Expert Analysis

• Despite Dark Clouds, Outlook For US Solar Has Bright Spots

  

  While tariff, tax policy and bankruptcy news seemingly portends unending challenges for the U.S. solar energy industry, signs of continued growth in solar generating capacity and domestic solar manufacturing suggest that there is a path forward, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

• Assessing New Changes To Texas Officer Exculpation Law

  

  Consistent with Texas' recent modernization of its corporate law, the recently passed S.B. 2411 allows officer exculpation, streamlines certificate of formation amendments, authorizes representatives to act on shareholders' behalf in mergers and makes other changes aimed toward companies seeking a more codified, statutory model of corporate governance, say attorneys at Bracewell.

• Google Damages Ruling Offers Lessons For Testifying Experts

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent decision in EcoFactor v. Google represents a shift in how courts evaluate expert testimony in patent cases, offering a practical guide for how litigators and testifying experts can refine their work, says Adam Rhoten at Secretariat.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

  

  Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

• Justices' NRC Ruling Raises New Regulatory Questions

  

  In Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court avoided ruling on the NRC's authority to license private, temporary nuclear waste storage facilities — and this failure to reach the merits question creates new regulatory uncertainty where none had existed for decades, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• 3 Judicial Approaches To Applying Loper Bright, 1 Year Later

  

  In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in its Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, a few patterns have emerged in lower courts’ application of the precedent to determine whether agency actions are lawful, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

• How State AG Consumer Finance Enforcement Is Expanding

  

  As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau becomes less active, state attorneys general are increasingly shaping the enforcement landscape for consumer financial services — and several areas of focus have recently emerged, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Series

  Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

  

  My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

• Opinion

  IRS Should Work With Industry On Microcaptive Regs

  

  The IRS should engage with microcaptive insurance owners to develop better regulations on these arrangements or risk the emergence of common law guidance as taxpayers with legitimate programs seek relief in the federal courts, says Dustin Carlson at SRA 831(b) Admin.

• FLSA Interpretation Patterns Emerge 1 Year After Loper Bright

  

  One year after the U.S. Supreme Court's monumental decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, four distinct avenues of judicial decision-making have taken shape among lower courts that are responding to their newfound freedom in interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act through U.S. Department of Labor regulations, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

• Debunking 4 Misconceptions Around Texas' IV Therapy Law

  

  Despite industry confusion, an IV therapy law enacted in Texas last week may actually be the most business-friendly regulatory development the medical spa industry has seen in recent years, says Keith Lefkowitz at Hendershot Cowart.

• A Pattern Emerges In Justices' Evaluation Of Veteran Statute

  

  The recent Soto v. U.S. decision that the statute of limitations for certain military-related claims does not apply to combat-related special compensation exemplifies the U.S. Supreme Court's view, emerging in two other recent opinions, that it is a reviewing court's obligation to determine the best interpretation of the language used by Congress, says attorney Kenneth Carpenter.

• Opinion

  Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

  

  The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

• In NRC Ruling, Justices Affirm Hearing Process Still Matters

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas safeguards the fairness, clarity and predictability of the regulatory system by affirming that to challenge an agency's decision in court, litigants must first meaningfully participate in the hearing process that Congress and the agency have established, says Jonathan Rund at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

• What Baseball Can Teach Criminal Attys About Rule Of Lenity

  

  Judges tend to assess ambiguous criminal laws not unlike how baseball umpires approach checked swings, so defense attorneys should consider how to best frame their arguments to maximize courts' willingness to invoke the rule of lenity, wherein a tie goes to the defendant, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.