Illinois

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.

• 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.

• Key Trends In Recent Cyber-Related Securities Class Actions

  

  ​​​​​​​A review of trends from recent cyber-related securities class actions suggests that shareholder plaintiffs will likely continue to focus on public companies' reporting deficiencies, so companies should evaluate and update their disclosures in light of litigation and information security risks, say Cara Peterman and Sierra Shear at Alston & Bird.

• 4 Steps For Improving Board Diversity Per New Nasdaq Rule

  

  Companies should view Nasdaq's recently finalized board diversity rules as an opportunity to tap into the knowledge and resources of potential board members who may not look like or have the same life experiences as individuals who have historically served on boards, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.

• 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 SPAC Investors Might Rethink Material Adverse Effect

  

  Buyers in special purpose acquisition company transactions involving early-stage technology companies should consider allocating key business risks in an acquisition agreement outside the construct of material adverse effect, due to the difficulty of proving a material adverse effect on a pre-revenue target company in Delaware court, say attorneys at White & Case.

• 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.

• Policyholder Best Practices As Cyberattacks Escalate

  

  As ransomware attacks increasingly target corporate victims, policyholders should enhance cybersecurity and privacy efforts to avoid regulatory hot water and mitigate the effects of rising insurance premiums and coverage restrictions, say Lee Epstein and Krishna Jani at Flaster Greenberg.

• 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.

• Series

  Embracing ESG: AIG Counsel Talks SEC Risk Alert

  

  As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission responds to the changing landscape on environmental, social and corporate governance investing, including with its recent risk alert, it is imperative that the regulator take a measured approach, says Kate Fuentes at AIG.

• What To Know About Ill. Student 'Know Before You Owe' Law

  

  Illinois' new Know Before You Owe Private Education Loan Act is likely to pose significant compliance challenges as it requires higher education institutions to share specified student information with lenders and income share agreements providers before any funds may be disbursed, and imposes new information reporting requirements on both lenders and schools, say attorneys at Manatt.