Expert Analysis


Responding To State Packaging Law Uncertainty

As states roll out new packaging and recycling mandates, companies face expanding compliance duties and a growing wave of constitutional challenges that offer key lessons for managing regulatory risk, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.


CMS Rule, DOJ Probes Deepen Gender Care Compliance Risk

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' final rule restricting Medicaid funding for hospitals that provide gender-affirming care is likely to face immediate litigation, but the CMS rulemaking is already working alongside U.S. Department of Justice's enforcement campaign to create operational risk for providers, say attorneys at Arnall Golden.


Contract Disputes Recap: Check Your Signatures, Cites, Sums

Three recent decisions from the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals show different ways parties on either side may do real damage to their own position through motions practice, says Edward Arnold at Seyfarth.


New Del. Corp. Law's Technical Tweaks Bring Broad Changes

While the new amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, which took effect on Aug. 1, appear technical, they have broad implications for wound-down corporations and carry personal exposure for whoever signed the certificate of dissolution, hinting at where entity law is heading next, says Ashwin Ram at Buchalter.


How Trucking Cos. Can Tackle Risk From New DOJ Task Force

Trucking companies should audit their drivers’ credentials and address risk areas lest they attract the attention of the new Justice Department-led task force against the fraudulent licensing of immigrants as commercial truckers, which is turning former questions of administrative or regulatory noncompliance into matters for federal prosecution, say attorneys at RJO.


A Lender's Guide To Fraud: Safeguarding Collateral

Recent bankruptcies illustrate that lenders should strengthen credit covenants, collateral field exams and third-party verification in order to detect double-pledging, fabricated assets and documentation fraud enabled by artificial intelligence before losses become unrecoverable, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.


5th Circ. Ruling Hints At Loper Bright's Effect On OSHA Suits

The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Exxon Mobil v. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission relied on Loper Bright to narrow the scope of illnesses that employers must record, signaling that courts may continue to scrutinize agency assertions that deference is due, say attorneys at Ogletree.


What To Expect From Colorado's New Artist Co. Structure

Colorado's newly established class of artist companies, or A-Corps, provides a useful structure for small-scale ventures, but challenges could arise for more complex business plans, and limitations on investor participation may limit widespread adoption, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.


NJ Justices' Walmart Ruling Clarifies Future Snowstorm Duty

A recent New Jersey Supreme Court decision, that a contractor's spreading of salt on a minimal snow accumulation in a Walmart parking lot did not create liability, delivers important clarity on the state's ongoing-storm rule, says Maxx Johnson at Stradley Ronon.


2 Cases Shed Light On Invoking The 5th Before Congress

Given the anticipated increase in congressional investigations following the midterm elections, those who anticipate being in Congress' spotlight can draw valuable Fifth Amendment lessons from the ongoing case involving Dr. Anthony Fauci's testimony and the D.C. Circuit’s recent ruling in de la Torre v. Cassidy, say attorneys at King & Spalding.


AG Watch: Oregon Targets Consumer Costs

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield's challenges to bank interest rate and escrow preemption signal heightened scrutiny of consumer costs for lending services, requiring financial institutions serving Oregon and other states with opt-out laws to reassess compliance risk, says Keturah Taylor at Cozen O'Connor.


Loper Bright Unlikely To Upend DEA Rescheduling Challenges

As cannabis industry stakeholders await a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration ruling on broader cannabis rescheduling, the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 decision in Loper Bright to eliminate judicial deference to agency decisions should not dramatically affect cannabis rescheduling litigation risk, but it could marginally strengthen proponents' hand if the DEA denies rescheduling, say attorneys at Dentons.


Money Transmission Issue Looms For Prediction Markets

The circuit split recently created by the Ninth Circuit's ruling in Kalshi v. Assad has implications reaching beyond gaming regulation as, depending on the ultimate characterization of prediction market event contracts, platforms may face differing obligations under federal and state money transmission laws, say attorneys at Manatt.


AI And AML: Governance Plays Critical Role In Innovation

Financial institutions adopting artificial intelligence for anti-money laundering compliance should implement governance specific to individual use cases, testing, documentation and human oversight to manage regulatory and enforcement risks as agentic tools expand, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.


How Cos. Can Fight Consumers' Tariff Refund Class Actions

After the U.S. Supreme Court's February decision in Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump, invalidating $165 billion of presidentially imposed tariffs, consumers have filed numerous class actions seeking tariff refunds from businesses — but companies have substantial and multifaceted defenses available against these claims, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.


The Deep Split Over Mandatory Detention, And What's Next

The government’s mandatory detention policy for noncitizens who entered the U.S. without inspection has led to a spate of decisions this year, with nine circuits rejecting the government's reading of the Immigration and Nationality Act against two that have accepted it, making the issue ripe for U.S. Supreme Court review, says attorney Kemal Hepsen.


Intersecting Investigation Risks Loom In Next Congress

Taken together, two July D.C. Circuit decisions and a recent U.S. Department of Justice opinion on executive privilege may affect the procedural defenses and privilege protections available to targets of oversight in the upcoming Congress, and companies should begin preparing now, say attorneys at WilmerHale.


FTC Focus: A Shift In The Pricing Disclosure Terrain

Recent state and Federal Trade Commission developments spotlight materially different ways in which personalized pricing might be addressed, which could result in an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape in which businesses face differing disclosure obligations and substantive restrictions depending upon the jurisdiction, say attorneys at Proskauer.


Vanda Ruling Offers New Guide To Generic Labeling Disputes

The D.C. Circuit's recent decision in Vanda Pharmaceuticals v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration is significant for its guidance on when generic-drug labeling remains sufficiently similar to brand labeling and when a difference requires a statutory exception, says Shashank Upadhye at Upadhye Tang.


9th Circ. Comet Ruling Spotlights Trade Secret Proof Burdens

The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision to vacate a $40 million verdict awarded to Comet Technologies in its trade secret dispute with XP Power underscores how the burden of proof differs between federal and state law, giving litigants a fresh perspective on several issues, including how a jury should be instructed, say attorneys at Cooley.



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Special Series


My Hobby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

From quilting to clowning to raising miniature livestock, attorneys share how their unusual extracurricular activities enhance professional development.




Judges On AI

Do artificial intelligence tools have any practical judicial applications? In this Expert Analysis series, state and federal judges explore potential use cases for AI in adjudication and beyond.




Opinion


Md. Court Got Ad Tax Similarity Analysis Wrong

Decisions striking Maryland’s digital advertising tax are fundamentally flawed because the Maryland Tax Court found similarity between digital ads and other ads without considering deep market distinctions, says Darien Shanske at UC Davis School of Law.

NC Litigation Funding Ban Sets Model For Other States

States worried about rising liability costs and the commercialization of their courts should treat North Carolina's recently enacted litigation funding ban as a model because a prohibition adequately addresses the distortion that disclosure only documents, say attorneys at McAngus Goudelock.



Access to Justice Perspectives


NJ Fingerprint Ruling Shows Forensic Reliability Isn't Static

The New Jersey Supreme Court’s recent State v. Lee decision, holding that developments in forensic science warranted a renewed assessment of fingerprint evidence, reaffirmed the trial judge's role as gatekeeper and underscored that the admissibility of expert testimony is an ongoing inquiry, not a one-time determination, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.