Expert Analysis

• How Implicit Bias Instructions May Affect Jury Verdicts

  

  Amid persistent concerns that jury verdicts may be influenced by racial biases, consultants Emily Shaw and Taylor Kidd, and professor Mona Lynch, discuss their new study examining the impact of specialized instructions warning jurors about implicit biases, and highlight several areas ripe for future exploration.

• Prepare For Extraterritorial Enforcement Of US Antitrust Law

  

  Given the Biden administration’s invigoration of extraterritorial antitrust enforcement, including the U.S. Department of Justice’s increasingly aggressive approach to criminal cartels, global companies need to better understand the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act and take steps to bolster compliance efforts, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• 3 Insights On DOJ Self-Disclosure Policy From Sterling Plea

  

  Sterling Bancorp’s recent corporate resolution, in which it agreed to plead guilty to securities fraud, provides valuable insights into how the U.S. Department of Justice will implement and apply its revised voluntary self-disclosure policy, says Dominick Gerace at Taft.

• Fox Ex-Producer Case Is A Lesson In Joint Representation

  

  A former Fox News producer's allegations that the network's lawyers pressured her to give misleading testimony in Fox's defamation battle with Dominion Voting Systems should remind lawyers representing a nonparty witness that the rules of joint representation apply, says Jared Marx at HWG.

• Cannabis Cos. Must Heed Growing Federal Investigatory Risks

  

  As state-regulated cannabis markets expand rapidly, so too does government oversight, and industry participants must plan ahead to avoid potential liabilities related to workplace health and safety requirements, tax audits, securities regulations and foreign bribery laws, say Alicia Corona and Amy Rubenstein at Dentons.

• Aviation Watch: Do 737 Max Crash Families Have A Case?

  

  As the families of 737 Max crash victims pursue charges against Boeing in the Fifth Circuit, a review of their claims shows that they are outside the scope of the U.S. Department of Justice's already flawed criminal prosecution of the aircraft manufacturer, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

• Practical Tips For Managing Bank D&O Liability Risk

  

  With the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank potentially inspiring regulators to increase scrutiny of management at similar institutions, banking directors and officers should mitigate personal liability risks through keen attention to sound banking practices and regulators' announced priorities, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

• Opinion

  Stanford Law Protest Highlights Rise Of Incivility In Discourse

  

  The recent Stanford Law School incident, where students disrupted a speech by U.S. Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, should be a reminder to teach law students how to be effective advocates without endangering physical and mental health, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada.

• 5 Ways House Jan. 6 Panel Will Alter Congressional Probes

  

  Selendy Gay’s Temidayo Aganga-Williams, who served as senior investigative counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Jan. 6 committee, lays out how the panel’s bottom-up, media-savvy investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election will change the nature and attendant risks of future congressional probes.

• What To Watch In High Court Co-Defendant Confession Case

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments this week in Samia v. U.S. on whether redacted co-defendant confessions are unconstitutional, and its eventual decision may further divide white collar and blue collar defendants and alter how federal agents question witnesses, say attorneys Sami Azhari and Don Davidson.

• Popular Bank Fine Shines PPP Fraud Spotlight On Lenders

  

  The Federal Reserve's recent settlement with Popular Bank indicates that the crackdown on pandemic fraud is expanding to banks that disbursed COVID-19 relief funding and demonstrates that financial institutions that are proactive about self-reporting fraud can expect more favorable outcomes, say Marissa Koblitz Kingman and Matthew Lee at Fox Rothschild.

• Where DOJ's Focus On Criminal Corporate Trade May Lead

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice's increased prosecutorial focus on corporate violations of export controls and sanctions may reach cases previously resolved in civil proceedings, leading companies to adjust voluntary disclosure strategies with primary agencies, and in turn limiting regulatory insight into violation trends, say Eric Sandberg-Zakian and Robert Casty at Covington.

• Key Takeaways In Ex-NY Lt. Gov.'s Tossed Bribery Charges

  

  In dismissing bribery charges against former New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, a Manhattan federal court stringently defined an explicit quid pro quo — the latest in a string of federal rulings that have narrowed the use of federal public corruption laws to pursue state-level officials, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• 5th Circ. Ruling Leaves Open Questions On FCPA Liability

  

  In its recent revival of Foreign Corrupt Practice Act charges against two defendants in U.S. v. Rafoi, the Fifth Circuit avoided ruling on key issues addressed last year in a long-running Second Circuit case, thus creating open questions on secondary theories of FCPA liability, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• High Court Bankruptcy Ruling Is A Warning To Joint Obligors

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley opens the door to increased litigation surrounding the dischargeability of joint debts, and although it highlights the heightened risks to debtors posed as members of a partnership, its reach may exceed beyond liability for a partner's fraud, say Andrew Buxbaum and Deborah Kovsky-Apap at Troutman Pepper.