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Expert Analysis

• Series

  Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Enviro To Mid-Law

  

  Practitioners leaving a longtime government role for private practice — as when I departed the U.S. Department of Justice’s environmental enforcement division — should prioritize finding a firm that shares their principles, values their experience and will invest in their transition, says John Cruden at Beveridge & Diamond.

• A Look At Probabilistic Tracing After High Court's Slack Ruling

  

  Recent decisions following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Slack v. Pirani have increased the difficulty of pleading Securities Act claims for securities issued in direct listings by rejecting the use of statistical probabilities to establish that share purchases were traceable to a challenged registration statement, says Jonathan Richman at Brown Rudnick.

• 3 Change Management Tools To Boost Compliance Efforts

  

  As companies grapple with rapidly changing regulations and expectations, leaders charged with implementing their organizations’ compliance programs should look to change management principles to make the process less costly and more effective, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

• Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals

  

  If a law firm enters into a pro bono deal with the Trump administration in exchange for avoiding or removing an executive order, it has an ethical obligation to create a written settlement agreement with specific terms, which would mitigate some potential conflict of interest problems, says Andrew Altschul at Buchanan Angeli.

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  Playing Football Made Me A Better Lawyer

  

  While my football career ended over 15 years ago, the lessons the sport taught me about grit, accountability and resilience have stayed with me and will continue to help me succeed as an attorney, says Bert McBride at Trenam.

• 10 Arbitrations And A 5th Circ. Ruling Flag Arb. Clause Risks

  

  The ongoing arbitral saga of Sullivan v. Feldman, which has engendered proceedings before 10 different arbitrators in Texas and Louisiana along with last month's Fifth Circuit opinion, showcases both the risks and limitations of arbitration clauses in retainer agreements for resolving attorney-client disputes, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

• Electronic Shelf Labels Pose Myriad Risks For Retailers

  

  While electronic shelf labels offer retailers a new way to convey pricing and other product information to consumers, the technology has attracted the attention of U.S. policymakers and consumer advocates, so businesses must assess antitrust, data privacy and discrimination risks before implementation, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

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  Power To The Paralegals: The Value Of Unified State Licensing

  

  Texas' proposal to become the latest state to license paraprofessional providers of limited legal services could help firms expand their reach and improve access to justice, but consumers, attorneys and allied legal professionals would benefit even more if similar programs across the country become more uniform, says Michael Houlberg at the University of Denver.

• Pay Cos. That Adapt Can Benefit As Gov't Ends Paper Checks

  

  Recent executive orders, instructing the government to cease issuing paper checks and to modernize and fraud-proof federal payments, will likely benefit financial services providers that facilitate government disbursements — provided they can manage the challenges and risks of transitioning to fully digital payments, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

• 10 Soft Skills Every GC Should Master

  

  As businesses face shifting regulatory and technological uncertainty, general counsel will need to strengthen certain soft skills to succeed, from admitting when they make a mistake to maintaining a healthy dose of dispassion, says Douglas Brown at Manatt.

• 5 Key Issues For Multinational Cos. Mulling Return To Office

  

  As companies increasingly revisit return-to-office mandates, multinational employers may face challenges in enforcing uniform RTO practices globally, but several key considerations and practical solutions can help avoid roadblocks, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

• An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future

  

  Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.

• Tracking The Evolution In Litigation Finance

  

  Despite continued innovation, litigation finance remains an immature market with borrowers recieving significantly different terms as lenders learn to value cases, which firms need a strong handle on to ensure lending terms do not overwhelm collateral value, says Robert Wilkins at Lightfoot Franklin.

• Lessons From Pa. Wiretapping Class Action Dismissal

  

  A recent wiretapping class action in Pennsylvania federal court resulting in the dispositive dismissal of the action provides key insights on how online notice and consent can be leveraged to directly address and mitigate legal risks and class action liability exposure, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

• How Calif., NY Could Fill Consumer Finance Regulatory Void

  

  California and New York have historically taken the lead in consumer financial protection, and both show signs of becoming even more active in this area during the second Trump administration amid an enforcement pullback at the federal level, say attorneys at Sidley.