Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice

Expert Analysis

• What Associates Should Consider Before Switching Practices

  

  The current high demand for midlevel associates provides them a rare opportunity to potentially explore new practice areas, but associates should first ask themselves six questions to begin figuring out why a change sounds appealing, says Stephanie Biderman at Major Lindsey.

• 4 Effective Ways To Prioritize Client Advocacy

  

  To truly support a client going through a complicated lawsuit or a painful experience, lawyers must think beyond interpreting legal guidelines and navigating court proceedings, says attorney Scott Corwin.

• Remote Law Firm Culture Should Prioritize Associate Training

  

  Due to the pandemic, the gap between law school and the first day on the job has never been wider, but law firms can leverage training to bridge that intimidating gap and convey the unique value of their culture in a virtual environment, say Melissa Schwind at Ward and Smith, and William Kenney and Jaron Luttich at Element Standard.

• Virtual Litigation May Unravel The Narcissistic Lawyer

  

  The virtual courtroom limits a narcissistic lawyer's ability to intimidate witnesses and opposing counsel, boast to clients or engage in grandstanding — an unexpected benefit of the global pandemic as some aspects of remote litigation are likely here to stay, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

• ABA Remote Work Guide Raises Bar For Atty Tech Know-How

  

  A recent American Bar Association opinion on lawyers' ethical duties of competence and confidentiality when working remotely should be viewed as part of a larger movement by which attorneys are being exhorted to develop competence in 21st century technology, say Jennifer Goldsmith at Ironshore and Barry Temkin at Mound Cotton.

• Lateral Hire Conflict Screening Lessons From DLA Piper Case

  

  While a Texas federal court recently denied a motion to disqualify DLA Piper from representing Apple in a patent dispute after the law firm hired an attorney who formerly represented opponent Maxwell, the case is a reminder that robust conflict checks during lateral hiring can save firms the time and expense of defending disqualification motions, says Hope Comisky at Griesing Law.

• Recent Developments Muddle Texas Auto Insurance Rule

  

  Though Texas policyholders have historically needed to establish legal entitlement before recovering underinsured or uninsured motorist benefits under an auto policy, recent court decisions and potential legislation have created some confusion, say Samantha Halpern and Harrison Yoss at Thompson Coe.

• 3 Cybersecurity Questions To Ask Before A Remote Mediation

  

  Lawyers preparing to mediate or arbitrate a case through videoconference should take steps to ensure they and their alternative dispute resolution providers are employing reasonable security precautions to protect digital client data and conform to confidentiality obligations, say F. Keith Brown and Michael Koss at ADR Systems.

• Preventing Employee Brain Injury And Subsequent Litigation

  

  Employers who fail to identify and treat traumatic brain injury can end up with catastrophic claims, but safety rules, guidelines, training and personal protective equipment all help avert risk, says Thu Do at Gilson Daub.

• Opinion

  Aviation Watch: FAA Must Take Action On Fan Blade Dangers

  

  After a series of recent incidents involving defective fan blades in jet engines on commercial airliners, the potential for loss of life and legal liability is clear — so it is troubling that the Federal Aviation Administration has not addressed the problem with greater urgency, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

• A Uniform Mediation Act Primer As States Continue Adoption

  

  With Georgia expected to soon become the 13th jurisdiction to adopt the Uniform Mediation Act and with more states likely to follow suit amid widespread trial delays, practitioners should familiarize themselves with the act's conflict disclosure requirements and the boundaries of its confidentiality provisions, says Richard Mason at MasonADR.

• Safeguarding Privileged Communications In A Remote World

  

  With the pandemic ushering in remote collaboration tools, counsel must revisit fundamentals of the attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine, study cases involving email and other recent technologies, and follow 10 best practices to protect confidentiality, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

• 4 Areas Of Cyberattack Vulnerability For Law Firms

  

  Recent data breaches involving Goodwin and Jones Day show that cyberattacks are very real threats to the legal profession, especially in the era of remote work, so law firms should revisit common business practices that expose them to unnecessary risks, says Ara Aslanian at Inverselogic.

• Parent Cos. Can Expect More Suits Over Foreign Subsidiaries

  

  Recent decisions by courts in the U.S., the U.K. and other countries demonstrate a growing trend toward holding corporate actors responsible for alleged misconduct of their overseas subsidiaries, so multinational companies should prepare for potential litigation by assessing corporate policies and contracts to mitigate liability, say Viren Mascarenhas and Nicolas Franco at King & Spalding.

• How To Help Your Witnesses Overcome Hindsight Bias

  

  Witnesses facing tricky questions from opposing counsel often find themselves engaging in hindsight bias, when they use present knowledge to second-guess past actions, but these problematic thought processes can be overcome during deposition or trial preparation through tough questions and some catharsis, says Merrie Jo Pitera at Litigation Insights.