Class Action

2nd Circ. ERISA Ruling Offers Lessons On Proof Of Loss

The Second Circuit’s recent decision in Sacerdote v. New York University, reviving several retirement plan fiduciary breach claims, illustrates why defendants must avoid terminology that conflates loss and damages, and why they should develop affirmative evidence to show plans were not harmed by alleged breaches, say Deanna Rice and Randall Edwards at O'Melveny & Myers.

Girardi Scandal Provides Important Ethics Lessons

The litigation and media maelstrom following allegations that famed plaintiffs attorney Thomas Girardi and his law firm misappropriated clients' funds provides myriad ethics and professional responsibility lessons for practitioners, especially with regard to misconduct reporting and liability insurance, says Elizabeth Tuttle Newman at Frankfurt Kurnit.

How Social Media, Mass Torts Affect Adverse Event Reports

Increases in mass tort litigation e-discovery and social media use are driving a surge in the amount of adverse event information received by manufacturers from the public about their drugs and medical devices, so companies must proactively consider how they will handle this data while remaining compliant with their reporting obligations, says Adam Pierson at DLA Piper.

Practical Implications Of Delaware's New Demand-Futility Test

In United Food and Commercial Workers Union v. Zuckerberg, the Delaware Supreme Court adopted a new universal test for assessing a board’s ability to independently assess a shareholder litigation demand, which may close off certain paths for plaintiffs who seek to plead demand futility, say Courtney Worcester and Roger Lane at Holland & Knight.

Series

Embracing ESG: Jabil GC Talks Compliance Preparation

Tried-and-true compliance lessons from recent decades can be applied to companies’ environmental, social and governance efforts, especially with regard to employee training and consistent application of policies — two factors that can create a foundation for ESG criteria to flourish, says Robert Katz at Jabil.

3 Ways CLOs Can Drive ESG Efforts

Chief legal officers are specially trained to see the legal industry's flaws, and they can leverage that perspective to push their companies toward effective environmental, social and governance engagement, says Mark Chandler at Stanford Law School.

ComEd Ruling Invites Plaintiffs To Bypass Filed Rate Doctrine

An Illinois federal court's recent ruling on a putative class action claim against Commonwealth Edison could encourage future plaintiffs to avoid dismissal by failing to mention in their complaints that they paid the rates listed in a public utility's filed tariff, says Tyson Covey at Duane Morris.

2 Cases Will Help Shape Opioid Litigation Insurance Coverage

Upcoming decisions from the Ohio and Delaware high courts in Acuity v. Masters Pharmaceutical and Rite Aid Corp. v. ACE American Insurance, respectively, on whether insurers must defend policyholders in prescription opioid litigation filed by government entities are sure to provide precedent for resolution of these coverage issues nationwide, say Courtney Horrigan and Kateri Persinger at Reed Smith.

How Law Firms Can Rethink Offices In A Post-Pandemic World

Based on their own firm's experiences, Kami Quinn and Adam Farra at Gilbert discuss strategies and unique legal industry considerations for law firms planning hybrid models of remote and in-office work in a post-COVID marketplace.

Opinion

Time To Restore Arbitration's Promise Of Efficiency For All

As companies like Amazon.com turn away from mandatory arbitration clauses, it may seem that the popularity of this litigation alternative is waning, but there are effective ways for parties to fine-tune their arbitration agreements to ensure the process remains quick and inexpensive, says Janice Sperow at Sperow ADR.

Manufacturers Face Evolving COVID-19 Legal Challenges

Product manufacturers must adopt new strategies to defend against pandemic-related legal challenges, including discovery delays in health care litigation, novel consumer protection claims, aggressive government enforcement actions and supply chain disputes, says Stephanie Laws at Maslon.

Series

Embracing ESG: Baker Hughes CLO Talks Sustainability Team

For businesses focused on addressing environmental, social and governance considerations, a legal team that can coordinate sustainability efforts across the company can help to manage risk and compliance issues, anticipate and prepare for change, and identify new opportunities, says Regina Jones at Baker Hughes.

What Mainstreaming Of Litigation Finance Means For Industry

The rush of new capital and investors into the litigation funding space is expected to bring heightened competition on price and other key deal terms, but litigants will need to be more in tune with individual financiers' proclivities, says William Weisman at Therium Capital Management.

Opinion

Arbitration's Supposed Benefits Don't Measure Up

Arbitration is a sham, not because it is worthless, but because most of its benefits can be obtained in litigation, and other benefits that lack a parallel in litigation do not incur mutually to the parties, says Paul Stephan at Cohen Milstein.

Shareholder Ruling Resolves Dual-Natured Claim Uncertainty

The recent Delaware ruling in Brookfield v. Rosson, which eliminates the ambiguity surrounding so-called dual-natured direct and derivative claims, eases 15 years of tension around the doctrine and clears a path for corporate deal makers, say attorneys at MoFo.