Expert Analysis

• Series

  Playing Piano Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Playing piano and practicing law share many parallels relating to managing complexity: Just as hearing an entire musical passage in my head allows me to reliably deliver the message, thinking about the audience's impression helps me create a legal narrative that keeps the reader engaged, says Michael Shepherd at Fish & Richardson.

• AI Trade Secret Conviction Highlights Espionage Risks

  

  A California federal court's conviction last month of an ex-Google engineer who stole artificial intelligence trade secrets for the benefit of China is the latest in a series of foreign economic espionage cases and illustrates the urgent need for U.S. companies to implement robust security measures, says attorney Peter Toren.

• How To Counter 7 Logical Fallacies In Legal Arguments

  

  Many legal arguments are riddled with reasoning flaws that can effectively distract or persuade the fact-finder, but these tactics lose much of their power when attorneys recognize and strategically shine a light on them, says Allison Rocker at BakerMcKenzie.

• AI-Generated Doc Ruling Guides Attys On Privilege Risks

  

  A New York federal court's ruling, in U.S. v. Heppner, that documents created by a defendant using an artificial intelligence tool were not privileged, can serve as a guide to attorneys for retaining attorney-client or work-product privilege over client documents created with AI, say attorneys at Sher Tremonte.

• The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Leadership Strategy After Day 1

  

  For law firm leaders, ensuring a newly combined law firm lives up to its promise, both in its first days of operation and well after, includes tough decisions, clear and specific communication, and cheerleading, says Peter Michaud at Ballard Spahr.

• DC Circ. Gag Order Rulings Reveal A Digital Privacy Paradox

  

  A pair of rulings from the D.C. Circuit reveal a growing dilemma in digital privacy jurisprudence for investigative targets, technology companies and transparency advocates — even when courts set the bar higher for broad nondisclosure requests, the public may never be allowed to learn why orders get approved, say attorneys at RJO.

• Fed. Circ. In Jan.: On The Validity Of Expert Testimony

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Barry v. DePuy, addressing whether expert testimony is admissible even if it does not strictly adhere to the court's claim construction, suggests that exclusion via a Daubert motion is appropriate only when the line to improper testimony is clearly crossed, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

• Reel Justice: 'Sentimental Value' And Witness Anxiety

  

  "Sentimental Value" reminds us that anxiety can interfere with performance, but unlike actors, witnesses cannot rehearse their lines or control the script, so a lawyer's role is not to eliminate stress, but to create conditions where the accuracy of a witness's testimony survives under pressure, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University.

• Calif.'s Civility Push Shows Why Professionalism Is Vital

  

  The California Bar’s campaign against discourteous behavior by attorneys, including a newly required annual civility oath, reflects a growing concern among states that professionalism in law needs shoring up — and recognizes that maintaining composure even when stressed is key to both succeeding professionally and maintaining faith in the legal system, says Lucy Wang at Hinshaw.

• Series

  Trivia Competition Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Playing trivia taught me to quickly absorb information and recognize when I've learned what I'm expected to know, training me in the crucial skills needed to be a good attorney, and reminding me to be gracious in defeat, says Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.

• Opinion

  Bridging The Bench And Bars To Uphold The Rule Of Law

  

  In a moment when the judiciary faces unprecedented partisan attacks and public trust in our courts is fragile, and with the stakes being especially high for mass tort cases, attorneys on both sides of the bench have a responsibility to restore confidence in our justice system, say Bryan Aylstock at Aylstock Witkin and Kiley Grombacher at Bradley/Grombacher.

• Clarifying A Persistent Misconception About Settlement Talks

  

  An Indiana federal court’s recent Cloudbusters v. Tinsley ruling underscores the often-misunderstood principle that Rule 408 of the Federal Rules of Evidence does not bar parties from referencing prior settlement communications in their pleadings — a critical distinction when such demands further a fraudulent or bad faith scheme, say attorneys at Hanson Bridgett.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: What Cross-Selling Truly Takes

  

  Early-career attorneys may struggle to introduce clients to practitioners in other specialties, but cross-selling becomes easier once they know why it’s vital to their first years of practice, which mistakes to avoid and how to anticipate clients' needs, say attorneys at Moses & Singer.

• Tick, Tock: Maximizing The Clock, Regardless Of Trial Length

  

  Whether a judge grants more or less time for trial than an attorney hoped for, understanding how to strategically leverage the advantages and attenuate the disadvantages of each scenario can pay dividends in juror attentiveness and judicial respect, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation.

• Mass. Ruling Raises Questions About Whistleblower Status

  

  In Galvin v. Roxbury Community College, Massachusetts' top appellate court held that an individual was protected from retaliation as a whistleblower, even though he engaged in illegal activity, raising questions about whether whistleblowers who commit illegal acts are protected and whether trusted employees are doing their job or whistleblowing, say attorneys at Littler.