Telecommunications

Expert Analysis

• What To Know Before Moving Your Supply Chain Out Of China

  

  U.S. companies moving their supply chains to avoid Chinese tariffs should be aware of the complexities of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol country-of-origin determinations and the scope of U.S. Department of Commerce authority to impose tariffs on Chinese goods that originate outside of China, say attorneys at Covington.

• Engaging With International Carcinogen Evaluations

  

  Defense-oriented attorneys and corporations should be aware of the International Agency for Research on Cancer's list of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and other exposures slated for review over the next five years, and begin preparing for eventual hazard evaluations by IARC working groups, say Eric Lasker and John Kalas of Hollingsworth.

• Comcast Bias Suit A Bad Way To Make Law, Arguments Show

  

  Oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in Comcast v. National Association of African American-Owned Media highlighted the case's flaws, including that it concerns the dismissal of a complaint that omitted a key fact and was tainted by dubious insinuations, says R. Scott Oswald of The Employment Law Group.

• Texas Could Take Page From Mass.'s Judicial Selection Book

  

  As Texas and other states review their judicial election processes, they would be well served by taking guidance from Massachusetts' Governor’s Council system, which protects the judiciary from the hazards of campaigning, says Richard Baker of New England Intellectual Property.

• Series

  Judging A Book: McKeown Reviews 'Conversations With RBG'

  

  Reading Jeffrey Rosen’s "Conversations With RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law" is like eavesdropping on the author and his subject while they discuss how the restrained judicial minimalist became the fiery leader of the opposition, says Ninth Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown.

• AI Bill Emphasizes Transparency And Consumer Control

  

  The Filter Bubble Transparency Act introduced in the Senate last month is the latest of growing congressional efforts to regulate artificial intelligence, and the first substantive federal bill aimed at curbing companies' algorithmic control of content on internet platforms, say Adam Aft and Yoon Chae of Baker McKenzie.

• Where A Litigator's Advice Can Improve Agreement Drafting

  

  Transactional attorneys should consider consulting with litigation counsel when drafting certain contractual provisions — choice of law, choice of forum, attorney fees and others — that could come into play in a broad range of substantive disputes, says Adrienne Koch at Katsky Korins.

• Opinion

  Flat-Fee Legal Billing Can Liberate Attorneys

  

  Replacing hourly billing with flat-fee arrangements, especially for appellate work, will leave attorneys feeling free to spend as much time as necessary to produce their highest quality work, says Lawrence Ebner of Capital Appellate Advocacy.

• Spoliation Rule Remains Ambiguous Despite Amendments

  

  Although the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to provide a uniform standard of culpability for spoliation, cases with similar facts are still reaching differing results because the rule does not specify how a court should evaluate a party's intent, say attorneys at Pepper Hamilton.

• SEC's Fraud Enforcement Shows Quality, If Not Quantity

  

  Over the course of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently ended fiscal year, the regulator's Division of Enforcement fulfilled its promise to emphasize quality over quantity in cases alleging misrepresentations of financial performance by covering a wide swath of accounting, disclosure, internal control and auditor independence issues, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

• New Regulatory Concerns For Behavioral Telehealth Providers

  

  With demand for telebehavioral health services trending upward, regulators are paying more attention, but states' inconsistent legislation in this area has created some ambiguity for providers, says Amy Lerman of Epstein Becker.

• 5 Trends Influencing RFPs For Law Firms

  

  Requests for proposals, the standard tool of companies evaluating law firms, are becoming better suited to the legal industry, says Matthew Prinn of RFP Advisory Group.

• SEPs In The Wake Of Qualcomm: 4 Defense Issues

  

  As the recent Federal Trade Commission v. Qualcomm case demonstrates, standard-essential patents can present unique challenges, but by carefully establishing short-term and long-term strategies, SEP implementers can put themselves in a stronger position for defending against SEP enforcement, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

• Ill. High Court Ruling Shows 3 Trends In Tech Crime Litigation

  

  The Illinois Supreme Court's recent decision in Illinois v. Austin, in favor of protecting state citizens’ privacy rights, may shed light on how crime fueled by technology, such as the distribution of so-called revenge porn, will be addressed and litigated in the near future, says Mark Sableman of Thompson Coburn.

• NPE Cases May Be Contrary To ITC's Mission

  

  Recent cases at the U.S. International Trade Commission, involving the nonpracticing entities Neodron's and Data Scape's seeming attempts to force companies to pay higher patent fees and ban imports, suggest that the ITC may be straying from its core purpose of protecting domestic industries and consumers, says Derek Dahlgren of Rothwell Figg.