Expert Analysis

• How Payments Law Landscape Will Evolve In 2026

  

  After a year of change across the payments landscape, financial services providers should expect more innovation and the pushing of regulatory boundaries, but should stay mindful that state regulators and litigation will continue to challenge the status quo, say attorneys at Troutman.

• Opportunities Amid The Challenges Of Trump's BIS Shakeup

  

  The Trump administration’s continuing overhaul of the Bureau of Industry and Security has created enormous practical challenges for export compliance, but it potentially also offers a once-in-a-generation opening to advocate for simplifying and rationalizing U.S. export controls, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

• Series

  Hosting Exchange Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Opening my home to foreign exchange students makes me a better lawyer not just because prioritizing visiting high schoolers forces me to hone my organization and time management skills, but also because sharing the study-abroad experience with newcomers and locals reconnects me to my community, says Alison Lippa at Nicolaides Fink.

• Utilizing AI In Agriculture Requires A Strong IP Strategy

  

  As agricultural technology companies race to deploy artificial intelligence solutions at scale, it's important to prioritize the importance of intellectual property strategy early on to avoid losing value in a fast-moving landscape, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

• 4th Circ. Class Ruling Complicates Data Breaches For Biz

  

  The Fourth Circuit’s recent exclusion of data-breach victims from a putative class because their stolen information had not been made public further complicates how businesses should manage risk and incident response amid a growing circuit split over related questions of standing, says Brandon Hollinder at Epiq.

• How A 1947 Tugboat Ruling May Shape Work Product In AI Era

  

  Rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence test work-product principles first articulated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s nearly 80-year-old Hickman v. Taylor decision, as courts and ethics bodies confront whether disclosure of attorneys’ AI prompts and outputs would reveal their thought processes, say Larry Silver and Sasha Burton at Langsam Stevens.

• NJ Ruling Sheds Light On When 'Stub Rent' Must Be Paid

  

  A New Jersey bankruptcy court's recent decision in New Rite Aid affirms that landlords can have "stub rent" treated as an administrative expense and highlights critical considerations for debtors, including the importance of deciding when and where to file for bankruptcy, say attorneys at Cleary.

• Lessons From The Pokemon Patent Firestorm

  

  Public outcry against Nintendo being granted a patent over Pokémon gaming mechanics amid its ongoing patent infringement case against "Palworld" developer Pocket Pair, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's subsequent order to reexamine Nintendo's patent, highlight potential risks associated with drafting ambiguous, unnecessarily complex or overly aggressive claims, say attorneys at McNees Wallace.

• Navigating Privilege Law Patchwork In Dual-Purpose Comms

  

  Three years after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to resolve a circuit split in In re: Grand Jury, federal courts remain split as to when attorney-client privilege applies to dual-purpose legal and business communications, and understanding the fragmented landscape is essential for managing risks, say attorneys at Covington.

• AG Watch: Calif. Fills Federal Consumer Protection Void

  

  California's consumer protection efforts seem to be intensifying as federal oversight wanes, with Attorney General Rob Bonta recently taking actions related to buy now, pay later products, credit reporting and medical debt, consumer credit discrimination, and the use of artificial intelligence in consumer services, say attorneys at Cooley.

• AI-Driven Harassment Poses New Risks For Employers

  

  Two recent cases show that deepfakes and other artificial intelligence‑generated content are emerging as a powerful new mechanism for workplace harassment, and employers should take a proactive approach to reduce their liability as AI continues to reshape workplace dynamics, say attorneys at Littler.

• Key Changes In World Bank's New Compliance Updates

  

  Recent updates to integrity guidelines for companies that bid and work on World Bank-financed projects are sufficiently extensive and unique that covered businesses must take proactive steps to map the changes against their existing compliance programs or risk severe business consequences, say attorneys at Steptoe.

• Noting Similarities And Divergences In UK, EU Apple Rulings

  

  While recent judgments against Apple by the Competition Appeal Tribunal and European Commission all focus on the Apple ecosystem and point toward closer scrutiny of its App Store rules, their analytical methodologies and potential enforcement routes differ, highlighting differences in approaches to competition law, say lawyers at Perkins Coie.

• How AI Drafting Should Transform Patent Filing Strategies

  

  As agentic artificial intelligence reduces the time and expense required to draft and file patents, companies should shift focus away from rationing drafting hours and more toward governing optionality, says Ian Schick at Paximal.

• 7 Ways In-House Counsel May Unearth Red Flags In AI M&A

  

  In-house counsel and executives conducting M&A due diligence in the artificial intelligence arena can surface hidden liabilities and avoid problems or divestitures by adopting strategies in key areas, including intellectual property provenance and postclose risk management, say attorneys at Reed Smith.