Cannabis

Expert Analysis

• 3 Attorney Ethics Considerations For Litigation Funding

  

  The growth of the litigation finance industry has generated questions on the obligations of counsel when their clients are seeking outside capital to fund litigation, which litigators must understand when providing information to a third-party funder and discussing legal strategy with a client, says Matthew Oxman at LexShares.

• NY Debt Enforcement Alternatives For Cannabis Lenders

  

  As the cannabis regulatory landscape continues to develop in New York, lenders contemplating extending credit to state-legal cannabis businesses must be acutely aware of procedures under state debt enforcement alternatives, set realistic expectations, and draft their agreements to maximize potential recoveries, say attorneys at Davis & Gilbert.

• How ABA Opinion Shifts Alternative Biz Structure Landscape

  

  A recent American Bar Association opinion approving lawyers' passive investment in nonlawyer-owned firms eliminates a hurdle for law firms wishing to scale their practice through alternative business structures, but aspiring investors should follow a few best practices, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Deepika Ravi at Harris Wiltshire.

• Pa. Ruling Reminds Employers To Rethink Cannabis Testing

  

  A Pennsylvania state court’s recent decision in Palmiter v. Commonwealth Health Systems joins other state court rulings prohibiting cannabis-related job discrimination, underscoring the need for businesses to develop drug testing policies that account for varying legal nuances and talent-specific considerations, say attorneys at Vorys Sater.

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  Embracing ESG: HPE Counsel Talk Effective Board Oversight

  

  Governance teams can more effectively shape board oversight of environmental, social and governance issues by ensuring organizationwide agreement on the most relevant issues, building a materiality framework that reflects stakeholder input, and monitoring the integration of ESG into operations, say Rishi Varma and Derek Windham at Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

• Opinion

  Justice Gap Demands Look At New Legal Service Models

  

  Current restrictions on how lawyers structure their businesses stand in the way of meaningful access to justice for many Americans, so states should follow the lead of Utah and Florida and test out innovative law firm business models through regulatory sandboxes, says Zachariah DeMeola at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System.

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  Embracing ESG: Leidos GC Talks Social Responsibility

  

  Recent criticisms of corporate commitments to stakeholders such as employees and communities — implicitly opposing environmental, social and governance initiatives — are fundamentally flawed and display a serious misunderstanding of contemporary investor priorities and dynamics, says Jerald Howe at Leidos.

• The Complex State Of Insurance In The Cannabis Business

  

  Jan Larson and Philip Sailer at Jenner & Block outline the complex cannabis regulatory schemes perplexing courts faced with insurance coverage cases and discuss legislative solutions that could at least begin to reduce the challenges for both policyholders and insurers.

• Lessons In Crisis Lawyering 20 Years After 9/11

  

  Dianne Phillips at Holland & Knight recounts her experiences as in-house counsel at a liquefied natural gas company in the tumultuous aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, and details the lessons she learned about lawyering in a crisis, including the importance of careful forethought and having trusted advisers on speed dial.

• Why Structured Data Is Increasingly Important To Your Case

  

  During discovery, legal teams often overlook structured data — the rows of information found in financial ledgers and similar corporate systems — and consider it secondary to emails and other anecdotal evidence, but this common mistake could mean litigators are missing key elements of a dispute, say consultants at Alvarez & Marsal.

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  Embracing ESG: AIG Counsel Talks SEC Risk Alert

  

  As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission responds to the changing landscape on environmental, social and corporate governance investing, including with its recent risk alert, it is imperative that the regulator take a measured approach, says Kate Fuentes at AIG.

• What The Judiciary's Font Recommendations Can Teach Us

  

  The D.C. Circuit's recent soft prohibition on Garamond and the ensuing debates about courts' font preferences should serve as a helpful reminder of a larger point — every departure from convention in legal writing carries some level of risk, says Spencer Short at Stradley Ronon.

• How The 'Rocket Docket' Continues To Roar Through COVID

  

  While the Eastern District of Virginia rocket docket is no longer the nation's fastest civil trial court, it continues to keep litigation moving efficiently, with pandemic protocols resulting in new benefits for litigants, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

• Why A Missed Email Could Cost You Your Case

  

  A recent Fifth Circuit ruling in Rollins v. Home Depot, denying a motion to amend summary judgment after the plaintiff’s lawyer missed a case notification email, aligns with precedent holding that simple errors can sabotage a case and even implicate ethics rules — but certain best practices can help avoid dire mistakes, say Amy Richardson and Charles Loeser at Harris Wiltshire.

• 5 Reasons Lawyers Often Fail To Secure Litigation Funding

  

  More than 95% of commercial litigation finance proposals are declined by funders because lawyers and their clients drastically underestimate the nuances of obtaining funding, but attorneys can overcome these challenges with informed and thoughtful preparation, says Charles Agee at Westfleet Advisors.