Florida

Expert Analysis

• Lesser-Known Litigation Funding Best Practices For Attorneys

  

  Following the American Bar Association's recent publication of third-party litigation funding guidance, Jiamie Chen and Dai Wai Chin Feman at Parabellum Capital outline some additional considerations, including the ethical limitations on single-case funding and the futility of economic prenegotiations between attorneys and their clients.

• Opinion

  ADA Protects Lawyers With Disabilities, But We Must Do More

  

  As an attorney with cerebral palsy, Danielle Liebl at Reed Smith says that while the 30-year-old Americans with Disabilities Act has protected her against discrimination, the legal industry must do more to accommodate lawyers with disabilities and make them more comfortable in self-identifying.

• Perspectives

  Legal Deserts Threaten Justice In Rural America

  

  Many small towns and rural counties have few lawyers or none at all, which threatens the notion of justice for all Americans and demands creative solutions from legislators, bar associations and law schools, says Patricia Refo, president of the American Bar Association.

• When Investor Talks Render Biz Judgment Review Unavailable

  

  The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent decision in HomeFed amplifies the court's focus on discussions between controller and minority stockholders as the basis to conclude that business judgment review is unavailable, and suggests a trend toward a more restrictive judicial approach, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• Foreign Discovery Ruling May Provide New Defense Tool

  

  Motransa, a recent first-of-its-kind Florida federal court decision moving a foreign discovery proceeding to arbitration, may provide a new defensive option for U.S. targets of Section 1782 discovery demands, say Alexander Lawrence and David Hambrick at MoFo.

• Analyzing Upward And Downward Trends In Legal Tech

  

  Advances in legal technology are often accompanied by bombastic overstatements, but it is important to separate the wheat from the chaff by looking at where various technologies stand on the hype curve, says Lance Eliot at Stanford Law School.

• Opinion

  ABA's New Guidance On Litigation Funding Misses The Mark

  

  The American Bar Association should revise its recently approved best practices on third-party litigation funding as they do not reflect how legal finance actually works and could create confusion among lawyers, says Andrew Cohen at Burford Capital.

• What Firms Should Ask Before Hiring Attorneys From Gov't

  

  In the final year of any presidential administration, there is an undeniable appetite on the part of large law firms for government-savvy legal talent, but firms need to first consider how they will actually utilize their new star hire, says Michael Ellenhorn at Decipher.

• Opinion

  3 Ways Fla. Should Revise Its Patient Brokering Act

  

  Recent alterations to the Florida Patient Brokering Act — a law prohibiting induced patient referrals — are a step in the right direction, but further revisions should clarify Anti-Kickback Statute exceptions, allow the advice of counsel defense and incorporate the federal advisory opinion process, says Michael Manthei at Holland & Knight.

• The Ethics Of Using Chatbots For Legal Services

  

  Delegating legal work to robots involves several risks, including running afoul of statutes dictating unauthorized practice of law, but with the right precautions, law firms can lawfully employ artificially intelligent chatbots that can imitate human conversations, say attorneys at Haynes and Boone.

• Key Tax Considerations For Cos. With Remote Employees

  

  As remote work continues due to COVID-19, businesses navigating complex tax jurisdiction questions should diligently maintain employee location records for nexus and apportionment purposes, and make sure to account for differing state withholding and sourcing rules, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• Avoiding Workplace Violence When Customers Refuse Masks

  

  Terri Solomon and Elizabeth Barrera at Littler address how businesses can avert violent situations when patrons refuse state and local face mask mandates by using signage, incident response plans and law enforcement assistance to meet federal workplace safety requirements.

• Opinion

  ABA Must Seize Opportunity To Respond To Bar Exam Chaos

  

  The challenges of administering bar exams this year have put the future of the profession in jeopardy, but the American Bar Association at its ongoing annual meeting can adopt a resolution that would urge jurisdictions to take emergency actions with respect to licensure of new attorneys, says Nicholas Allard, former president of Brooklyn Law School.

• Va. Workplace Virus Safety Mandate Has High Compliance Bar

  

  Meeting the strict exposure assessment, notification, social distancing and sanitization obligations under Virginia’s recently enacted COVID-19 workplace safety standard, which can serve as a guide for employers in other states, will require on-the-ground enforcement beyond compliance on paper, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• How Pandemic Is Affecting The Pace Of Judicial Opinions

  

  The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way judges work, but how has it impacted the volume of work product they generate? Ben Strawn and Omeed Azmoudeh at Davis Graham investigate using data from the PACER federal courts registry.