Corporate law rarely stays quiet for long, but this stretch has been unusually active — a mega-merger under antitrust fire, the SEC rethinking how investors get information, a state attorneys general showdown, and even a fight over AI output landing squarely in corporate counsel’s lap. Here’s what’s genuinely moving the needle right now.
A Media Mega-Merger Is Facing a Serious Antitrust Fight
This is the deal every corporate lawyer is watching. A coalition of a dozen state attorneys general has presented what they call “compelling evidence” that a major studio’s acquisition of a rival entertainment company would hand the combined business a substantial 27% share of U.S. theatrical distribution. It’s shaping up to be one of the more significant antitrust tests in entertainment industry history, and the outcome could set precedent for how aggressively state AGs challenge future media consolidation.
The SEC Wants to Make Paperless Disclosure the Default
Proxy statements, shareholder reports, and investor disclosures could be getting a major delivery overhaul. The SEC is currently considering a rule that would make electronic delivery the default method for sending investors information, rather than requiring companies to mail physical documents unless investors opt in. For public companies, this could mean real savings on printing and postage — and a meaningful shift in how shareholder communication works going forward.
The FTC Just Put AI Companies on Notice
Corporate legal teams working in AI just got a new compliance headache. The FTC recently signaled that companies offering AI services could face legal action if they modify their AI products’ outputs for ideological or political reasons — a move that creates real uncertainty for the industry and potentially sets federal regulators on a collision course with emerging state-level AI laws. In-house counsel at AI companies now have to navigate a genuinely unsettled regulatory landscape where federal and state rules may not agree.
A Texas Court Just Extended Attorney Privilege Protections for In-House Counsel
A ruling with major implications for general counsel everywhere: an appellate court ordered dismissal of a $350 million tortious interference claim brought against a corporate general counsel, in what’s believed to be the first appellate decision of its kind extending certain attorney protections to in-house legal roles. It’s a meaningful precedent for GCs who’ve long worried about personal liability exposure tied to advice given in their corporate role.
Delaware’s Courts Are Being Tested on Expert Evidence Rules
Delaware remains the corporate law capital of the country, and its courts are currently sorting through a dispute over how much evidence can be used to calculate damages. The state’s Supreme Court recently heard arguments over whether the Chancery Court improperly limited expert evidence used to calculate a multimillion-dollar award, with both sides accusing each other of misapplying Delaware’s rules governing expert testimony and fee awards. Given how many companies incorporate in Delaware, any resulting clarification could affect countless future valuation disputes.
Stablecoin Regulation Is Becoming a Genuine Corporate Play
Crypto-adjacent corporate law is picking up real momentum. One state recently enacted one of the first state-level licensing frameworks for stablecoin issuance aligned with recent federal legislation, opening the door for nondepository companies to pursue licensure more easily and potentially get clearer regulatory guidance. It’s a sign that stablecoin issuance is shifting from a niche crypto topic into mainstream corporate strategy.
The UK Is Quietly Killing Paper Share Certificates
Corporate governance modernization isn’t just an American story. A UK market taskforce recently published its implementation plan for phasing out paper share certificates entirely, moving toward a fully digital share register model for shares held outside the country’s main settlement system. It’s a structural shift that will eventually touch nearly every UK-listed company’s shareholder recordkeeping.
Data Center Permitting Is Becoming a Genuine Corporate Risk
As AI infrastructure spending explodes, so does regulatory friction around it. One state governor recently issued an executive order pausing the issuance of discretionary permits for the construction or expansion of data centers — a move that directly affects corporate real estate and infrastructure strategy for any company racing to build out AI compute capacity.
The Bottom Line
Corporate law is being pulled in several directions at once right now — antitrust regulators taking a harder look at consolidation, securities rules modernizing for a digital-first world, AI regulation creating fresh compliance risk, and even old-school shareholder recordkeeping finally going paperless. For corporate counsel and dealmakers alike, this is a genuinely active moment to stay close to the headlines rather than react after the fact.
This content is for general informational purposes and isn’t legal advice. For guidance on a specific corporate legal matter, consult a qualified attorney.
