Legal Ethics

Expert Analysis

• How To Hire Lateral Partners More Effectively

  

  Although lateral partner hiring is the preferred method of inorganic growth among law firms, the traditional approach to vetting does not employ sufficient due diligence by the hiring firm, says Michael Ellenhorn at executive search firm Decipher Competitive Intelligence.

• Texas Could Take Page From Mass.'s Judicial Selection Book

  

  As Texas and other states review their judicial election processes, they would be well served by taking guidance from Massachusetts' Governor’s Council system, which protects the judiciary from the hazards of campaigning, says Richard Baker of New England Intellectual Property.

• Series

  Judging A Book: McKeown Reviews 'Conversations With RBG'

  

  Reading Jeffrey Rosen’s "Conversations With RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law" is like eavesdropping on the author and his subject while they discuss how the restrained judicial minimalist became the fiery leader of the opposition, says Ninth Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown.

• Opinion

  Trump Adviser's Influence Should Sound Alarm In DACA Case

  

  Next week, the Trump administration goes before the U.S. Supreme Court to support its cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but the troubling record of immigration adviser Kris Kobach should raise concerns about how legally sound the administration’s case will be, says Liz Mair of Mair Strategies.

• 9th Circ. Ruling Stresses Need For Arbitrator Bias Disclosures

  

  Following the Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Monster Energy v. City Beverages, arbitrators should consider whether to amend disclosures concerning potential conflicts of interest to meet the court's hypertechnical, but not wholly illogical, partiality standard, says Dustin Hecker at Arent Fox.

• Opinion

  Flat-Fee Legal Billing Can Liberate Attorneys

  

  Replacing hourly billing with flat-fee arrangements, especially for appellate work, will leave attorneys feeling free to spend as much time as necessary to produce their highest quality work, says Lawrence Ebner of Capital Appellate Advocacy.

• Spoliation Rule Remains Ambiguous Despite Amendments

  

  Although the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to provide a uniform standard of culpability for spoliation, cases with similar facts are still reaching differing results because the rule does not specify how a court should evaluate a party's intent, say attorneys at Pepper Hamilton.

• Quid Pro Quo 101

  

  As three House committees investigate allegations that President Donald Trump sought assistance from Ukraine in the upcoming election, the phrase “quid pro quo” is having a moment; its meaning, however, is limited and specific in federal crimes involving graft, says Luke Cass at Quarles & Brady.

• 5 Trends Influencing RFPs For Law Firms

  

  Requests for proposals, the standard tool of companies evaluating law firms, are becoming better suited to the legal industry, says Matthew Prinn of RFP Advisory Group.

• Series

  Why I Became A Lawyer: Being There For Families In Trouble

  

  My parents' contentious, drawn-out divorce was one of the worst experiences of my life. But it taught me how to be resilient — and ultimately led me to leave corporate litigation for a career in family law, helping other families during their own difficult times, says Sheryl Seiden of Seiden Family Law.

• Where Law Firm Partners Go When Changing Jobs

  

  We reviewed 177 law firm partners' job changes from the last seven years and discovered some migration patterns and gender dynamics, say James Bailey of the George Washington University School of Business and Jane Azzinaro of Cognizant.

• 3 Ways To Leverage Vulnerability For Lawyer Well-Being

  

  Admitting to imperfection is an elusive construct in the legal industry, but addressing this roadblock by capitalizing on vulnerabilities can increase personal and professional power, says life coach and attorney Julie Krolczyk.

• High Court FDCPA Case Faced Uphill Battle From The Start

  

  At U.S. Supreme Court arguments in Rotkiske v. Klemm last week, divergent views on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act’s statute of limitation for the common law discovery rule emerged, and questions from the justices suggest the plaintiff’s waiver of the equitable tolling doctrine at the lower court level was the death knell for his case, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• New Data Shows BigLaw's True Profitability

  

  Based on an analysis adjusting BigLaw operating income and revenue to account for equity partners and taxes, the profitability of firms is lower than commonly thought, says Madhav Srinivasan at Hunton.

• Opinion

  Courts Keep Rejecting Litigation Funding Discovery Campaign

  

  As shown by recent case law, including a New Jersey federal court holding last month in Valsartan Products Liability Litigation, there is no "shifting tide" in favor of disclosing litigation funding arrangements, say Matthew Harrison and Stephanie Southwick of Bentham IMF.