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Expert Analysis

• 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.

• How Proxy Advisory Firms Are Approaching AI And DEI

  

  Institutional Shareholder Services' and Glass Lewis' annual updates to their proxy voting guidelines reflect some of the biggest issues of the day, including artificial intelligence and DEI, and companies should parse these changes carefully, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

• 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.

• Keys To Regulatory Diligence In Life Sciences Transactions

  

  Conducting effective regulatory due diligence for life sciences deals requires careful review of a target company's activities, and separate sets of considerations for commercial and pipeline products, says Anna Zhao at GunnerCooke.

• Series

  Volunteer Firefighting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  While practicing corporate law and firefighting may appear incongruous, the latter benefits my legal career by reminding me of the importance of humility, perspective and education, says Nicholas Passaro at Ford.

• Calif. Antitrust Laws May Turn More Zealous Than US Regs

  

  California is poised in the next 18 months to significantly expand its antitrust laws, broadening the scope of liability and creating a premerger review process that could be more expansive than review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, say attorneys at Munger Tolles.

• E-Discovery Quarterly: The Perils Of Digital Data Protocols

  

  Though stipulated protocols governing the treatment of electronically stored information in litigation are meant to streamline discovery, recent disputes demonstrate that certain missteps in the process can lead to significant inefficiencies, say attorneys at Sidley.

• A Look At M&A Trends In An Uncertain Deal Environment

  

  Dealmakers are adopting more cautious and deliberate merger and acquisition practices, such as earnout agreements, joint ventures and strategic partnerships that mitigate risk and bridge valuation gaps, amid the slower pace so far in 2025, says Louis Lehot at Foley & Lardner.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Preparing For Corporate Work

  

  Law school often doesn't cover the business strategy, financial fluency and negotiation skills needed for a successful corporate or transactional law practice, but there are practical ways to gain relevant experience and achieve the mindset shifts critical to a thriving career in this space, says Dakota Forsyth at Olshan Frome.

• FTC Focus: Synthetic Data Yields Antitrust Considerations

  

  Attorneys at Proskauer explore the burgeoning world of synthetic data, the antitrust implications involved, the Federal Trade Commission's role in regulating this space and practical takeaways from these emerging issues.

• Opinion

  Slater Heralds Return To US Antitrust Norms, Innovation

  

  Under recently confirmed Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice can fulfill President Donald Trump's objective to reestablish American economic dominance on the global stage while remaining faithful to antitrust's core principles, says Ediberto Roman at the Florida International University College of Law.

• A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

  

  The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.

• Series

  Improv Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Improv keeps me grounded and connected to what matters most, including in my legal career where it has helped me to maintain a balance between being analytical, precise and professional, and creative, authentic and open-minded, says Justine Gottshall at InfoLawGroup.

• How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

  

  Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.