Expert Analysis

• CFPB As Pay App Watchdog May Invite More Fintech Regs

  

  While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent proposal to enhance federal oversight of the biggest consumer payment applications would impose no new regulatory obligations, the rulemaking could provoke heightened scrutiny for all participants in the digital payments market, say attorneys at Steptoe.

• Emerging Risks Affecting The Tech Legal Landscape

  

  The tech industry has become a battleground for various legal challenges shaped by geopolitical events, partisan politics, regulatory initiatives, patent disputes and class action trends, but companies can adopt several proactive legal strategies to safeguard their interests, say Natasha Allen and Louis Lehot at Foley & Lardner.

• 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024

  

  Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

• 5 Securities Litigation Issues To Watch In 2024

  

  There is yet another exciting year ahead for securities litigation, starting with the U.S. Supreme Court hearing argument next week in a case presenting a key securities class action question that has eluded review for the last eight years, say attorneys at Willkie.

• Unpacking NIST's Guidance On Genomic Data Cybersecurity

  

  The National Institute of Standards and Technology's final internal report on cybersecurity of genomic data highlights unique concerns associated with the use of such data and provides strong recommendations for risk management, though one area of the report may cause some confusion, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• A Look At Consumer Reporting In 2023, And What's To Come

  

  The legal landscape of consumer reporting is evolving as courts, federal regulators and state legislatures continue to weigh in — and while last year may have seen a slight downtick in the overall volume of Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation, 2024 is set to be a watershed year for this area of the law, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

• What To Know About FCA Cybersecurity Enforcement

  

  Now is a good time for practitioners, government contractors and potential relators to review recent developments in cybersecurity-related False Claims Act enforcement, and consider best practices for navigating this space in the new year, say Ellen London at London & Stout, and Li Yu and Molly Knobler at DiCello Levitt.

• 8 Privacy Law Predictions For 2024

  

  As the new year begins, looking back to several of last year's privacy law developments may help companies forecast what to focus on when updating their privacy programs, including children's privacy, so-called dark patterns and the collection of data by connected cars, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

• 4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year

  

  As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.

• FTC Rite Aid Order Holds Biometrics And AI Compliance Tips

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement action against Rite Aid over its use of facial biometric technology on customers provides lessons that can be leveraged to reduce and manage the risk of regulatory scrutiny of biometrics and artificial intelligence, says David Oberly at Baker Donelson.

• Series

  In The CFPB Playbook: Rulemaking Rush Before Election Year

  

  In this quarterly Consumer Financial Protection Bureau activity recap by former bureau personnel, attorneys at McGuireWoods explain the regulator's recent push to finalize new rules about data aggregators, digital payment apps and more before the election-year Congressional Review Act window opens.

• Ill. BIPA Ruling May Spark Violation-Of-Law Exclusion Fight

  

  An Illinois appeals court's recent holding in National Fire Insurance v. Visual Pak that a violation-of-law exclusion didn't preclude coverage for an underlying Biometric Information Privacy Act suit contradicts an earlier Seventh Circuit decision that aligns with long-standing insurance law principles — which may lead the state's high court to weigh in, says Tae Andrews at Pasich.

• 5 Privacy And Cybersecurity Resolutions For 2024

  

  In 2023, companies grappled with an unprecedented array of data privacy and cybersecurity challenges that are likely to continue in 2024, meaning businesses will be well-served to incorporate strategies, such as data governance and website configuration, into their compliance programs, say Steven Stransky at Thompson Hine and Violet Sullivan at Crum & Forster.

• What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

  

  As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

• 4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

  

  Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.