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Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay

  

  Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.

• Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example

  

  Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

• A Compliance Update For Credit Card Reward Partnerships

  

  While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's interest in credit card rewards programs could fade under the new administration, a recent circular focusing on both issuers and their merchant partners means that co-brand credit card partnerships with banks could be subject to increased scrutiny ahead, say attorneys at Goodwin.

• Will 4th Time Be A Charm For NY's 21st Century Antitrust Act?

  

  New York's recently introduced 21st Century Antitrust Act would change the landscape of antitrust enforcement in the state and probably result in a sharp increase in claims — but first, the bill needs to gain traction after three aborted attempts, says Tyler Ross at Shinder Cantor.

• Perspectives

  Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines

  

  KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.

• Foreign Trade Zones Can Help Cos. With Tariff Exposure

  

  Companies navigating shifts in global trade — like the Trump administration’s newly levied tariffs on Chinese goods — should consider whether the U.S. Department of Commerce's poorly understood foreign trade zone program could help reduce their import costs, says James Grogan at FTI Consulting.

• Critical Steps For Navigating Intensified OFAC Enforcement

  

  The largely overlooked SkyGeek settlement from the end of 2024 heralds the arrival of the Office of Foreign Assets Control's long anticipated enhanced enforcement posture and clearly demonstrates the sanctions-compliance benefits of immediately responding to blocked payments, says Jeremy Paner at Hughes Hubbard.

• AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

  

  Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.

• Managing Transatlantic Antitrust Investigations And Litigation

  

  As transatlantic competition regulators cooperate more closely and European antitrust investigations increasingly spark follow-up civil suits in the U.S., companies must understand how to simultaneously juggle high-stakes multigovernment investigations and manage the risks of expensive new claims across jurisdictions, say lawyers at Paul Weiss.

• Cos. Must Prepare For Heightened Trade Enforcement Risks

  

  Recent trade enforcement cases — including criminal prosecutions for tariff evasion — as well as statements from the Trump administration make it clear that companies must assess their risk profiles, review compliance programs and communication policies, and consider protocols for responding to subpoenas, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

• When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

  

  In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

• Drug Cartels' Terrorist Label Raises Litigation Risk For Cos.

  

  President Donald Trump's planned designation of some Latin American drug-trafficking groups as foreign terrorist organizations creates an additional and little-noticed source of legal exposure: U.S. civil litigation risk involving terrorism claims by victims of those groups, say attorneys at Covington.

• Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

  

  Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

• Top 10 Healthcare And Life Sciences Issues To Watch In 2025

  

  Under the new Trump administration, this coming year may benefit some healthcare and life sciences stakeholders, while creating new challenges for others amid an increasingly complex regulatory environment, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• Parsing 3rd Circ. Ruling On Cannabis, Employee Private Suits

  

  The Third Circuit recently upheld a decision that individuals don't have a private right of action for alleged violations of New Jersey's Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act, but employers should stay informed as the court encouraged the state Legislature to amend the law, say attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett.