Expert Analysis

• What 2 Recent Rulings Mean For Trafficking Liability Coverage

  

  Two recent federal district court decisions add to a growing number of courts concluding that Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act claims may trigger coverage under commercial general liability policies, rejecting insurer arguments regarding public policy and exclusion defenses, says Joe Cole at Shumaker.

• Civil Maritime Nuclear Sector Poised For Growth, Challenges

  

  The maritime industry now stands on the verge of a nuclear-powered renaissance, with the need for clean energy, resilient power generation and decarbonized logistics driving demand for commercial maritime nuclear technology — but these developments will raise significant new legal, regulatory and technical questions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• Series

  Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Painting trains me to see both the fine detail and the whole composition at once, enabling me to identify friction points while keeping sight of a client's bigger vision, but the most significant lesson I've brought to my legal work has been the value of originality, says Jana Gouchev at Gouchev Law.

• 3 Trends From AI-Related Securities Class Action Dismissals

  

  A review of recently dismissed securities class actions centering on artificial intelligence highlights courts' scrutiny of statements about AI's capabilities and independence, and sustained focus on issues that aren't AI-specific, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

• What The New Nondomiciled-Trucker Rule Means For Carriers

  

  A new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration interim final rule restricting states' issuance of commercial drivers licenses to nondomiciled drivers does not alter motor carriers' obligations to verify drivers' qualifications, but may create disruptions by reducing the number of eligible drivers, say attorneys at Benesch.

• Protecting Sensitive Court Filings After Recent Cyber Breach

  

  In the wake of a recent cyberattack on federal courts' Case Management/Electronic Case Files system, civil litigants should consider seeking enhanced protections for sensitive materials filed under seal to mitigate the risk of unauthorized exposure, say attorneys at Redgrave.

• Why Feds' Criminal Vehicle Tampering Theory Falls Short

  

  In recent years, federal regulators have advanced a novel theory that reprogramming a vehicle's onboard diagnostics system is a crime under the Clean Air Act — but a case now pending in the Ninth Circuit shows that the government's position is questionable for a host of reasons, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• Series

  Judging Figure Skating Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Judging figure skating competitions helps me hone the focus, decisiveness and ability to process complex real-time information I need in court, but more importantly, it makes me reengage with a community and my identity outside of law, which, paradoxically, always brings me back to work feeling restored, says Megan Raymond at Groombridge Wu.

• $100K H-1B Fee May Disrupt Rural Healthcare Needs

  

  The Trump administration's newly imposed $100,000 supplemental fee on new H-1B petitions may disproportionately affect healthcare employers' ability to recruit international medical graduates, and the fee's national interest exceptions will not adequately solve ensuing problems for healthcare employers or medically underserved areas, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• What Ethics Rules Say On Atty Discipline For Online Speech

  

  Though law firms are free to discipline employees for their online commentary about Charlie Kirk or other social media activity, saying crude or insensitive things on the internet generally doesn’t subject attorneys to professional discipline under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, says Stacie H. Rosenzweig at Halling & Cayo.

• Junior Attys Must Beware Of 5 Common Legal Brief Mistakes

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Junior law firm associates must be careful to avoid five common pitfalls when drafting legal briefs — from including every possible argument to not developing a theme — to build the reputation of a sought-after litigator, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.

• Series

  Power To The Paralegals: How And Why Training Must Evolve

  

  Empowering paralegals through new models of education that emphasize digital fluency, interdisciplinary collaboration and human-centered lawyering could help solve workforce challenges and the justice gap — if firms, educators and policymakers get on board, say Kristine Custodio Suero and Kelli Radnothy.

• Series

  Playing Softball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  My time on the softball field has taught me lessons that also apply to success in legal work — on effective preparation, flexibility, communication and teamwork, says Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty.

• And Now A Word From The Panel: Choosing MDL Venues

  

  One of the most interesting yet least predictable facets of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's practice is venue — namely where the panel decides to place a new MDL proceeding — and its choices reflect the tension between neutrality and case-specific factors, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Time Management

  

  Law students typically have weeks or months to prepare for any given deadline, but the unpredictability of practicing in the real world means that lawyers must become time-management pros, ready to adapt to scheduling conflicts and unexpected assignments at any given moment, says David Thomas at Honigman.