Expert Analysis

• Series

  Traveling Solo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Traveling by myself has taught me to assess risk, understand tone and stay calm in high-pressure situations, which are not only useful life skills, but the foundation of how I support my clients, says Lacey Gutierrez at Group Five Legal.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Client Service

  

  Law school teaches you how to interpret the law, but it doesn't teach you some of the key ways to keeping clients satisfied, lessons that I've learned in the most unexpected of places: a book on how to be a butler, says Gregory Ramos at Armstrong Teasdale.

• Loper Bright's Evolving Application In Labor Case Appeals

  

  Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which upended decades of precedent requiring courts to defer to agency interpretations of federal regulations, the Third and Sixth Circuits' differing approaches leave little certainty as to which employment regulations remain in play, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• Series

  Adapting To Private Practice: 3 Tips On Finding The Right Job

  

  After 23 years as a state and federal prosecutor, when I contemplated moving to a law firm, practicing solo or going in-house, I found there's a critical first step — deep self-reflection on what you truly want to do and where your strengths lie, says Rachael Jones at McKool Smith.

• Series

  Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Painting trains me to see both the fine detail and the whole composition at once, enabling me to identify friction points while keeping sight of a client's bigger vision, but the most significant lesson I've brought to my legal work has been the value of originality, says Jana Gouchev at Gouchev Law.

• Protecting Sensitive Court Filings After Recent Cyber Breach

  

  In the wake of a recent cyberattack on federal courts' Case Management/Electronic Case Files system, civil litigants should consider seeking enhanced protections for sensitive materials filed under seal to mitigate the risk of unauthorized exposure, say attorneys at Redgrave.

• Series

  Judging Figure Skating Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Judging figure skating competitions helps me hone the focus, decisiveness and ability to process complex real-time information I need in court, but more importantly, it makes me reengage with a community and my identity outside of law, which, paradoxically, always brings me back to work feeling restored, says Megan Raymond at Groombridge Wu.

• $100K H-1B Fee May Disrupt Rural Healthcare Needs

  

  The Trump administration's newly imposed $100,000 supplemental fee on new H-1B petitions may disproportionately affect healthcare employers' ability to recruit international medical graduates, and the fee's national interest exceptions will not adequately solve ensuing problems for healthcare employers or medically underserved areas, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• What Ethics Rules Say On Atty Discipline For Online Speech

  

  Though law firms are free to discipline employees for their online commentary about Charlie Kirk or other social media activity, saying crude or insensitive things on the internet generally doesn’t subject attorneys to professional discipline under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, says Stacie H. Rosenzweig at Halling & Cayo.

• Junior Attys Must Beware Of 5 Common Legal Brief Mistakes

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Junior law firm associates must be careful to avoid five common pitfalls when drafting legal briefs — from including every possible argument to not developing a theme — to build the reputation of a sought-after litigator, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.

• Assessing Legal, Regulatory Hurdles Of Healthcare Offshoring

  

  The offshoring of administrative, nonclinical functions has emerged as an increasingly attractive option for healthcare companies seeking to reduce costs, but this presents challenges in navigating the web of state restrictions on the access or storage of patient data outside the U.S., say attorneys at McDermott.

• 3rd Circ. Clarifies Ch. 11 3rd-Party Liability Scope Post-Purdue

  

  A recent Third Circuit decision that tort claims against the purchaser of a debtor's business belong to the debtor's bankruptcy estate reinvigorates the use of Chapter 11 for the resolution of nondebtor liability in mass tort bankruptcies following last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Purdue Pharma, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

• Series

  Power To The Paralegals: How And Why Training Must Evolve

  

  Empowering paralegals through new models of education that emphasize digital fluency, interdisciplinary collaboration and human-centered lawyering could help solve workforce challenges and the justice gap — if firms, educators and policymakers get on board, say Kristine Custodio Suero and Kelli Radnothy.

• Series

  Playing Softball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  My time on the softball field has taught me lessons that also apply to success in legal work — on effective preparation, flexibility, communication and teamwork, says Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty.

• And Now A Word From The Panel: Choosing MDL Venues

  

  One of the most interesting yet least predictable facets of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's practice is venue — namely where the panel decides to place a new MDL proceeding — and its choices reflect the tension between neutrality and case-specific factors, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.