Expert Analysis

• Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

  

  The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

• Mo. Solar Projects Need Clarity On Enterprise Zone Tax Relief

  

  In Missouri, enhanced enterprise zones offer tax abatements that could offset the cost of solar project infrastructure, but developers must be willing to navigate uncertainty about whether the project is classified as real property, say Lizzy McEntire and Anna Kimbrell at Husch Blackwell.

• AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

  

  Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

• What To Expect After Colo. Nixes Special Standing Rules

  

  Two recent Colorado Supreme Court decisions have abandoned a test to preclude standing in lawsuits challenging government decisions brought by subordinate government entities, which will likely lead to an admixture of results, including opening the door to additional legal challenges between government entities, says John Crisham at Crisham & Holman.

• Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

  

  As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

• General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

  

  With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

• Kentucky Tax Talk: Clash Over Industrial Supplies Exemption

  

  Recent legislative testimony in Kentucky may cause another battle over the state's sales tax exemptions for industrial supplies, even though the testimony appears to mischaracterize the impact of a major state court ruling that upheld the exemptions, say attorneys at Frost Brown.

• Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

  

  As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

• Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

  

  Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

• How Fla. Bankruptcy Ruling May Affect Equity Owners

  

  A Florida bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Vital Pharmaceuticals — which rejected the Third Circuit’s Majestic Star decision that determined a bankrupt corporation’s flow-through status was not protected by the automatic stay — may significantly affect how equity owners can mitigate the impact of flow-through structures in bankruptcy, say Eric Behl-Remijan and Natasha Hwangpo at Ropes & Gray.

• What Ariz. Ruling Means For Taxation Of Digital Services

  

  The Arizona Supreme Court recently declined to review ADP v. Arizona Department of Revenue, letting stand a state appeals court's ruling that software as a service is a taxable rental of tangible personal property, essentially granting the department of revenue power to tax all digital services, say Karen Lowell and Pat Derdenger at Lewis Roca.

• Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

  

  Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

• 1st Tax Easement Convictions Will Likely Embolden DOJ, IRS

  

  After recent convictions in the first criminal tax fraud trial over allegedly abusive syndicated conservation easements, the IRS and U.S. Department of Justice will likely pursue other promoters for similar alleged conspiracies — though one acquittal may help attorneys better evaluate their clients' exposure, say Bill Curtis and Lauren DeSantis-Then at Polsinelli.

• Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes

  

  Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.

• Anticipating Intensified Partnership Enforcement From IRS

  

  The Internal Revenue Service's decadeslong difficulties with partnership audits led to the recent announcement of a clear, well-funded, focused initiative, and businesses operating in the partnership form will feel the impact, with definite changes ahead, says Sharon Katz-Pearlman at Greenberg Traurig.