Benjamin Malerba and Emily Manning wrote the Law360 article, “How to Prep as Private Equity Starts Investing in Law Firms,” which covers the emerging trend of PE investing in professional services firms.

Here is an excerpt.

Private equity investment in professional services has expanded significantly over the past decade, first gaining traction in healthcare and

It was a busy month for courts on insurance issues.

We begin in Illinois. If an insured has a permit that authorizes a certain level of emissions, are those emissions pollutants for purposes of a pollution exclusion? The Illinois Supreme Court instructs on the relevance of a permit when assessing whether a pollution exclusion applies.

On February 6, 2026, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Medical Aid in Dying Act (MAID), making New York the 13th state to adopt similar legislation along with the District of Columbia. MAID has created a new Article 28-F to the New York Public Health Law, which will be effective August 5, 2026.

What

Noncompete agreements remain in the Federal Trade Commission’s crosshairs. Although the FTC abandoned its pursuit of a nationwide ban, targeted enforcement is here, and the healthcare industry specifically has been placed on notice.

The Background

On September 5, 2025, the FTC announced it was walking away from its proposed national ban on noncompetes. However, in

Last month, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”), accompanied by other CMS officials, visited with home health and hospice providers and related industry associations to discuss ways to strengthen program integrity enforcement. CMS was reacting to calls from industry stakeholders and members of Congress to get a handle

Southern District Finds Mutual Mistake And Reforms Excess Policy To Avoid Illusory Coverage

The insured, a plumbing company, faced millions of dollars in potential liability for claims arising from a fire at an apartment building where the insured performed work. The insured sought coverage for those claims under a primary policy issued by The Travelers

Claims-made policies have automatic extended reporting periods that last for a stated amount of time. But those extensions end if the insured purchases a new policy. What if the new policy does not cover the claim? Is the extended reported period reinstated? As a Maryland federal court explains, that depends on the language of the

On December 12, 2025, Governor Hochul signed the New York Electronic Wills Act into law (the “EWA”).[i] Per the terms of the EWA, the legislation takes effect on June 10, 2027 (i.e., 545 days from its enactment), and will be codified as a new Section 3-6.1 et seq. of the New York Estates, Powers and

Recent New York decisions demonstrate a judicial trend toward enforcing contractual provisions negotiated between sophisticated parties while maintaining limited exceptions for fraud and fiduciary duty claims.

New York courts routinely enforce negotiated contractual provisions, particularly between sophisticated commercial parties, but recognize narrow exceptions in specific factual situations. Courts also continue to reaffirm that fiduciary duties

The federal estate and gift tax exemption changes from year to year, and prior to the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), there was concern that the high exemption amount would “sunset” and be greatly reduced in 2026. Under the OBBB, the combined federal estate and gift tax exemption amount did not sunset

Stella Lellos and Lindsay Brocki wrote, “M&A Earnouts: The Devil Is in the Uncertainty,” for the Winter 2026 issue of USLAW Magazine.

The article describes the advantages and pitfalls of earnout provisions as well as the transaction types that can most benefit from this mechanism.

Click here to read the article.

This week, Governor Hochul announced a proposal significantly expanding state scrutiny over corporate health care transactions. This proposal reiterates previously expressed concerns that both private equity and health system acquisitions of medical and dental practices lead to reduced access to care, declining quality and higher prices.

While stopping short of requiring actual Health Department approval

On January 15, 2026, Long Island Business News published Chris Murray’s opinion piece, “How antirust laws ruined college football.”

Here is the full text.

Everyone who follows college football saw huge changes in the game this year. There is now revenue sharing between the colleges and players, a realignment of conferences, expanded playoffs and no

On December 19, 2025, Governor Hochul signed the Avoiding Vexatious Overuse of Impleading to Delay (AVOID) Act into law. The law amends CPLR Section 1007 to impose strict time limits on the commencement of third-party complaints and is set to take effect on April 18, 2026 (120 days after enactment). There have been Chapter Amendments

In an unfavorable Advisory Opinion issued last week[1], the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“OIG”) found that a home care agency’s plan to market sign-on bonuses to prospective employees with the intention of employing those individuals to provide services to family members could result in sanctions for violating the