New Jersey

Expert Analysis

• Law Firms, Know Who's Responsible For Your Cloud Security

  

  Lawyers generally know that files go into the cloud and that the files are then secured and protected, but it's necessary for firms to take a closer look at their cloud supply chain and then come up with a responsibility matrix that helps mitigate any potential risks or weaknesses, says Martin Ward at iManage.

• Benefits For Law Firms Venturing Into New Services

  

  By offering more services, law firms can deepen and strengthen their client relationships and truly become an extension of their clients' teams while generating new revenue streams, and while there are risks associated with expanding into consulting, they may be worth it, says Lou Ramos at Major Lindsey.

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  Embracing ESG: Exelon GC Talks Diversity Initiatives

  

  Executing a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion programming, through recruitment, inclusive legal pipelines and community empowerment via pro bono efforts, can ensure a strong environmental, social and governance proposition, says Gayle Littleton at Exelon.

• Revamping Law Firm Marketing Lists — With Partner Buy-In

  

  Jackson Lewis’ Paige Bowser shares lessons from the firm's recent overhaul of an outdated email marketing database, including tips for getting partners on board, ensuring compliance with privacy laws and augmenting outreach strategies.

• Recent High Court Decisions Signify 1st Amendment Direction

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s recently concluded term saw a flurry of First Amendment cases, providing lessons for how the court, with its 6-3 conservative split, may rule next term on issues of free speech, religious freedom, association rights and more, as questions regarding social media and technological advances loom, says Samuel Mitchell at Michael Best.

• The Murky World Of Legal Rankings Gets Some Clarity In NJ

  

  New Jersey's new, stringent approach to legal rankings will make accolade advertising more transparent, benefiting both attorneys and clients and offering legal marketers a new set of best practices amid evolving standards, say Penny Paul at Lowenstein Sandler and Susan Peters at Greybridge.

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  Embracing ESG: Cigna Counsel Talks Employee Wellness

  

  Building employee well-being into corporate environmental, social and governance priorities required our legal team to focus more closely on cross-functional collaboration within the company and increased communication with our board of directors and shareholders, says Julia Brncic at Cigna.

• Courts' Clashing Standards For Evidence At Class Cert.: Part 2

  

  While federal circuits continue to split on whether to approach fact and expert evidence differently at class certification, and there is no sign of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to resolve the issue, applying an admissibility standard to one and not the other appears illogical, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

• Hybrid Work Models Are Key To Gender Parity In Law Firms

  

  To curb the historically high rates of attrition among female lawyers, Roberta Liebenberg at Fine Kaplan and Stephanie Scharf at Scharf Banks suggest firms must normalize hybrid work schedules, and they recommend best practices to promote engagement among all attorneys, regardless of where they work.

• Courts' Clashing Standards For Evidence At Class Cert.: Part 1

  

  The Sixth Circuit's recent ruling in Lyngaas v. Ag highlights an ongoing circuit split on whether plaintiffs moving to certify a class must use admissible evidence and whether fact and expert evidence should be treated equivalently in this regard, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

• NJ Justices' Ruling Instructs On Hostile Workplace Claims

  

  The New Jersey Supreme Court’s recent decision in Rios v. Meda Pharmaceutical serves as a stark reminder that individual offensive comments alone can sustain hostile work environment claims, highlighting for employers an opportunity to reinforce prevention efforts and address relevant claims in a timely manner, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

• 3 Keys To Winning Your Next Oral Argument

  

  To leverage the unique opportunity oral arguments provide to talk directly to judges and contribute to their decision making, attorneys must mind the three hallmarks of persuasiveness: projecting credibility, exuding likability and gaining the listener's trust, says Daniel Karon at Karon LLC.

• Employer Lessons From NJ Justices' Disability Claim Ruling

  

  The New Jersey Supreme Court’s recent decision in Richter v. Oakland Board of Education clarifies that an adverse employment action is not required to establish a failure-to-accommodate claim under the state’s Law Against Discrimination — a ruling that reinforces the importance of engaging in an interactive process whenever an employer receives a worker's accommodation request, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

• Keys To Efficient And Accurate Doc Review For E-Discovery

  

  Attorneys involved in e-discovery can review information accurately and cost-effectively by understanding the data in a document collection and identifying its key pitfalls, drafting comprehensive review guidelines, and preparing ahead, says John Wertelet at Eckert Seamans.

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  Embracing ESG: Raytheon GC Talks Climate Change

  

  Now that the climate crisis is seen as an existential threat, the stakes couldn't be higher — or the challenges more daunting — for the general counsel, who must enlist all parts of the company for support while providing both a legal and ethical road map on how to respond, says Frank Jimenez at Raytheon.