Business of Law

Ethics Tips For Attorneys Telecommuting Across State Lines

Attorneys working remotely from jurisdictions in which they are not admitted should take precautionary steps to avoid engaging in unauthorized practice of law, say John Schmidt and Michael Seaman at Phillips Lytle.

Opinion

Calif. Lemon Law Suits: A Problem Of Auto Cos.' Own Making

A recent Law360 guest article criticized attorneys who use California's Song-Beverly Act to fight for consumers who have purchased cars with serious defects — but automakers could avoid litigation if they simply followed the law and bought back defective vehicles promptly, says Nancy Peverini at the Consumer Attorneys of California.

6 Ways Legal Employers Can Help Pandemic-Weary Parents

Parenting during the pandemic has introduced a series of competing personal and professional obligations for attorneys and professional staff, and even organizations that are supportive of their parent employees can take steps to do better, says Meredith Kahan at Saul Ewing.

Opinion

It's Time To Fix The Patent System's Gender Problem

Recent attention from the U.S. Senate to the gender gap in patent law shows that it's time to rethink qualifying for the patent bar, as well as the educational and business systems that perpetuate outdated stereotypes, say Julie Reed and Marie Weiskopf at Miller Nash.

Remote Working Tips For Lawyer Trainees And Their Firms

The prospect of joining a law firm during the pandemic can cause added pressure, but with a few good practices — and a little help from their firms and supervising attorneys — lawyer trainees can get ahead of the curve while working remotely, say William Morris and Ted Landray at King & Spalding.

5 Hiring Strategies For Diversifying The Patent Bar

Law firms looking to diversify historically male-dominated patent practices should examine their hiring practices, expand their pool of applicants from underrepresented groups, tailor job postings and revamp interview processes, says Elaine Spector at Harrity.

What Biden's Ethics Pledge Means For Gov't Revolving Door

Attorneys at Nossaman look at how President Joe Biden’s ethics pledge goes beyond those of his predecessors by imposing post-employment shadow lobbying and golden parachute restrictions on his administration’s appointees — and how a House bill proposing expansion of federal ethics law could affect enforcement.

Opinion

Punishing Bar Exam Policies On Menstrual Products Must Go

Law graduates across the states are sitting for the grueling two-day bar exam this week despite menstruation-related barriers, such as inadequate menstrual product and bathroom access, which could be eradicated with simple policy tweaks, say law professors Elizabeth Cooper, Margaret Johnson and Marcy Karin.

It's Time For Law Firms To Start Loving And Leveraging Data

The volume and diversity of data managed by law firms today — from client files to internal financial records — may seem daunting, but when properly organized, good data can help practitioners stay competitive by providing sharper insight into firm resources and cost of work, say Jaron Luttich and Barry Wiggins at Element Standard.

Keys To Protecting Clients During Law Firm Dissolution

Whether a law firm dissolution is amicable or adversarial, departing attorneys should take steps to maintain their legal and ethical responsibilities toward clients, and beware client confidentiality pitfalls when joining new firms, say John Schmidt and Colin Fitzgerald at Phillips Lytle.

How Case Management Orders Can Support New Attorneys

Courts are leading the way in ensuring oral argument opportunities for newer attorneys by incorporating innovative language in a variety of orders, and private parties can and should follow suit by incorporating similar language into case management orders, say Megan Jones and Halli Spraggins at Hausfeld.

An In-House Counsel's Guide To Better Work Management

Amid economic uncertainty and increasing pressure on corporate legal departments to do more with less, work management processes should be aimed at tracking legal teams' every contribution, including routine matters that can be reallocated to nonlegal staff, says Aaron Pierce at LexisNexis CounselLink.

Avoiding Materially Adverse Conflicts After New ABA Opinion

The American Bar Association's recent guidance on what constitutes materially adverse interests between clients makes clear that lawyers should not take comfort in a current representation just because a former client is not on the opposite side of the v., and those hoping to avoid disqualification should consider five steps, says Hilary Gerzhoy at Harris Wiltshire.

Rebuttal

US Legal System Can Benefit From Nonlawyer Ownership

Contrary to claims made in a recent Law360 guest article, nonlawyer ownership has incrementally improved the England and Wales legal system — with more innovation and more opportunities for lawyers — and there is no reason why those outcomes cannot also be achieved in the U.S., say Crispin Passmore at Passmore Consulting and Zachariah DeMeola at the University of Denver.

Building A Law Firm Knowledge Bank For Thought Leadership

Marketing professionals often do not have firsthand knowledge of current legal trends and client issues, so law firms need to commit to an ongoing knowledge extraction process — a series of steps to draw out attorney insights that can help marketers create effective and frequent thought leadership content, says Michelle Calcote King at Reputation Ink.