On August 3, 2026, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to pass S. 3977, the Bankruptcy Threshold Adjustment Act of 2026. The bill has had bipartisan support since it was introduced in March 2026. The bill would permanently restore the Subchapter V debt ceiling to $7.5 million for qualifying small businesses and individuals filing for reorganization under Chapter 11.

A Quick Refresher on Subchapter V

Congress created Subchapter V in February 2020 through the Small Business Reorganization Act (“Act”), giving smaller companies a leaner, less expensive path through Chapter 11 than ...

Generative AI tools have moved from experimentation to daily use across most businesses, often faster than internal policies, vendor contracts, or IP strategies have kept pace. The legal issues are not exotic, but they are easy to overlook precisely because AI tools feel like ordinary software. Below are the areas we most often see businesses address too late, after a dispute or a difficult client question has already surfaced.

Ownership of AI-Assisted Work Product

Copyright protection generally requires human authorship, which creates real uncertainty when a deliverable ...

Some district courts have previously taken the approach of compelling arbitration without first deciding whether the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) or state law requires arbitration, reasoning that if arbitration is mandated under either state or federal law, the applicable statute is immaterial. The Ninth Circuit’s decision in In re Orr (“Orr”) takes away that option. Moreover, within weeks of Orr being decided, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2155 (“AB 2155”), which amends Code of Civil Procedure section 1281 to make an arbitration agreement ...

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) recently updated its Form I-9 inspection fact sheet to reclassify a long list of common paperwork errors as “substantive” violations. ICE made the change by updating its inspection guidance rather than through formal rulemaking.

The classification list controls whether an employer can fix the error, with or without penalty. A technical or procedural failure entitles the employer to written notice and at least ten business days to correct the form before any penalty attaches. A substantive violation carries an ...

The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (EFAA) allows a person alleging conduct constituting sexual harassment to proceed in court despite any otherwise valid and enforceable arbitration agreement. Decloedt v. Radnet Management, Inc. confirms that harassment based on an employee’s sexual orientation can qualify as sexual harassment under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and that a sufficiently pleaded claim of that kind triggers the EFAA’s exemption to the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) which generally enforces ...