Expert Analysis

• Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

  

  A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.

• Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

  

  Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

• RI Menopause Law Brings New Considerations For Employers

  

  Rhode Island becoming the first state to provide express antidiscrimination and accommodation protections for employees' menopause-related conditions may be a bellwether for similar protections in other jurisdictions, so employers should consider that while such benefits may improve recruitment and retention, complications may arise from voluntarily adding them, say attorneys at Proskauer.

• FTC, CoStar Cases Against Zillow May Have Broad Impact

  

  Zillow's partnerships with Redfin and Realtor.com have recently triggered dual fronts of legal scrutiny — an antitrust inquiry from the Federal Trade Commission and a mass copyright infringement suit from CoStar — raising complex questions that reach beyond real estate, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University College of Law.

• State Crypto Regs Diverge As Federal Framework Dawns

  

  Following the Genius Act's passage, states like California, New York and Wyoming are racing to set new standards for crypto governance, creating both opportunity and risk for digital asset firms as innovation flourishes in some jurisdictions while costly friction emerges in others, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

• How 2nd Circ. Cannabis Ruling Upends NY Licensing

  

  A recent Second Circuit decision in Variscite NY Four v. New York, holding that New York's extra-priority cannabis licensing preference for applicants with in-state marijuana convictions violates the dormant commerce clause, underscores that state-legal cannabis markets remain subject to the same constitutional constraints as other economic markets, say attorneys at Harris Beach.

• Parenting Skills That Can Help Lawyers Thrive Professionally

  

  As kids head back to school, the time is ripe for lawyers who are parents to consider how they can incorporate their parenting skills to build a deep, meaningful and sustainable legal practice, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

• Irish Ruling Presents Road Map For Evaluating Jurisdiction

  

  With its recent decision in Petersen Energia Inversora v. The Argentine Republic, the Dublin Commercial High Court has delivered a judgment of conspicuous clarity on the frontiers of Ireland's service-out jurisdiction for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray’s Inn.

• Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons

  

  In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses seven decisions pertaining to attorney fees in class action settlements, the predominance requirement in automobile insurance cases, how the no mootness exception applies if the named plaintiff is potentially subject to a strong individual defense, and more.

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  Teaching Trial Advocacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

  

  Teaching trial advocacy skills to other lawyers makes us better litigators because it makes us question our default methods, connect to young attorneys with new perspectives and focus on the needs of the real people at the heart of every trial, say Reuben Guttman, Veronica Finkelstein and Joleen Youngers.

• MIT Bros.' Crypto Charges Provide Fraud Test Case For Gov't

  

  As U.S. v. Peraire-Bueno, involving cryptocurrency fraud charges against brothers who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, moves forward after surviving a motion to dismiss, the case provides an early example of how the government might use the federal fraud statutes to regulate decentralized networks, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

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  Adapting To Private Practice: From Texas AUSA To BigLaw

  

  As I learned when I transitioned from an assistant U.S. attorney to a BigLaw partner, the move from government to private practice is not without its hurdles, but it offers immense potential for growth and the opportunity to use highly transferable skills developed in public service, says Jeffery Vaden at Bracewell.

• Union Interference Lessons From 5th Circ. Apple Ruling

  

  The Fifth Circuit's recent holding that Apple did not violate the National Labor Relations Act during a store's union organizing drive provides guidance on what constitutes coercive interrogation and clarifies how consistently enforced workplace policies may be applied to union literature, say attorneys at Proskauer.

• 3 Rulings Show Hurdles To Proving Market Manipulation Fraud

  

  Three recent conviction reversals from New York federal courts highlight the challenges that prosecutors face in establishing fraud and market manipulation allegations, suggesting that courts are increasingly reluctant to find criminal liability when novel theories are advanced, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

• Advice For 1st-Gen Lawyers Entering The Legal Profession

  

  Nikki Hurtado at The Ferraro Law Firm tells her story of being a first-generation lawyer and how others who begin their professional journeys without the benefit of playbooks handed down by relatives can turn this disadvantage into their greatest strength.