Expert Analysis

• Top 10 Noncompete Developments Of 2024

  

  Following an eventful year in noncompete law at both state and federal levels, employers can no longer rely on a court's willingness to blue-pencil overbroad agreements and are proceeding at their own peril if they do not thoughtfully review and carefully enforce such agreements, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

• 5 Advertising Law Trends To Watch In 2025

  

  Although advertisers are encouraged by the incoming Trump administration's focus on deregulation, this year could feel like wading through uncharted waters, and decreased federal government regulation may mean increased state regulation, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

  

  In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

• NY Plastic Pollution Verdict May Not Bode Well For Other Suits

  

  The dismissal of New York state's public nuisance complaint against PepsiCo over pollution of the Buffalo River with the company's single use plastic bottles may not augur well for similar lawsuits filed by Baltimore and Los Angeles County, although tort law varies from state to state, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

• UBS Ruling Shows SDNY's Pro-Award Confirmation Stance

  

  A New York federal court's recent ruling upholding an arbitration award in Lakah v. UBS, a long-running dispute over a bond debt default, serves as a reminder that New York courts carry a strong presumption toward binding parties to arbitration agreements and enforcing arbitral awards, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

• 2 Cases May Signal Where FTC Is Headed On Labor Issues

  

  Two recent Federal Trade Commission challenges to no-hire clauses in agreements between building service firms and their customers include comments by future FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson that may offer insight into the direction the FTC is headed on labor issues, says Michael Wise at Squire Patton.

• New Law In NY Places Employee NIL Rights In Spotlight

  

  New York recently became the first state to codify name, image and likeness rights for models, but as such protections seemingly expand for individual employees across industries, employers may want to brush up on related case law, and update their handbooks and policies accordingly, says Timothy Bechen at Woods Rogers.

• 6 Predictions For Cyber Risk And Insurance In 2025

  

  This year is likely to bring with it some thorny and expensive cyber challenges, including increased ransomware activity, more data breach class actions and continued efforts to define business interruption loss calculations, say attorneys at Wiley.

• 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

  

  President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

• 4 Novel Issues From The Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni Suits

  

  A series of lawsuits arising from actress Blake Lively's sexual harassment and retaliation complaint against her "It Ends With Us" co-star, Justin Baldoni, present novel legal issues that employment and defamation practitioners alike should follow as the litigation progresses, say attorneys at Dorsey & Whitney.

• Trump, Tariffs And Tech: The Right To Repair In 2025

  

  The "right-to-repair" movement has helped make it easier for independent repair shops and consumers to repair their devices and vehicles — but President-elect Donald Trump's complicated relationship with Big Tech, and his advocacy for increased tariffs, make the immediate future of the movement uncertain, say attorneys at Carter Ledyard.

• E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

  

  Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

• Religious Accommodation Lessons From $12.7M Vax Verdict

  

  A Michigan federal jury’s recent $12.7 million verdict against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan starkly reminds employers of the risks they face when assessing employees’ religious accommodation requests, highlighting pitfalls to avoid and raising the opportunity to consider best practices to follow, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

• Series

  NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

  

  In 2024's final quarter, the New York State Department of Financial Services published guidance on mitigating the rising cybersecurity risks of artificial intelligence and remote technology workers with North Korean ties, and the state attorney general launched an antitrust investigation into Capital One's proposed Discover merger, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

• Series

  Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.