Commercial Contracts

Expert Analysis

• Avoiding Inadvertent Privilege Waivers In E-Communications

  

  Attorneys at WilmerHale highlight recent developments in privilege law, the significant challenges raised by nontraditional working arrangements popularized during the pandemic, and ways to avoid waiving attorney-client privilege when using electronic communications.

• Entertainment Cos. May Not Be Insured For Pandemics

  

  With COVID-19 leading to the cancellation or postponement of film and television productions, concerts and sports events, entertainment companies must carefully review their insurance policies to determine whether their losses are covered, since contractual language varies widely, say Cassandra Franklin and Bruce Friedman at JAMS.

• 5 Tips For Drafting Effective Legal Billing Guidelines

  

  To properly manage outside counsel, it's imperative for a company's legal department to implement and maintain rules on what they will and won't pay for, on staffing cases and requesting rate increases, and on how matters will be handled, says Chris Seezen at Quovant.

• Strategies For Managing Calif. Litigation As Courts Reopen

  

  As state and federal courts in California begin to reopen, strategic decisions need to be made about where cases should be filed, public and private perception of litigation conduct, alternative plans for discovery, and more, says attorney Steven Brower.

• Reopening Sports Venues To Fans Poses Legal Hurdles

  

  As the economy reopens, sports leagues planning to bring back games with fans in attendance will need to weigh not only important health and safety issues but also the accompanying business and legal risks, say Christopher Conniff and Nicholas Macri at Ropes & Gray.

• Opinion

  Don't Cancel Your Summer Associate Programs

  

  While pulling off an effective summer associate program this year will be no easy feat, law firms' investments in their future attorneys should be considered necessary even during this difficult time, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.

• 5 Ways To Reduce Post-Pandemic Legal Malpractice Exposure

  

  History suggests that legal malpractice claims will rise following the current economic downturn, and while a certain percentage of the claims will be unavoidable, there are prophylactic steps that law firms can take, says John Johnson at Cozen O'Connor.

• Top 10 Employment And Benefit Issues In Bankruptcy Cases

  

  Companies seeking bankruptcy relief in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic should be aware of crucial aspects of the employee and debtor-employer relationship that are critical to a smooth transition into Chapter 11 and a chance at successful reorganization, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

• FTC Continues To Zero In On Problematic M&A Noncompetes

  

  Although noncompete clauses often play a vital role in mergers and acquisitions, they are not immune from antitrust scrutiny — exemplified by three recent Federal Trade Commission challenges, say Joel Grosberg and Lisa Rumin at McDermott.

• COVID-19, Contango And Energy's New Economic Reality

  Excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor

  

  During the current pandemic, counsel for energy companies must be prepared for the market condition known as contango — where short-term and long-term energy prices operate differently — and with pressure from banks providing reserve-based lending facilities, says Cameron Kinvig at Lexis Practice Advisor.

• Opinion

  Credibility Concerns About Virtual Arbitration Are Unfounded

  

  Concerns that videoconferenced arbitration hearings compromise an arbitrator's ability to reliably resolve credibility contests are based on mistaken perceptions of how many cases actually turn on credibility, what credibility means in the legal world, and how arbitrators make credibility determinations, says Wayne Brazil at JAMS.

• A Texas Case Could Put Electronic Agreements In Jeopardy

  

  A dispute between staffing firm Aerotek and four former employees over enforceability of electronic arbitration agreements, currently being petitioned for review by the Texas Supreme Court, could signal a big problem not only for employers but all companies that transact business outside of their own locale, says Abby Brown at Moye White.

• NY Ruling Highlights Limits To Employee Noncompetes

  

  Following a New York federal court’s recent decision in Flatiron Health v. Carson, employers should limit restrictive covenants to client relationships developed at the company's expense, and reject the expectation that overreaching agreements may be partially enforced, says Ihsan Dogramaci at Pavia & Harcourt.

• A Lawyer's Guide To Client Service Continuity Planning

  

  Ensuring uninterrupted client service and compliance with ethical obligations in a time when attorneys are more likely to fall ill means taking six basic — yet often ignored — steps to build some redundancy and internal communication into legal practice, say attorneys at Axinn.

• Lessons On Trade Secret Claims From Possessor, Not Owner

  

  The Third Circuit's recent trade secrets decision in Advanced Fluid Systems v. Huber is particularly important for companies in relationships whereby vendors create, use or apply confidential information and trade secrets to develop solutions or manufacture products for other entities pursuant to a contract, say attorneys at Proskauer.