Tips For Managing Pre-Merger Information Exchanges

Excerpt from Practical Guidance

During merger discussions and negotiations, eight strategies can help manage the exchange of competitively sensitive information, including hiring a clean team and awareness of overlaps, says Tim Haney at LexisNexis.

Opinion

Now's The Time To Address Archaic Law School Curricula

With law school enrollments jumping significantly ahead of a potential recession and more students graduating than the market can absorb, law schools should turn to creative solutions to teach students how to negotiate, work with clients, specialize and use technology to practice their craft more efficiently, says University of Colorado adjunct professor Jason Mendelson.

The Case For Company-Directed Offensive ESG Litigation

Rather than treat environmental, social and governance litigation as a source of liability, there is a serious benefit for companies and their lawyers to evaluate and pursue offensive ESG litigation, says Bob Koneck at Woodsford.

Proposed Online Platform Regs Deviate From Antitrust Norms

The U.S. and EU are on the cusp of adopting digital platform legislation that would impose regulations based solely on firms' size, avoiding traditional antitrust principles and potentially changing the way online platforms' conduct is litigated, say Daniel Fenske at Mayer Brown and Felipe Pereira at Tauil Chequer.

Lessons From Lawyer Fee-Sharing Agreements Gone Wrong

The recent fee-sharing dispute between Edelson and Girardi Keese is a reminder that lawyers who do not strictly follow the applicable rules may risk a disciplinary complaint, lose their share of the fee, or wind up in costly litigation with co-counsel, says David Grossbaum at Hinshaw.

LeClairRyan Bankruptcy Highlights Pass-Through Tax Issue

A Virginia bankruptcy court's recent ruling in the case of defunct law firm LeClairRyan shows there may be serious tax consequences for pass-through entity partners who give up their ownership interest without following operating agreement exit provisions and updating bankruptcy court filings, say Edward Schnitzer and Hannah Travaglini at Montgomery McCracken.

Enforcement Trends To Watch After SEP Remedies Withdrawal

Patent holders and implementers will need to consider several key issues in light of the new case-by-case federal enforcement stance following the withdrawal of the 2019 policy statement on standard-essential patents and the recent decision not to implement a new policy statement, say Alexander Okuliar and John Lanham at MoFo.

8 Steps To Creating A Legal Ops Technology Road Map

Legal departments struggling to find and implement the right technologies for their operations should consider creating a road map that summarizes their approach to technology changes, provides clearly defined metrics for success, and serves as the single source of truth for stakeholders, says Melanie Shafer at SimpleLegal.

The Importance Of Data And Data Analysis In Litigation

Understanding, analyzing and effectively presenting large data sets is an increasingly important skill in litigation as it allows plaintiffs to dramatically scale up the scope of cases and is often critical to defeating motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment, says David Burnett at Motley Rice.

Vet Clinic FTC Settlement Puts Private Equity On Notice

Prior approval and prior notice requirements in the Federal Trade Commission's settlement for a $1.1 billion merger of veterinary clinics illustrate the majority-Democratic commission's skepticism over private equity's general business model, say Bruce Sokler and Tinny Song at Mintz.

Navigating The Void Left By Withdrawn SEP Policy Statement

While the withdrawal of the 2019 policy statement on standard-essential patents and the decision not to implement a new policy statement leave both SEP holders and implementers without guidance as to how the agencies will view these disputes, we can gain some insights by examining how we got here, says Ryan Richardson at Sterne Kessler.

Steps Companies Can Take To Mitigate Privilege Labeling Risk

Although Google prevailed on a recent privilege labeling sanctions motion, an important takeaway from the decision is that companies should assess their in-house procedures and employee training programs regarding privileged communications to mitigate risks of the potential appearance of bad faith privilege claims, say Gareth Evans at Redgrave and e-discovery attorney James Hertsch.

What Litigation Funding Disclosure In Delaware May Look Like

A standing order issued by Delaware's chief federal judge requiring litigants to disclose whether their cases or defenses are being financed by third parties is unlikely to have onerous effects but may raise questions regarding potential conflicts of interest and access to justice, say Cayse Llorens and Matthew Oxman at LexShares.

How To Avert Unlawful Poaching Amid Rising Antitrust Risks

Despite the uptick in labor market antitrust enforcement actions, no-poach agreements can be helpful in preventing unfair competition resulting from misuse of confidential or competitively sensitive information — when tailored appropriately and used with best practices to reduce risk, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

SEC Constitutionality Ruling May Embolden FTC Targets

The Fifth Circuit's recent Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission decision — that restrictions insulating administrative law judges from removal, among other policies dictating agency procedures, are unconstitutional — may also apply to the Federal Trade Commission, giving companies strong procedural arguments to disrupt enforcement proceedings against them, say attorneys at Kirkland.