Insurance

Expert Analysis

• Why AFAs Are Key To The Future Of Legal Practice

  

  Alternative fee agreements can help align law firm and client interests, increase efficiency and eliminate corporate extortion, among other benefits. They are the best thing to happen to the practice of law in decades, says Kelly Eisenlohr-Moul at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.

• What Conn. Opioid Ruling Means For Liability Insurers

  

  In New Haven v. Purdue, a Connecticut state judge ruled last week that opioid manufacturers are not liable for cities' emergency and social services costs. This decision protects liability insurance from being transformed into a funding mechanism for social problems that it was not designed to cover, say Patrick Bedell and Kevin Harris of BatesCarey LLP.

• The Trump Administration's Latest Drug Pricing Initiatives

  

  In 2018, the Trump administration took few concrete steps that will significantly impact drug prices in the near future. The most consequential ideas lack political support, while the more feasible ideas are unlikely to change much, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray LLP.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Barron Reviews 'The Clamor Of Lawyers'

  

  Can lawyers lead a revolution? According to "The Clamor of Lawyers: The American Revolution and Crisis in the Legal Profession" — a slim but elegant volume by Peter Charles Hoffer and Williamjames Hull Hoffer — they can and they did, says First Circuit Judge David Barron.

• Handling Corporate Congressional Probes In The Trump Era

  

  President Donald Trump’s approach to crisis communications has changed the game enough to demand companies' consideration of a whole new set of options. John Hellerman of Hellerman Communications and Bill Pittard of KaiserDillon PLLC discuss whether corporations can successfully use similar tactics.

• A Look Inside CMS' New Medicare Shared Savings Program

  

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently issued its final rule overhauling the Medicare shared savings program for accountable care organizations. Attorneys with Ropes & Gray LLP review some of the primary changes, including new beneficiary incentives and coverage for telehealth services.

• Opinion

  The Case For Lawyer-Directed Litigation Funding In NY: Part 2

  

  Lawyer-directed nonrecourse litigation funding is more likely to protect a lawyer's exercise of independent professional judgment than traditional means of litigation finance, and furthermore enables worthwhile cases that otherwise could not be funded, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson of Holland & Knight LLP.

• Axis V. Northrop Highlights Premature Exhaustion Risks

  

  A California federal court's decision in Axis v. Northrop reminds insureds to consider excess insurers' coverage positions when negotiating coverage with lower-level insurers. Insureds should also be wary of settlements that could be construed as disgorgement of ill-gotten assets, say Caroline Meneau and David Kroeger of Jenner & Block LLP.

• An FAQ On The State Of Direct Procurement Insurance

  

  The practice of procuring insurance coverage by "direct procurement" has been viewed as a constitutional right for half a century, but recent events have raised many questions within the insurance industry over whether that right is being eroded by certain states, says Zachary Lerner of Locke Lord LLP.

• Opinion

  The Case For Lawyer-Directed Litigation Funding In NY: Part 1

  

  Contrary to what the New York City Bar Association concluded in an ethics opinion last year, lawyer-directed nonrecourse commercial litigation funding does not violate New York rules on sharing fees with nonlawyers, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson of Holland & Knight LLP.