United States: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

As generative AI becomes increasingly integrated into litigation workflows, courts are grappling with how these tools should be used with confidential discovery materials. A recent Colorado district court decision examines the balance between enabling AI-assisted legal work and protecting sensitive information, distinguishing between consumer-grade platforms and enterprise tools with robust safeguards.

Recent amendments to Arizona Rule 702 and federal court decisions have fundamentally shifted how courts evaluate expert appraisal testimony in eminent domain cases. Courts now apply more rigorous gatekeeping standards, requiring proponents to demonstrate by a preponderance of evidence that expert opinions rest on sufficient data and reliable methodology before reaching the jury.

Artificial intelligence is transforming boardroom governance, enabling directors to research, draft, and analyze information with unprecedented efficiency. However, this convenience introduces significant risks...

Neutral evaluation is an invaluable tool, particularly in patent litigation. I speak with authority, having spent 20 years on the federal bench in Delaware, seven of them as chief judge. Delaware is one of the busiest patent venues in the country.

On the morning of July 4, 2025, catastrophic flooding on the Guadalupe River took 135 lives across the Texas Hill Country. Twenty-eight of them—25 school-aged campers, two young counselors and the camp's co-executive director—were at Camp Mystic, a century-old girls' camp near Hunt.

In this episode of the JAMS podcast, JAMS neutrals Hon. Karen Brown Willcutts (Former), FCIArb, Hugh E. Hackney, Esq., and Zela "Zee" G. Claiborne, Esq. examine the commercial and contractual fallout of disruptions to global energy transportation and how mediation and arbitration can keep energy moving while the larger disputes are resolved.

A Southern District of Florida judge recently declined to enter a default judgment against a defendant in a TCPA case, determining that the term 'residential telephone subscriber' under 227(c)(1) does not extend to cell phones. This decision has significant implications for how telecommunications consumer protection laws apply to mobile devices versus traditional landlines.

The Court of International Trade has certified a class action encompassing all importers who paid IEEPA tariffs between February 2025 and February 2026, providing a pathway for recovery even for those who haven't filed individual claims or participated in the CAPE program. This landmark decision particularly benefits smaller importers who may have been unable to navigate the refund process independently, with the court emphasizing comprehensive notice and supervised refund procedures.

The Mississippi Supreme Court has clarified what information contractors must include when filing construction liens to make them legally enforceable. A recent ruling demonstrates that simply attaching invoices without clearly identifying the last date work was performed fails to meet statutory requirements, potentially invalidating liens worth millions of dollars.

For hundreds of years, the world’s sovereign nations refused to allow any other foreign sovereign to be sued in their courts without the sovereign’s consent. The guiding principle was “absolute sovereign immunity,” an outgrowth of the ancient legal precept rex non potest peccare, understood to mean “the king can do no wrong.” The principle also was recognized as wise foreign policy because it extended "grace and comity" to other sovereigns.

The State of Texas signed a ten-year lease for office space. When the State later terminated the lease and stopped paying rent, the landlord sued for breach of contract. In an ordinary commercial dispute, that would be an obvious claim. But in State v. Broadmoor Austin Associates,[1] the Fifteenth Court of Appeals held that sovereign immunity barred it.

Recent federal court decisions are reshaping the landscape of personal jurisdiction and enforcement of international arbitration awards following the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization. The DC and Ninth Circuits have issued critical opinions clarifying how Fifth Amendment due process standards apply differently than traditional Fourteenth Amendment minimum contacts analysis, particularly in cases involving foreign sovereigns and international arbitration. These deve