Media & Entertainment

Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Fix Section 230 To Hold Online Platforms Accountable

  

  Congress should amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to clarify that online platforms, like other businesses, have a reasonable duty of care toward users, and to curtail the broad liability limitations that currently allow heinous content to flourish unchecked, says Neil Fried at DigitalFrontiers Advocacy.

• Attorneys Beware: Zoom Depositions Are Likely Inadmissible

  

  As legal proceedings have moved online in light of the pandemic, lawyers may mistakenly believe that recorded Zoom video depositions can be entered as evidence, but without certain safeguards, the testimony is unlikely to be accepted by courts, says Phillip Zisook at Schoenberg Finkel.

• Opinion

  Justices Should Acknowledge ESG's Importance To Investors

  

  In Goldman Sachs v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, the U.S. Supreme Court should reject Goldman's argument that its commitments to act with integrity were immaterial, and recognize the increasing weight of environmental, social and governance issues in investors' decision making, say attorneys at Motley Rice.

• Opinion

  NJ Fed. Court Should Ditch Litigation Funding Disclosure Plan

  

  The District of New Jersey's wide-reaching proposal to require automatic disclosure of third-party litigation finance poses several problems for attorneys and litigants alike and should be nipped in the bud, say Sarah Williams and Marlon Becerra at Validity Finance.

• Complying With New EU Data Transfer Contractual Obligations

  

  The European Commission's new standard contractual clauses for transferring personal data outside the EU, which take effect June 27, place significantly more onerous obligations on companies, but there are several steps they can start implementing to comply, say William Long and Francesca Blythe at Sidley.

• Law Firm Talent Must Reflect Shifting US Demographics

  

  Stephanie Scharf at Scharf Banks and Roberta Liebenberg at Fine Kaplan analyze and project U.S. demographic trends to show that law firms that hope to succeed long-term must recruit, retain and advance female lawyers and lawyers of color, and they outline six steps for meeting these goals.

• NY Consumer Data And Digital Ad Tax Bills Face Big Hurdles

  

  Two recently proposed New York bills — one imposing a tax on the collection of consumer data and another taxing digital advertising services — have many administrative and constitutional issues to resolve before they can be considered practical and passed into law, say attorneys at Bilzin Sumberg.

• Opinion

  Bright-Line Standards Are Bad News For Antitrust Reform

  

  Bills introduced by both Democrats and Republicans that would change legal presumptions regarding merger law and create bright-line market share thresholds can result in arbitrary outcomes that both sides of the aisle should abhor, say Daniel Sokol at the University of Florida and Abraham Wickelgren at the University of Texas at Austin.

• E-Filing Mistakes Could Jeopardize Third-Party Trade Secrets

  

  As last month’s Epic v. Apple trial showed, errors made when e-filing discovery documents can expose the confidential information of third parties, but case law is not firmly established on whether these inadvertent disclosures may damage trade secret protections — a legal issue especially relevant in the video game industry, say Carolyn Martin and Robert Piper at Lutzker & Lutzker.

• Opinion

  Judges Should Foster Diversity In MDL Leader Appointments

  

  Through their powerful function as gatekeepers, judges should open the gate to minority practitioners when appointing leadership positions in widely influential multidistrict litigation and begin to correct the disparities that have long plagued the legal industry, say Majed Nachawati and Michael Gorwitz at Fears Nachawati.

• A Biz Strategy Model To Improve Lateral Atty Hiring Diversity

  

  Quantitative comparison tools commonly used by companies in evaluating merger targets will allow law firms to assess lateral hire candidates in a demographically neutral manner, help remove bias from the hiring process and bring real diversity to the legal profession, says Thomas Latino at Florida State University.

• Smaller Firms Need Employee Wellness Programs, Too

  

  As we emerge from the pandemic, small and midsize firms — which offer an ideal setting for companywide connection — should follow in the footsteps of larger organizations and heed the American Bar Association’s recommendations by adopting well-being initiatives and appointing a chief wellness officer, says Janine Pollack at Calcaterra Pollack.

• Stop Networking, Start Relationship Marketing

  

  USA 500 Clubs' Joe Chatham offers four tips for lawyers to get started with relationship marketing — an approach to business development that prioritizes authentic connections — and explains why it may be more helpful than traditional networking post-pandemic.

• What Attorneys Should Know About Fee Deferral

  

  Milestone Consulting’s John Bair explores contingency-fee structuring considerations for attorneys, laying out the advantages — such as tax benefits and income control — as well as caveats and investment options.

• Predictions On Pandemic's Lasting Impact On Legal Education

  

  The pandemic accelerated the pace of technological change for legal education, and some of the changes to how law school courses are taught and on-campus interviews are conducted may be here to stay, says Leonard Baynes at the University of Houston.