Akin Asks: The Middle East Disputes Podcast

On August 21, 2026, the Tenth Circuit granted the NCAA’s stay request in Wisne v. NCAA, temporarily restoring the NCAA’s age-based eligibility rules pending resolution of the appeal. Three weeks earlier, Judge Sweeney of the District of Colorado had issued a nationwide injunction that permitted athletes in the Class of 2022 to pursue a fifth year of eligibility.

The top ten largest class action settlements in securities cases in the U.S. have recouped tens of billions of dollars in damages.

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.

A Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling harshly criticizes a federal district judge for relying on AI-generated content in legal orders, revealing fabricated facts and poor legal analysis. The decision raises critical questions about the use of generative AI in legal practice and whether lawyers who adopt such technology are compromising their ethical obligations of competence, confidentiality, and integrity.

A federal court in California denied preliminary approval of a $2.3 million data breach settlement affecting over 220,000 individuals, finding seven critical deficiencies in the proposed agreement. The decision highlights the rigorous scrutiny courts apply to class action settlements, particularly regarding claims-made distribution processes, inadequate documentation of settlement value, and unexplained disparate treatment among class members.

A federal court rejected TikTok's attempt to use two prior nationwide class action settlements—totaling over $93 million—to dismiss new privacy claims brought by minors alleging violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. The ruling hinged on whether the current plaintiffs were demonstrably members of the earlier settlement classes based solely on the pleadings, raising critical questions about the scope and enforceability of broad settlement releases in successive privacy litiga

Two federal courts have reached opposing conclusions on whether expert witnesses must disclose their AI prompts during discovery. While one court treats prompts as discoverable methodology, another protects them as mental impressions while requiring disclosure of AI-generated outputs the expert consulted.

Concora Credit has agreed to pay $9.375 million to settle a TCPA class action lawsuit over wrong number robocalls, with prominent TCPA attorney Mike Greenwald securing another major victory. The settlement includes over $5 million for approximately 147,000 class members, $3 million in attorney fees, and a commitment to spend at least $1 million on TCPA compliance over three years.

A US federal court confirmed a $350 million arbitral award against the Republic of Georgia and enforced a contractual post-judgment interest rate of SOFR plus four percent, compounding monthly, rather than the lower statutory rate. The decision demonstrates how carefully drafted contractual language extending interest "after as well as before judgment" can result in substantially higher recoveries for creditors in international arbitration enforcement proceedings.

The Federal Trade Commission has introduced stringent new requirements for parties using technology-assisted review or artificial intelligence in document production during investigations, mandating extensive upfront disclosures, prescriptive performance metrics, and validation processes. These requirements represent a significant departure from previous FTC practice and may discourage parties from using AI or TAR due to increased complexity and agency oversight. Parties now face critical decisions about wh

On Friday, July 9, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order (EO) 14036, "Promoting Competition in the American Economy".

On July 22, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) adopted a Third Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (covered separately here) in which the Commission advances its ongoing efforts to secure the U.S.

President Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, introducing unprecedented tariff authority that could impose duties up to 100% on goods from countries purchasing Russian energy or facilitating sanctions evasion. The legislation creates a novel framework where tariffs stack on top of existing duties while codifying Russia sanctions into statute...

On September 16, 2026, President Trump issued a presidential memorandum titled “Restoring Reciprocity in Government Procurement”, directing the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the United States Trade Representative, in coordination with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, to identify and take legally permitted steps to remove or restrict Canadian-origin items across the federal civil procurement system.

California's Legislature has unanimously passed SB 690, a landmark reform that could eliminate thousands of pending class action lawsuits based on website tracking technologies under the California Invasion of Privacy Act. The bill removes the private right of action for pen register claims arising from routine web analytics tools, potentially reshaping the data privacy litigation landscape while companion bills simultaneously expand substantive privacy obligations.

The European Union’s (EU) revamped sustainability reporting framework is now final. On September 21, 2026, the revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and a new Voluntary European Sustainability Reporting Standard (VS) were published in the Official Journal, marking yet another significant step toward more proportionate sustainability reporting in Europe. In addition to previously raising applicable financial thresholds triggering compliance under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the revised ESRS cut mandatory datapoints for in-scope companies (i.e., undertakings under CSRD) by more than 60% and total datapoints by more than 70%.

On September 30, 2026, Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee Chair Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) unveiled the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (BAAJA; S. 5653), a comprehensive permitting reform package aimed at accelerating approvals for energy, infrastructure, transmission, mining, manufacturing, and other major projects. The legislation represents the most significant bipartisan permitting reform effort in years and follows months of negotiations between Senate Republicans and Democrats.

As prevention obligations expand across the UK, California, New York State, and New York City, employers face heightened duties to prevent workplace sexual harassment before it occurs. With the UK's new "all reasonable steps" standard taking effect in October 2026 and US jurisdictions lowering liability thresholds, how can multinational employers navigate these evolving transatlantic requirements?

The SEC's Division of Examinations has identified six critical areas where investment advisers commonly fall short in their annual compliance reviews, from timing failures to inadequate documentation and unimplemented corrective actions. Understanding these deficiencies is essential for advisers seeking to strengthen their compliance infrastructure and avoid examination risks.

The SEC Staff has issued new guidance addressing valuation challenges for private credit and other private assets held by public companies and registered investment companies. The statement emphasizes the need for robust valuation policies, market-based assumptions, and transparent disclosure practices as the private credit market continues to expand. Investment advisers managing private funds should carefully consider how these principles apply to their own valuation procedures and investor communications.