Deals & Corporate Governance

Expert Analysis

• Without Stronger Due Diligence, Attys Risk AML Regulation

  

  Amid increasing pressure to mitigate money laundering and terrorism financing risks in gatekeeper professions, the legal industry will need to clarify and strengthen existing client due diligence measures — or risk the federal regulation attorneys have long sought to avoid, says Jeremy Glicksman at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

• Abortion Pill Rulings Will Hinder FDA Authority

  

  Although the Fifth Circuit recently stayed a Texas federal court's ruling that invalidated the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of a commonly used abortion medication, several points made by the courts are worth considering for their potentially chilling effect on FDA authority and the challenges they may create for the life sciences industry, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Cannabis Labor Peace Laws Lay Fertile Ground For Unions

  

  State legislatures are increasingly passing cannabis laws that encourage or even mandate labor peace agreements as a condition for licensure, and though open questions remain about the constitutionality of such statutes, unionization efforts are unlikely to slow down, says Peter Murphy at Saul Ewing.

• Every Lawyer Can Act To Prevent Peer Suicide

  

  Members of the legal industry can help prevent suicide among their colleagues, and better protect their own mental health, by learning the predictors and symptoms of depression among attorneys and knowing when and how to get practical aid to peers in crisis, says Joan Bibelhausen at Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers.

• Building On Successful Judicial Assignment Reform In Texas

  

  Prompt action by the Judicial Conference could curtail judge shopping and improve the efficiency and procedural fairness of the federal courts by implementing random districtwide assignment of cases, which has recently proven successful in Texas patent litigation, says Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper.

• Now Is The Time For Independent Industry Self-Regulation

  

  The high level of trust in business, coupled with the current political and legal landscape, provides an opportunity for companies to play a meaningful role in finding solutions to public policy issues through the exploration of independent industry self-regulation models, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

• AmEx Ruling Proves A Double-Edged Sword In Labor Antitrust

  

  Though the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 decision in Ohio v. American Express was a defense victory, both the plaintiff and defense bars have learned to use the case's holdings to their advantage, with particularly uncertain implications for labor antitrust cases, say Lauren Weinstein and Robert Chen at MoloLamken.

• Do Videoconferences Establish Jurisdiction With Defendants?

  

  What it means to have minimum contacts in a foreign jurisdiction is changing as people become more accustomed to meeting via video, and defendants’ participation in videoconferencing may be used as a sword or a shield in courts’ personal jurisdiction analysis, says Patrick Hickey at Moye White.

• Takeaways From DOJ's Novel Insider Trading Indictment

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice's recently announced insider trading charges in U.S. v. Peizer mark the first indictment based solely on an executive’s use of a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, reflecting prosecutors' aggressive approach and providing insights for corporate executives, say attorneys at Cleary.

• Humanism Should Replace Formalism In The Courts

  

  The worrying tendency for judges to say "it's just the law talking, not me" in American decision writing has coincided with an historic decline in respect for the courts, but this trend can be reversed if courts develop understandable legal standards and justify them in human terms, says Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher.

• Expect Merger Enforcement To Roll Full Steam Ahead

  

  U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission officials at the American Bar Association's 2023 Antitrust Spring Meeting laid out their agenda to reinvigorate and modernize antitrust merger enforcement, projecting confidence and optimism despite recent high-profile setbacks in court, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

• Don't Let Client Demands Erode Law Firm Autonomy

  

  As clients increasingly impose requirements for attorney hiring and retention related to diversity and secondment, law firms must remember their ethical duties, as well as broader issues of lawyer development, culture and firm integrity, to maintain their independence while meaningfully responding to social changes, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

• Distressed Cannabis Cos. Have A Few Options, With Caveats

  

  As the cannabis industry falls on tough times and a potential recession looms, attorneys should understand the limited restructuring options available to distressed cannabis businesses, absent key bankruptcy protections — and the pitfalls these options may present, say Griffen Thorne and Ethan Minkin at Harris Bricken.