Aerospace & Defense

Expert Analysis

• Confronting The Challenges Of Virtual Mediation

  

  Conducting mediation via videoconference amid the ongoing pandemic poses significant challenges, including the difficulty of reading people when you are not with them in person. Daniel Garrie at JAMS shares six tips to overcome the limitations.

• Key Takeaways From DOJ's 2019 FCA Recovery Stats

  

  While $3 billion in False Claims Act recoveries by the U.S. Department of Justice in fiscal year 2019 represents only a marginal increase over 2018, it shows the FCA remains a powerful tool for combating fraud in health care and an expanding array of industries, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

• 3 Steps To Building Effective Teams While On Lockdown

  

  When your team is working from different locations due to the COVID-19 outbreak, don’t default to just sending emails. Collaboration is much easier when team members are also communicating in real time over the phone or through videoconferences, say William Oxley and Meghan Rohling Kelly at BakerHostetler.

• 5 FCA Enforcement Predictions After Coronavirus Relief Bill

  

  Although the False Claims Act is not mentioned in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, this unprecedented $2 trillion stimulus package likely has significant implications for FCA enforcement, says Andrew Schilling at Buckley.

• Client Advocacy Tips For Remote Hearings During COVID-19

  

  As the judiciary implements telephone and video hearings in response to the coronavirus pandemic, attorneys can deliver effective advocacy by following certain best practices, such as using backup materials and specially preparing witnesses and exhibits, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

• How To Conduct Depositions Remotely

  

  Remote depositions are a useful tool for meeting discovery deadlines while allowing all parties to stay at home amid the COVID-19 outbreak. But they come with a unique set of challenges, say Eliot Williams and Daniel Rabinowitz at Baker Botts. 

• A Guide To Zealously Representing Clients During COVID-19

  

  The American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct require lawyers to be zealous advocates for clients' interests, but how do these rules apply in this unprecedented time of COVID-19? Anne Lockner at Robins Kaplan offers some pointers.

• Tips To Mitigate Future COVID-Funding Enforcement Risks

  

  To reduce the risk of allegations of fraud or misuse of government funds, federal contractors engaged in coronavirus emergency response should go beyond their usual practices by designating a primary point of contact and reinforcing workforce compliance, among other steps, say Dominique Casimir and William Lawler at Blank Rome.

• The 1918 Flu Pandemic And High Court Jurisprudence

  

  The five U.S. Supreme Court opinions related to the 1918 to 1919 flu pandemic make an eclectic mix, some hardly pertinent anymore and others, sadly, dealing with issues that could be litigated today, says Mark Jensen at Nutter.

• Pandemic Poses Distressed Debt Opportunities, CFIUS Risks

  

  Although a coronavirus-prompted uptick in U.S. debt restructurings may lead to distressed asset investment opportunities, non-U.S. investors and lenders should be wary of transactions that could trigger the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' jurisdiction, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• 7 Ways Attys Can Create The Right Home Office Environment

  

  In the midst of this health crisis when lawyers are working from home with their loved ones around all day, practitioners need to ensure their “home” and “office” settings coexist without one trumping the needs of the other, says Luciana Fragali at Design Solutions.

• 10 E-Discovery Challenges Caused By COVID-19

  

  The COVID-19 crisis will continue to affect e-discovery long after we overcome this pandemic. When litigation and investigations reengage and courts start moving their schedules forward, these concerns will need to be addressed, say David Kessler and Andrea D'Ambra at Norton Rose.

• BigLaw Leaders Must Prepare For COVID-19 Economic Fallout

  

  The financial impact of COVID-19 is already starting to ripple through law firms in the form of diminished demand and time entry. A few lessons from the 2008 financial crisis and some new ideas can help firm leaders navigate the storm, says Peter Zeughauser at Zeughauser Group.

• Federal Gov't Memos Can't Override State COVID-19 Closures

  

  Recent U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Defense memoranda identify essential critical infrastructure industries, but they don’t overrule state and local directives requiring businesses to close during the coronavirus outbreak, creating difficult choices for some, say Jeffrey Bialos and Erin Park at Eversheds Sutherland.

• 3 Ways Leaders Can Improve Remote Work For Lawyers

  

  Remote working doesn’t work when people feel they must apologize for or hide it, and lawyers often feel that way — even in unavoidable, disaster-related scenarios like we see with the pandemic today, says David Pierce at Axiom.