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When Litigation Financing Goes Wrong, Who Pays?

February 27th, 2025|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, HB Tort Notes, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , |

The bankruptcy of Houston's AkinMears LLP highlights the risks of relying too heavily on third-party litigation financing and the broader implications for transparency, regulation, and financial sustainability in mass torts. The firm filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy citing more than $200 million in debt owed to litigation funding companies Virage SPV 1 and Rocade Capital. According to Bloomberg Law’s U.S. Bankruptcy Tracker, AkinMears LLP was the only U.S. law firm filing for bankruptcy in January 2025 with $50 million or more in liabilities. In total, 12 large law firms declared bankruptcy in January 2025, up from seven in January 2024 but slightly below the 17 cases recorded in January 2023. Read our report by guest contributor Jennifer Holmes.

Mexico Bans Imports of Foreign Textiles: Does My Insurance Policy Cover That?

February 25th, 2025|Categories: Corporate Compliance, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Insurance, Journal, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

Diana Gliedman, Dennis Nolan, and Fiona Hogan examine the impact of Mexico’s recent presidential decree banning certain foreign textile imports through the IMMEX program and increasing tariffs on textile products. The ban has disrupted operations for textile companies and third-party logistics providers, leading to unexpected costs, rerouting challenges, and supply chain delays. The authors outline how businesses may find relief through insurance policies such as Supply Chain Insurance, Business Interruption, Contingent Business Interruption, and Marine Cargo/Stock Throughput Insurance. They emphasize the need for swift action to review coverage, notify insurers, and document losses to maximize potential claims.

Trump’s rollback of draft PFAS regulation means uncertain future for ‘forever chemicals’ torts

February 21st, 2025|Categories: Emerging Litigation & Risk, Environmental Torts, HB Tort Notes, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , |

With federal PFAS regulations in limbo, lawsuits targeting “forever chemicals” are expanding—what does this mean for businesses and consumers? Justin Ward examines the uncertain future of PFAS (“forever chemicals”) regulation and litigation after former President Trump rolled back a draft rule expanding Biden-era guidelines. The rising PFAS lawsuits are increasingly targeting consumer product manufacturers alongside chemical companies. Despite concerns over deregulation, several states have enacted their own strict PFAS rules, ensuring continued legal challenges and regulatory pressure. Read our report by guest contributor Justin Ward.

California’s climate disclosure laws withstand initial US Chamber of Commerce challenge

February 20th, 2025|Categories: Corporate Compliance, Emerging Litigation & Risk, Environmental Torts, HB Tort Notes, Journal, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , |

California’s groundbreaking climate disclosure laws just overcame a major legal challenge—what does this mean for businesses and the future of corporate transparency? Writer Justin Ward will fill you in.

AI Litigation Risks in Employment by Gerald L. Maatman Jr., Alex W. Karasik, and George J. Schaller

April 25th, 2024|Categories: Corporate Compliance, Emerging Litigation & Risk, Employment, HB Tort Notes, Journal, New Featured Post for Home Page, News, Technology Law|Tags: , , , |

The authors, Gerald L. Maatman Jr., Alex W. Karasik, and George J. Schaller analyze two novel AI lawsuits and highlight recent governmental guidance related to AI use in the employment context and the implications of possible discriminatory conduct stemming from the use of AI tools. "AI is here to stay," they write. "Whether companies choose AI technology for any 'employment decision,' companies must keep themselves up to date on any issued guidance and must actively monitor AI tools to prevent any possible discriminatory outputs."

Protecting Policyholders as AI Is Developed for Insurance Claims Handling by Marshall Gilinsky and Madison Marlow

April 23rd, 2024|Categories: Corporate Compliance, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Insurance, Journal, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

The authors, Marshall Gilinsky and Madison Marlow discuss the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) within the insurance industry and outline the potential consequences of diminished human oversight in AI-driven insurance claims handling, highlighting the need for watchdogs and regulators to demand that AI tools under development afford “explainability” and protect policyholder rights.

Adapting to AI: Taking a Practical Approach to Governance by Blair Robinson

April 19th, 2024|Categories: Corporate Compliance, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Journal, New Featured Post for Home Page, News, Technology Law|Tags: , , , , |

The author, Blair Robinson of Robinson+Cole discusses the need for a practical AI governance framework that businesses must embrace to harness AI’s transformative promise responsibly, encompassing a diligent, strategic, and technically nuanced governance approach. As she notes, "taking a methodical and use-case-driven approach may allow a business to embrace the transformative power of AI in critical areas while managing “wild west”-style use by employees without governance approval".

JEIL S24 Top Legal Risks with Generative AI by Graham Reynolds, Robin Sagstetter, and Damon W.D. Wright

April 19th, 2024|Categories: Corporate Compliance, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Journal, New Featured Post for Home Page, News, Technology Law|Tags: , , , , |

The authors, Graham Reynolds, Robin Sagstetter, and Damon W.D. Wright discuss recent court cases which have brought to the forefront the top legal risks associated with the use of Generative AI.

The Use and Abuse of the Pollution Exclusion by Robert D. Chesler, Dennis J. Artese, and Jamie O’Neill

April 19th, 2024|Categories: Emerging Litigation & Risk, Environmental Torts, HB Tort Notes, Insurance, Journal, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , |

The authors, Robert Chesler, Dennis Artese, and Jamie O'Neill of Anderson Kill examine recent court decisions and ongoing cases that have brought to the forefront the critical issue of the reach of pollution exclusions in insurance policies.

Jury Selection in the Age of Conspiracy Theories and Distrust with Tara Trask

April 4th, 2024|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, ELP, News|Tags: , , |

In this episode, we discuss picking juries in an age of misinformation, general distrust, tribalism, unleashed social media surfers, and unorthodox legal strategies unfolding on a daily basis with Tara Trask of Trask Consulting, jury and trial expert. "Jury service is an opportunity for everyday Americans to interact with an important institution, our courts, and play their part as citizens,"Trask says. "The court system could very well be our saving grace in trying to hang on to our democracy." Listen now.

The Corporate Transparency Act: A New Effort to Fight Money Laundering with Lori Smith

February 29th, 2024|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, Corporate Compliance, ELP, News|Tags: , , , , |

In this episode, we discuss the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) with Lori Smith of Stradley Ronon, including the key facets of the Act's requirements, potential penalties, and chances for litigation. As Lori notes, "the U.S. is one of the few countries in the world where you can form entities, and nobody can tell who owns them". The CTA aims to prevent this from being the case. Listen and learn more!

Cracking the College Sports “Cartel”: Good for Athletes, Competition, and the Games by Joy Sidhwa and Tim LaComb

February 13th, 2024|Categories: Class Actions, Complex Business Litigation, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , |

Momentum in the national debate over whether a college athlete should profit from licensing deals for their “names, images, and likenesses,” or NILs, swung in favor of players on June 21, 2021, when the Supreme Court ruled for the athletes in NCAA v. Alston. Authors Joy Sidhwa and Tim LaComb of MoginRubin, LLP discuss the impacts of the decision and subsequent court decisions and state legislation which have further cemented and defined the changing amateurism rules in college sports. As the authors note, "the ultimate test of whether amateurism drives demand will come after new state laws allow compensation unrelated to education. If compensation doesn’t trigger a drop in demand, the NCAA will lose its procompetitive justification for the restriction and likely bring an end to amateurism rules".

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