Trials

Expert Analysis

• What Plaintiffs Can Do If J&J Succeeds In Bankruptcy Strategy

  

  If Johnson & Johnson is successful in its proposed divisive merger — a company split where all liabilities are shifted to a new company that files for bankruptcy — J&J tort plaintiffs will need to stick together to use the Bankruptcy Code's tools, including its voting mechanisms, to exert leverage on the debtor company, says Edward Neiger at Ask.

• 3 Attorney Ethics Considerations For Litigation Funding

  

  The growth of the litigation finance industry has generated questions on the obligations of counsel when their clients are seeking outside capital to fund litigation, which litigators must understand when providing information to a third-party funder and discussing legal strategy with a client, says Matthew Oxman at LexShares.

• Opinion

  Ruling Rightly Sends COVID Biz Interruption Question To Jury

  

  After a string of insurer coronavirus coverage wins on dispositive motions, a Missouri federal court's ruling this week in favor of the policyholder in K.C. Hopps v. Cincinnati Insurance places the decision-making responsibility about the facts and science in COVID-19 business interruption cases back where it belongs — with a jury, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

• How ABA Opinion Shifts Alternative Biz Structure Landscape

  

  A recent American Bar Association opinion approving lawyers' passive investment in nonlawyer-owned firms eliminates a hurdle for law firms wishing to scale their practice through alternative business structures, but aspiring investors should follow a few best practices, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Deepika Ravi at Harris Wiltshire.

• Fed. Circ. Micron IP Ruling Raises Damages Disclosure Bar

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent decision in MLC v. Micron, upholding the exclusion of expert testimony on patent damages evidence, may heighten initial discovery burdens, underscoring the importance of providing proper disclosure of damages-related information and positions prior to expert discovery, say Joel Wacek and Brynna Smith at Hoffman Alvary.

• Series

  Embracing ESG: HPE Counsel Talk Effective Board Oversight

  

  Governance teams can more effectively shape board oversight of environmental, social and governance issues by ensuring organizationwide agreement on the most relevant issues, building a materiality framework that reflects stakeholder input, and monitoring the integration of ESG into operations, say Rishi Varma and Derek Windham at Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

• Opinion

  Justice Gap Demands Look At New Legal Service Models

  

  Current restrictions on how lawyers structure their businesses stand in the way of meaningful access to justice for many Americans, so states should follow the lead of Utah and Florida and test out innovative law firm business models through regulatory sandboxes, says Zachariah DeMeola at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System.

• Series

  Embracing ESG: Leidos GC Talks Social Responsibility

  

  Recent criticisms of corporate commitments to stakeholders such as employees and communities — implicitly opposing environmental, social and governance initiatives — are fundamentally flawed and display a serious misunderstanding of contemporary investor priorities and dynamics, says Jerald Howe at Leidos.

• Lessons In Crisis Lawyering 20 Years After 9/11

  

  Dianne Phillips at Holland & Knight recounts her experiences as in-house counsel at a liquefied natural gas company in the tumultuous aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, and details the lessons she learned about lawyering in a crisis, including the importance of careful forethought and having trusted advisers on speed dial.

• Why Structured Data Is Increasingly Important To Your Case

  

  During discovery, legal teams often overlook structured data — the rows of information found in financial ledgers and similar corporate systems — and consider it secondary to emails and other anecdotal evidence, but this common mistake could mean litigators are missing key elements of a dispute, say consultants at Alvarez & Marsal.

• Series

  Embracing ESG: AIG Counsel Talks SEC Risk Alert

  

  As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission responds to the changing landscape on environmental, social and corporate governance investing, including with its recent risk alert, it is imperative that the regulator take a measured approach, says Kate Fuentes at AIG.

• Fed. Circ. Teva Ruling May Shake Up Skinny Label Strategies

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent revival of a verdict against Teva for inducing patent infringement of GlaxoSmithKline's drug Coreg, even though the generic was launched with a skinny label carving out the infringing method, appears likely to change how manufacturers think about approaches to skinny labels, say attorneys at Cooley.

• What The Judiciary's Font Recommendations Can Teach Us

  

  The D.C. Circuit's recent soft prohibition on Garamond and the ensuing debates about courts' font preferences should serve as a helpful reminder of a larger point — every departure from convention in legal writing carries some level of risk, says Spencer Short at Stradley Ronon.

• How Court Ruling, DOE Guidance Change DeVos' Title IX Rule

  

  A Massachusetts federal court's recent ruling in Victim Rights Law Center v. Miguel Cardona, striking down a controversial provision of the Trump administration's Title IX regulations, and subsequent Department of Education guidance will have a significant, immediate impact on Title IX investigations at higher education institutions nationwide, say attorneys at Hunton.

• High Court TransUnion Ruling May Enhance PTAB Autonomy

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in TransUnion v. Ramirez, raising the bar on requirements for Article III standing, may bolster the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's autonomy because courts can now hold that denial of inter partes review does not constitute a concrete injury, says Gwendolyn Tawresey at Troutman Pepper.