Commercial Contracts

Expert Analysis

• 4 Legal Industry Trends Litigation Financiers Are Watching

  

  Some recent litigation developments demonstrate efforts by law firms and their clients to search for opportunities in the COVID-19 economic fallout, while others — such as the rise of contingency fee arrangements — reflect acceleration of tendencies that were already underway, says William Weisman at Therium Capital.

• A Lawyer's Guide To Setting Well-Being Goals In 2021

  

  In the face of rising client demands due to the pandemic and the changing regulatory environment, and with remote work continuing for the foreseeable future, lawyers should invest in their well-being by establishing inspiring yet realistic goals for 2021 — one month at a time, says Krista Larson at Morgan Lewis.

• 4 Rulings That Will Shape Clickwrap Litigation In 2021

  

  Clickwrap litigation is expected to increase this year, following several 2020 judgments that show the courts' growing sophistication on assessing online user agreements and a continued surge in user growth fueled by COVID-19, says Brian Powers of PactSafe.

• NY COVID-19 Commercial Lease Decisions Lack Consistency

  

  Recent New York decisions concerning commercial lease disputes amid the pandemic have produced inconsistent results, but highlight some arguments that tenants should consider emphasizing in subsequent cases, says Cassandra Porsch at Scarola Zubatov.

• Keyword Searches To Improve Your Privilege Doc Review

  

  "Confidential" and other search terms commonly used to locate privileged documents during e-discovery are pretty ineffective, so practitioners should consider including specific types of keywords that are demonstrably better at targeting privilege, say Robert Keeling at Sidley and Rishi Chhatwal at AT&T.

• 6 Advertising Law Trends To Watch In 2021

  

  For the world of advertising, 2021 will bring new challenges and considerations shaped not only by the ongoing pandemic, but also by new legal developments regarding social media, cannabis and consumer privacy, say Jason Gordon and Casey Perrino at Reed Smith.

• ABA Approves Remote Practice, But Questions Remain

  

  Lawyers working remotely during the pandemic while physically outside the jurisdictions in which they are licensed will find some comfort in a recent American Bar Association opinion sanctioning such practice, but there is ambiguity regarding the contours of what's allowed, say attorneys at Harris Wiltshire.

• Opinion

  Spa Virus Coverage Ruling Misses The Mark

  

  A Virginia federal court's recent decision in Elegant Massage v. State Farm held that an insurance policy's virus exclusion did not apply to a spa's COVID-19 business income claim, ignoring well-established contract interpretation principles and should be rejected by other courts, says George Reede at Zelle.

• Keys To Creating Standout Law Firm Thought Leadership

  

  Whether geared toward a global audience or a particular client, a law firm's articles, blog posts and client alerts should strive to be original by harnessing a few editorial tools and following the right distribution sequence, say Steven Andersen and Tal Donahue at Infinite Global.

• Reasons To Disclose 2020 Data When Selling Franchises

  

  Any franchisor considering marketing new franchises in 2021 by leaning on pre-pandemic financial results and omitting 2020 declines should know the perils of this plan, says Rochelle Spandorf at Davis Wright.

• Perspectives

  Judges On Race: The Power Of Discretion In Criminal Justice

  

  Judges should take into consideration the several points of law enforcement and prosecutorial discretion — from traffic stops to charging decisions and sentencing recommendations — that often lead to race-based disparate treatment before a criminal defendant even reaches the courthouse, say Judge Juan Villaseñor and Laurel Quinto at Colorado's Eighth Judicial District Court.

• 5 Major Drug And Medical Device Developments In 2020

  

  In addition to the increased activity and scrutiny COVID-19 brought to the drug and device industries in 2020, major developments included the continued momentum of snap removal and renewed U.S. Supreme Court interest in the scope of state courts' jurisdiction, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

• Trade Secrets Law 25 Years After PepsiCo Disclosure Case

  

  Notwithstanding the expectations at the time, the Seventh Circuit's landmark 1995 decision in the PepsiCo v. Redmond trade secret case has not made the doctrine of inevitable disclosure an alternative to, or backstop for, traditional post-employment noncompetition agreements — though the doctrine continues to be applied, say Peter Steinmeyer and Brian Spang at Epstein Becker.

• 5 Attorney Business Development Tips For The New Year

  

  Lawyers should remember that the basics of interpersonal relationships have not changed despite the completely virtual environment caused by the pandemic, and should leverage the new year as an excuse to connect with clients in several ways, say Megan Senese and Courtney Hudson at Pillsbury.

• Minimizing Disruption To Clients During Law Firm IT Upgrades

  

  For law firms planning overhauls in their information technology infrastructures in light of hard lessons learned from pandemic-era transition to remote work, there are five ways to ensure even the biggest tech upgrade has minimal impact on client service, says Brad Paubel at Lexicon.