Expert Analysis

• 5 Tips For Filing Gov't Notices After Insurance Producer M&A

  

  As insurance producer acquisition activity picks up in 2023, requiring a daunting process of notifying information changes to each Department of Insurance where the entity is licensed, certain best practices will help buyers alleviate frustration and avoid administrative actions and fines, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• Opinion

  It's Time For Lawyers To Stand Up For Climate Justice

  

  The anniversary this week of the Deepwater Horizon disaster offers an opportunity for attorneys to embrace the practice of just transition lawyering — leveraging our skills to support communities on the front lines of climate change and environmental catastrophe as they pursue rebuilding and transformation, says Amy Laura Cahn at Taproot Earth.

• Don't Forget Alumni Engagement When Merging Law Firms

  

  Neglecting law firm alumni programs after a merger can sever the deep connections attorneys have with their former firms, but by combining good data management and creating new opportunities to reconnect, firms can make every member in their expanded network of colleagues feel valued, say Clare Roath and Erin Warner at Troutman Pepper.

• Without Stronger Due Diligence, Attys Risk AML Regulation

  

  Amid increasing pressure to mitigate money laundering and terrorism financing risks in gatekeeper professions, the legal industry will need to clarify and strengthen existing client due diligence measures — or risk the federal regulation attorneys have long sought to avoid, says Jeremy Glicksman at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

• Every Lawyer Can Act To Prevent Peer Suicide

  

  Members of the legal industry can help prevent suicide among their colleagues, and better protect their own mental health, by learning the predictors and symptoms of depression among attorneys and knowing when and how to get practical aid to peers in crisis, says Joan Bibelhausen at Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers.

• Pence Subpoena Fight Clarified Key Constitutional Principles

  

  Though a D.C. federal court ordered former Vice President Mike Pence to testify before a grand jury investigating Jan. 6, the decision affirms important constitutional principles first raised in Pence's subpoena challenge, including separation of powers and protection under the speech or debate clause, says Scott Coffina at Montgomery McCracken.

• Building On Successful Judicial Assignment Reform In Texas

  

  Prompt action by the Judicial Conference could curtail judge shopping and improve the efficiency and procedural fairness of the federal courts by implementing random districtwide assignment of cases, which has recently proven successful in Texas patent litigation, says Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper.

• Opinion

  Ga. Needs To Resolve Cannabis Counsel Confusion

  

  Georgia’s medical cannabis regulator finally adopted rules for low-THC oil last month, but a 2021 ethics ruling prohibits lawyers from advising participants in the state’s legal program and creates a confounding landscape that the state bar and courts must address, say Whitt Steineker and Mason Kruze at Bradley Arant.

• Do Videoconferences Establish Jurisdiction With Defendants?

  

  What it means to have minimum contacts in a foreign jurisdiction is changing as people become more accustomed to meeting via video, and defendants’ participation in videoconferencing may be used as a sword or a shield in courts’ personal jurisdiction analysis, says Patrick Hickey at Moye White.

• Pending Campaign Finance Ruling May Alter Nonprofit Activity

  

  The Eleventh Circuit's upcoming New Georgia Project v. Carr decision, over whether Georgia's state campaign finance laws violate the First Amendment, could harbor nationwide effects for state registration and reporting requirements for nonprofits participating in political activity, resulting in less supervision of these entities, say Andrew Herman and Michelle McClafferty at Lawrence & Bundy.

• Opinion

  Humanism Should Replace Formalism In The Courts

  

  The worrying tendency for judges to say "it's just the law talking, not me" in American decision writing has coincided with an historic decline in respect for the courts, but this trend can be reversed if courts develop understandable legal standards and justify them in human terms, says Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher.

• Don't Let Client Demands Erode Law Firm Autonomy

  

  As clients increasingly impose requirements for attorney hiring and retention related to diversity and secondment, law firms must remember their ethical duties, as well as broader issues of lawyer development, culture and firm integrity, to maintain their independence while meaningfully responding to social changes, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

• Workers, Labor Take Center Stage At ABA Antitrust Meeting

  

  The American Bar Association’s antitrust spring meeting had a heavy emphasis on upstream markets affecting employees and talent, and prosecutors sent a clear message that they view no-solicitation, no-poach and no-hire agreements as criminal violations, even in the face of several jury trial setbacks, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

• Opinion

  Federal Judge's Amici Invitation Is A Good Idea, With Caveats

  

  An Arkansas federal judge’s recent order — inviting amicus briefs in every civil case before him — has merit, but its implementation may raise practical questions about the role of junior attorneys, economic considerations and other issues, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation.

• Commercial Landlords Should Approach Self-Help Carefully

  

  Although on the surface lease provisions give landlords the right to recover possession of leased premises when a commercial tenant falls behind on rent, blind reliance on such language can lead to trouble and self-help should be exercised with great caution, says Knox Withers at Arnall Golden.