Construction

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Legal Options For Pipeline Companies Stymied By Tree-Sitters

  

  While a Virginia federal judge recently rejected efforts by Mountain Valley Pipeline to join two unnamed tree-sitters as defendants in a Natural Gas Act eminent domain action, the court's opinion points toward other remedies available to pipeline companies facing tree-sitter obstruction, says Arthur Schmalz of Hunton.

• How The Wayback Machine Can Strengthen Your Case

  

  The Wayback Machine, which archives screenshots of websites at particular points in time, can be an invaluable tool in litigation, but attorneys need to follow a few simple steps early in the discovery process to increase the odds of being able to use materials obtained from the archive, says Timothy Freeman of Tanenbaum Keale.

• NLRB Union Election Proposal Addresses 3 Limited Issues

  

  Although the National Labor Relations Board’s proposed rules addressing employee representation are restricted to blocking charges, notice periods and conversion evidence, in the short term, increased pressure for voluntary union recognition is anticipated, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

• Opinion

  Draft Civil Procedure Jurisdictional Rule Needs A Tweak

  

  The Judicial Conference Advisory Committee’s proposed addition to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7.1 needs to be amended slightly to prevent late-stage jurisdictional confusion in cases where the parties do not have attributed citizenship, says GianCarlo Canaparo at The Heritage Foundation.

• Limiting Contract Breach Liability For Construction Cos.

  

  The Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Maxum v. Robbins serves as a stark reminder to construction companies that a typical liability insurance policy may not cover a breach of contract claim, and that additional steps must be taken to protect against these claims, say Greg Boucher and Joel Hopkins of Saul Ewing.

• New Best Practices Under E-Discovery Spoliation Rule

  

  The amended Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(e) provides explicit criteria for imposing sanctions when electronically stored information has been lost during discovery, but courts are still not consistently applying the new rule, with some simply ignoring it in favor of inherent authority, say Matthew Hamilton and Donna Fisher at Pepper Hamilton.

• How Law Firms Can Create Content Decision Makers Will Read

  

  According to our recent survey, the one simple attribute that attracts both in-house counsel and C-suite executives to content is utility, but it’s also clear that both groups define utility differently and prefer different content types, says John Corey of Greentarget.

• ESA Rule Changes Less Drastic Than Critics Claim

  

  While environmentalists say that revised Endangered Species Act implementing regulations recently published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service will gut the law, many of the updates are consistent with the services’ long-standing policies and practices, say Rebecca Barho and Brooke Wahlberg of Nossaman.

• What To Know About The Senate's New Highway Bill

  

  The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee recently approved the America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019, which would not only be the largest highway bill in history, but could also serve as a potential vehicle for broader action on other infrastructure initiatives, say attorneys and advisers at K&L Gates.