Media & Entertainment

Expert Analysis

• What Associates Should Consider Before Switching Practices

  

  The current high demand for midlevel associates provides them a rare opportunity to potentially explore new practice areas, but associates should first ask themselves six questions to begin figuring out why a change sounds appealing, says Stephanie Biderman at Major Lindsey.

• High Court Oracle Copyright Ruling Is A Boon For Innovation

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Monday that Google made fair use of the declaring code of Oracle's Java application programming interface should encourage development of new code based on existing APIs and spur technological growth, say attorneys at Cadwalader.

• 4 Effective Ways To Prioritize Client Advocacy

  

  To truly support a client going through a complicated lawsuit or a painful experience, lawyers must think beyond interpreting legal guidelines and navigating court proceedings, says attorney Scott Corwin.

• Remote Law Firm Culture Should Prioritize Associate Training

  

  Due to the pandemic, the gap between law school and the first day on the job has never been wider, but law firms can leverage training to bridge that intimidating gap and convey the unique value of their culture in a virtual environment, say Melissa Schwind at Ward and Smith, and William Kenney and Jaron Luttich at Element Standard.

• Virtual Litigation May Unravel The Narcissistic Lawyer

  

  The virtual courtroom limits a narcissistic lawyer's ability to intimidate witnesses and opposing counsel, boast to clients or engage in grandstanding — an unexpected benefit of the global pandemic as some aspects of remote litigation are likely here to stay, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

• Online Accessibility Bill Needs Clearer Compliance Standards

  

  A U.S. House bill establishing guidelines for making websites accessible for disabled users is meant to slow down a torrent of lawsuits filed against companies over their sites' alleged noncompliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act — but the legislation's lack of clear standards makes it unlikely to stop the litigation, say attorneys at Dentons.

• ABA Remote Work Guide Raises Bar For Atty Tech Know-How

  

  A recent American Bar Association opinion on lawyers' ethical duties of competence and confidentiality when working remotely should be viewed as part of a larger movement by which attorneys are being exhorted to develop competence in 21st century technology, say Jennifer Goldsmith at Ironshore and Barry Temkin at Mound Cotton.

• Lateral Hire Conflict Screening Lessons From DLA Piper Case

  

  While a Texas federal court recently denied a motion to disqualify DLA Piper from representing Apple in a patent dispute after the law firm hired an attorney who formerly represented opponent Maxwell, the case is a reminder that robust conflict checks during lateral hiring can save firms the time and expense of defending disqualification motions, says Hope Comisky at Griesing Law.

• High Court's Autodialer Ruling Raises Bar For TCPA Plaintiffs

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Facebook v. Duguid, adopting a narrow definition of "automatic telephone dialing system," will create hurdles for Telephone Consumer Protection Act plaintiffs, though the effects of the court's guidance may be short-lived if Congress revisits the statute, say attorneys at Dechert.

• Key Enforcement Risks For SPAC Parties Amid SEC Scrutiny

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent attention to special purpose acquisition companies could beget a wave of enforcement inquiries scrutinizing parties involved at any SPAC transaction stage, from sponsors to operating companies, targets, underwriters and broker-dealers, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

• Using Online Arbitration Agreements To Mitigate BIPA Liability

  

  Companies facing costly, and increasingly frequent, Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act class actions should follow several drafting and presentation best practices to ensure courts will uphold binding online arbitration agreements — a powerful tool for forcing these suits out of court, says David Oberly at Blank Rome.

• 3 Cybersecurity Questions To Ask Before A Remote Mediation

  

  Lawyers preparing to mediate or arbitrate a case through videoconference should take steps to ensure they and their alternative dispute resolution providers are employing reasonable security precautions to protect digital client data and conform to confidentiality obligations, say F. Keith Brown and Michael Koss at ADR Systems.

• Decoding The Fine Print On Nonfungible Token Licenses

  

  As the nonfungible token industry grows, creators and rights holders need to understand the NFT marketplaces' terms of use and consider how NFTs will be handled under existing and new agreements, say attorneys at Skadden.

• A Uniform Mediation Act Primer As States Continue Adoption

  

  With Georgia expected to soon become the 13th jurisdiction to adopt the Uniform Mediation Act and with more states likely to follow suit amid widespread trial delays, practitioners should familiarize themselves with the act's conflict disclosure requirements and the boundaries of its confidentiality provisions, says Richard Mason at MasonADR.

• Opinion

  We Can Fix Defamation Law While Respecting 1st Amendment

  

  Following recent criticism of defamation law, including a D.C. Circuit dissent earlier this month, we should move away from outdated U.S. Supreme Court analysis and tailor the law of defamation to today's media climate, so it protects both the reputation of public figures, and freedoms of speech and of the press, says Victor Schwartz at Shook Hardy.