Delaware

Expert Analysis

• Virus-Related Chancery Rulings Show High Bar For M&A Exits

  

  Two recent Delaware Chancery Court decisions concerning attempts to cancel acquisitions amid COVID-19 show the importance of deal language in the pandemic era, particularly where material adverse effect and ordinary course covenants are concerned, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• Uniformity Goal Eludes Defend Trade Secrets Act, 5 Years On

  

  Five years after the enactment of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, work remains to be done on achieving uniformity across jurisdictions, because state law differences being imported into the DTSA are creating the same patchwork of law the act was intended to rectify, say attorneys at MoFo.

• Judge's Rebuke Of Mass. AG Has Lessons For All Attorneys

  

  A Massachusetts federal judge’s recent rebuke of the state Attorney General’s Office for refusing to respond to discovery requests in Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Healey highlights six important considerations for attorneys who want to avoid the dreaded benchslap, say Alison Eggers and Dallin Wilson at Seyfarth.  

• How 5-Year-Old Defend Trade Secrets Act Has Met Its Goals

  

  Case law and data reveal that, five years after its enactment, the Defend Trade Secrets Act has opened up federal courts to litigants and has proven effective against extraterritorial misappropriation, while concerns about inconsistency and overuse of ex parte seizures have not borne out, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

• Font Considerations To Give Your Legal Briefs An Edge

  

  Following the D.C. Circuit’s recent notice discouraging use of the font Garamond in legal briefs, Jason Steed at Kilpatrick looks at typeface requirements and preferences in appellate courts across the country, and how practitioners can score a few extra brief-writing points with typography.

• Make Profitability Management Part Of Your Law Firm Culture

  

  As the legal industry continues to change in the post-pandemic world, law firms should adapt to client demands by constantly measuring and managing the profitability of their services, says Joseph Altonji at LawVision.

• Drafting Clearer Patent Claims After Fed. Circ. L'Oreal Ruling

  

  The Federal Circuit recently employed a flexible standard for constructing Olaplex's hair care patent claims in a case against L'Oreal, but more precise claim drafting could have avoided altogether a problem with claims for component amounts in product formulations, says Philip Hamzik at Wolf Greenfield.

• 4 Trends In Discoverability Of Litigation Funding Documents

  

  Recent rulings shed light on how courts and international arbitration tribunals decide if litigation funding materials are discoverable and reaffirm best practices that attorneys should follow when communicating with funders, say Justin Maleson at Longford Capital and Michele Slachetka and Christian Plummer at Jenner & Block.

• Bio-Rad Ruling Highlights IP Assignment Clause Limits

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent holding in Bio-Rad v. International Trade Commission, that an assignment clause wasn’t enough to claim patent ownership where the conception date followed former inventors’ employment, shows companies and workers the importance of specificity in drafting contractual limitations, say Bryan Vogel and Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.

• D&O Insurance Implications From Tesla's Stock Drop Suit

  

  A recent shareholder stock drop lawsuit against Tesla showcases the legal perils that can follow companies' social media missteps, and highlights the importance of directors and officers liability insurance in the current age of political polarization, says Tae Andrews at Miller Friel.

• Cannabis Legalization's Effects On Insurance Industry

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Resolution of the legal uncertainty presented by the dueling federal and state approaches to cannabis will pave the way for legal cannabis businesses to access the insurance protections the industry needs for everything from workers' compensation to auto insurance to general liability, says Christy Thiems at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

• 7 Lessons For Young Lawyers Starting Their Careers

  

  This year's law graduates and other young attorneys must recognize that the practice of law tests and rewards different skills and characteristics than law school, and that what makes a lawyer valuable changes over time, says Vernon Winters, retired partner at Sidley.

• COVID Eviction Bans May Not Continue To Survive In Court

  

  State and local moratoriums against evictions during the pandemic are likely to withstand plaintiffs' constitutional challenges in the short term, but plaintiffs may start to see more success as time goes on, say attorneys at Goodwin.

• The Pandemic's Bright Spots For Lawyers Who Are Parents

  

  The COVID-19 crisis has allowed lawyers to hone remote advocacy strategies and effectively represent clients with minimal travel — abilities that have benefited working parents and should be utilized long after the pandemic is over, says Chelsea Loughran at Wolf Greenfield.

• Avoiding Litigation Risks As SPAC Popularity Explodes

  

  While interest in special purpose acquisition companies has recently increased because they are perceived as less risky than traditional initial public offerings, parties to SPAC transactions can reduce the risk of litigation by focusing on disclosures, financial projections and target company selections, say Eric Rieder and Amy Wilson at Bryan Cave.