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  • What DEI Changes Mean for Employers Featuring Patice Holland

    As political and public scrutiny of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs grows, employment attorney Patice Holland of WoodsRogers joins the Emerging Litigation Podcast to explain how employers—especially federal contractors—can reassess DEI initiatives while staying compliant with discrimination laws, navigating shifting enforcement priorities, and managing legal, operational, and reputational risk. Tune in now!

  • Arson Investigations: Best Practices for Establishing Fraud and Avoiding Bad Faith

    Arson-related insurance claims are rising—and so are the risks for insurers who don’t investigate thoroughly and by the book. Guest contributor Melissa A. Segel breaks down how carriers can use modern tools, smart strategy, and legal precision to uncover fraud while steering clear of costly bad faith pitfalls. A must-read for anyone navigating the intersection of fire science and insurance law.

  • Facing PFAS lawsuit, Apple claims watch bands are safe, but what does the evidence say?

    Amid rising concerns about toxic chemicals in consumer products, Apple finds itself under scrutiny. Guest contributor Justin Ward examines the controversy surrounding Apple’s smartwatch bands after researchers detected elevated levels of PFAS, or “forever chemicals.” While Apple insists its products are safe, a class action lawsuit alleges deceptive marketing and health risks, raising broader questions about accountability and chemical transparency in tech and apparel.

  • AI tool that summarizes evidence from cracked phones wades into uncharted constitutional waters

    As law enforcement agencies adopt cutting-edge AI to process digital evidence, constitutional questions are quickly coming into focus. Guest contributor Justin Ward explores how Cellebrite’s new AI-driven tool—capable of scanning and summarizing entire phone contents—may clash with Fourth Amendment protections. While the tech promises efficiency, civil rights advocates argue it opens the door to warrantless digital dragnets, with court interpretations varying widely across jurisdictions.

  • Valid Antitrust Concerns or Partisan Objectives: Which Will Guide Trump’s FTC?  

    Concerned that the spirit of retribution that drove executive orders against some of the nation's largest law firms will carry over to business deals, Tom Hagy writes about recent changes at the Federal Trade Commission and some of the comments from the new chair that suggest infusion of retribution into the process of examining business deals is inevitable.

  • AI tools may be the cause of the explosion in nuclear verdicts — and also the solution

    Guest contributor Justin Ward discusses how artificial intelligence is both fueling and fighting the rise of “nuclear verdicts.” Plaintiff attorneys are using AI to identify high-damages cases, favorable jurisdictions, and winning arguments—driving a spike in verdicts over $10 million. At the same time, defense lawyers and insurers are adopting tools like NaVeL to spot high-risk cases early and craft smarter strategies. As AI reshapes legal practice, the very technology accelerating massive awards may also be the best hope for containing them.

Emerging Litigation Podcast

Trademarks, Copyrights, Brands, T-Shirts, and Champagne with Tiffany Gehrke and Kelley Gordon

In this episode, we discuss three matters relevant to anyone watching copyright and trademark law, or anyone fond of branded t-shirts and fancy French beverages, with guests Tiffany Gehrke and Kelley Gordon, both Partners at Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP. Listen and learn more! Tom even (somewhat) learned how to say something in French. Mon dieu, people!

Algorithmic Software Facilitated Price Fixing with Jonathan Rubin

Everyone knows that price fixing is against the law, chiefly Section 1 of the federal Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Competitors may not collude to set prices. However, there are relatively new price-calculation tools that some companies maintain take them out of the equation. With these tools, shared across an industry, firms do not have to directly swap private information with competitors. Instead, they feed their data to a third-party which uses algorithms to come up with prices. In this episode, we discuss what algorithmic or software-facilitated pricing is, what the law says about price collusion, how this new pricing mechanism violates the law, and recent developments in litigation. Our guest highly regarded antitrust attorney Jonathan Rubin, Partner and Co-Founder of MoginRubin LLP.

Biometric Privacy Litigation and Coverage Disputes with John Leonard and Cort Malone

Biometric data is big business. In many cases it even helps make our lives better.  It also presents  significant risks for a variety of parties, in addition to those of us who surrender our data. Companies collecting,  storing, utilizing, and monetizing the data face penalties and litigation bolstered by the increasing number of states enacting biometric information privacy acts, or BIPAs, the first of which was in Illinois. In this episode, we discuss the state of biometric privacy litigation, the regulatory landscape, insurance coverage considerations, and recent rulings with guests John Leonard and Cort Malone of Anderson Kill P.C.

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Emerging Litigation Journal

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

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

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

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."

HB Webinars on CeriFi LegalEdge

Avoiding the Nuclear Verdict or the Defense Verdict

According to professionals in the insurance industry and the defense bar, the number of nuclear verdicts, or verdicts that exceed $10M, is on the rise. Although the defense may prevail over plaintiffs more often at trial, when the defense loses, they lose big. And plaintiffs who could have obtained needed resources in settlement, sometimes "roll the dice" at trial and get less, or nothing at all. Do clients really want to engage in such high stakes showdowns? Is there a better way to administer "justice?" In this CLE webinar, Mediator Arbitrator Jeff Trueman and Negotiation Educator and Author, John Lowry discuss these very questions. Register for the on-demand webinar today!

Litigation After Biometric Privacy Law Violations

In this CLE webinar, Anderson Kill attorneys, Cort Malone and John Leonard discuss the state of biometric privacy litigation, the regulatory landscape, and insurance coverage considerations and rulings.

Property Insurance Coverage for Emerging Risk of Underground Climate Change 

In this CLE webinar, Anderson Kill attorneys, Dennis J. Artese, Ethan Middlebrooks, and Thomas Dupont and professional engineer, Kenneth R. Quigley discuss permutations of policy language and state law that may affect coverage for damage caused by underground climate change, including how state law treats anti-concurrent causation clauses, whether “human-caused” exceptions to earth movement exclusions may apply to underground climate change, and whether “abrupt collapse” exceptions to exclusions for building collapse may apply when undetected structural damage triggered by underground climate change triggers collapse.

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