Expert Analysis

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  The Biz Court Digest: Shoring Up Corporate Law In Maryland

  

  Launched more than 20 years ago to improve complex corporate adjudication, Maryland's Business and Technology Case Management Program has been a solid success in some areas, but there always is room for improvement, says Bill Krulak at Miles & Stockbridge.

• How End Of SEC 'Gag Rule' Affects Free Speech Certiorari Bid

  

  The Securities and Exchange Commission's recent rescission of the so-called gag rule, which forbade defendants in settlements from denying the SEC’s allegations, may sway the outcome of a petition to the Supreme Court in a case challenging the rule on First Amendment grounds, say attorneys at Troutman.

• 2nd Circ.'s Embedded Video Ruling May Protect Publishers

  

  The Second Circuit's recent decision in Richardson v. Townsquare, dismissing an infringement claim arising from an embedding of a YouTube-hosted interview, reaffirms a potent defense for publishers who regularly use social media platforms' embed functionality, says Amanda Harris at Jassy Vick.

• Product-Or-Content Question Is Pivotal In AI Litigation

  

  A growing range of civil cases against OpenAI address the question of whether the output of a generative artificial intelligence system is a product, subject to traditional tort doctrine, or third-party content — and the framing courts adopt will shape software liability well beyond AI, says David Meldofsky at Lawsuit Informer.

• Citron Founder Verdict Tests Reach Of 'Half-Truth' Fraud

  

  A California federal jury's conviction this week of Citron founder Andrew Left may be remembered less as a conventional manipulation prosecution than as a case about how far the "half-truth" doctrine can reach when applied to modern market speech, says Elisha Kobre at Sheppard.

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  Competing At Poker Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Playing poker in male-dominated rooms taught me to treat skepticism as background noise when my opponents seem to underestimate me, to apply pressure when it matters and to adapt without losing strategic discipline — skills that are all indispensable in restructuring and insolvency matters, says Alexis Gambale at Pashman Stein.

• FTC Sweep Signals Increased 'Made In USA' Claim Scrutiny

  

  After the Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement sweep targeting allegedly deceptive "Made in USA" claims, companies should expect continued scrutiny of both traditional and digital marketing channels, coupled with sustained focus on supply chain transparency and claim substantiation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Revisiting TransUnion's Underused Standing Rule, 5 Years On

  

  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' recent use of the U.S. Supreme Court’s now five-year-old TransUnion v. Ramirez rule specifying that the "mere risk of future harm" isn't concrete enough to support a damages claim presents an opportunity to revisit this underutilized standing rule, say attorneys at Horvitz & Levy.

• 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.

• Retailer Risk Reduction Tips As Email Marketing Suits Surge

  

  Amid a flood of email marketing lawsuits following last year's Washington Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Old Navy, retailers seeking to avoid high litigation costs can take several steps to reduce risks by focusing on their email subject lines advertising sales, says Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye.

• Calif. Ruling Lowers Bar For Health Data Breach Claims

  

  The California Supreme Court's ruling in J.M. v. Illuminate Education offers protection for non-healthcare companies that maintain health-related data but also adopts a new and more plaintiff-favorable standard for breach of confidentiality that companies maintaining any health-related data should address, say attorneys at Cooley.

• How Gambling Cos. Can Defend 'Addictive Design' Suits

  

  Following the recent wave of addictive design litigation against video game companies and social media platforms, it appears that the gambling industry may soon face similar claims — but operators may have stronger legal defenses available to them, say attorneys at White & Case.

• 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.

• Musk-OpenAI Verdict Shows Value Of Early-Stage Governance

  

  A California federal court's ruling last week in Musk v. Altman preserves the status quo at OpenAI, but signals to the technology industry at large that courts will not relitigate the governance decisions of early-stage organizations on a founder's competitive timetable, surfacing questions that will outlast the litigation, says attorney Alan N. Walter.