Expert Analysis

• Musk-OpenAI Verdict Shows Value Of Early-Stage Governance

  

  A California federal court's ruling last week in Musk v. Altman preserves the status quo at OpenAI, but signals to the technology industry at large that courts will not relitigate the governance decisions of early-stage organizations on a founder's competitive timetable, surfacing questions that will outlast the litigation, says attorney Alan N. Walter.

• Finding Borrower Risk In The Private Credit Covenant Mix

  

  Amid rising caution over private credit defaults, investors and their counsel can gain key insights about borrower risk from the particular combination of financial metrics included in a loan's covenants, not just the number of covenants, say Christopher Armstrong at Stanford University, and Carlo Gallimberti and David Tsui at Analysis Group.

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  Studying Foreign Languages Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Studying Italian and Japanese has shown me that learning a new language can benefit a legal career in several ways, including by demonstrating the importance of approaching problems from a fresh perspective and the value of practicing patience with colleagues and clients, says Anna King at Genworth Financial.

• NIL Contracts Test Limits On College Football Transfers

  

  College football's new legal era of direct payments to players and fewer transfer restrictions has put contractual provisions in play, and stipulations such as termination clauses and repayment obligations require added scrutiny as the name, image and likeness system evolves, says Kevin Paule at Hill Ward Henderson.

• How The High Court Expanded Freight Broker Liability

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II that freight brokers may be liable for selecting unsafe motor carriers, the key question will be whether brokers used reasonable care in selecting a given motor carrier, with the concurring opinion offering some clues as to what reasonable care might look like, says Marc Blubaugh at Benesch.

• DOJ Activity Indicates Rising Antitrust Risk For Hospitals

  

  Two civil actions filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against New York-Presbyterian Hospital and OhioHealth, both alleging that the hospital systems used their market power to stifle competition, highlight the government's growing scrutiny of barriers to lower-cost insurance options, say attorneys at Freshfields.

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  NY Times Word Puzzles Make Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Every morning I let The New York Times humble me with word games, which offer a chance to recalibrate my brain before the day's chaos arrives and remind me that a solution — whether to a puzzle or employment law issue — almost always exists once I find the right angle, says Amy Epstein Gluck at Pierson Ferdinand.

• Tracking Tech Suit Is A Risk Management Reminder For Cos.

  

  The Fifth Circuit recently heard oral argument in Rand v. Eyemart Express — an appeal that could reshape the legal landscape for businesses that deploy tracking tech on their websites — underscoring the importance of proactive risk management for companies across multiple industries, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

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  Law School's Missed Lesson: Diagnose Before Arguing

  

  Law school often skips over explicitly teaching students how to determine what kind of problem a case presents before they commit to a particular doctrinal path, which risks building arguments that are internally coherent but externally misaligned, says Melanie Oxhorn at Kobre & Kim.

• Becoming The Biz-Savvy GC That Portfolio Companies Need

  

  Candidates for general counsel roles at private equity-backed portfolio companies should prioritize proving their sector-specific experience, commercial judgment and ease with uncertainty — and attorneys hoping to be candidates in five to 10 years should start working on those skills now, says Dimitri Mastrocola at Major Lindsey.

• Nielsen Appeal Tests Antitrust Limits Of Pricing And Bundling

  

  In Cumulus v. Nielsen, the Second Circuit is considering a structural pattern in which a monopolist exploits upstream market power to foreclose downstream competition, which could potentially offer broad insight into how courts will assess exclusionary bundling and pricing defenses under antitrust law, says Luke Hasskamp at Bona Law.

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  Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

  

  Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

• 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

  

  The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

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  Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

• Salt-N-Pepa Suit May Shake Up Music Copyright Issue

  

  James v. UMG Recordings is a copyright termination rights case that provides an opportunity for the Second Circuit to make concrete choices about grant language, authorship, work-for-hire status and survival of derivative works, says attorney Abdul Abdullahi.