Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Humanism Should Replace Formalism In The Courts

  

  The worrying tendency for judges to say "it's just the law talking, not me" in American decision writing has coincided with an historic decline in respect for the courts, but this trend can be reversed if courts develop understandable legal standards and justify them in human terms, says Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher.

• Acquiring A Company That Uses A Professional Employer Org.

  

  With the professional employer organization industry rapidly expanding, those seeking to acquire a company that uses a PEO should understand there are several employment- and benefits-related complexities, especially in regard to retirement, health and welfare plans, say Megan Monson and Taryn Cannataro at Lowenstein Sandler.

• What Could Lie Ahead For Prop 22 After Calif. Appellate Ruling

  

  On the heels of a California appeals court’s recent decision to uphold Proposition 22 — which allows gig companies to classify workers as independent contractors — an analysis of related rulings and legislation over the past five years should provide context for the next phase of this battle, says Rex Berry at Signature Resolution.

• New Pleading Standard May Empower Investment Fee Claims

  

  The Seventh Circuit's recent attempt in Hughes v. Northwestern to provide a clear pleading standard applicable to prudence claims involving Employee Retirement Income Security Act excessive fees instead establishes a watered-down standard that will allow more cases to survive dismissal, say Lindsey Camp and Todd Wozniak at Holland & Knight.

• Don't Let Client Demands Erode Law Firm Autonomy

  

  As clients increasingly impose requirements for attorney hiring and retention related to diversity and secondment, law firms must remember their ethical duties, as well as broader issues of lawyer development, culture and firm integrity, to maintain their independence while meaningfully responding to social changes, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

• 3rd Circ. Ruling Offers Tools To Manage Exempt Employees

  

  The Third Circuit’s recent opinion in Higgins v. Bayada Home Health, finding the Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to deduct paid time off for missed employee productivity targets, gives companies another resource for managing exempt employee inefficiency or absenteeism, says Laura Lawless at Squire Patton.

• Illinois Paid Leave Law May Create Obstacles For Employers

  

  Illinois' Paid Leave for All Workers Act, which goes into effect next year, could create issues and potential liability for employers due to its ambiguity, so companies should review and modify existing workplace policies to prevent challenges, including understaffing, says Matt Tyrrell at Schoenberg Finkel.

• Opinion

  Federal Judge's Amici Invitation Is A Good Idea, With Caveats

  

  An Arkansas federal judge’s recent order — inviting amicus briefs in every civil case before him — has merit, but its implementation may raise practical questions about the role of junior attorneys, economic considerations and other issues, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation.

• 9 Years Post-Ritchie, Some Clarity On Texas Fiduciary Duties

  

  The Texas Supreme Court's 2014 Ritchie decision made shareholder conduct harder to police because it rendered some actions unassailable, regardless of the effect on minority owners, but a Texas appellate court's recent opinion in Sohani v. Sunesara provides useful instruction on how to structure an attack on self-dealing, say Robert Wilkins and Kaitlyn Faucett at Lightfoot Franklin.

• Fox Ex-Producer Case Is A Lesson In Joint Representation

  

  A former Fox News producer's allegations that the network's lawyers pressured her to give misleading testimony in Fox's defamation battle with Dominion Voting Systems should remind lawyers representing a nonparty witness that the rules of joint representation apply, says Jared Marx at HWG.

• Employee COVID Protocols After National Emergency Ends

  

  Now that the Biden administration has announced its plan to officially end the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency in May, employers must carefully consider how to proceed with their mandatory vaccine policies and other responses to the pandemic, say Elisabeth Hall and Olubusola Olanrewaju at Miles & Stockbridge.

• How Employers Can Leverage Retirement Law Changes

  

  The SECURE Act 2.0 includes significant changes to benefits plans that affect employer plan sponsors and participants alike, but there are particular provisions that can and should serve as retention tools for sponsors who deliberately and thoughtfully convey these benefits to the workforce, say Anne Tyler Hall and Phil Koehler at Hall Benefits Law.

• Opinion

  Stanford Law Protest Highlights Rise Of Incivility In Discourse

  

  The recent Stanford Law School incident, where students disrupted a speech by U.S. Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, should be a reminder to teach law students how to be effective advocates without endangering physical and mental health, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada.

• Dispute Prevention Strategies To Halt Strife Before It Starts

  

  With geopolitical turbulence presenting increased risks of business disputes amid court backlogs and ballooning costs, companies should consider building mechanisms for dispute prevention into newly established partnerships to constructively resolve conflicts before they do costly damage, say Ellen Waldman and Allen Waxman at the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution.

• Garmon Defense Finds New Relevance As NLRB Stays Active

  

  With a more muscular National Labor Relations Board at work, employers should recall that they have access to a powerful yet underutilized defense to state law employment and tort claims established under the U.S. Supreme Court decision in San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon, say Alex Meier and Cary Reid Burke at Seyfarth.