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Expert Analysis

• Disparate Impact Theory Lives On Despite Trump Order

  

  Although President Donald Trump's recent executive order directed federal agencies to stop pursuing disparate impact claims, employers may still be targeted by private litigants' claims and should therefore stay alert to the risk that their practices may produce a disparate impact on members of a protected group, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

• Jurisdictional Issues At Play In 9th Circ.'s FCA Trade Case

  

  A decision by the Ninth Circuit in Island Industries v. Sigma Corp. could result in the U.S. Court of International Trade’s exclusive jurisdiction over trade-related FCA cases, a big shift in the enforcement landscape just as tariffs take center stage in trade policy, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

• Deregulation Memo Presents Risks, Opportunities For Cos.

  

  A recent Trump administration memo providing direction to agencies tasked with rescinding regulations under an earlier executive order — without undergoing the typical notice-and-review process — will likely create much uncertainty for businesses, though they may be able to engage with agencies to shape the regulatory agenda, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

  

  The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.

• Understanding Compliance Concerns With NY Severance Bill

  

  New York's No Severance Ultimatums Act, if enacted, could overhaul how employers manage employee separations, but employers should be mindful that the bill's language introduces ambiguities and raises compliance concerns, say attorneys at Norris McLaughlin.

• Opinion

  The IRS Shouldn't Go To War Over Harvard's Tax Exemption

  

  If the Internal Revenue Service revokes Harvard's tax-exempt status for violating established public policy — a position unsupported by currently available information — the precedent set by surviving the inevitable court challenge could undercut the autonomy and distinctiveness of the charitable sector, says Johnny Rex Buckles at Houston Law Center.

• What Employers Should Know Ahead Of H-2B Visa Changes

  

  Employers should be aware of several anticipated changes to the H-2B visa program, which allows employers to hire temporary foreign workers, including annual prevailing wage changes and other shifts arising from recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions and the new administration, say Steve Bronars and Elliot Delahaye at Edgeworth Economics, and Chris Schulte at Fisher Phillips.

• Opinion

  Int'l Athletes' Wages Should Be On-Campus Employment

  

  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security should recognize participation in college athletics by international student-athletes as on-campus employment to prevent the potentially disastrous ripple effects on teams, schools and their surrounding communities, says Catherine Haight at Haight Law Group.

• Series

  Playing Guitar Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Being a lawyer not only requires logic and hard work, but also belief, emotion, situational awareness and lots of natural energy — playing guitar enhances all of these qualities, increasing my capacity to do my best work, says Kosta Stojilkovic at Wilkinson Stekloff.

• Addressing PFAS Risks In Public Company Disclosures

  

  As individual lawsuits and class actions over PFAS risks spanning multiple sectors and products increase, and rapidly evolving and often unclear regulatory initiatives on both the federal and state levels proliferate, it's more important than ever for companies to know how and when to complete PFAS-related disclosures, say attorneys at Venable.

• Takeaways From DOJ's Latest FCA Customs Fraud Intervention

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice's recent intervention in a case alleging customs-related reverse False Claims Act fraud underlines the government’s increased scrutiny of, and importers’ corresponding exposure from, information related to product classification, country of origin and pricing, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

• 4 Trends Responsible For Declining FLSA Filings

  

  In 2024, the number of Fair Labor Standards Act claims filed in federal courts continued to decrease, reflecting a steady decline in federal FLSA filings since 2015 due to a few trends, including increased compliance and presuit resolution, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

• Crisis Management Lessons From The Parenting Playbook

  

  The parenting skills we use to help our kids through challenges — like rehearsing for stressful situations, modeling confidence and taking time to reset our emotions — can also teach us the fundamentals of leading clients through a corporate crisis, say Deborah Solmor at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Cara Peterman at Alston & Bird.

• When Physical And Cyber Threats Converge: 6 Tips For Cos.

  

  Amid an ongoing trend of increased digital threats of harm made against corporations, organizations and high-profile individuals, an emerging legal framework is providing a risk management road map for general counsel and their teams to navigate the increasingly fraught landscape, say attorneys at Covington.

• 4 Ways To Leverage A Jury's Underdog Perceptions

  

  Counsel should consider how common factors that speak to their client's size, power, past challenges and alignment with jurors can be presented to try and paint their client as a sympathetic underdog, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.