Business of Law

What High Court Ruling Means For Future Of Gerrymandering

After last month's U.S. Supreme Court decision in Rucho v. Common Cause and Lamone v. Bensiek, holding that partisan gerrymandering claims present a political question outside the reach of federal courts, state courts will likely see increased litigation attempting to strike down gerrymandered districts, say Junaid Odubeko and Mike Stephens of Bradley Arant.

Remembering Justice Stevens As A Law Firm Leader

Rothschild Barry's John Coffey, who joined Justice John Paul Stevens' law firm in 1965, shares what it was like to watch Justice Stevens practice law, mentor younger lawyers and land a malfunctioning plane.

Answers To Key Legal Finance Ethics Questions

While there is discussion in some quarters about new regulations on commercial legal finance, the hands-off approach taken by the majority of courts and legislatures is an implicit recognition that it is already sufficiently regulated, says Danielle Cutrona of Burford Capital.

Federal Agencies Need A Uniform Record-Keeping Process

The administrative record is very important to federal agency litigation — as showcased in last month's U.S. Supreme Court decision concerning the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census — yet there is no set of consistent principles to guide agencies in compiling these official records, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

The Role Of Dictionaries In Last Term's High Court Decisions

Since 32 of the 67 decisions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court during its October term cite dictionaries, it’s worth reviewing the opinions to learn which dictionaries the justices consulted and how they used them, say Bruce Wessel and Brian Weissenberg of Irell & Manella.

How To Evaluate The Rise In Legal Employment

Although the rate of employment for law school graduates — which had been falling steadily — saw a small increase over the last year, other factors, such as fewer graduates overall and potential future job growth stagnation, temper the good news for those pursuing law degrees, say Tiffane Cochran and Tyler Grimm of AccessLex Institute.

Opinion

The Business Case For Championing Diverse Legal Teams

Leveraging the collective strengths of a diverse workforce is not only the right thing to do, it’s a strategic imperative for any successful firm or business, says Louise Pentland, executive vice president and chief business affairs and legal officer of PayPal.

What A Maturing Patent Bar Means For The Industry

A seismic shift is occurring in the demographics of the U.S. patent bar — the average patent practitioner is aging — which, in combination with other market forces, is already precipitating a number of fundamental changes in how patent practices must operate to remain profitable, says Ian Schick of Specifio.

The Art Of The 'Science And Expert Team' In Mass Torts

Science is at the foundation of mass tort lawsuits involving drugs or medical devices. Critical to a virtual law team in these cases, the "science and expert team" does more than get into the weeds of scientific issues and retain experts, say attorneys at FaegreBD, Peabody & Arnold and Shook Hardy.

Rethinking The Tech-First Approach To Law Firm Solutions

When a lawyer complains about some workflow inefficiency they are having, the knee-jerk reaction of many firms is to look for a technology-based workaround. This overlooks the importance of human psychology and behavior, which may be the root of the problem, says Ryan Steadman of Zero.

Top 10 Techniques For Crafting A Dazzling Brief

Legal writing often falls flat not because it’s unorganized, but because it’s technically unsound and riddled with gaffes that cheapen and degrade it. Avoiding the most common mistakes will keep judges interested and, most importantly, make them trust you, says Daniel Karon of Karon LLC.

Q&A

A Chat With Ballard Spahr Diversity Chief Virginia Essandoh

In the final installment of this monthly series, legal recruiting expert Carlos Pauling from Major Lindsey & Africa talks with Virginia Essandoh about the trends and challenges she sees as chief diversity officer at Ballard Spahr.

Series

Judging A Book: McMahon On 'Roosevelt For The Defense'

In "Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense," authors Dan Abrams and David Fisher meticulously chronicle the forgotten high-profile 1915 libel trial of Teddy Roosevelt, capturing the interesting legal customs of an era before things like notice pleading and pretrial discovery, says Chief U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon of the Southern District of New York.

5 Ways Law Firms Can Improve Their Job Interviews

When evaluating potential new hires, law firms should utilize structured interviews in order to create a consistent rating system that accurately and effectively assesses candidates' skills and competencies, says Jennifer Henderson of Major Lindsey.

Employer Options For White Collar Contractors After Dynamex

Though multiple worker classification questions still swirl around the California Supreme Court's Dynamex decision, many have wondered what it means for white collar independent contractors. The law is still murky on this point, but there are several steps that might help hiring companies rebut a misclassification claim, say Raymond Bertrand and James de Haan at Paul Hastings.