Expert Analysis

• Perspectives

  Justice Requires Excluding Manner Of Death As Evidence

  

  A recent report showing that the unstandardized and subjective U.S. system of medicolegal death investigations contributes to unjust convictions should prompt courts and lawmakers to reject manner of death testimony in favor of more transparent and testable forensic evidence, say Peter Neufeld and Isabelle Cohn at the Innocence Project.

• NBA, MLB Betting Indictments: Slam Dunks Or Strikeouts?

  

  Recent fraud charges against bettors, NBA players and MLB pitchers raise questions about what the government will need to prove to prosecute individuals involved in placing bets based on nonpublic information, and it could be a tough sell to juries, say attorneys at Ford O'Brien.

• Series

  Knitting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Stretching my skills as a knitter makes me a better antitrust attorney by challenging me to recalibrate after wrong turns, not rush outcomes, and trust that I can teach myself the skills to tackle new and difficult projects — even when I don’t have a pattern to work from, says Kara Kuritz at V&E.

• Eveready Vs. Squirt: How Trademark Surveys Fare In 9th Circ.

  

  An analysis of how two consumer surveys for measuring confusion in trademark disputes perform in the Ninth Circuit across pivotal points in trademark cases' progression reveals insights not only on how the two formats stack up against each other, but also how to maximize a survey's effectiveness, say attorneys at Dorsey.

• Series

  The Biz Court Digest: Welcome To Miami

  

  After nearly 20 years in operation, the Miami Complex Business Litigation Division is a pioneer upon which other jurisdictions in the state have been modeled, adopting many innovations to keep its cases running more efficiently and staffing experienced judges who are accustomed to hearing business disputes, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• 6 Ways To Nuke-Proof Litigation As Explosive Verdicts Rise

  

  As the increasing number of nuclear verdicts continues to reshape the litigation landscape, counsel must understand how to create a multipronged defense strategy to anticipate juror expectations and mitigate the risk of outsize jury awards, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

• Navigating The New Patchwork Of Foreign-Influence Laws

  

  On top of existing federal regulations, an expanding wave of state legislation — placing new limits on foreign-funded political spending and new registration requirements for foreign agents — creates a confusing compliance backdrop for corporations that demands careful preplanning, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

• 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.

• Series

  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.

• 2 Early Settlement Alternatives In Federal Securities Litigation

  

  Most class actions brought under the federal securities laws are either settled or won by the defendants following a motion to dismiss, but two alternative strategies have the potential to lower discovery costs and allow defendants to obtain judgment without the uncertainty of jury trials on complex matters, says Richard Zelichov at DLA Piper.

• Opinion

  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.

• How Fed. Circ. Shaped Subject Matter Eligibility In 2025

  

  The Federal Circuit's most impactful patent eligibility decisions this year, touching on questions about obviousness and abstractness, provide a toolbox of takeaways that can be utilized during patent preparation and prosecution to guard against potential challenges, says Reilley Keane at Banner Witcoff.

• 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.

• Series

  Preaching Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Becoming a Gospel preacher has enhanced my success as a trial lawyer by teaching me the importance of credibility, relatability, persuasiveness and thorough preparation for my congregants, the same skills needed with judges and juries in the courtroom, says Reginald Harris at Stinson.

• How Large Patent Damages Awards Actually Play Out

  

  Most large verdicts in patent infringement cases are often overturned or reduced on appeal, implying that the Federal Circuit is serving its intended purpose of correcting outlier outcomes, and that the figures that catch headlines and dominate policy debates may misrepresent economic realities, says Bowman Heiden at Berkeley School of Law.