Expert Analysis

• 5 Things Associates Must Ask About Their Firm's Merger Plan

  

  The associates who navigate law firm mergers best ask the right questions early, such as inquiring about partners' plans, to assess how the merger could affect their workflow and career path, says Jackie Bokser-LeFebvre at Major Lindsey.

• 2 'Rocket Dockets' And The Rules That Propel Them

  

  The fastest civil trial courts in the country are currently in the Eastern District of Virginia and the Southern District of Florida, and their chief judges provide insights into the court rules that keep them ahead, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

• Operational AI Washing: Dismantling Claims Before Discovery

  

  Operational AI washing claims can be rebuffed before discovery extracts their true costs by turning the documentary record established in earnings calls and public disclosures into a layered defense, which can exploit the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act’s heightened pleading standards, say attorneys at Akerman.

• Employer Tips To Prepare For Va. Family And Medical Leave

  

  With Virginia's paid family and medical leave insurance program taking effect in two years, employers should develop processes for monitoring head count, coordinating with existing federal and state leave programs, and tracking intermittent leave, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

• Employer Tips For Navigating Tenn. Noncompete Law

  

  Although a new Tennessee law will limit the enforceability of noncompetes, including by categorically prohibiting them for lower-wage earners and establishing rebuttable presumptions on their duration, it also gives employers clearer guideposts for drafting enforceable agreements, say attorneys at Burr & Forman.

• Your Next Litigation Hold Should Cover AI Chat Logs

  

  The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent decision in Fortis Advisors v. Krafton to treat a CEO’s artificial intelligence chats as substantive evidence is being read as a discovery warning to litigators, but there is a second duty-to-preserve lesson that is especially pertinent to in-house counsel, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

• New Connecticut Law On Employers' AI Use Is Inventive

  

  A recently passed Connecticut law regulating the use of artificial intelligence in employment decisions innovates by using third-party risk assessments to vet and certify AI models, and by recognizing a division of responsibility between developers and deployers, potentially influencing pending legislation in other states, say attorneys at Littler.

• Series

  Studying Foreign Languages Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Studying Italian and Japanese has shown me that learning a new language can benefit a legal career in several ways, including by demonstrating the importance of approaching problems from a fresh perspective and the value of practicing patience with colleagues and clients, says Anna King at Genworth Financial.

• Mortgage Co. Ruling Shows Risks Of Broad Noncompetes

  

  The Federal Trade Commission and a Pennsylvania state court recently took actions against Mortgage Connect that demonstrate that overbroad noncompetes may not be worth the regulatory trouble they invite, especially amid heightened federal scrutiny, proliferating state restrictions and increasingly skeptical courts, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

• NIL Contracts Test Limits On College Football Transfers

  

  College football's new legal era of direct payments to players and fewer transfer restrictions has put contractual provisions in play, and stipulations such as termination clauses and repayment obligations require added scrutiny as the name, image and likeness system evolves, says Kevin Paule at Hill Ward Henderson.

• Operational AI Washing: Fortifying The Disclosure Record

  

  The same artificial intelligence-driven workforce narratives that once appeared in earnings calls and Form 8-Ks can easily become raw material for future operational AI washing claims, so companies must be careful when drafting public disclosures because winning a federal motion to dismiss starts months before a lawsuit is ever filed, say attorneys at Akerman.

• How The High Court Expanded Freight Broker Liability

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II that freight brokers may be liable for selecting unsafe motor carriers, the key question will be whether brokers used reasonable care in selecting a given motor carrier, with the concurring opinion offering some clues as to what reasonable care might look like, says Marc Blubaugh at Benesch.

• The Leeway And Limits Of DOL's Joint Employer Proposal

  

  A recent U.S. Department of Labor proposal would make joint employment harder to prove, giving employers more flexibility to add nonemployee labor without triggering shared liability, but businesses should be mindful that it likely won't affect state law tests or the standards that courts use, says Todd Lebowitz at BakerHostetler.

• 'Anderson Method' Ruling Shows Copyright Limits In Fitness

  

  The Ninth Circuit's ruling in Tracy Anderson Mind and Body v. Megan Roup, finding that sequences of exercises developed and recorded by Tracy Anderson were not copyrightable choreographic works, is a reminder that even highly creative fitness programming can fall outside the scope of copyright protection, says Meredith Bobber Strauss at Michelman & Robinson.

• Mitigating Risks Under New Pay Disclosure Laws In Maine, Va.

  

  To prepare for pay transparency laws that go into effect this summer in Maine and Virginia, employers should consider comprehensive audits of existing recruiting, compensation and recordkeeping practices — and be prepared to uncover disparities that create both legal and employee relations risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.