Expert Analysis

• Recent Trade Secret Cases Show Sentencing Disparities

  

  Sentencing disparities in U.S. trade secret cases have surfaced in recent years, and legal practitioners should know that courts have found that the intended loss does not necessarily equal the cost of development of stolen trade secrets or the defendant's intended gain from misappropriation, says Steven Lee at Lewis Brisbois.

• Opinion

  Justices Should Resolve FCA Cases' Rule 9(b) Circuit Split

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court should agree to hear three related False Claims Act cases and resolve the circuit split over the level of detail Rule 9(b) requires in qui tam complaints, or the viability of such actions will increasingly depend on where they are filed, say Kenneth Abell and Katherine Kulkarni at Abell Eskew.

• Opinion

  Now's The Time To Address Archaic Law School Curricula

  

  With law school enrollments jumping significantly ahead of a potential recession and more students graduating than the market can absorb, law schools should turn to creative solutions to teach students how to negotiate, work with clients, specialize and use technology to practice their craft more efficiently, says University of Colorado adjunct professor Jason Mendelson.

• Employer Abortion Policy Considerations In A Post-Roe World

  

  Restricted abortion access in many states after the U.S. Supreme Court’s expected reversal of Roe v. Wade may cause corporate recruitment and retention concerns, but before implementing policies that help employees access reproductive care, employers should consider their workforce’s values, legal risks and potential political backlash, says Meredith Kirshenbaum at Goldberg Kohn.

• Lessons From Lawyer Fee-Sharing Agreements Gone Wrong

  

  The recent fee-sharing dispute between Edelson and Girardi Keese is a reminder that lawyers who do not strictly follow the applicable rules may risk a disciplinary complaint, lose their share of the fee, or wind up in costly litigation with co-counsel, says David Grossbaum at Hinshaw.

• LeClairRyan Bankruptcy Highlights Pass-Through Tax Issue

  

  A Virginia bankruptcy court's recent ruling in the case of defunct law firm LeClairRyan shows there may be serious tax consequences for pass-through entity partners who give up their ownership interest without following operating agreement exit provisions and updating bankruptcy court filings, say Edward Schnitzer and Hannah Travaglini at Montgomery McCracken.

• 1st Amendment May Help Cannabis Cos. Beat TM Claims

  

  Frederic Rocafort at Harris Bricken explains how the First Amendment’s free speech protections may present a legal recourse for cannabis brands facing trademark infringement claims — if they can show that their parodic marks have artistic relevance and do not intentionally mislead consumers.

• 8 Steps To Creating A Legal Ops Technology Road Map

  

  Legal departments struggling to find and implement the right technologies for their operations should consider creating a road map that summarizes their approach to technology changes, provides clearly defined metrics for success, and serves as the single source of truth for stakeholders, says Melanie Shafer at SimpleLegal.

• The Importance Of Data And Data Analysis In Litigation

  

  Understanding, analyzing and effectively presenting large data sets is an increasingly important skill in litigation as it allows plaintiffs to dramatically scale up the scope of cases and is often critical to defeating motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment, says David Burnett at Motley Rice.

• Opinion

  Fla. Court's Mask Mandate Decision Is Confusing

  

  A Florida federal court's decision in Health Freedom Defense Fund v. Biden, striking down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's mask mandate for all forms of public transportation, contains some inconsistencies and questionable logic, says attorney Philip Howe.

• Steps Companies Can Take To Mitigate Privilege Labeling Risk

  

  Although Google prevailed on a recent privilege labeling sanctions motion, an important takeaway from the decision is that companies should assess their in-house procedures and employee training programs regarding privileged communications to mitigate risks of the potential appearance of bad faith privilege claims, say Gareth Evans at Redgrave and e-discovery attorney James Hertsch.

• Despite Carbon Cost Win, Biden Climate Plans Still At Risk

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent refusal to take up a group of states' challenge to the Biden administration's social cost of carbon metric is a White House victory — but with the court mulling another case concerning the government's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, Biden's climate agenda still faces obstacles, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

• What Litigation Funding Disclosure In Delaware May Look Like

  

  A standing order issued by Delaware's chief federal judge requiring litigants to disclose whether their cases or defenses are being financed by third parties is unlikely to have onerous effects but may raise questions regarding potential conflicts of interest and access to justice, say Cayse Llorens and Matthew Oxman at LexShares.

• Ch. 11 Trustee Fee Ruling Leaves Remedy Challenges

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision this week in Siegel v. Fitzgerald concerning quarterly fees payable by Chapter 11 debtors to fund the U.S. Trustee Program offloads the determination of remedies to the courts below, raising questions such as whether there is a sound legal basis for foisting fees onto North Carolina and Alabama, says Sasha Gurvitz at KTBS.

• How In-House Legal Leaders Can Drive Corporate Growth

  

  Today, more executives are seeking legal leaders who are strategic, adaptable thinkers, making it essential that in-house counsel get out of their comfort zone of legal advice and take several steps to contribute toward revenue growth and raise their profile, says Tim Parilla at LinkSquares.