Consumer Protection

Expert Analysis

• Advertiser Insights From NAD's 1st Fast-Track Ruling

  

  The National Advertising Division’s first substantive ruling under its fast-track review program — that a Clif Bar internet ad made an unqualified comparison to Kind bars — shows what types of cases qualify for expedited review, and demonstrates a strict approach toward comparative superiority claims, say Leonard Gordon and Shahin Rothermel at Venable.

• Opinion

  ADA Protects Lawyers With Disabilities, But We Must Do More

  

  As an attorney with cerebral palsy, Danielle Liebl at Reed Smith says that while the 30-year-old Americans with Disabilities Act has protected her against discrimination, the legal industry must do more to accommodate lawyers with disabilities and make them more comfortable in self-identifying.

• Considerations For NY Small Biz Truth In Lending Compliance

  

  Michael Karpen and Richard Eckman at Troutman Pepper analyze New York state’s pending Small Business Truth in Lending Act, including the types of transactions, lenders and financing providers to which the statute applies, specific disclosure requirements, and unique challenges for the merchant cash advance industry.

• Perspectives

  Legal Deserts Threaten Justice In Rural America

  

  Many small towns and rural counties have few lawyers or none at all, which threatens the notion of justice for all Americans and demands creative solutions from legislators, bar associations and law schools, says Patricia Refo, president of the American Bar Association.

• Analyzing Upward And Downward Trends In Legal Tech

  

  Advances in legal technology are often accompanied by bombastic overstatements, but it is important to separate the wheat from the chaff by looking at where various technologies stand on the hype curve, says Lance Eliot at Stanford Law School.

• Opinion

  ABA's New Guidance On Litigation Funding Misses The Mark

  

  The American Bar Association should revise its recently approved best practices on third-party litigation funding as they do not reflect how legal finance actually works and could create confusion among lawyers, says Andrew Cohen at Burford Capital.

• Opinion

  How Biologics Cos. Disparage Biosimilars And How To Stop It

  

  Biologic manufacturers' attempts to cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of biosimilar products are deceptive and potentially anti-competitive, and the government should take action to help consumers afford life-saving medicines, says Michael Carrier at Rutgers Law School.

• What Firms Should Ask Before Hiring Attorneys From Gov't

  

  In the final year of any presidential administration, there is an undeniable appetite on the part of large law firms for government-savvy legal talent, but firms need to first consider how they will actually utilize their new star hire, says Michael Ellenhorn at Decipher.

• The Ethics Of Using Chatbots For Legal Services

  

  Delegating legal work to robots involves several risks, including running afoul of statutes dictating unauthorized practice of law, but with the right precautions, law firms can lawfully employ artificially intelligent chatbots that can imitate human conversations, say attorneys at Haynes and Boone.

• Opinion

  ABA Must Seize Opportunity To Respond To Bar Exam Chaos

  

  The challenges of administering bar exams this year have put the future of the profession in jeopardy, but the American Bar Association at its ongoing annual meeting can adopt a resolution that would urge jurisdictions to take emergency actions with respect to licensure of new attorneys, says Nicholas Allard, former president of Brooklyn Law School.

• Opinion

  Recent Decisions Helpfully Narrow TCPA Scope

  

  A New York federal court's recent Telephone Consumer Protection Act decision in Gerrard v. Acara Solutions adds to a growing line of cases holding that phone calls or text messages related to offers of employment may not be directly subject to the harsher provisions of the TCPA, says Myriah Jaworski at Beckage.

• How Pandemic Is Affecting The Pace Of Judicial Opinions

  

  The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way judges work, but how has it impacted the volume of work product they generate? Ben Strawn and Omeed Azmoudeh at Davis Graham investigate using data from the PACER federal courts registry.

• High Court TCPA Case May Curb Robocall Class Actions

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act case, Facebook v. Duguid, that has the potential to transform the statutory definition of autodialer and make it much more difficult for plaintiffs to prevail in robocall cases, says David Poell at Sheppard Mullin.

• What Split On Standing Means For Fla. Consumer Claims

  

  Aaron Weiss at Carlton Fields assesses how plaintiffs and defendants can address adverse standing rulings in light of the Florida federal court split on when an individual has standing to pursue injunctive and declaratory relief under the state’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

• How Contractors Can Reduce Antitrust Risk Amid COVID-19

  

  Given coronavirus-related supply chain strains and the U.S. Department of Justice's increased scrutiny of public procurement, government contractors should implement internal controls to prepare for antitrust enforcement inquiries and independent whistleblower claims, say advisers at FTI Consulting and BakerHostetler.