Expert Analysis

• 11th Circ. Equitable Tolling Ruling Deepens Circuit Split

  

  The Eleventh Circuit recently held that equitable tolling was unavailable to extend a deadline to object to discharge of debt, becoming the most recent circuit court decision to address this issue, and deepening a split that requires resolution by the U.S. Supreme Court, says Paul Avron at Berger Singerman.

• Agentic AI Puts A New Twist On Attorney Ethics Obligations

  

  As lawyers increasingly use autonomous artificial intelligence agents, disciplinary authorities must decide whether attorney responsibility for an AI-caused legal ethics violation is personal or supervisory, and firms must enact strong policies regarding agentic AI use and supervision, says Grace Wynn at HWG.

• Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

  

  Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.

• Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

  

  A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.

• Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

  

  Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

• Bankruptcy Courts May Offer Relief For Tariff-Driven Distress

  

  The Bankruptcy Code and the customs laws interact in complex ways that make bankruptcy a powerful, albeit limited, tool for companies that are dealing with tariff-related financial distress, says Eitan Arom at KTBS Law.

• What New CFPB Oversight Limits Would Mean For 4 Markets

  

  As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to centralize its resources, proposals to alter the definition of larger market participants in the automobile financing, international money transfer, consumer reporting and consumer debt collection markets would reduce the scope of the bureau's oversight, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• Advice For 1st-Gen Lawyers Entering The Legal Profession

  

  Nikki Hurtado at The Ferraro Law Firm tells her story of being a first-generation lawyer and how others who begin their professional journeys without the benefit of playbooks handed down by relatives can turn this disadvantage into their greatest strength.

• How Bankruptcy Law Caps Landlords' Rejected Lease Claims

  

  With corporate bankruptcy filings for the first half of the year at a 15-year high, landlords should be prepared for commercial tenants to use the bankruptcy process to reject unwanted leases in order to lessen corporate footprints and improve liquidity, say attorneys at Mintz.

• Ruling Puts 11th Circ. At Odds With Bankruptcy Courts

  

  While an Eleventh Circuit majority recently found in BenShot v. 2 Monkey Trading and Lucky Shot USA that corporate debtors, like individuals, face certain exceptions to discharge under a nonconsensual Subchapter V plan, the ruling not only reverses the lower court, but opposes the holdings of many other bankruptcy courts, say attorneys at McDermott.

• Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Make A Deal

  

  Preparing lawyers for the nuances of a transactional practice is not a strong suit for most law schools, but, in practice, there are six principles that can help young M&A lawyers become seasoned, trusted deal advisers, says Chuck Morton at Venable.

• 5 Critical Changes Coming To Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1

  

  Residential mortgage lenders and servicers should prepare for significant amendments to Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1 taking effect this December that will impose new filing requirements, codify how creditors handle untimely payment change notices and allow debtors to request status updates, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

• What 2 Profs Noticed As Transactional Law Students Used AI

  

  After a semester using generative artificial intelligence tools with students in an entrepreneurship law clinic, we came away with numerous observations about the opportunities and challenges such tools present to new transactional lawyers, say professors at Cornell Law School.