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The SEC Signs on to Arbitration
FEATURED
September 29, 2025
The SEC Signs on to Arbitration
By: George Calhoun
Early last week, on September 17, 2025, the SEC announced that it will no longer consider the presence of a mandatory arbitration provision in a company’s charter or bylaws when deciding whether to accelerate the effectiveness of a registration statement. This policy shift will permit companies to include arbitration clauses in their governing documents to require securities litigants (including class action plaintiffs) to pursue their claims in arbitration proceedings rather than court cases. The decision leaves open how arbitration provisions might apply in direct actions versus derivative actions. Nonetheless, this could result in a significant reduction in private securities litigation. The SEC focused its decision on the recent trend in U.S. Supreme Court precedent concerning the Federal Arbitration Act and…
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Cal. High Court Softens Draconian Arbitration Fee Rule
August 19, 2025
Cal. High Court Softens Draconian Arbitration Fee Rule
By: Robert Ward
California law has often tested just how much room the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) leaves for states to regulate consumer arbitration agreements. Last week, in Hohenshelt v. Superior Court,[1] the California Supreme Court determined that at least one claimant-favoring provision of the California Arbitration Act (CAA), California Code of Civil Procedure § 1281.98 comes close to, but does not cross, that line. At the same…
Ready, Set, Go: More States Adopt Privacy Laws
July 30, 2025
Ready, Set, Go: More States Adopt Privacy Laws
By: Nicole Kardell
Note the below chart was updated on July 24, 2025 to reflect recent developments. The number of U.S. states that have adopted privacy laws grows regularly. Fortunately, there seems to be quite a bit of crossover, at least when it comes to thresholds that companies must meet in order to trigger compliance requirements. We provide below a chart that summarizes these thresholds by state, including…
Liar, Liar Robot on Fire – Can You Seek Legal Relief if a Chatbot Defames You?
May 22, 2023
Liar, Liar Robot on Fire – Can You Seek Legal Relief if a Chatbot Defames You?
By: Abbey Block
When another person publishes a lie about you that causes harm to your reputation, you can seek relief by filing a defamation lawsuit. But what sort of relief is available when the person making the defamatory statement isn’t a person at all – but instead is a robot? The world may soon find out. In early April, Reuters reported that a regional Australian Mayor, Brian…
Appeals Court Tells Elon Musk –A Deal Is A Deal: SEC Consent Decree Sticks
May 18, 2023
Appeals Court Tells Elon Musk –A Deal Is A Deal: SEC Consent Decree Sticks
By: Michelle Cohen
When faced with federal agency enforcement actions, companies frequently enter into consent decrees with the government to avoid the time, expense, and uncertainties of litigation. Consent decrees often involve the payment of settlement monies. They can also include lengthy commitments in furtherance of compliance, such as annual reporting and officer certifications. Consent decrees may also restrict certain practices, even over decades. Once a “deal” is…
For the Children!: Children’s Online Safety Becomes Focus of State and Federal Law
May 15, 2023
For the Children!: Children’s Online Safety Becomes Focus of State and Federal Law
By: Nicole Kardell
Have you seen the latest craze in babysitting? If you are ever out in public, you have. Think of the last time you were at a restaurant, stoplight, or airport, and noticed a child, aged between tot and tween, fixated on his or her device. That’s the craze: the cheapest, most available babysitting option these days is a device that can entertain children for hours,…
Artificial Intelligence Poses Threat to Business Data Privacy and Confidential Information
May 10, 2023
Artificial Intelligence Poses Threat to Business Data Privacy and Confidential Information
By: Jake Gray
Over the last year, an abundance of headlines detailing innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) technology have hit the news cycle. Beyond mere technical advancements, many reports have discussed AI’s potential to revolutionize innumerable industries and the workplace, whether for better or worse. The White House is accordingly delving into AI’s role in the workplace, recently announcing that the White House Office of Science and Technology…
A New Paradigm: Claimant Opposition to Mass Tort Bankruptcy and Needed Reform
May 3, 2023
A New Paradigm: Claimant Opposition to Mass Tort Bankruptcy and Needed Reform
By: George Calhoun
Congress enacted Section 524(g) of the Bankruptcy Code in 1994. That statute requires a 75% supermajority of claimants to approve a bankruptcy plan binding on future claimants and containing injunctions protecting the debtor and other third parties. The statute handed veto power to prominent plaintiff law firms. Companies facing mass tort liabilities, primarily asbestos, were forced into Faustian deals with plaintiffs groups in which trusts…
