Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  The BigLaw Settlements Are About Risk, Not Profit

  

  The nine Am Law 100 firms that settled with the Trump administration likely did so because of the personal risk faced by equity partners in today's billion‑dollar national practices, enabled by an ethics rule primed for modernization, says Adam Forest at Scale.

• Series

  Brazilian Jiujitsu Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Competing in Brazilian jiujitsu – often against opponents who are much larger and younger than me – has allowed me to develop a handful of useful skills that foster the resilience and adaptability necessary for a successful legal career, says Tina Dorr of Barnes & Thornburg.

• AG Watch: Texas Expands Use Of Consumer Protection Laws

  

  In recent years under Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texas has demonstrated the breadth of its public interest authority by bringing actions in areas not traditionally associated with consumer protection law, including recent actions involving sports and public safety, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

• Series

  Power To The Paralegals: An Untapped Source For Biz Roles

  

  Law firms looking to recruit legal business talent should consider turning to paralegals, who practice several key skills every day that prepare them to thrive in marketing and client development roles, says Vanessa Torres at Lowenstein Sandler.

• Series

  Playing Poker Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Poker is a master class in psychology, risk management and strategic thinking, and I’m a better attorney because it has taught me to read my opponents, adapt when I’m dealt the unexpected and stay patient until I'm ready to reveal my hand, says Casey Kingsley at McCreadyLaw.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Becoming A Firmwide MVP

  

  Though lawyers don't have a neat metric like baseball players for measuring the value they contribute to their organizations, the sooner new attorneys learn skills frequently skipped in law school — like networking, marketing, client development and case evaluation — the more valuable, and less replaceable, they will be, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

• Patenting AI And Machine Learning In The Wake Of Recentive

  

  Though the Federal Circuit's recent decision in Recentive Analytics v. Fox Corp. initially appears to doom patents related to artificial intelligence and machine learning, a closer look shows that strategies for successfully drafting and prosecuting such patents offer hope despite increased pushback from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, say attorneys at Banner Witcoff.

• $38M Law Firm Settlement Highlights 'Unworthy Client' Perils

  

  A recent settlement of claims against law firm Eckert Seamans for allegedly abetting a Ponzi scheme underscores the continuing threat of clients who seek to exploit their lawyers in perpetrating fraud, and the critical importance of preemptive measures to avoid these clients, say attorneys at Lockton Companies.

• Series

  Teaching Business Law Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Teaching business law to college students has rekindled my sense of purpose as a lawyer — I am more mindful of the importance of the rule of law and the benefits of our common law system, which helps me maintain a clearer perspective on work, says David Feldman at Feldman Legal Advisors.

• Gauging Professional Sport Biometric Data Privacy Concerns

  

  In today's data-driven sports industry, teams, leagues and sponsors increasingly rely on biometric and performance data to enhance player performance, prevent injuries and optimize contract negotiations, but this growing reliance on highly sensitive data raises significant legal and privacy concerns, particularly in light of evolving biometric privacy laws, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• Deregulation Memo Presents Risks, Opportunities For Cos.

  

  A recent Trump administration memo providing direction to agencies tasked with rescinding regulations under an earlier executive order — without undergoing the typical notice-and-review process — will likely create much uncertainty for businesses, though they may be able to engage with agencies to shape the regulatory agenda, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

  

  The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.

• Mergers Face Steeper Slopes In State Antitrust Reviews

  

  The New York Supreme Court's recent summary judgment in New York v. Intermountain Management, blocking the acquisition and shuttering of a ski mountain in the Syracuse area, underscores the growing trend among state antitrust enforcers to scrutinize and challenge anticompetitive conduct under state laws, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

• Patent Takeaways In Fed. Circ.'s 1st Machine Learning Ruling

  

  The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Recentive Analytics v. Fox, a case of first impression affirming the invalidity of patents that applied general machine learning methods to conventional tasks, serves as a cautionary guide for patent practitioners navigating the complexities of machine learning inventions, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• Opinion

  Int'l Athletes' Wages Should Be On-Campus Employment

  

  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security should recognize participation in college athletics by international student-athletes as on-campus employment to prevent the potentially disastrous ripple effects on teams, schools and their surrounding communities, says Catherine Haight at Haight Law Group.