Expert Analysis

• Structuring Water Agreements For Data Center Development

  

  For developers of artificial intelligence data centers, water use is now a threshold feasibility and financing variable amid a regulatory landscape with a state-driven push for transparency and federal push to streamline pathways for AI-related infrastructure, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

• What Cos. Must Know About Pa.'s Proposed Data Center Regs

  

  Under Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's new proposal to balance hyperscale data center infrastructure with grid stability, water resources and community transparency, businesses in the state face a strategic choice: wait for binding requirements to emerge, or proactively align projects with the standards now, say Wade Stephens and Sasha Burton at Langsam Stevens.

• Lessons From Justices' Split On Major Questions Doctrine

  

  The justices' varied opinions in Learning Resources v. Trump, which held the International Emergency Economy Powers Act did not confer the power to impose tariffs, offer a meaningful window into the U.S. Supreme Court's perspective on the major questions doctrine that will likely shape lower courts' approach to executive action challenges, say attorneys at Venable.

• Resilience Planning As Nat'l Security Shifts Tech Import Policy

  

  In response to a sustained reorientation of U.S. trade policy around national security considerations, businesses reliant on processed critical minerals must closely monitor diplomatic negotiations and the potential expansion of trade measures, incorporating contingency planning into procurement and long-term investment strategies, says attorney Sohan Dasgupta.

• Proposed DOL Rule Could Simplify Contractor Classification

  

  If the U.S. Department of Labor's recently proposed rule governing employee versus independent contractor classification is finalized, it would permit energy sector employers to evaluate the nature of the working relationship with a more straightforward and predictable analysis than the 2024 rule's unweighted test, say attorneys at Bracewell.

• How The New Tariff Landscape May Unfold

  

  To replace tariffs formerly imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the administration will rely on a patchwork of statutes, potentially leading to procedural challenges and a complex tariff landscape with varying levels, durations and applicability, says Joseph Grossman-Trawick at King & Spalding.

• 2nd Circ. Kazakh Ruling Clarifies RICO Rule, FSIA Exception

  

  The Second Circuit's recent Yerkyn v. Yakovlevich ruling, dismissing a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claim, demonstrates that RICO's domestic injury requirement is a merits question, and reaffirms the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act's commercial activity exception, says Brant Kuehn at Greenspoon Marder.

• Series

  Volunteering With Scouts Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Serving as an assistant scoutmaster for my son’s troop reaffirmed several skills and principles crucial to lawyering — from the importance of disconnecting to the value of morality, says Michael Warren at McManis Faulkner.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: In Court, It's About Storytelling

  

  Law school provides doctrine, cases and hypotheticals, but when lawyers step into the courtroom, they must learn the importance of clarity, credibility, memorability and preparation — in other words, how to tell simple, effective stories, say Nicholas Steverson and Danielle Trujillo at Wheeler Trigg, and Lisa DeCaro at Courtroom Performance.

• What's Changed In Army Corps' Reissued Nationwide Permits

  

  The final rule recently issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, renewing and revising nationwide permits for projects covered by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, makes measured adjustments rather than sweeping revisions, addressing key operational and compliance concerns while maintaining the existing framework, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

• Parsing Clarifications On Foreign Entity Rules For Tax Credits

  

  Recent U.S. Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department guidance answers taxpayer questions on several key foreign entity rules under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but questions remain over transactions with companies that have ties to covered nations such as Iran, say attorneys at Cleary.

• Aligning Microsoft Tools With NYC Bar AI Recording Guidance

  

  The New York City Bar Association’s recently issued formal opinion, providing ethical guidance on artificial intelligence-assisted recording, transcription and summarization, raises immediate questions about data governance and e-discovery for companies that use Microsoft 365 and Copilot, say Staci Kaliner, Martin Tully and John Collins at Redgrave.

• 11th Circ. NextEra Ruling Broadens Loss Causation Standard

  

  The Eleventh Circuit's recent Jastram v. NextEra Energy decision significantly expands the loss causation standard at the motion-to-dismiss stage and may lead to suits predicated on more tenuous connections between company disclosures and alleged misstatements, say attorneys at Sidley.

• Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons

  

  In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four recent rulings from January and identifies practice tips from cases involving allegations of violations of consumer fraud regulations, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, employment law and breach of contract statutes.

• Preferred Equity Monetizations Unlock Energy Tax Credits

  

  As private capital funds more energy and infrastructure projects, preferred equity monetization structures — combining elements of tax credit transfers and tax equity partnership-flip transactions with hybrid capital structures — can help project sponsors monetize federal tax credits, access private capital markets and gain structuring flexibility, say attorneys at Willkie.