Expert Analysis

• Series

  Creating Botanical Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Pressing and framing plants that I grow has shown me that pursuing an endeavor that brings you joy can lead to surprising benefits for a legal career, including mental clarity, perspective and even a bit of humility, says Douglas Selph at Morris Manning.

• 2 Circuit Court Rulings Offer A Class Certification Primer

  

  Two recent decisions from the Third and Sixth Circuits provide guidance on the rigorous analysis of predominance that courts might require for class certification, and insights into how defendants might oppose or narrow potential class actions, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

• Del. Dispatch: Conflicted Transactions And New Safe Harbors

  

  Two recent Delaware Court of Chancery decisions involving conflicted transactions underscore that the new safe harbors established by the Delaware General Corporation Law amendments passed in March, going forward, provide a far easier route to business judgment review of conflicted transactions than were previously available, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• Opinion

  Privacy Bill Must Be Amended To Protect Small Businesses

  

  While a bill recently passed by the California Senate would exempt a company's use of legally compliant website advertising and tracking technologies from the California Invasion of Privacy Act, it must be amended to adequately protect small businesses, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

• Opinion

  The Legal Education Status Quo Is No Longer Tenable

  

  As underscored by the fallout from California’s February bar exam, legal education and licensure are tethered to outdated systems, and the industry must implement several key reforms to remain relevant and responsive to 21st century legal needs, says Matthew Nehmer at The Colleges of Law.

• What Dismissal Rulings May Mean For ERISA Forfeiture Cases

  

  Following an influx of Employee Retirement Income Security Act class actions challenging the long-standing practice of plan sponsors using plan forfeitures to offset employer contributions, recent motion to dismiss rulings and a U.S. Department of Labor amicus brief may encourage more courts to reject plaintiffs' forfeiture theories, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

• E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Relevance Redactions

  

  In recent cases addressing redactions that parties sought to apply based on the relevance of information — as opposed to considerations of privilege — courts have generally limited a party’s ability to withhold nonresponsive or irrelevant material, providing a few lessons for discovery strategy, say attorneys at Sidley.

• Opinion

  Section 1983 Has Promise After End Of Nationwide Injunctions

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the practice of nationwide injunctions in Trump v. Casa, Section 1983 civil rights suits can provide a better pathway to hold the government accountable — but this will require reforms to qualified immunity, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.

• What To Know About NCAA Deal's Arbitration Provisions

  

  Kathryn Hester at Jones Walker discusses the key dispute resolution provisions of the NCAA's recently approved class action settlement that allows for complex revenue sharing with college athletes, breaking down the arbitration stipulations and explaining how the Northern District of California will handle certain enforcement, administration, implementation and interpretation disputes.

• Series

  Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

• And Now A Word From The Panel: Back In Action

  

  A lack of new petitions at the May hearing session of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation caught many observers' attention — but a rapid uptick in petitions scheduled to be heard at this week's session illustrates how panel activity always ebbs and flows, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Learning From Failure

  

  While law school often focuses on the importance of precision, correctness and perfection, mistakes are inevitable in real-world practice — but failure is not the opposite of progress, and real talent comes from the ability to recover, rethink and reshape, says Brooke Pauley at Tucker Ellis.

• Midyear Rewind: How Courts Are Reshaping VPPA Standards

  

  The first half of 2025 saw a series of cases interpreting the Video Privacy Protection Act as applied to website tracking technologies, including three appellate rulings deepening circuit splits on what qualifies as personally identifiable information and who qualifies as a consumer under the statute, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

• Lessons On Parallel Settlements From Vanguard Class Action

  

  A Pennsylvania federal judge’s unexpected denial of a proposed $40 million settlement of an investor class action against Vanguard highlights key factors parties should consider when settlement involves both regulators and civil plaintiffs, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• Series

  Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw

  

  As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.