Expert Analysis

• How Power Grid Delays Are Reshaping Data Center Deals

  

  Texas' pause on permits while it studies data centers' effect on its electrical grid highlights the nationwide problem of yearslong interconnection delays, where the ways developers, investors and customers bridge that gap — and decide who bears the risk when it widens — increasingly determine whether a deal works, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• Del. Dispatch: No Safe Harbor For Another Conflicted Deal

  

  The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision preliminarily enjoining a planned recapitalization of Cloudflare that would preserve the control of the company by its founder-controlling stockholders highlights that Delaware's new safe harbor statute for conflicted transactions doesn't protect founders or independent directors from liability, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• Character.AI Ch. 11 Tests New Model For Preserving AI Value

  

  Character.AI's bankruptcy is charting a path for preserving value in an artificial intelligence business that depends on retaining unfinished technology and the employees who know how to develop it, while accounting for the firm's failure and its consequences for creditors, says Diane Dick at University of Iowa College of Law.

• Meta, TikTok Cases Show How AGs May Redefine Governance

  The Meta Platforms settlement and TikTok lawsuit addressing social media harms to minors highlight that state attorneys general are not merely extracting payments, but are also using litigation and settlements to impose durable product, institutional and policy change, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

• How NYC Consumer Bill Could Expand Private Claims

  

  New York City's proposed Power Act could expose companies to sweeping private claims under its prohibition on unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices, making regulatory compliance reviews and litigation-risk planning essential for businesses serving city residents, says Brian Turetsky at Hinshaw.

• What FTC Publicis Deal Means For Data Infrastructure M&A

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's recent proposed resolution to its concerns over Publicis' $2.2 billion acquisition of LiveRamp shows how the FTC may treat deals involving important data infrastructure layers, even when the parties operate at different levels of the technology stack, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.

• Key Themes In State Bank Supervisors' AI Exam Framework

  

  The Conference of State Bank Supervisors' artificial intelligence supervisory framework introduces a set of optional questions and procedures for examiners, and it may bring meaningful consistency in how financial institutions' AI use and integration will be examined, say attorneys at Cooley.

• How Feds' Shifting Guidance Hits Bank-Fintech Partnerships

  

  A slew of recent Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reforms will ultimately give banks and fintechs more flexibility in third-party oversight and supervisory information sharing, but institutions still must document risk-based decisions and engage proactively with regulators, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

• What To Watch As Florida Stablecoin Framework Takes Shape

  

  As Florida's new payment stablecoin licensing framework enters its second month, requiring issuers to map applicable state and federal obligations and account for certification and rulemaking uncertainty, businesses should build core controls while keeping launch plans and contracts flexible, says Rob Brighton at Becker.

• 2 Del. Rulings Show Postclosing Earnout Arrangement Risks

  

  Two recent Delaware Court of Chancery decisions illustrate the contractual and fiduciary duty risks associated with earnout provisions in M&A transactions, offering lessons on allocating postclosing control, drafting enforceable earnout covenants and managing executives whose pay depends on the outcome, says Chris Brown at Taft.

• How Cos. Can Reassess Ad Tech After Wash. Pixel Use Ruling

  

  The Washington Supreme Court's decision in Baker v. Seattle Children's Hospital, holding that the hospital website's use of Meta Pixel didn't violate the state’s privacy act, may provide a powerful defense against privacy claims, but shouldn’t be read as a blanket approval of advertising technologies, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

• Opinion

  Judges Must Turn To Merits Earlier To Fix Civil Justice System

  

  The U.S. justice system is long overdue for a cultural shift that encourages judges to engage with the merits of a case from the outset, which would help to cut through procedural complexities and deliver high-quality justice efficiently and at lower cost, says Steven Kayman at Rottenberg Lipman.

• Justices' Intel Ruling Could Aid 401(k) Alternative Asset Push

  

  Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent oral arguments in Anderson v. Intel, a decision favoring Intel over a prudence claim against fiduciaries based on underperformance by comparing two funds that aren't meaningfully similar would undercut the most common litigation theory against including alternative investments in 401(k) plans, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• FCRA Ruling Previews Future Business Transaction Litigation

  

  The Ninth Circuit's overturning of a class verdict against CenturyLink is a win for businesses facing Fair Credit Reporting Act willfulness claims, but the question of when a consumer initiates a transaction remains unanswered, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

• How Cos. Should Prepare For Democratic Oversight

  

  Companies should begin preparing now for a new, Democratic-majority Congress — understanding how the oversight landscape has changed in recent years and monitoring leadership elections, new rules and potential select committees, say attorneys at Wiley.