Bloomberg Law
Bloomberg Law Analysis

Courts Wrestle with EFAA Scope, Straddling Claims

A new federal carve-out exempts sexual harassment and sexual assault employment claims from arbitration, even where there’s an arbitration agreement. The few cases that have been decided on the merits since the law’s effective date have reached mixed results, and its true reach remains to be seen.

H1 2023 M&A Activity Was as Bad as It Seemed

Global M&A deal volume in the first half of 2023 continued last year’s slide and marked the second-lowest in the last 10 years. Perhaps the third quarter will buck the traditional summer slump in dealmaking, but it seems unlikely.

IPO Winter Shows Early Signs of Thaw

The 18-month-long (and counting) IPO winter hasn’t ended, but signs of a thaw may be found in the second quarter’s sharp uptick in both deals and average offering size.

Lawyer Work-From-Home Options Decrease During Endemic

As the Covid-19 pandemic becomes an endemic, masks and sanitizing stations aren’t the only things disappearing from law firms and corporations. The flexibility to work from home is also diminishing as return-to-office policies requiring in-office days increase, according to a recent Bloomberg Law survey.

Biden v. Nebraska Leaves Major Questions Unanswered

The US Supreme Court’s June 30 decision in Biden v. Nebraska placed the major questions doctrine front and center. It may have raised more questions than it answered, however, with respect to how lower courts are expected to apply the doctrine going forward.

Latest Stories

ANALYSIS: Courts Wrestle With EFAA Scope, Straddling Claims

A new federal carve-out exempts sexual harassment and sexual assault employment claims from arbitration, even where there’s an arbitration agreement. The few cases that have been decided on the merits since the law’s effective date have reached mixed results, and its true reach remains to be seen.

ANALYSIS: Biden v. Nebraska Leaves Major Questions Unanswered

The US Supreme Court’s June 30 decision in Biden v. Nebraska placed the major questions doctrine front and center. It may have raised more questions than it answered, however, with respect to how lower courts are expected to apply the doctrine going forward.

ANALYSIS: H1 2023 M&A Activity Was as Bad as It Seemed

Global M&A deal volume in the first half of 2023 continued last year’s slide and marked the second-lowest in the last 10 years. Perhaps the third quarter will buck the traditional summer slump in dealmaking, but it seems unlikely.

ANALYSIS: Lawyer Work-From-Home Options Decrease During Endemic

As the Covid-19 pandemic becomes an endemic, masks and sanitizing stations aren’t the only things disappearing from law firms and corporations. The flexibility to work from home is also diminishing as return-to-office policies requiring in-office days increase, according to a recent Bloomberg Law survey.

ANALYSIS: Top Law Firms Tackle Consumer Discretionary Activism

Three of the top five legal advisers on consumer discretionary activism campaigns met or exceeded their 2022 engagement totals in H1 2023 alone. If activists keep up this pace, top law firms may see a considerable uptick in their workload advising companies on activism in the sector this year.

ANALYSIS: Bank Regulators Lose Shield if Chevron Falls Next Term

The Supreme Court next term is poised to abandon or weaken its Chevron deference standard, which would leave federal bank regulators more exposed to court challenges. Regulatory and enforcement activities of the OCC and FRB would face the most scrutiny, but lawsuits against the FDIC could rise as well.

ANALYSIS: Noncompetes Pose Evolving Legal Risks as Feds Move In

Employers are preparing for the impacts of an FTC rule and the NLRB general counsel’s memorandum on noncompete agreements, but they must not lose sight of existing state laws because they’re enforceable now and can result in legal action against employers.

ANALYSIS: Arkansas Gender Care Ruling Puts Other Bans on Notice

A nationwide patchwork of gender-affirming care laws has courts grappling with how far states can go to ban certain health-care practices for transgender youth. But a recent ruling striking down Arkansas’s law is shedding light on which types of challenges may find success in blocking the statutes.

ANALYSIS: Notice & Comment Can Hint at Major Questions Suits

The major questions doctrine is increasingly being relied on by litigants to challenge federal agency actions. Following the 2021 explosion of major questions citations in federal complaints, parties are now raising major questions challenges in the rulemaking process before the applicable regulations are even final.

Made with Flourish

Legal Profession's Responses to Generative AI