Expert Analysis

• Courts Redefining Software As Product Generates New Risks

  

  A recent wave of litigation against social media platforms, chatbot developers and ride-hailing companies has some courts straying from the traditional view of software as a service to redefining software as a product, with significant implications for strict liability exposure, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• Trump's 2nd Term Puts Merger Remedies Back On The Table

  

  In contrast with the Biden administration, the second Trump administration has signaled a renewed willingness to resolve merger enforcement concerns through remedies from the outset, particularly when the proposed fix is structural, clearly addresses the harm and does not require burdensome oversight, say attorneys at Cooley.

• Why Bank Regulators' Proposed Leverage Tweak Matters

  

  Banking agencies' recent proposal to modify the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio framework applicable to the largest U.S. banks shows the regulators are keen to address concerns that the regulatory capital framework is too restrictive, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

• Corp. Human Rights Regulatory Landscape Is Fragmented

  

  Given the complexity of compliance with nations' overlapping human rights laws, multinational companies need to be cognizant of the evolving approaches to modern slavery transparency, and proposals that could reduce mandatory due diligence and reporting requirements, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• How Banks Can Harness New Customer ID Rule's Flexibility

  

  Banking regulators' update to the customer identification process, allowing banks to collect some information from third parties rather than directly from customers, helps modernize anti-money laundering compliance and carries advantages for financial institutions that embrace the new approach, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

• CEQA Reform May Spur More Housing, But Devil Is In Details

  

  A recently enacted law reforming the California Environmental Quality Act has been touted by state leaders as a fix for the state's housing crisis — but provisions including a new theoretically optional traffic mitigation fee could offset any potential benefits, says attorney David Smith.

• Opinion

  Premerger Settlements Don't Meet Standard For Bribery

  

  Claims that Paramount’s decision to settle a lawsuit with President Donald Trump while it was undergoing a premerger regulatory review amounts to a quid pro quo misconstrue bribery law and ignore how modern legal departments operate, says Ediberto Román at the Florida International University College of Law.

• Texas Med Spas Must Prepare For 2 New State Laws

  

  Two new laws in Texas — regulating elective intravenous therapy and reforming healthcare noncompetes — mark a pivotal shift in the regulatory framework for medical spas in the state, which must proactively adapt their operations and contractual practices, says Brad Cook at Munsch Hardt.

• What EPA Chemical Data Deadline Extension Means For Cos.

  

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's extension for manufacturers and importers of 16 chemical substances to report unpublished health and safety studies under the Toxic Substances Control Act could lead to state regulators stepping into the breach, while creating compliance risks and uncertainty for companies, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• Series

  Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

• How Trump Cybersecurity EO Narrows Biden-Era Standards

  

  President Donald Trump recently signed Executive Order No. 14306, which significantly narrows the scope and ambition of a Biden executive order focused on raising federal cybersecurity standards among federal vendors, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

• Forced Labor Bans Hold Steady Amid Shifts In Global Trade

  

  As businesses try to navigate shifting regulatory trends affecting human rights and sustainability, forced labor import bans present a zone of relative stability, notwithstanding outstanding questions about the future of enforcement, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• Grappling With Workforce-Related Immigration Enforcement

  

  To withstand the tightening of workforce-related immigration rules and the enforcement uptick we are seeing in the U.S. and elsewhere, companies must strike a balance between responding quickly to regulatory changes, and developing proactive strategies that minimize risk, say attorneys at Fragomen.

• Opinion

  The SEC Should Embrace Tokenized Equity, Not Strangle It

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should grant no-action relief to firms ready to pilot tokenized equity trading, not delay innovation by heeding protectionist industry arguments, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.

• Compliance Changes On Deck For Banks Under Texas AI Law

  

  Financial services companies, including banks and fintechs, should evaluate their artificial intelligence usage to prepare for Texas' newly passed law regulating AI governance, noting that the enforcement provisions provide for an affirmative defense to liability, say attorneys at Mitchell Sandler.