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Expert Analysis

• Lawsuit, Exec Orders Should Boost Small Modular Reactors

  

  A lawsuit in Texas federal court and a set of new executive orders from the White House may finally push the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow for accelerated deployment of small modular reactors — a technology that could change the country's energy future, says Aleksey Shtivelman at Shutts & Bowen.

• Opinion

  4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

  

  As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

• Congress Crypto Movement Could Bring CFTC 'Clarity' At Last

  

  The Clarity Act's arrival at the House floor during "Crypto Week" in Congress demonstrates enduring bipartisan support for legislation addressing digital assets and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's important role in a future regulatory structure, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

• What Employers Can Learn From Axed Mo. Sick Leave Law

  

  Missouri's recent passage and brisk repeal of Proposition A, which would have created a paid sick time benefit for employees, serves as a case study for employers, highlighting the steps they can take to adapt as paid sick leave laws are increasingly debated across the country, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• Preparing For Trump Pushback Against State Climate Laws

  

  An April executive order from President Donald Trump mandated a report from the U.S. attorney general on countering so-called state overreach in climate policy, and while that report has yet to appear, companies can expect that it will likely call for using litigation, legislation and funding to actively reshape energy policy, say attorneys at Bracewell.

• Practical Implications Of SEC's New Crypto Staking Guidance

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent staff guidance that protocol staking does not constitute securities offerings provides a workable compliance blueprint for crypto developers, validators and custodial platforms willing to keep staking strictly limited to protocol-driven rewards, say attorneys at Cahill.

• Stablecoin Bills Present Opportunities, Challenges For Banks

  

  Stablecoin legislation that Congress is expected to adopt in the coming weeks — the GENIUS and STABLE Acts — would create openings for banks to engage in digital asset activities, but it also creates a platform for certain tech-savvy nonbanks to directly compete, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

  

  E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

• New FCPA Guidance May Flip The Whistleblowing Script

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice’s updated Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines lay out a new incentive structure that may put multinational U.S.-based companies in an unusual offensive whistleblowing position, potentially spurring them to conduct external investigations of their foreign rivals, says Markus Funk at Perkins Coie.

• Opinion

  GENIUS Act Could Muck Up Insolvency Proceedings

  

  While some of the so-called GENIUS Act's insolvency provisions are straightforward, others run the risk of jeopardizing the success of stablecoin issuers' insolvency proceedings and warrant another look from Congress, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• How McKesson Ruling Will Inform Interpretations Of The TCPA

  

  Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, we can expect to see both plaintiffs and defendants utilizing the decision to revisit the Federal Communications Commission's past Telephone Consumer Protection Act interpretations and decisions they did not like, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

• A Look At Florida's New Protected Series LLC Legislation

  

  A new law in Florida enhances the flexibility of using limited liability companies as the entities of choice for most privately held businesses, moving Florida into a small group of states with reliable uniform protected series legislation for series LLCs, says Louis Conti at Holland & Knight.

• Series

  Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

  

  The second quarter saw California become a more active protector of consumers in response to federal regulatory pullback, with regulators proposing a licensing framework for digital asset businesses, ending an enforcement exemption and otherwise signaling further expansions of oversight and enforcement, say attorneys at Stinson.

• Justices Rethink Minimum Contacts For Foreign Entities

  

  Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Devas v. Antrix and Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, suggest that federal statutes may confer personal jurisdiction over foreign entities that have little to no contact with the U.S. — a significant departure from traditional due process principles, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.

• Opinion

  New USPTO Leadership Must Address Low-Quality Patents

  

  With John Squires in line to become the new director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the agency has an opportunity to refocus its mission on prioritizing quality in patent examination and taking a harsher stance against low-quality patents and patent trolls, says Jill Crosby at Engine Advocacy & Foundation.