Expert Analysis

• Do Videoconferences Establish Jurisdiction With Defendants?

  

  What it means to have minimum contacts in a foreign jurisdiction is changing as people become more accustomed to meeting via video, and defendants’ participation in videoconferencing may be used as a sword or a shield in courts’ personal jurisdiction analysis, says Patrick Hickey at Moye White.

• Takeaways From DOJ's Novel Insider Trading Indictment

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice's recently announced insider trading charges in U.S. v. Peizer mark the first indictment based solely on an executive’s use of a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, reflecting prosecutors' aggressive approach and providing insights for corporate executives, say attorneys at Cleary.

• Opinion

  Humanism Should Replace Formalism In The Courts

  

  The worrying tendency for judges to say "it's just the law talking, not me" in American decision writing has coincided with an historic decline in respect for the courts, but this trend can be reversed if courts develop understandable legal standards and justify them in human terms, says Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher.

• Spotting Red Flags Of Illicit Activity In High-End Art Sales

  

  While waiting for U.S. regulators to publish anti-money-laundering guidelines for the high-end art and antiquities trade, financial institutions should turn to recent advice from the Financial Action Task Force and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for help identifying art transactions that may be hiding illegal activity, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

• SEC Conflicts Of Interest Settlement Is Cautionary Reminder

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent settlement with a former Blackrock co-manager shows the scope of the conflicts of interest disclosure standard under the Advisers Act and the need for advisers to recognize, disclose and eliminate conflicts in order to make sure they aren't made the next example, say Ronak Patel and Patrick Medeo at Bressler.

• Antitrust Red Flags For Green Product Initiatives

  

  As businesses increasingly engage in industrywide environmental, social and governance initiatives, including setting standards for greener products, these activities are coming under greater antitrust scrutiny — so companies should be aware of how such collaborations can run afoul of competition regulations, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• 3 Reasons Why Congress Should Stay Out Of NY Trump Probe

  

  Congress members should reconsider their investigation of the Manhattan district attorney’s indictment of former President Donald Trump for several key reasons — and if they persist, future congressional leadership should adopt a rule prohibiting this kind of local interference, say Kenyen Brown and Kevin Carroll at Hughes Hubbard.

• Don't Let Client Demands Erode Law Firm Autonomy

  

  As clients increasingly impose requirements for attorney hiring and retention related to diversity and secondment, law firms must remember their ethical duties, as well as broader issues of lawyer development, culture and firm integrity, to maintain their independence while meaningfully responding to social changes, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

• Making The Argument Against No-Contact Bail Conditions

  

  The criminal cases against FTX founder Samuel Bankman-Fried and Ozy Media co-founder Carlos Watson provide lessons for white collar defense attorneys crafting arguments against no-contact bail conditions, at a time when clients are using new communication tools and prosecutors are increasingly pursuing senior executives, says James Roberts at Schlam Stone.

• 6th Circ. Ruling's Seismic Shift In FCA Kickback Causation

  

  It is difficult to overstate the significance of the Sixth Circuit’s recent decision in the False Claims Act kickback case U.S. v. Hathaway, which shifts the government's burden of proof by adopting a more defense-friendly causation standard and curbing an expansive definition of remuneration, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Why Event-Driven Securities Class Actions Often Succeed

  

  Though corporate defendants point to event-driven cases as evidence that the American securities class action regime has gone haywire, in fact, these suits illustrate precisely why securities litigation works so well to protect investors and the broader capital markets, say Daniel Barenbaum and Michael Dark at Berman Tabacco.

• SEC Compounds Crypto Confusion With Coinbase Case

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appears poised to settle SEC v. Wahi, its first cryptocurrency insider trading case — thus missing an opportunity to explain its divergence from New York federal prosecutors on the crucial question of whether cryptocurrencies are securities, say Samidh Guha and Sophia Kielar at Perry Guha, and Evan Kielar at Thomson Reuters Special Services.

• Workers, Labor Take Center Stage At ABA Antitrust Meeting

  

  The American Bar Association’s antitrust spring meeting had a heavy emphasis on upstream markets affecting employees and talent, and prosecutors sent a clear message that they view no-solicitation, no-poach and no-hire agreements as criminal violations, even in the face of several jury trial setbacks, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

• Opinion

  Federal Judge's Amici Invitation Is A Good Idea, With Caveats

  

  An Arkansas federal judge’s recent order — inviting amicus briefs in every civil case before him — has merit, but its implementation may raise practical questions about the role of junior attorneys, economic considerations and other issues, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation.

• Ore. Regulator Liquor Scandal Should Alarm Cannabis Cos.

  

  The agency that regulates Oregon's liquor and cannabis industries is embroiled in a public corruption scandal over liquor diversion practices, and state cannabis companies are feeling the fallout, from application processing delays to a growing risk of prosecution, says Kevin Jacoby at Green Light Law Group.