Expert Analysis

• Why DOE Isn't Phasing Out Appliance Efficiency Regs

  

  While the U.S. Department of Energy recently acted on President Donald Trump's 2025 executive order requiring it to consider sunsetting many energy regulations, the DOE has not proposed phasing out efficiency standards for appliances and industrial equipment — but it could pursue other approaches to ease such requirements, say attorneys at HWG.

• Series

  Power To The Paralegals: Burnout As A Structural Problem

  

  Law firm leadership can best retain their paralegals not by encouraging self-care, but by seeking top-down structural solutions for the quiet proliferation of responsibilities and the vicarious exposure to client trauma that particularly drive burnout in this vital role, says Erika Sneeringer at Brockstedt Mandalas.

• A Framework For Volume Dispute Damages In Oil, Gas M&A

  

  With every major upstream oil and gas consolidation in recent years having resulted in minimum volume commitment disputes, experts testifying in such litigation must use a five-step framework for calculating lost profits that accounts for the option structure embedded in the contract, says Robert Foss at Hinds Feat Advisors.

• 8 Ways 2026's Market Divide Is Rewriting Real Estate Risk

  

  As construction activity increasingly concentrates in data centers, healthcare and other resilient sectors, real estate developers and their counsel in the second half of 2026 should consider earlier risk allocation and more protective contract terms, and expect greater pressure on labor, pricing and infrastructure, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

• Ill. Law Firm MSO Bill Clashes With Court Power, Ethics Rules

  

  An Illinois bill prohibiting law firms from certain business arrangements with management service organizations, sent to the governor for signature last week, encroaches upon the courts' constitutional powers and goes beyond the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct in regulating investment in law-related services, says Matthew O’Hara at Smith Gambrell.

• GHG Rescission Undermines State Climate Suit Preemption

  

  As the U.S. Supreme Court considers the fate of state climate litigation in Suncor Energy Inc. v. Boulder County, it must confront the fact that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rescission of its greenhouse gas endangerment finding has also removed the foundation for federal preemption of state climate suits, says attorney Gregg Goldfarb.

• Opinion

  State Courts Must Be Gatekeepers Of Expert Testimony

  

  Based on my experience in the state judiciary, emulating federal courts' role as gatekeepers of expert witness testimony would help state court judges maintain the appearance of impartiality and assist juries, thus enhancing the overall confidence people have in their justice system, says Lorie Gildea at Greenberg Traurig.

• Series

  Moshing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Entering a mosh pit is much like entering the practice of law — it is difficult, you have to know both the written and unwritten rules, and conduct yourself according to the expectations of each community, says Christopher Deubert at Constangy Brooks.

• Brief Iran Sanctions Pause Will Most Benefit Non-US Cos.

  

  Due to its short duration, the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s recently issued general license easing Iran sanctions will mostly benefit companies with preexisting commercial relationships involving Iranian petroleum, and is unlikely to mitigate overcompliance and de-risking behavior by U.S. and foreign financial institutions, says Michelle Roberts at Berliner Corcoran.

• Okla. Reforms Will Curb Oil, Gas Royalty Litigation Risk

  

  Recent amendments to Oklahoma's Production Revenue Standards Act — the most comprehensive in decades — raise the stakes for true noncompliance with the state's oil and gas royalty payment framework, while offering operators clearer rules, defined interest boundaries and predictable exits from prolonged suspense situations, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

• Why Highly Specialized Experts May Risk Exclusion At Trial

  

  Expert witnesses with highly specific areas of focus may be vulnerable to exclusion in court, making it important for attorneys to check how potential witnesses' qualifications can be bolstered by their publications and other professional activities, say Evan Weisberg and Christopher Cunio at Hunton, and Kevin Cahill at FTI Consulting.

• How NEPA Review Has Changed Since Seven County

  

  A year after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County instituted major changes to judicial review under the National Environmental Policy Act, courts are effectively applying the decision, but where things go from here may be up to agencies and project proponents, say attorneys at Venable.

• A Midyear Look At Antiterrorism Act Jurisprudence And Policy

  

  Plaintiffs have filed comparably fewer new actions under the Antiterrorism Act this year, though a handful of key decisions further defined the statute’s aiding-and-abetting standard and highlighted continuing risks for financial services companies, say attorneys at Skadden.

• What NERC Reliability Guideline Means For Large Loads

  

  The North American Electric Reliability Corporation's new reliability guideline — which addresses issues associated with large loads like data centers, cryptocurrency mining facilities and factories — is nonbinding, but hints at possible future expansion of reliability obligations for large load owners, operators, developers and equipment providers, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Drawing A Line Between Settlement Pressure And Extortion

  

  U.S. v. Luo, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, may force courts to address anew when settlement negotiations become criminal extortion, particularly in the age of easily fabricated digital evidence, says attorney Denis Kiely.