Cybersecurity & Privacy

Expert Analysis

• Ethics Tips For Attorneys Telecommuting Across State Lines

  

  Attorneys working remotely from jurisdictions in which they are not admitted should take precautionary steps to avoid engaging in unauthorized practice of law, say John Schmidt and Michael Seaman at Phillips Lytle.

• 6 Ways Legal Employers Can Help Pandemic-Weary Parents

  

  Parenting during the pandemic has introduced a series of competing personal and professional obligations for attorneys and professional staff, and even organizations that are supportive of their parent employees can take steps to do better, says Meredith Kahan at Saul Ewing.

• Renewable Energy Cos. Need New Risk Management Tools

  

  As President Joe Biden seeks to ramp up renewable energy development, the industry's risk managers must not only rely on traditional insurance and contractual warranties, but also explore new risk management products like proxy revenue swaps, say Leslie Thorne and Andrew Van Osselaer at Haynes and Boone.

• Remote Working Tips For Lawyer Trainees And Their Firms

  

  The prospect of joining a law firm during the pandemic can cause added pressure, but with a few good practices — and a little help from their firms and supervising attorneys — lawyer trainees can get ahead of the curve while working remotely, say William Morris and Ted Landray at King & Spalding.

• Compliance Lessons From Newest Fla. Privacy Class Actions

  

  To prepare for a new slate of privacy class actions, brought under Florida’s wiretapping statute against retailers using tracking software, companies should be assessing the placement, display and content of their technology disclosures and user agreements, say Ian Ross and Jorge Perez Santiago at Stumphauzer Foslid.

• What Biden's Ethics Pledge Means For Gov't Revolving Door

  

  Attorneys at Nossaman look at how President Joe Biden’s ethics pledge goes beyond those of his predecessors by imposing post-employment shadow lobbying and golden parachute restrictions on his administration’s appointees — and how a House bill proposing expansion of federal ethics law could affect enforcement.

• Opinion

  Punishing Bar Exam Policies On Menstrual Products Must Go

  

  Law graduates across the states are sitting for the grueling two-day bar exam this week despite menstruation-related barriers, such as inadequate menstrual product and bathroom access, which could be eradicated with simple policy tweaks, say law professors Elizabeth Cooper, Margaret Johnson and Marcy Karin.

• Int'l Arbitration Rules Revision Reflects Flexible Approach

  

  The International Bar Association's recent update to its Rules on the Taking of Evidence resists prescriptive requirements in favor of a nuanced revision, especially when it comes to areas where technology is altering the practice, say Albert Bates and Zachary Torres-Fowler at Troutman Pepper.

• Mitigating BIPA Suit Risk Under Alternative Liability Theories

  

  A recent Illinois federal court decision allowing a suit to proceed against Enterprise Leasing and its parent company for violating the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act shows why even companies that don't directly use biometric data must take proactive contractual measures to mitigate alternative liability exposure, says David Oberly at Blank Rome.

• It's Time For Law Firms To Start Loving And Leveraging Data

  

  The volume and diversity of data managed by law firms today — from client files to internal financial records — may seem daunting, but when properly organized, good data can help practitioners stay competitive by providing sharper insight into firm resources and cost of work, say Jaron Luttich and Barry Wiggins at Element Standard.

• Keys To Protecting Clients During Law Firm Dissolution

  

  Whether a law firm dissolution is amicable or adversarial, departing attorneys should take steps to maintain their legal and ethical responsibilities toward clients, and beware client confidentiality pitfalls when joining new firms, say John Schmidt and Colin Fitzgerald at Phillips Lytle.

• Legal Pitfalls HOAs Should Avoid When Using Drones

  

  As drone technology becomes more advanced and accessible, more homeowners associations are beginning to use drones to enforce covenants, but they must be careful to avoid three areas of potential legal liability, say Gary Kaleita and Ty Pryor at Lowndes Drosdick.

• What A New Virginia Privacy Law Could Mean For Businesses

  

  As Virginia moves to become the second state to pass a comprehensive data privacy law, businesses that have been building compliance programs for California's new laws will be well positioned to comply with the Virginia law, as long as they note some key differences, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Digitization Of Environmental Audits May Be Here To Stay

  

  While digital environmental audits — relying on remote tools to collect data, interview employees and conduct site inspections — present logistical and cybersecurity challenges, they also offer regulated entities opportunities to explore efficient processes that are likely to outlast the pandemic, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

• DOD's New Cyber Rules May Spur Contract Disputes

  

  Contractors adapting to solicitations and contracts that include new cybersecurity assessment requirements from the U.S. Department of Defense should familiarize themselves with adjacent new areas for contract disputes and the potential avenues for relief should a controversy arise, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.