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Expert Analysis

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Becoming A Firmwide MVP

  

  Though lawyers don't have a neat metric like baseball players for measuring the value they contribute to their organizations, the sooner new attorneys learn skills frequently skipped in law school — like networking, marketing, client development and case evaluation — the more valuable, and less replaceable, they will be, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

• How NY's FAIR Act Mirrors CFPB State Recommendations

  

  New York's proposed FAIR Business Practices Act, which targets predatory lending and junk fees, reflects the Rohit Chopra-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recommendations to states in a number of ways, including by defining "abusive" conduct and adding a new right to file class actions, says Christian Hancock at Bradley Arant.

• Expect Eyes On Electronic Devices At US Entry Points

  

  Electronic device searches are becoming common at U.S. border inspections, making it imperative for companies to familiarize themselves with what's allowed, and mandate specific precautions for employees to protect their privacy and sensitive information during international travel, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

• Big Tech M&A Risk Under Trump May Resemble Biden Era

  

  Merger review under the Trump administration may not differ substantially from merger review under the Biden administration, particularly in the Big Tech arena, in which case dealmakers and investors should shift the antitrust discount on M&A deals upward, says Jonathan Barnett at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

• Takeaways From DOJ's 1st Wage-Fixing Jury Conviction

  

  U.S. v. Lopez marked the U.S. Department of Justice's first labor market conviction at trial as a Nevada federal jury found a home healthcare staffing executive guilty of wage-fixing and wire fraud, signaling that improper agreements risk facing successful criminal prosecution, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

• Calif. Climate Superfund Bill Faces Legal, Technical Hurdles

  

  California could soon join other states in sending the fossil fuel industry a massive bill for the costs of coping with climate change — but its pending climate Superfund legislation, if enacted, is certain to face legal pushback and daunting implementation challenges, says Donald Sobelman at Farella Braun.

• How Cos. Can Navigate Risks Of New Cartel Terrorist Labels

  

  The Trump administration’s recent designation of eight drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations gives rise to new criminal and civil liabilities for companies that are unwittingly exposed to cartel activity, but businesses can mitigate such risks in a few key ways, say attorneys at Steptoe.

• Cosmetic Co. Considerations As More States Target PFAS

  

  In the first quarter of the year, seven states introduced or passed legislation focused on banning the sale of cosmetics that contain PFAS, making it necessary for businesses to adjust their product testing and supply chain practices, product formulations, marketing strategies, and more, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

• What We Lost After SEC Eliminated Regional Director Role

  

  Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Regional Director Marc Fagel discusses the recent wholesale elimination of the regional director position, the responsibilities of the job itself and why discarding this role highlights how the appearance of creating a more efficient agency may limit the SEC's effectiveness.

• Mass. Suit Points To New Scrutiny For Home Equity Contracts

  

  The Massachusetts attorney general’s recent charge that a lender sold unregulated reverse mortgages shows more regulators are scrutinizing mortgage alternatives like home equity contracts, but a similar case in the Ninth Circuit suggests more courts need to help develop a consensus on these products' legality, say attorneys at Weiner Brodsky.

• EEOC Suits Show Cos. Shouldn't Ax Anti-Harassment Efforts

  

  Companies shouldn't be so quick to eliminate anti-harassment programs in response to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's guidance cautioning against unlawful diversity, equity and inclusion programs, as recent enforcement actions demonstrate that the agency still plans to hold employers accountable for addressing sexual harassment, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.

• Perspectives

  Reading Tea Leaves In High Court's Criminal Law Decisions

  

  The criminal justice decisions the U.S. Supreme Court will announce in the coming weeks will reveal whether last term’s fractured decision-making has continued, an important data point as the justices’ alignment seems to correlate with who benefits from a case’s outcome, says Sharon Fairley at the University of Chicago Law School.

• $38M Law Firm Settlement Highlights 'Unworthy Client' Perils

  

  A recent settlement of claims against law firm Eckert Seamans for allegedly abetting a Ponzi scheme underscores the continuing threat of clients who seek to exploit their lawyers in perpetrating fraud, and the critical importance of preemptive measures to avoid these clients, say attorneys at Lockton Companies.

• Hints Of Where Enforcement May Grow Under New CFPB

  

  Though the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has significantly scaled back enforcement under the new administration, states remain able to pursue Consumer Financial Protection Act violators and the CFPB seems set to enhance its focus on predatory loans to military members and fraudulent debt collection and credit reporting practices, say attorneys at MoFo.

• Only Certainty About FAR Reform Order Is Its Uncertainty

  

  The president’s recent order overhauling the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which both contractors and agencies rely on to ensure predictability and consistency in federal procurement, lacks key details about its implementation, which will likely eliminate many safeguards that ensure contractors are treated fairly and that procurements are awarded in a reasonable manner, say attorneys at Miles & Stockbridge.