Commercial Contracts

Expert Analysis

• Series

  Pursuing Wellness: When A Firm Brings Counseling On Site

  

  One year ago, our firm signed the American Bar Association's well-being pledge and embraced a commitment to providing on-site behavioral health resources, which has since become a key aspect of our well-being program, say Meg Meserole and Kimberly Merkel at Akin Gump.

• Henry Schein Case Illuminates Maze Of Arbitrability Questions

  

  While the U.S. Supreme Court’s Henry Schein decision strengthens the enforceability of arbitration provisions, the Fifth Circuit’s ruling on remand concerning arbitrability authority, exemplifies a need for careful drafting of arbitration clauses, say Andrew Behrman and Brandt Thomas Roessler at Baker Botts.

• Series

  Pursuing Wellness: Inside A Firm Meditation Program

  

  After our firm signed the American Bar Association’s well-being pledge one year ago, we launched two key programs that included weekly meditation sessions and monthly on-site chair massages to help people address both the mental and physical aspects of working at a law firm, says Marci Eisenstein at Schiff Hardin.

• 5th Circ. Ruling Offers Map For Avoiding Daily Rate OT Claims

  

  At first glance, it's no surprise that in U.S. Shale Solutions v. Faludi the Fifth Circuit rejected overtime claims from a highly compensated lawyer turned consultant, but the facts of the case and the court’s analysis provide guidance on whether daily rates can give rise to overtime lawsuits, says Debra Friedman at Cozen O’Connor.

• Early Sampling Of Electronic Info Is Underutilized In Discovery

  

  The early and prompt provision of samples from all electronically stored information sources as a part of ESI protocol search methodology is consistent with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and may allow for significant cost savings during discovery, says Zachary Caplan at Berger Montague.

• Opinion

  PG&E Bankruptcy Will Test Shareholder Capitalism

  

  If the Pacific Gas and Electric bankruptcy allows for the underestimation of tort creditors' claims to leave value for existing shareholders, it will represent an enormous failure that would call into question the fairness of our shareholder capitalism system, says researcher J.B. Heaton.

• Mich. Bill Adds To States' Trend Of Limiting Noncompetes

  

  Although a recently introduced bill that would ban noncompetes in Michigan is unlikely to become law anytime soon, a restriction with respect to low-wage employees is likely at some point based on the nationwide trend of limiting these types of agreements, say Bernie Fuhs and Ziyad Hermiz at Butzel Long.

• The Factors Courts Consider In Deposition Location Disputes

  

  In the absence of a federal rule governing deposition location, federal courts are frequently called on to resolve objections to out-of-state deposition notices. Recent decisions reveal what information is crucial to courts in making the determination, says Kevin O’Brien at Porter Wright.

• What To Consider Before Filing For A Rule 57 Speedy Hearing

  

  Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 57 and its state counterparts provide a method for expediting claims for declaratory judgment that warrants closer attention than it has historically received from litigants and courts, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

• Evolving No-Poach Landscape Requires A Vigilant Eye

  

  As class actions challenging no-poach agreements are pending against multiple franchise organizations and the applicable analytical standard for analyzing such provisions hangs in the balance, it's a good time to review the current framework, say Bob Buchanan and Stefano Sharma at Choate.

• 9th Circ. Ruling Highlights Evolution Of Calif. Arbitration Law

  

  Following the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in Blair v. Rent-A-Center, companies that employ arbitration clauses in consumer-facing contracts should reexamine the language for an unlawful waiver of a plaintiff’s right to seek public injunctive relief, says Alejandro Moreno at Sheppard Mullin.

• Series

  Why I Became A Lawyer: Expanding The Meaning Of Diversity

  

  My conservative, Catholic parents never skipped a beat when accepting that I was gay, and encouraged me to follow my dreams wherever they might lead. But I did not expect they would lead to the law, until I met an inspiring college professor, says James Holmes of Clyde & Co.

• COFC Case Reveals Longevity Of Online Copyright Claims

  

  The recent U.S. Court of Federal Claims copyright case APL v. U.S. highlights how even a long-forgotten webpage last modified over a decade ago can still support a copyright lawsuit if a single viewer accessed the page within three years of filing a claim, says Eric Goldman of Santa Clara University School of Law.

• An Unusual Arbitration Issue Emerges After Henry Schein

  

  Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Henry Schein opinion and more recent lower court rulings on employee arbitration agreements, employers will need to consider the intersection of delegation clauses that allow only an arbitrator to decide what is arbitrable and carve-out clauses that allow certain issues to be decided in court, says Brian Mead at McDermott.

• Discovery Counsel Vital In All Phases Of Mass Tort Litigation

  

  Experienced discovery counsel helps the virtual law team shape case strategy and provides necessary advocacy, consistency and efficiency, plus cost savings, from the beginning of a case through trial, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins and FaegreBD.