Class Action

What Plaintiffs Can Do If J&J Succeeds In Bankruptcy Strategy

If Johnson & Johnson is successful in its proposed divisive merger — a company split where all liabilities are shifted to a new company that files for bankruptcy — J&J tort plaintiffs will need to stick together to use the Bankruptcy Code's tools, including its voting mechanisms, to exert leverage on the debtor company, says Edward Neiger at Ask.

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.

Key Trends In Recent Cyber-Related Securities Class Actions

​​​​​​​A review of trends from recent cyber-related securities class actions suggests that shareholder plaintiffs will likely continue to focus on public companies' reporting deficiencies, so companies should evaluate and update their disclosures in light of litigation and information security risks, say Cara Peterman and Sierra Shear at Alston & Bird.

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.

Plaintiff Fact Sheets In Mass Tort Discovery: Keys To Success

Plaintiff fact sheets can be an essential part of discovery in mass tort multidistrict litigation, but making them work depends on productive, willing collaboration between all parties from the beginning, and effective management and organization of the large amounts of data they may yield, say Julia Jiampietro, Alexandra Origenes and Katie Insogna at DLA Piper.

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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.

OPT Class Action Settlement Will Help US Retain Talent

The agreement reached between the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and applicants for post-graduate optional practical training, to remove unintended obstacles to participation caused by pandemic-related processing delays, signals the government’s recognition that retaining U.S.-educated foreign talent is critical to the economy, says Lindsey Steinberg at Mintz.

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.

How Websites Can Ward Off Novel State Law Wiretap Suits

As plaintiffs' legal theories surrounding wiretapping and the use of third-party analytics tools to collect data have evolved, with attorneys now filing privacy and security-breaching suits under state statutes, there are several strategies websites can employ to guard against these claims and defeat class actions, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

FCC's Reassigned Numbers Data Won't Help TCPA Class Cert.

The Federal Communications Commission's reassigned numbers database, which goes live Nov. 1, is poorly suited to overcome the challenges of class certification endemic to wrong-number cases because it was not designed to assist in identifying wrong-number calls or call recipients after the fact, says Debra Aron at Charles River Associates.

Mass. 7-Eleven Case Carries Broad Employment Ramifications

The 7-Eleven worker classification case pending in Massachusetts' highest court calls franchising models into question and is likely to have repercussions beyond the Bay State as various local, state and federal regulators try to apply employment law to business relationships that may not fall neatly into either the employee or independent contractor category, says Hugh Murray at McCarter & English.

9th Circ. Ruling Signals Scrutiny Of Class Settlement Fees

The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Briseño v. Henderson, holding that federal courts must carefully review class action settlements for potential collusion on attorney fee arrangements, suggests that high class counsel fee awards will meet more resistance, say attorneys at Skadden.

2nd Circ. Vitamin C Price-Fixing Decree Goes Beyond Antitrust

The Second Circuit's recent dismissal of antitrust price-fixing claims against two Chinese vitamin C exporters carries broad implications as to the sources and authorities litigants should present in advancing interpretations of foreign law, say attorneys at Cleary.

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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.

Pharma Cos. Should Prepare For New Drug-Rebate Scrutiny

President Joe Biden's recent executive order on competition and new Federal Trade Commission leadership mean pharmaceutical companies should anticipate a stricter focus on drug pricing and rebating practices, and plan to defend against potential price strategy challenges from government enforcers and private plaintiffs, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.