Expert Analysis

• Series

  Creating Botanical Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Pressing and framing plants that I grow has shown me that pursuing an endeavor that brings you joy can lead to surprising benefits for a legal career, including mental clarity, perspective and even a bit of humility, says Douglas Selph at Morris Manning.

• Noncompete Forecast Shows Tough Weather For Employers

  

  Several new state noncompete laws signal rough conditions for employers, particularly in the healthcare sector, so employers must account for employees' geographic circumstances as they cannot rely solely on choice-of-law clauses, say lawyers at McDermott.

• What Developers Can Glean From Miami Condo Ruling

  

  A Florida state appeals court's recent denial of a Miami condo redevelopment bid offers a detailed blueprint of what future developers must address when they evaluate the condominium's governing declaration and seek to terminate a condominium, say attorneys at Shubin Law.

• Opinion

  The Legal Education Status Quo Is No Longer Tenable

  

  As underscored by the fallout from California’s February bar exam, legal education and licensure are tethered to outdated systems, and the industry must implement several key reforms to remain relevant and responsive to 21st century legal needs, says Matthew Nehmer at The Colleges of Law.

• E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Relevance Redactions

  

  In recent cases addressing redactions that parties sought to apply based on the relevance of information — as opposed to considerations of privilege — courts have generally limited a party’s ability to withhold nonresponsive or irrelevant material, providing a few lessons for discovery strategy, say attorneys at Sidley.

• Opinion

  Section 1983 Has Promise After End Of Nationwide Injunctions

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the practice of nationwide injunctions in Trump v. Casa, Section 1983 civil rights suits can provide a better pathway to hold the government accountable — but this will require reforms to qualified immunity, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.

• Courts Redefining Software As Product Generates New Risks

  

  A recent wave of litigation against social media platforms, chatbot developers and ride-hailing companies has some courts straying from the traditional view of software as a service to redefining software as a product, with significant implications for strict liability exposure, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• Justices' Decision Axing Retiree's ADA Claim Offers Clarity

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's holding in Stanley v. City of Sanford that protections under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act don't extend to retirees potentially limits liability by giving employers additional support to challenge complaints, and highlights the need for proactive policy management to mitigate risk, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

• Series

  Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Learning From Failure

  

  While law school often focuses on the importance of precision, correctness and perfection, mistakes are inevitable in real-world practice — but failure is not the opposite of progress, and real talent comes from the ability to recover, rethink and reshape, says Brooke Pauley at Tucker Ellis.

• Series

  Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw

  

  As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.

• Fla. Law Is Part Of State Trend On Curbing Foreign Influence

  

  A recently effective Florida law that broadly prohibits charities from receiving or soliciting funds from individuals and entities associated with certain foreign countries, the first of its kind in the nation, follows a growing state-level focus on foreign influence regulation, say attorneys at Venable.

• 4 In-Flux Employment Law Issues Banks Should Note

  

  Attorneys at Ogletree provide a midyear update on employment law changes that could significantly affect banks and other financial service institutions — including federal diversity equity and inclusion updates, and new and developing state and local artificial intelligence laws.

• New DOJ Penalty Policy Could Spell Trouble For Cos.

  

  In light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s recently published guidance making victim relief a core condition of coordinated resolution crediting, companies facing parallel investigations must carefully calibrate their negotiation strategies to minimize the risk of duplicative penalties, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• Influencer Marketing Partnerships Face Rising Litigation Risk

  

  In light of recent class actions claiming that brands and influencers are misleading consumers with deceptive marketing practices — largely premised on the Federal Trade Commission's endorsements guidance — proactive compliance measures are becoming more important, say attorneys at Olshan Frome.