Expert Analysis

• FCA Can Be An Effective Tool For Fighting Customs Fraud

  

  Appeals pending before the U.S. Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit may affect the scienter and jurisdictional aspects of False Claims Act cases alleging customs fraud, which can provide an avenue to alert U.S. Customs and Border Protection and potentially help clients to recover losses from unfair competitors, say Ellen London at London & Stout and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Li Yu.

• Some Client Speculations On AI And The Law Firm Biz Model

  

  Generative artificial intelligence technologies will put pressure on the business of law as it is structured currently, but clients may end up with more price certainty for legal services, and lawyers may spend more time being lawyers, says Jonathan Cole at Melody Capital.

• What's New In NIST Revised Sensitive Info Security Guidelines

  

  The National Institute of Standards and Technology's recently released draft of revised guidelines for government contractors and other entities handling sensitive unclassified federal information includes changes to enhance the specificity and user-friendliness of existing controls, but there is room for improvement, says Adam Briscoe at Bass Berry.

• A Lawyer's Guide To Approaching Digital Assets In Discovery

  

  The booming growth of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens has made digital assets relevant in many legal disputes but also poses several challenges for discovery, so lawyers must garner an understanding of the technology behind these assets, the way they function, and how they're held, says Brett Sager at Ehrenstein Sager.

• Opinion

  High Court's Ethics Statement Places Justices Above The Law

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court justices' disappointing statement on the court's ethics principles and practices reveals that not only are they satisfied with a status quo in which they are bound by fewer ethics rules than other federal judges, but also that they've twisted the few rules that do apply to them, says David Janovsky at the Project on Government Oversight.

• G7 Russia Restrictions May Further Complicate Compliance

  

  New sanctions and export controls announced at the G7 summit targeting parties that help Russia circumvent existing restrictions signal continued multilateral commitment to intensifying economic pressure on Russia, and underscore the increasing compliance challenges for companies that pursue Russia-related opportunities, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• Opinion

  Time For Law Schools To Rethink Unsung Role Of Adjuncts

  

  As law schools prepare for the fall 2023 semester, administrators should reevaluate the role of the underappreciated, indispensable adjunct, and consider 16 concrete actions to improve the adjuncts' teaching experience, overall happiness and feeling of belonging, say T. Markus Funk at Perkins Coie, Andrew Boutros at Dechert and Eugene Volokh at UCLA.

• What The Justices' Questions Signify For FCA Compliance

  

  Whatever the outcome of two False Claims Act cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, the justices' questions during recent oral arguments indicate that government contractors should take certain steps to ensure their compliance programs are demonstrably active and adaptable, say Holly Butler and Rebecca Fallk at Miles & Stockbridge.

• Justices Curb Fraud Theories, But That May Not Deter Feds

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s opinions last week in Ciminelli v. U.S. and Percoco v. U.S. are the latest in a line of rulings aiming to limit the wire fraud statute’s application to state public corruption cases, but federal prosecutors will probably continue pursuing such cases using different charging language and other laws, says ​​​​​​​Alison Anderson at Boies Schiller.

• Tips For In-House Legal Leaders In A Challenging Economy

  

  Amid today's economic and geopolitical uncertainty, in-house legal teams are running lean and facing increased scrutiny and unique issues, but can step up and find innovative ways to manage outcomes and capitalize on good business opportunities, says Tim Parilla at LinkSquares.

• What Associates Need To Know Before Switching Law Firms

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  The days of staying at the same firm for the duration of one's career are mostly a thing of the past as lateral moves by lawyers are commonplace, but there are several obstacles that associates should consider before making a move, say attorneys at HWG.

• Opinion

  Radical Reform Is Needed So Small Biz Can Better Assist DOD

  

  A recent U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing was a good first step in identifying national security implications of barriers to entry for small businesses selling to the U.S. Department of Defense, but the DOD and Congress must keep up momentum to prevent small business participation from declining further, says Jessica Lehman at Verizon.

• A Case For Sharing Mediation Statements With Counterparties

  

  In light of a potential growing mediation trend of only submitting statements to the mediator, litigants should think critically about the pros and cons of exchanging statements with opposing parties as it could boost the chances of reaching a settlement, says Arthur Eidelhoch at Eidelhoch Mediation.

• Recent DOJ Setback Unlikely To Shift Labor Antitrust Focus

  

  A Connecticut federal judge's recent toss of an aerospace no-poach prosecution in a rare Rule 29 order is unlikely to derail the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's ongoing efforts to criminally prosecute conduct affecting workers' compensation and job mobility, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

• Preparing For Legal Scrutiny Of Data Retention Policies

  

  Two recent cases involving Google and Meta should serve as a call to action for companies to ensure their data retention policies are updated and properly implemented to the degree of being able to withstand judicial scrutiny, especially as more data is generated by emerging technologies, say Jack Kallus and Labeed Choudhry at Kaufman Dolowich.