Expert Analysis

• Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind

  

  As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.

• Key Insurance Issues Likely To Arise From NY Superfund Law

  

  The recently enacted New York Climate Change Superfund Act imposes a massive $75 billion in liabilities on energy companies in the fossil fuel industry, which can be expected to look to their insurers for coverage, raising a slew of coverage issues both old and new, say attorneys at Wiley.

• How Trump Policies Are Affecting The Right To Repair

  

  Recent policy changes by the second Trump administration — ranging from deregulatory initiatives to tariff increases — are likely to have both positive and negative effects on the ability of independent repair shops and individual consumers to exercise their right to repair electronic devices, say attorneys at Carter Ledyard.

• How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence

  

  As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.

• Series

  Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

• DOJ Immigration Playbook May Take Cues From A 2017 Case

  

  A record criminal resolution with a tree trimming company accused of knowingly employing unauthorized workers in 2017 may provide clues as to how the U.S. Department of Justice’s immigration crackdown will touch American companies, which should prepare now for potential enforcement actions, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

• NM Case Shows Power Of Environmental Public Nuisance Law

  

  A recent ruling from a New Mexico appeals court finding that a pattern of environmental violations, even without any substantial impact on a nearby community, can trigger nuisance liability — including potential damages and injunctive relief — has important implications for regulated entities in the state, says Kaleb Brooks at Spencer Fane.

• Series

  Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

  

  Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

• Opinion

  After Fires, Calif. Must Streamline Enviro Reviews For Housing

  

  Recent waivers to the California Environmental Quality Act and other laws granted by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to expedite reconstruction of residential property damaged in the Los Angeles wildfires are laudable — but given the state's widespread housing shortage, policymakers should extend the same benefits to other communities, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

• State Securities Enforcers May Fill A Federal Enforcement Gap

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appears poised to take a lighter touch under the new administration, but state enforcement efforts are likely to continue unabated, and potentially even increase, particularly with regard to digital assets and ESG disclosures, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• Perfecting Security Interests In Renewable Energy Tax Credits

  

  The ability to transfer renewable energy tax credits has created new opportunities for developers, investors and lenders, but it also raises important questions regarding when and how the security interests in these credits are perfected — questions that must be answered definitively to protect credit claims and transactions, says Harry Teichman at Stinson.

• Firms Still Have Lateral Market Advantage, But Risks Persist

  

  Partner and associate mobility data from the fourth quarter of 2024 shows that we’re in a new, stable era of lateral hiring where firms have the edge, but leaders should proceed cautiously, looking beyond expected revenue and compensation analyses for potential risks, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

• Opinion

  We Must Allow Judges To Use Their Independent Judgment

  

  As two recent cases show, the ability of judges to access their independent judgment crucially enables courts to exercise the discretion needed to reach the right outcome based on the unique facts within the law, says John Siffert at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

• High Court Water Permit Ruling Lacks Specificity

  

  The enforcement impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in San Francisco v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may not be significant, because while the ruling makes clear that certain water permit provisions must instruct permittees on how to achieve stated goals, it doesn’t clarify the level of necessary instruction, says Daniel Deeb at ArentFox Schiff.

• The PFAS Causation Question Is Far From Settled

  

  In litigation over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the general causation question — whether the type of PFAS concerned is actually capable of causing disease — often receives little attention, but the scientific evidence around this issue is far from conclusive, and is a point worth raising by defense counsel, says John Gardella at CMBG3 Law.