Try our Advanced Search for more refined results

Business of Law

COVID Fuels Top Firms' Priorities In 2022

As firms set their goals for 2022, it seems that the COVID-19 pandemic is once again embedded in where the legal industry is going next. Here are three key priorities for firms as they move into yet another year shaped by COVID-19.

One Year Later, Fallout From Jan. 6 Riot Continues In Court

Hundreds of criminal cases over the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol remain pending in D.C. federal court. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

The Legal Terminology That Stood Out In 2021

Critical rhetoric theory, computable contract and "I'm not a cat" are among the leading new terms and expressions in law from 2021, according to Burton's Legal Thesaurus.

Queer IP Attys Say It's Time To Break Down The L, G, B & T

Queer attorneys on an American Intellectual Property Law Association panel Tuesday encouraged law firms and companies to stop seeing the LGBTQ community as a monolith and take the needs of each group into account individually.

January 27, 2022
10th Circ. Deals Trial Lawyer Partial Loss In TM Fight

Siding against famed litigator Gerry Spence in his bitter trademark fight with the legal training school he founded, a Tenth Circuit panel has said a lower court rightly found he couldn't use statements that could create confusion about his relationship with his former institution.
January 27, 2022
The Term: Breyer's Legacy And The Nomination To Come

Justice Stephen Breyer on Thursday formally announced he would be retiring at the end of the Supreme Court term. Here, The Term breaks down the legacy he will leave behind and takes a look at what lies ahead for his potential successor with two special guests.
January 27, 2022
Edelson, Ex-Girardi Attys Can Post Separate Financial Charts

An Illinois federal judge probing contempt liability over Thomas V. Girardi's misappropriation of $2 million said Thursday that he'll accept separate charts reflecting certain Girardi & Keese accounts' cash flow, after learning a dispute arose over how to present the information to the court.
January 27, 2022
Breyer Retiring As Supreme Court Lurches Right

Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court at a time when his conservative colleagues on the bench seem intent on dismantling landmark precedents on abortion, affirmative action and the administrative state, to name a few. Can his successor preserve his liberal legacy?
January 27, 2022
Meadows On Shaky Legal Ground With Privilege Claim

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last week rejecting former President Donald Trump's bid to block certain White House documents from the House select committee probing the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol attack will make it more difficult for his allies, such as his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, to keep documents or conversations they had with Trump pertaining to the attack private.
January 27, 2022
Why Breyer Is To Thank (Or Blame) For Sentencing Guidelines

Justice Stephen Breyer will retire as a great deal maker at the U.S. Supreme Court, but in the shadow of his jurisprudence lies a more complicated part of his legacy: the often-maligned federal sentencing guidelines that fundamentally reshaped the practice of criminal law.
January 27, 2022
Trump Spokesman Fights To Keep Jan. 6 Bank Docs Private

A lawyer representing a spokesman for former President Donald Trump indicated Thursday that he plans to revise a lawsuit against the House select committee investigating last year's U.S. Capitol riot to block Chase Bank from handing over more of his client's private financial records to the panel.
January 27, 2022
Biden Nominates 6 US Attys, From New England To Alaska

President Joe Biden has announced the nomination of four current prosecutors and two former ones to lead U.S. attorney's offices in the districts of New Hampshire, Alaska, Utah, Connecticut, Montana and New Mexico.
January 27, 2022
141 Law Firms Honored For LGBTQ+ Equality

The number of U.S. law firms receiving a perfect score for LGBTQ+ equality has increased since a report last year, indicating that the legal industry has further advanced workplace protections.
January 27, 2022
Winston & Strawn Antes Up With Associate Pay Bump

Winston & Strawn LLP has raised its associate pay, falling in line with a new salary scale set by Milbank LLP, the firm confirmed to Law360 Pulse Thursday.
January 27, 2022
Judge Jackson Back In Spotlight As High Court Contender

The upcoming vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court quickly threw the spotlight back on D.C. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a former clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer whose stature as a likely successor to the retiring justice was suddenly raised Wednesday.
January 27, 2022
Biden At His Side, Justice Breyer Announces Retirement

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer joined President Joe Biden at the White House Thursday to formally announce his retirement, kicking off a rush among Democrats to confirm a new member of the court to replace the oldest serving justice.
January 27, 2022
1st Circ. Chief Judge Steps Back, Giving Biden Another Pick

First Circuit Chief Judge Jeffrey R. Howard, a George W. Bush appointee, will take senior status, opening up a second seat for President Joe Biden to fill on the nation's smallest federal appellate court.
January 26, 2022
Democrats Plan Swift Confirmation Of Breyer Successor

The U.S. Senate's Democratic leaders pledged Wednesday to move swiftly to confirm a successor for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who is expected to formally announce his retirement Thursday.
January 26, 2022
NY AG Seeks To Toss Trump's Challenge To Business Probe

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday urged a New York federal court to toss former President Donald Trump's suit seeking to halt her investigations into his business activities and inquiring whether he inflated assets to reap financial benefits.
January 26, 2022
Fed. Circ. Pushes Judicial Conference Back 5 Months

The Federal Circuit is pushing back its biennial judicial conference from April to September as the omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to sweep the nation, causing hospitalizations and deaths to skyrocket.
January 26, 2022
Meet The Possible Nominees For Justice Breyer's Seat

President Joe Biden has promised to nominate the first-ever Black woman to the nation's highest court. Here we look at the contenders for Justice Stephen Breyer's seat, including one notable front-runner.
January 26, 2022
Calif. Bar's New Top Prosecutor On Building Back Trust

The State Bar of California’s credibility plummeted over the past year, thanks to a combination of new problems emerging and old ones coming to light. Under pressure from legislators to hire a new chief prosecutor to lead its lawyer disciplinary system, the bar chose former acting U.S. Attorney George Cardona. He recently spoke with Law360 about his experience and goals.
January 26, 2022
'Just Do Your Job': Justice Breyer's Legacy Of Pragmatism

With the coming retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer, the U.S. Supreme Court loses not only a core member of its liberal bloc, but also a judicial thinker who cares deeply about making the law work on a practical level, those who worked with him said.
January 26, 2022
Ex-Breyer Clerks Praise Jurist As Consensus Builder

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, whose impending retirement was revealed Wednesday, has gained a reputation among his former clerks as a consensus-builder, a "statesman" who has looked to build bridges with the overarching goal of preserving the integrity of both the courts and democracy.
January 26, 2022
Girardi Used Client Cash On Diamonds For Wife, Trustee Says

Reality television star Erika Girardi must surrender $750,000 diamond earrings that her husband, former trial attorney Thomas V. Girardi, bought with money he embezzled from his injured clients, a bankruptcy trustee told a Los Angeles judge this week.
January 26, 2022
DLA Piper, Duval & Stachenfeld Bump Up Associate Pay

BigLaw firm DLA Piper and New York City real estate boutique Duval & Stachenfeld LLP both informed their attorneys this week they would adopt the associate salary pay scale recently set by Milbank LLP, Law360 Pulse confirmed Wednesday.
January 26, 2022
Ex-Clinton Atty Elias Testified To Sussmann Grand Jury

Former Perkins Coie attorney and Hillary Clinton campaign counsel Marc Elias testified to a grand jury as part of the special counsel's case accusing fellow ex-firm partner Michael Sussmann of lying to the FBI in the run-up to the 2016 election, according to Tuesday court filings.
January 26, 2022
5 Breyer Opinions You Need To Know

Justice Stephen Breyer, who was confirmed Wednesday to be stepping down from the court after 27 years, was a pragmatist who thought about the real-world implications of the high court’s decisions. Here, Law360 looks at some of the cases that epitomize his career.
January 26, 2022
Justice Breyer To Retire From High Court

Justice Stephen Breyer, one of the longest-serving liberal members of the U.S. Supreme Court, will resign his post after more than 27 years on the bench.

Expert Analysis

How AI Can Transform Crisis Management In Litigation

Attorneys should understand how to use rapidly advancing artificial intelligence technology to help clients prepare for potential catastrophic events and the inevitable litigation arising from them, from predicting crises before they occur to testing legal theories once they arise, say Stratton Horres at Wilson Elser and David Steiger.
Supervisor Relationships Are Key To Beating Atty Burnout

In order to combat record attorney turnover and high levels of burnout, law firm partners and leaders must build engaging relationships with supervisees, fostering autonomy and control, enabling expression of values, and building a sense of community and belonging, says Anne Brafford at the Institute for Well-Being in Law.
The Rising Demand For Commercial Litigators In 2022

Amid broken supply chains, pandemic-induced bankruptcies and a rise in regulation by litigation, strong commercial litigators — strategists who are adept in trying a range of tortious and contractual disputes — are becoming a must-have for many law firms, making this year an opportune moment to make the career switch, say Michael Ascher and Kimberly Donlon at Major Lindsey.
How In-House Counsel Can Make The Case For Settling Early

Following the recent settlement in McDonald's v. Easterbrook, in-house counsel should consider decision-tree analyses and values-driven communications plans to secure effective, early resolutions in litigation, saving time and money and moving the company mission forward, say Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein and Richard Torrenzano at The Torrenzano Group.
To Retain Talent, GCs Should Prioritize Mission Statements

With greater legal demands and an increasing number of workers resigning during the pandemic, general counsel should take steps to articulate their teams' values in departmental mission statements, which will help them better prioritize corporate values and attract and retain talent, says Catherine Kemnitz at Axiom.
Recent Bias Suits Against Law Firms And Lessons For 2022

2021 employment discrimination case filings and developments show that law firms big and small are not immune from claims, and should serve as a reminder that the start of a new year is a good time to review and update salary, promotion and leave policies to mitigate litigation risks, says Hope Comisky at Griesing Law.
Associate Hiring Outlook At Law Firms Is Bright For 2022

After a year of extraordinary signing bonuses, nearly instantaneous offers and flexible work arrangements, strong demand for talented law firm associates will continue into 2022 — with some differences between East and West Coast markets — and junior attorneys should take steps to capitalize on the opportunity, say Ru Bhatt and Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.
Roundup

The Most-Read Access To Justice Guest Articles Of 2021

The access to justice community confronted many big ideas this year, including how to modify law school curriculum to better prepare tomorrow's lawyers, the most pragmatic aspects of criminal justice reform, and the role judges, police, prosecutors and defense attorneys might play in addressing systemic racism.
Roundup

The Most-Read Legal Industry Guest Articles Of 2021

Popular legal industry guest articles this year included commentary on the admissibility of video depositions, an unusual U.S. Supreme Court citation, the perils of lawyer perfectionism, and more.
Roundup

The Most-Read Securities Law360 Guest Articles Of 2021

A number of new issues in the securities landscape piqued Law360 reader interest this year, including shifting regulatory priorities under the Biden administration; the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case challenging the status of Ripple Labs' XRP token; new issues facing special-purpose acquisition companies; and how the growing nonfungible token space will interact with existing law.
Roundup

The Most-Read IP Law360 Guest Articles Of 2021

While the nascent nonfungible token marketplace's intellectual property landscape was the hottest topic this year, Law360 guest experts also dug into the U.S. Supreme Court's Arthrex decision, how the West Texas "rocket docket" affects inter partes review, and a wide variety of statistical analyses concerning patent litigation and prosecution.
Roundup

Cannabis: The Top Law360 Guest Articles Of 2021

This year brought a lot of intrigue in the cannabis space, with guest experts discussing the interplay of federal and state law and legislation, licensing and debt enforcement alternatives in New York's emerging marijuana market, and how to prepare for regulatory due diligence in cannabis-related M&A transactions.
Roundup

Diversity In Law: The Top Law360 Guest Articles Of 2021

With diversity, equity and inclusion a continuing focus for the legal industry this year, guest experts discussed how judges can open the gate to minority practitioners through multidistrict litigation leadership appointments, why law firm diversity goals must be measured similarly to billable hours, and the need for female attorneys to sometimes say no to undervalued office work.
Roundup

Trials: The Top Law360 Guest Articles Of 2021

Expert testimony dominated the list of notable trial guest articles this year, with commentary on pulmonologist Martin Tobin's role in the Derek Chauvin trial, a rule change on expert testimony admissibility, and lessons from Epic v. Apple on new ways to test experts' opinions.
Roundup

Fintech: The Top Law360 Guest Articles Of 2021

It was a busy year for fintech, with Law360 guest authors tracking regulators' evolving stance on cryptocurrency, nascent challenges related to the rising popularity of nonfungible tokens, and early crypto enforcement battles with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.