Insights

Jones to continue leading firm following record financial performance and strategic growth. Stoel Rives announced that its partnership ratified a two-year extension of Firm Managing Partner Melissa Jones’ leadership term, extending her tenure through the end of 2029.

A temporary Commerce rule, in effect through December 3, 2026, allows the government to bar companies from importing polysilicon, ingots, wafers, cells, and modules before the new Section 232 price floors and 15 percent duty take effect on December 4.

Agentic AI systems create risks that traditional software agreements may not fully address because they can take actions with limited human intervention—not just generate content or recommendations. Organizations should consider how their agreements define authority, oversight, data governance, accountability, liability, and protections against unauthorized actions.

The Agentic AI Agreements Checklist highlights the contract provisions organizations should review when AI systems can act—not just advise—on their behalf.

California’s newly enacted California Technology Innovation and Ratepayer Protection Act will reshape how data centers connect to the electric grid and obtain retail electric service. This legal alert explains the requirements created by SB 886 and AB 2383, including new interconnection and generation service tariffs, cost-allocation rules, collateral and termination fee obligations, and exemptions for certain facilities. Data center developers, operators, utilities, community choice aggregators, and large-load customers will benefit from understanding these changes.

Generative AI is changing the way employees raise workplace concerns. HR teams may now receive complaints, accommodation requests, or disciplinary rebuttals that read less like a quick employee email and more like a polished legal memo. The format may be new, but the employer’s core task remains the same: separate the facts from the framing and respond with care.

California Civil Code section 8850 establishes procedures and deadlines for resolving certain payment and change order disputes on private construction projects. This timeline summarizes the statutory claim process, including contractor claims, owner responses, informal conferences, mediation, work suspension, and subcontractor claims.

Stoel Rives attorneys Whitney Brown, Jim Torgerson, and Jake Gerrish, in partnership with Right to Democracy, secured a significant appellate victory for client Tupe Smith when the Alaska Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling and clarified the intent required to establish first-degree voter misconduct under Alaska law. The appeal was handled on a pro bono basis.

Additionally, 27 attorneys were selected for Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America.

With the Oregon Consumer Privacy Act (OCPA) now fully in effect, new consumer rights and opt-out requirements in place, and the Attorney General actively enforcing the law without a statutory cure period, businesses should take a fresh look at their privacy programs. This overview explores how Oregon's privacy, breach notification, and data broker laws fit together and highlights the practical compliance considerations organizations should evaluate as enforcement activity continues to mature.

Government contracts law extends far beyond traditional procurement disputes, encompassing a wide range of regulatory, transactional, and operational issues that arise across industries and throughout the contracting lifecycle. It operates at the intersection of legal disciplines, business functions, and public funding structures, often surfacing in contexts not initially viewed through a government contracts lens.

Washington has seen a surge in CEMA class actions after the Washington Supreme Court’s 2025 Brown v. Old Navy decision held that any false or misleading factual statement in an email subject line can trigger liability. Plaintiffs have since targeted urgency‑based and promotional subject lines, with courts rejecting many preemption and constitutional defenses. A 2026 legislative amendment, HB 2274, reduces statutory damages and adds a knowledge requirement, but leaves ongoing compliance risks for email marketers.