#cross-border-litigation

#cross-border-litigation

For the first time in three years, more law firms are planning to expand their office footprint, rather than contract, according to a new report from commercial real estate brokerage CBRE.

CFTC failing already a solid bet. Government says tariff refund system 40 percent to 80 percent complete which is quite the spread. Almost a they're just making stuff up kind of estimate.

Companies across sectors such as banking, industry, and technology report that their digital infrastructure is closely intertwined with American software and cloud platforms. Many organizations rely on services from large American suppliers for office software, cloud storage, and AI applications. According to them, this dependence cannot be reduced quickly without operational disruptions.

Apple and Google, the two companies that collectively control how more than six billion people access the internet from their pockets, are now facing coordinated antitrust enforcement actions across North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond. The simultaneous pressure marks a structural shift in how governments worldwide approach platform power.

In an interview with the Guardian, Richard Hermer, the government's most senior law officer and a close ally of Keir Starmer, said that in a complicated and dangerous world, leaders should be able to use statecraft to consider other factors when establishing whether to hold allies to account. In his first public comments since Britain's reaction to the US attack on Venezuela and threats toward Greenland, Hermer refrained from singling out the Trump administration,

The European Commission has launched a new antitrust probe into Google, expanding its long-running scrutiny of the tech giant's advertising practices. Regulators suspect the company may be manipulating the pricing of its search ad auctions, potentially inflating clearing prices "to the detriment of advertisers," according to a February 9 letter sent to affected businesses and seen by Bloomberg. The investigation marks the latest in a series of EU actions against Google,

Yesterday, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published the results of a joint study detailing the close connection between illicit trade in counterfeits and labor exploitation. The joint study shows clear, repeated associations between the intensity of counterfeit trade and abusive labor conditions, strongly suggesting that such conditions structurally enable the production and distribution of counterfeits.

The crunch moment in Google's antitrust battles with the Justice Department over its ad tech stack looms ever closer, with Justice Leonie Brinkema expected to issue her remedies ruling by the close of Q1. While these deliberations take place in the chambers of a courtroom in the Eastern District of Virginia, developments elsewhere underscore the political undercurrents at play, namely the push to limit Big Tech's power.

Leading legal departments are shifting from reactive negotiation to proactive pricing design, setting guardrails before rates are proposed rather than responding after the fact. This approach enables departments to establish parameters and expectations upfront, fundamentally changing the negotiation dynamic and improving outcomes.

With the Supreme Court potentially poised to invalidate recent tariffs, organizations face a confusing scenario: the possibility of some $200B in refunds to be sought, the specter of tariff reinstatement through other means, and general ongoing unpredictability regarding costs and processes for global trade. Having clear visibility into contract terms - such as price adjustments and renegotiation provisions - is essential to navigating this volatility, while implementing favorable terms in supplier, customer, and partner agreements can help build resilience.

With so many options out there, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and confused about where to begin. To help you make sense of it all, "Adventures in Legal Tech" welcomed Jess Birkin, a solo attorney who gets a heck of a lot done in her unique practice niche by leveraging AI and business planning. Goals Versus Themes It's been a decade of upheaval. For lawyers, this reality complicates setting specific goals, because they are likely to be upended by outside events.

with both Legalist and Longford seeing tremendous growth in terms of exposure and assets under management in that time. At the same time, the intervening years have also seen some challenging developments in the litigation funding space, including some high-profile fund closures and periods where attracting new capital has been very difficult. Still, the industry's trajectory remains on a favorable upward curve and in a sign of continued health, new funds piloted by experienced industry hands have been launched.

We begin the year by peering into our crystal balls and issuing some predictions for 2026. Who will be fired? What's going to happen with law schools? Is a big change on the horizon for Biglaw? Our predictions will inevitably be wrong, but we'll offer them with a lot of confidence - just like AI would. Also a whole lot of sports talk for a law podcast.

From law firms to in-house legal teams, the rules of value are being rewritten. The question is: Who's ready to lead the change? In the first episode of 2026 for the UpLevel View podcast, Stephanie Corey and Ken Callander sit down with Rita Gunther McGrath, Columbia Business School professor and Wall Street Journal columnist, to talk about how AI is forcing professional services to price outcomes instead of hours.

The conversation was not about shortcuts or hype. It was about how thoughtful use of technology, strong decision making, and having the right support system can dramatically change what is possible for lawyers who want more control over their careers. Matthew's experience moving from Biglaw environments into solo practice offers a grounded perspective on how AI, education, and community now level the playing field for small firms.

They don't drive it. They don't manage it. They don't control it. They let it control them. And then one day, they look up and realize discovery closed last week, the client is asking why nobody has taken the key depo, the adjuster wants a status report "by the end of the day," and the partner is asking the question that makes your stomach drop: "Where are we on this file?"

The Thomson Reuters Institute and Georgetown Law's Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession released their annual State of the U.S. Legal Market report today, and the good news is that law firms are absolutely crushing it. Profits are up. Rates are up. Demand surged in 2025 at levels the industry hasn't seen in more than a decade. The Am Law 100 is printing money, midsize firms are having a moment, and everyone is congratulating themselves for their "resilience."