Duty To Adopt AI When You Can't Bill For It

  

  Both billing for hours saved using artificial intelligence and preserving billable time by not adopting AI may violate rules of professional conduct, but until bar associations' ethics rules catch up to this emerging economic dilemma, firms must decide how to adjust fee structures themselves, says Ines Lassalle at Peyrot & Associates.

• Economic Questions To Ask Amid Tariff Refund Class Actions

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent holding that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act doesn't authorize the president to impose tariffs has sparked class actions, but determining whether a retailer received a windfall is complex, even if it passed tariff costs into consumer prices before receiving a refund, say economists at Ankura Consulting Group.

• How A Founder's AI Pitch Deck Can Become A Crime Scene

  

  As recent indictments and prosecutions against tech executives illustrate, AI washing is a criminal enforcement priority, not a regulatory formality, highlighting the importance of ensuring that founders don't overstate what their artificial intelligence does, particularly in the initial pitch deck to investors, says attorney Alan N. Walter.

• New State AI Laws Create Dual Misrepresentation Risk

  

  As artificial intelligence transparency laws are enacted across the country and the volume and specificity of compliance records increase, companies will be required to speak more often, more precisely and to more audiences about the same systems, compounding the risk of litigation, say attorneys at Cooley.

• Series

  Cow Horse Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Moving an unwilling 800-pound cow while riding a horse at high speed is exhilarating, a little unhinged and, at least for me, a surprisingly effective training ground for litigation — both demand focus, preparation over rigid planning and the willingness to act despite fear, says Ashley Zitrin at Glenn Agre.

• Fla. Driver Ruling Shows Renewed Focus On Privacy Standing

  

  A Florida federal court's recent dismissal of a class action alleging that private driving records had been improperly used in violation of the Driver's Privacy Protection Act suggests that companies defending against privacy class actions in Florida may reconsider Article III challenges at the dismissal stage, say attorneys at Sidley.

• PowerSchool Data Breach Ruling Underscores PE Liability

  

  The recent California federal court decision in PowerSchool, where Bain Capital was unable to dismiss claims relating to a data breach based in part on Bain's preinvestment activities, is an important addition to the line of cases addressing investor liability for acts of a portfolio company, says Mark Kelley at MoloLamken.

• Operational AI Washing: The Next Frontier Of Fiduciary Risk

  

  While there are still no final Delaware decisions applying Caremark specifically to artificial intelligence governance failures, previous case law provides a blueprint, so the question for boards is whether their governance architectures will satisfy Caremark when the first cases are decided, say attorneys at Akerman.