Expert Analysis

• How AI Can Transform Crisis Management In Litigation

  

  Attorneys should understand how to use rapidly advancing artificial intelligence technology to help clients prepare for potential catastrophic events and the inevitable litigation arising from them, from predicting crises before they occur to testing legal theories once they arise, say Stratton Horres at Wilson Elser and David Steiger.

• What Experts, Attys Must Know About Psychological Injuries

  

  As the ongoing litigation between Kobe Bryant's widow and Los Angeles County illustrates, there are many forms of psychological injury that can have serious impacts — so mental health experts and attorneys must be precise when discussing these matters in court, says Prudence Gourguechon, a clinical psychiatrist and professional psychiatric expert witness.

• Supervisor Relationships Are Key To Beating Atty Burnout

  

  In order to combat record attorney turnover and high levels of burnout, law firm partners and leaders must build engaging relationships with supervisees, fostering autonomy and control, enabling expression of values, and building a sense of community and belonging, says Anne Brafford at the Institute for Well-Being in Law.

• The New Antitrust Agenda's Impact On Energy And Chemicals

  

  The Biden administration's antitrust enforcers have already left their mark on the energy and chemicals industries, with longer and more frequent investigations, lower standards for second requests on mergers, and a wider range of concerns in merger reviews, say attorneys at V&E.

• How Magistrate Judges Can Help Tame Large Product MDLs

  

  As multidistrict product liability litigations swell in size, taking on board increasing numbers of individual cases that may lack merit, courts may want to consider employing magistrate judges to evaluate pending claims through streamlined summary judgment proceedings, says Douglas Smith at Aurelius Law Group.

• Context Is Key In Agriculture Equipment Manufacturer Defense

  

  Federal policy changes on the horizon could add significant liability to agricultural equipment manufacturers, and when it comes to defending these product liability cases, manufacturers must provide the appropriate context on certain issues like the date of manufacture, so juries can more properly assess the evidence presented, says Reid Carpenter at Lightfoot Franklin.

• The Rising Demand For Commercial Litigators In 2022

  

  Amid broken supply chains, pandemic-induced bankruptcies and a rise in regulation by litigation, strong commercial litigators — strategists who are adept in trying a range of tortious and contractual disputes — are becoming a must-have for many law firms, making this year an opportune moment to make the career switch, say Michael Ascher and Kimberly Donlon at Major Lindsey.

• Takeaways From White Collar Criminal Enforcement In 2021

  

  White collar criminal prosecutions were up in 2021, with recent high-profile fraud trials, the Biden administration's enforcement priorities and the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic potentially reversing the previous trend of slumping white collar prosecutions, say attorneys at Keker Van Nest.

• How In-House Counsel Can Make The Case For Settling Early

  

  Following the recent settlement in McDonald's v. Easterbrook, in-house counsel should consider decision-tree analyses and values-driven communications plans to secure effective, early resolutions in litigation, saving time and money and moving the company mission forward, say Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein and Richard Torrenzano at The Torrenzano Group.

• To Retain Talent, GCs Should Prioritize Mission Statements

  

  With greater legal demands and an increasing number of workers resigning during the pandemic, general counsel should take steps to articulate their teams' values in departmental mission statements, which will help them better prioritize corporate values and attract and retain talent, says Catherine Kemnitz at Axiom.

• What Attys Can Learn From Harvard Professor's Conviction

  

  The recent conviction of Harvard professor Charles Lieber, on charges of lying about ties to China, highlights the perils that even highly educated white collar targets face in an FBI interview without counsel present, and it provides urgent lessons for attorneys on guiding their clients through stressful circumstances, say Jack Sharman and Tatum Jackson at Lightfoot Franklin.

• 7 Ways Patent Litigators Can Leverage Inventor Testimony

  

  The recent Federal Circuit decision in Biogen v. Mylan, relying on inventor testimony to invalidate patent claims for lack of written description, illustrates one of several ways in which such testimony can be used to persuade fact-finders in close cases and uncover game-changing evidence, says Jeremy Edwards at Maddox Edwards.

• Top 10 Whistleblowing And Retaliation Events Of 2021

  

  Last year's most important whistleblower developments will likely reverberate into 2022 and beyond, with key court rulings and legislative advancements poised to expand protections, and a record-breaking amount of awards issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission likely to incentivize more information sharing, say Steven Pearlman and Pinchos Goldberg at Proskauer.

• Opinion

  IP Venue Transfer Rulings Ignore Plaintiffs' Jurisdiction Rights

  

  Recent Federal Circuit venue transfer orders in patent cases leave out an important consideration — whether the transferee court has personal jurisdiction over the plaintiff — that should be taken into account to ensure that plaintiffs' constitutional rights are adequately protected, say Justin Nemunaitis and Alexander Gras at Caldwell Cassady.

• Top 5 Drug And Medical Device Legal Issues Of 2021

  

  Two years into the pandemic, COVID-19 continues to drive significant legal developments for drug and device companies, but opioid, personal jurisdiction and litigation funding trends are noteworthy as well, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.