Consumer Protection

Expert Analysis

• Avoiding Inadvertent Privilege Waivers In E-Communications

  

  Attorneys at WilmerHale highlight recent developments in privilege law, the significant challenges raised by nontraditional working arrangements popularized during the pandemic, and ways to avoid waiving attorney-client privilege when using electronic communications.

• Strategies For Managing Calif. Litigation As Courts Reopen

  

  As state and federal courts in California begin to reopen, strategic decisions need to be made about where cases should be filed, public and private perception of litigation conduct, alternative plans for discovery, and more, says attorney Steven Brower.

• Assessing The Novel Antitrust Claims In Humira Case

  

  Indirect purchasers are accusing AbbVie of anti-competitive conduct through the use of so-called patent thickets to allegedly delay biosimilar versions of Humira — a theory that would potentially hold a pharmaceutical company liable for the acquisition and enforcement of its patents, raising important legal and economic questions, say analysts at Charles River Associates.

• When Unclear Retail Rent-To-Own Terms Draw FTC Ire

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's recent settlement with Progressive Leasing over its failure to clearly disclose rent-to-own prices illustrates the FTC's propensity to seek equitable monetary relief from national advertisers, as well as policy differences between Republicans and Democrats, say John Feldman and Gerry Stegmaier at Reed Smith.

• 7 Considerations For BIPA Class Action Defense

  

  Jad Sheikali at Honigman outlines the ever-growing list of issues facing companies defending class actions under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act and how jurisdictional pitfalls and recent developments in preemption may affect defense strategies.

• Opinion

  Don't Cancel Your Summer Associate Programs

  

  While pulling off an effective summer associate program this year will be no easy feat, law firms' investments in their future attorneys should be considered necessary even during this difficult time, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.

• Calif. Justices' Ruling Marks Turning Point For Jury Trial Right

  

  The California Supreme Court’s holding that unfair competition and false advertising claims don’t need to be tried by a jury in Nationwide Biweekly v. Superior Court creates a framework for analyzing causes of action under other state laws that could steer courts to similar conclusions, says Patrick Hammon at McManis Faulkner.

• The Legal Risks Of Bias In Artificial Intelligence

  

  Bias in artificial intelligence algorithms is inevitable, so companies that use AI should take proactive steps to avoid disparate impact on legally protected classes and minimize the risk of lawsuits, say Brig. Gen. Patrick Huston at the Army JAG Corps and Lourdes Fuentes-Slater at Karta Legal.

• 5 Ways To Reduce Post-Pandemic Legal Malpractice Exposure

  

  History suggests that legal malpractice claims will rise following the current economic downturn, and while a certain percentage of the claims will be unavoidable, there are prophylactic steps that law firms can take, says John Johnson at Cozen O'Connor.

• Opinion

  Justices Should Construe Computer Fraud Law Narrowly

  

  In U.S. v. Van Buren, the U.S. Supreme Court should follow burglary and trespass cases to limit the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act’s scope to accessing or misusing employer data and avoid the absurd result of criminalizing an employee's unauthorized Facebook visit, say Anthony Volini and Karen Heart at DePaul University.

• FTC Continues To Zero In On Problematic M&A Noncompetes

  

  Although noncompete clauses often play a vital role in mergers and acquisitions, they are not immune from antitrust scrutiny — exemplified by three recent Federal Trade Commission challenges, say Joel Grosberg and Lisa Rumin at McDermott.

• A Guide To Evaluating And Advertising COVID-19 Products

  

  As businesses evaluate products claiming to make workplaces safer during the pandemic, or look at marketing such products themselves, they should be aware of the highly regulated world of disease prevention claims if they wish to avoid enforcement and private litigation, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

• Opinion

  Credibility Concerns About Virtual Arbitration Are Unfounded

  

  Concerns that videoconferenced arbitration hearings compromise an arbitrator's ability to reliably resolve credibility contests are based on mistaken perceptions of how many cases actually turn on credibility, what credibility means in the legal world, and how arbitrators make credibility determinations, says Wayne Brazil at JAMS.

• New Risk Of Whistleblower, Retaliation Claims In Health Care

  

  Pandemic circumstances put health care facilities in a bind — they must continue to treat their patients, protect patient privacy, and ensure they have sufficient staff who are ready and willing to work, while also protecting themselves from the heightened threat of whistleblower and retaliation lawsuits, say attorneys at Pepper Hamilton.

• Traps For The Unwary In Class Actions Targeting PPP Lenders

  

  Recent class actions challenging how lenders prioritized Paycheck Protection Program applications or alleging failure to pay agent fees to those facilitating loan applications may be based on the flimsiest of legal theories, however risks still exist, as we saw earlier this month in a Michigan federal court decision, say Richard Gottlieb and Brett Natarelli at Manatt.