Federal

Expert Analysis

• Tariffs And Trade Volatility Drove 2025 Bankruptcy Wave

  

  The Trump administration's tariff regime has reshaped the commercial restructuring landscape this year, with an increased number of bankruptcy filings showing how tariffs are influencing first‑day narratives, debtor-in-possession terms and case strategies, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

• AI Evidence Rule Tweaks Encourage Judicial Guardrails

  

  Recent additions to a committee note on proposed Rule of Evidence 707 — governing evidence generated by artificial intelligence — seek to mitigate potential dangers that may arise once machine outputs are introduced at trial, encouraging judges to perform critical gatekeeping functions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

• The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Getting The Message Across

  

  Communications and brand strategy during a law firm merger represent a crucial thread that runs through every stage of a combination and should include clear messaging, leverage modern marketing tools and embrace the chance to evolve, says Ashley Horne at Womble Bond.

• Horizontal Stare Decisis Should Not Be Casually Discarded

  

  Eliminating the so-called law of the circuit doctrine — as recently proposed by a Fifth Circuit judge, echoing Justice Neil Gorsuch’s concurrence in Loper Bright — would undermine public confidence in the judiciary’s independence and create costly uncertainty for litigants, says Lawrence Bluestone at Genova Burns.

• 10 Commandments For Agentic AI Tools In The Legal Industry

  

  Though agentic artificial intelligence has demonstrated significant promise for optimizing legal work, it presents numerous risks, so specific ethical obligations should be built into the knowledge base of every agentic AI tool used in the legal industry, says Steven Cordero at Akerman LLP.

• A Close Look At The Evolving Interval Fund Space

  

  Interval funds — closed-end registered investment companies that make periodic repurchase offers — have recently moved to the center of the conversation about retail access to private markets, spurred along by President Donald Trump's August executive order incorporating alternative assets into 401(k) plans and target date strategies, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• The Law Firm Merger Diaries: How To Build On Cultural Fit

  

  Law firm mergers should start with people, then move to strategy: A two-level screening that puts finding a cultural fit at the pinnacle of the process can unearth shared values that are instrumental to deciding to move forward with a combination, says Matthew Madsen at Harrison.

• Rare Tariff Authority May Boost US Battery Manufacturing

  

  Finalizing preliminary tariffs on active anode material from China — the result of a rare exercise of statutory authority finding that foreign dumping hampered the development of a nascent U.S. industry — should help domestic battery manufacturing, but potential price increases could discourage related clean-energy use, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

• Considerations When Invoking The Common-Interest Privilege

  

  To successfully leverage the common-interest doctrine in a multiparty transaction or complex litigation, practitioners should be able to demonstrate that the parties intended for it to apply, that an underlying privilege like attorney-client has attached, and guard against disclosures that could waive privilege and defeat its purpose, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

• The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Making The Case To Combine

  

  When making the decision to merge, law firm leaders must factor in strategic alignment, cultural compatibility and leadership commitment in order to build a compelling case for combining firms to achieve shared goals and long-term success, says Kevin McLaughlin at UB Greensfelder.

• What To Watch As NY LLC Transparency Act Is Stuck In Limbo

  

  Just about a month before it's set to take effect, the status of the New York LLC Transparency Act remains murky because of a pending amendment and the lack of recent regulatory attention in New York, but business owners should at least prepare for the possibility of having to comply, says Jonathan Wilson at Buchalter.

• Despite Deputy AG Remarks, DOJ Can't Sideline DC Bar

  

  Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s recent suggestion that the D.C. Bar would be prevented from reviewing misconduct complaints about U.S. Department of Justice attorneys runs contrary to federal statutes, local rules and decades of case law, and sends the troubling message that federal prosecutors are subject to different rules, say attorneys at HWG.

• 8th Circ. Decision Shipwrecks IRS On Shoals Of Loper Bright

  

  The Eighth Circuit’s recent decision invalidating transfer pricing regulations in 3M Co. v. Commissioner may be the most significant tax case implementing Loper Bright's rejection of agency deference as a judicial tool in statutory construction, says Edward Froelich at McDermott.