Trials

Expert Analysis

• Avoiding Inadvertent Privilege Waivers In E-Communications

  

  Attorneys at WilmerHale highlight recent developments in privilege law, the significant challenges raised by nontraditional working arrangements popularized during the pandemic, and ways to avoid waiving attorney-client privilege when using electronic communications.

• Strategies For Managing Calif. Litigation As Courts Reopen

  

  As state and federal courts in California begin to reopen, strategic decisions need to be made about where cases should be filed, public and private perception of litigation conduct, alternative plans for discovery, and more, says attorney Steven Brower.

• Opinion

  Don't Cancel Your Summer Associate Programs

  

  While pulling off an effective summer associate program this year will be no easy feat, law firms' investments in their future attorneys should be considered necessary even during this difficult time, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.

• How Hollywood Can Inspire Courtroom Presentations

  

  As attorneys patiently wait for jury trials to resume, they can explore three effective transition techniques commonly used in movies to bring their courtroom PowerPoint presentations to the next level, say Adam Bloomberg and David Metz at Litigation Insights.

• Calif. Justices' Ruling Marks Turning Point For Jury Trial Right

  

  The California Supreme Court’s holding that unfair competition and false advertising claims don’t need to be tried by a jury in Nationwide Biweekly v. Superior Court creates a framework for analyzing causes of action under other state laws that could steer courts to similar conclusions, says Patrick Hammon at McManis Faulkner.

• Trial By Webcam: Tips From A Firsthand Experience

  

  Initially incomprehensible, it turns out that conducting trial by video is reasonable and relatively convenient, as long as lawyers do not try to recreate the courtroom experience, say Wheeler Trigg attorneys Joel Neckers and Peter Herzog, who recently participated in an online bench trial in United Power v. Tri-State before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.

• 5 Ways To Reduce Post-Pandemic Legal Malpractice Exposure

  

  History suggests that legal malpractice claims will rise following the current economic downturn, and while a certain percentage of the claims will be unavoidable, there are prophylactic steps that law firms can take, says John Johnson at Cozen O'Connor.

• Opinion

  Credibility Concerns About Virtual Arbitration Are Unfounded

  

  Concerns that videoconferenced arbitration hearings compromise an arbitrator's ability to reliably resolve credibility contests are based on mistaken perceptions of how many cases actually turn on credibility, what credibility means in the legal world, and how arbitrators make credibility determinations, says Wayne Brazil at JAMS.

• Opinion

  Flynn Contempt Inquiry Is Vital To Judicial Independence

  

  The D.C. Circuit should uphold the district court's authority to investigate whether Michael Flynn acted in criminal contempt, which is important for affirming judicial independence in this era of partisan prosecuting, says Harold Krent at Chicago-Kent College of Law.

• A Lawyer's Guide To Client Service Continuity Planning

  

  Ensuring uninterrupted client service and compliance with ethical obligations in a time when attorneys are more likely to fall ill means taking six basic — yet often ignored — steps to build some redundancy and internal communication into legal practice, say attorneys at Axinn.

• How Pandemic-Related Delays Affect Hatch-Waxman Litigants

  

  If delays caused by the pandemic leave parties unable to resolve Hatch-Waxman litigation prior to the expiration of the 30-month stay, branded drug manufacturers have options for avoiding an at-risk launch, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

• Maximizing Defense Advantages In Jurisdictional Discovery

  

  When a court responds to a personal jurisdiction defense with a jurisdictional discovery order, defense lawyers should review what information is already public, draft clear and precise affidavits, and prepare a depository of documents that are only relevant to jurisdictional issues, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

• Patent Litigation May Be On The Rise During Pandemic

  

  While much of the economy and litigation in general came to a halt in March, the number of patent cases — ostensibly lucrative and viable to initiate and advance remotely — filed seems to have at least held steady and possibly experienced a recent uptick, say attorneys at Stris & Maher.

• Virtual Meetings Could Be Fertile Ground For Legal Discovery

  

  Many remote meeting technologies include recording features as default settings, raising three primary concerns from a legal discovery and data retention perspective, and possibly bringing unintended consequences for companies in future litigation, says Courtney Murphy at Clark Hill.

• Bridgegate Has The Potential To Upend A Raft Of Prosecutions

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent "Bridgegate" decision will undoubtedly create further hurdles for the government to prosecute schemes that are venal, deceitful and underhanded but in which the loss of money or property — while foreseeable — was not the objective, say Daniel Fetterman and Brian Choi at Kasowitz.