Florida

Expert Analysis

• Perspectives

  One-Subject Rule Strategy Can Defeat Dangerous State Laws

  

  Attorneys at Ulmer & Berne explain how single-subject rule violation claims can thwart certain unconstitutional or controversial state statutes and protect civil rights in the face of state governments under one-party rule.

• Fla. Business Judgment Ruling May Benefit US Country Clubs

  

  The recent Florida appellate court ruling in Share v. Broken Sound Club fills the void in case law applying the business judgment rule to country clubs, highlights the broad scope of authority granted to these clubs across the state, and carries potential nationwide industry benefits, say Eric Coleman and Ryan Roman at Akerman.

• 3 Attorney Ethics Considerations For Litigation Funding

  

  The growth of the litigation finance industry has generated questions on the obligations of counsel when their clients are seeking outside capital to fund litigation, which litigators must understand when providing information to a third-party funder and discussing legal strategy with a client, says Matthew Oxman at LexShares.

• How ABA Opinion Shifts Alternative Biz Structure Landscape

  

  A recent American Bar Association opinion approving lawyers' passive investment in nonlawyer-owned firms eliminates a hurdle for law firms wishing to scale their practice through alternative business structures, but aspiring investors should follow a few best practices, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Deepika Ravi at Harris Wiltshire.

• Series

  Embracing ESG: HPE Counsel Talk Effective Board Oversight

  

  Governance teams can more effectively shape board oversight of environmental, social and governance issues by ensuring organizationwide agreement on the most relevant issues, building a materiality framework that reflects stakeholder input, and monitoring the integration of ESG into operations, say Rishi Varma and Derek Windham at Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

• Opinion

  Justice Gap Demands Look At New Legal Service Models

  

  Current restrictions on how lawyers structure their businesses stand in the way of meaningful access to justice for many Americans, so states should follow the lead of Utah and Florida and test out innovative law firm business models through regulatory sandboxes, says Zachariah DeMeola at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System.

• How Websites Can Ward Off Novel State Law Wiretap Suits

  

  As plaintiffs' legal theories surrounding wiretapping and the use of third-party analytics tools to collect data have evolved, with attorneys now filing privacy and security-breaching suits under state statutes, there are several strategies websites can employ to guard against these claims and defeat class actions, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

• Bankruptcy Eligibility Is Expanding For Small Biz Debtors

  

  A Florida bankruptcy court's recent decision in Vertical Mac Construction expands the scope of "just enough" commercial or business activity for Subchapter V eligibility, and potential debtors should consider this evolving boundary, says Nicholas Koffroth at Fox Rothschild.

• Series

  Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: Del. Tackles Mental Health

  

  Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro highlights the state's efforts to achieve insurance coverage parity for mental health care by confronting systemic stigma and penalizing disparate and restrictive insurance determinations.

• Series

  Embracing ESG: Leidos GC Talks Social Responsibility

  

  Recent criticisms of corporate commitments to stakeholders such as employees and communities — implicitly opposing environmental, social and governance initiatives — are fundamentally flawed and display a serious misunderstanding of contemporary investor priorities and dynamics, says Jerald Howe at Leidos.

• Lessons In Crisis Lawyering 20 Years After 9/11

  

  Dianne Phillips at Holland & Knight recounts her experiences as in-house counsel at a liquefied natural gas company in the tumultuous aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, and details the lessons she learned about lawyering in a crisis, including the importance of careful forethought and having trusted advisers on speed dial.

• Gulf Coast Offshore Wind: Opportunities And Challenges

  

  A recent announcement from the U.S. Department of the Interior signals opportunities for clean energy developers on the Gulf of Mexico outer continental shelf, but offshore wind projects in the region will still face many environmental and technical hurdles, say attorneys at Shearman.

• Why Structured Data Is Increasingly Important To Your Case

  

  During discovery, legal teams often overlook structured data — the rows of information found in financial ledgers and similar corporate systems — and consider it secondary to emails and other anecdotal evidence, but this common mistake could mean litigators are missing key elements of a dispute, say consultants at Alvarez & Marsal.

• New Fla. Atty Fee Law May Be Boon To Property Insurers

  

  A new Florida law designed to curb property insurance litigation should add some balance to a historically hostile environment for insurers by shifting the onus onto policyholders to prove entitlement to attorney fees, say attorneys at Zelle.

• Opinion

  COVID Shows Reform Is Needed On State Vs. Local Authority

  

  With Texas, Florida and a few other states seemingly bent on undermining city, county and school district public health authority to undertake COVID-19 measures such as mask mandates, the imperative to strengthen local government power through state constitutional amendments is critical, says Marissa Roy at the Public Rights Project.