Expert Analysis

• A Texas Ruling May Offer Guidance On Freight Broker Liability

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport removed federal preemption defenses to freight broker negligent-selection claims, and a July verdict in Texas against C.H. Robinson raised further questions about how brokers can achieve compliance — but another recent Texas decision involving Home Depot may offer some answers, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

• Time Is On Payment Processors' Side As Deal Dynamics Shift

  

  As payment processors increasingly use timing and volume to gain leverage, merchants should negotiate payment processing agreements well before renewal or migration deadlines, ensuring proper benchmarking, reserve, data, termination and transition terms are in place, says James Alexander at Reed Smith.

• How Boards, Lenders Can View ABC Bankruptcy Alternative

  

  The broader adoption of the Uniform Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors Act, including Delaware's recent statute, gives boards and lenders a clearer framework for a familiar middle-market problem: companies too small to justify Chapter 11 economics but too complex for an unmanaged shutdown, says Jon Labovitz at Sherwood.

• How FTC's $20B Amazon Suit May Shake Up Ad Enforcement

  

  Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye discusses the significance of the Federal Trade Commission's recent suit against Amazon for allegedly overcharging advertising customers more than $20 billion, the company's potential defenses, and the context of rapidly evolving digital advertising technology.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Cultivating Good Judgment

  

  Law schools generally overlook the role that solid judgment skills play in real-world practice, but attorneys can bridge the gap by strengthening their abilities to assess a case’s strengths and weaknesses, develop and execute effective strategies, and provide clear recommendations to clients, says Manny Caixeiro at Venable.

• Attorneys Using AI May Have Ethical Duty To Redact Docs

  

  The trajectory of legal ethics guidance in recent years strongly suggests that as redaction technology becomes more accessible, the failure to use it when uploading highly confidential materials into artificial intelligence tools will become increasingly difficult to defend as reasonable, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.

• What Bulk-Power Gear Import EO Means For US Energy Cos.

  

  Though President Donald Trump's recent executive order restricting imports of foreign-produced bulk-power system electrical equipment imposes no immediate obligations on private parties, stakeholders can take near-term steps to mitigate supply chain and contractual risks, as much of the order's ultimate impact will depend on implementing regulations, say attorneys at Orrick.

• Voyager Ruling Maps Out Ch. 11 Exculpation Lessons

  

  Chapter 11 plan proponents drafting exculpation provisions may benefit from contrasting the exculpatory language recently invalidated by a New York federal court in the Voyager Digital Holdings case with successful recent use of these provisions in confirmed bankruptcy plans, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• Series

  Juggling And Unicycling Make Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Because I juggle (sometimes with fire) and ride the unicycle, friends and family used to joke that I should join the circus, but I pursued the practice of law instead and learned that my hobbies benefit my profession in several important ways, says Morgan Eddy at Smith Currie.

• SVB Parent's Claim Loss To FDIC Bears Bond Wording Lesson

  

  A North Carolina federal court’s recent ruling that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., as receiver for the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, solely owns a $73 million fraud claim illustrates why parent financial institutions should scrutinize joint assured provisions in fidelity bonds to prevent a failed subsidiary's covered losses going to a receiver, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

• Deal Termination Lessons From Verisk Merger Review Ruling

  

  The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent ruling that Verisk Analytics forfeited its right to terminate a deal that was facing a second information request from the Federal Trade Commission illustrates the danger of information gaps between client and counsel and the risks of "willful conduct" language in merger agreements, say attorneys at HSF Kramer.

• Prepping Health Businesses For Sale In A Data-Driven Market

  

  In a thinner market for healthcare transactions, with both regulators and buyers using artificial intelligence to inspect data in great detail, the margin for error in sellers' financials and legal diligence has narrowed, requiring more proactive compliance efforts, says Cody Dumas at FBFK Law.

• Series

  Ballet Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  A lifetime of learning and performing ballet taught me that success — whether in dance or practicing law — comes only through hours of thorough preparation, boundless energy and relentless effort, says Sharon Katz-Pearlman at Greenberg Traurig.

• Using CFIUS' New Risk Matrix And Mitigation Guidance

  

  The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' national security matrix and related mitigation guidance provides a common vocabulary for allocating regulatory and mitigation risk in transaction documents, and may help focus any discussions with the agency, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• Calif. Ruling Opens Del. Cos. Up To Stockholder Inspection

  

  A California appellate court's recent decision in Salamon v. Orchid Global underscores that despite last year's amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, Delaware companies with principal operations in California remain subject to California's broader and more stockholder-protective inspection regime, say attorneys at Sheppard.