Consumer Protection

Expert Analysis

• Why AFAs Are Key To The Future Of Legal Practice

  

  Alternative fee agreements can help align law firm and client interests, increase efficiency and eliminate corporate extortion, among other benefits. They are the best thing to happen to the practice of law in decades, says Kelly Eisenlohr-Moul at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.

• 5 Lessons From State AGs' HIPAA Data Breach Suit

  

  The allegations in State of Indiana v. Medical Informatics Engineering — the first federal lawsuit filed by multiple state attorneys general over a data breach based upon alleged Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act violations — provide some guidance on adequate network security, say Hanley Chew and Tyler Newby of Fenwick & West LLP.

• The Trump Administration's Latest Drug Pricing Initiatives

  

  In 2018, the Trump administration took few concrete steps that will significantly impact drug prices in the near future. The most consequential ideas lack political support, while the more feasible ideas are unlikely to change much, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray LLP.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Barron Reviews 'The Clamor Of Lawyers'

  

  Can lawyers lead a revolution? According to "The Clamor of Lawyers: The American Revolution and Crisis in the Legal Profession" — a slim but elegant volume by Peter Charles Hoffer and Williamjames Hull Hoffer — they can and they did, says First Circuit Judge David Barron.

• Why Apple Customers Lost A Suit Over Storage Capacity

  

  A California federal court recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by Apple customers over the advertised storage capacity of iPhones and iPads. The case illustrates the importance of accurate advertising about the technical specifications of products, but also the need for plaintiffs to draft their complaints with care, says Jeffrey Edelstein of Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP.

• How Calif. Privacy Act Could Prompt Private Plaintiff Suits

  

  Even absent a private right of action, businesses subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act should still be concerned about the possibility of private lawsuits — including class actions — arising from the law, says Joshua Jessen of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

• Opinion

  The Case For Lawyer-Directed Litigation Funding In NY: Part 2

  

  Lawyer-directed nonrecourse litigation funding is more likely to protect a lawyer's exercise of independent professional judgment than traditional means of litigation finance, and furthermore enables worthwhile cases that otherwise could not be funded, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson of Holland & Knight LLP.

• Shutdown's Messy Impact On Consumer Protection Activities

  

  As it appears the federal government shutdown could continue for some time, attorneys with Troutman Sanders LLP discuss its effect on the regulatory and litigation docket for consumer-facing companies.

• Opinion

  The Case For Lawyer-Directed Litigation Funding In NY: Part 1

  

  Contrary to what the New York City Bar Association concluded in an ethics opinion last year, lawyer-directed nonrecourse commercial litigation funding does not violate New York rules on sharing fees with nonlawyers, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson of Holland & Knight LLP.

• Early Steps Toward Rule-Making For Calif. Privacy Act

  

  At the California Department of Justice's first informal public forum on the Consumer Privacy Act, we began to see where consumer advocates and the regulated community may focus their efforts during the CCPA rule-making process, says Grant Davis-Denny of Munger Tolles & Olson LLP.