Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice

Expert Analysis

• 6 Employment Considerations For M&A Deals Amid Pandemic

  

  As many businesses look to merge with, acquire, invest in or partner with others, acquiring companies and investors must review key employment law complexities, such as wage and hour issues and paid leave obligations, that are magnified by the pandemic and could substantially influence a target’s value, say attorneys at Greenwald Doherty.

• Guest Feature

  5 Ways Firms Can Avoid Female Atty Exodus During Pandemic

  

  The pandemic's disproportionate impact on women presents law firms with a unique opportunity to devise innovative policies that will address the increasing home life demands female lawyers face and help retain them long after COVID-19 is over, say Roberta Liebenberg at Fine Kaplan and Stephanie Scharf at Scharf Banks.

• What Ohio COVID-19 Liability Shield Means For Employers

  

  Because a new Ohio law that shields businesses from civil liability related to COVID-19 provides narrow protections, employers should continue to follow Occupational Safety and Health Administration, state and local guidance to demonstrate reasonable protective measures, says Jeffrey Smith at Fisher Phillips.

• Opinion

  Lawyers Must Fight Voter Suppression This Election Season

  

  Lawyers should use their unique skill sets, knowledge and spheres of influence to fight burdensome ID requirements and other voter suppression tactics that may influence the 2020 elections, and to participate in potential post-election litigation, say CK Hoffler and Allyce Bailey at the National Bar Association.

• Why Online Mediation May Be Here To Stay

  

  Videoconferenced mediation offers several advantages and helps cases settle faster and more cordially, making it hard to imagine going back to logistically difficult in-person dispute resolution after COVID-19 restrictions are gone, says Sidney Kanazawa at ARC.

• How Nursing Homes Can Defend COVID-19 Criminal Charges

  

  Following the first pandemic-related criminal prosecution of nursing home operators in Massachusetts, nursing homes can take steps to defend their decision-making and infection-control processes as similar cases emerge across the country, say attorneys at Hooper Lundy.

• Clients Have The Power To Promote Wellness At Law Firms

  

  Law firm clients can play a role in lowering mental distress in the legal profession by seeking lawyer wellness data from firms and factoring those responses into outside counsel hiring decisions, says Jonathan Prokup at Cigna.

• Opinion

  Appellate Courts Should Welcome Well-Crafted Amicus Briefs

  

  A Seventh Circuit judge's recent order granting leave for three organizations to file amicus curiae briefs in Prairie Rivers Network v. Dynegy Midwest Generation is a reminder that relevant, nonduplicative amicus briefs can provide courts with helpful perspective, important facts and legal arguments, says Lawrence Ebner at Capital Appellate Advocacy.

• Key Takeaways From Groundbreaking Virtual Civil Jury Trial

  

  The nation's first online jury trial with a binding verdict — Griffin v. Albanese Enterprise in Florida’s Fourth Judicial Circuit Court — recently provided crucial insights into how to better prepare for virtual voir dire and trial, says Kevin-Khristián Cosgriff Hernández at Delphi Litigation.

• What Hiring Law Firms Should Consider Instead Of Grades

  

  With law schools forgoing traditional grading due to the pandemic, hiring firms that have heavily weighted first-year grades during the on-campus interview process should turn to metrics that allow a more holistic view of a candidate, says Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

• Pandemic-Era Civil Jury Trials Require Constitutional Scrutiny

  

  Courts should carefully consider the constitutional rights of litigants before restarting civil jury trials amid the pandemic, because inadequate remote voir dire procedures and evidentiary handicaps due to health safety measures could amount to the denial of a fair trial by an impartial jury, say attorneys at Rumberger Kirk.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Schroeder Reviews 'Collegiality'

  

  Mark Barringer's new book, "Collegiality and the Constitution," is an engaging, vibrant work of judicial history in Texas' Eastern District, and reveals an atmosphere of civility and respect among all those involved in the business of the court, says U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III.

• A Primer On Objecting To Virtual OSHA Trials

  

  Two recent federal court decisions highlight employer approaches for using the Sixth Amendment's confrontation clause to effectively oppose remote Occupational Safety and Health Administration proceedings where workplace conduct gives rise to criminal charges, says Benjamin Morrell at Fisher Phillips.

• Overcoming The Pandemic's Hurdles To Pro Bono Work

  

  Sarah McLean at Shearman & Sterling looks at how attorneys and law firms can partner with nonprofits to leverage their collective resources, sharpen their legal skills and beat the unique pandemic-induced challenges to providing free legal services to low-income individuals.

• Best Practices For Presenting Exhibits In A Remote Deposition

  

  In this era of fully remote depositions, attorneys must carefully consider whether they want to deliver exhibits to opposing counsel in advance or on the day of the deposition, and think creatively about the technological resources available to them, say Helene Wasserman and Nathaniel Jenkins at Littler.