Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Bar Score Is Best Hiring Metric Post-Affirmative Action

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling striking down affirmative action admissions policies, law firms looking to foster diversity in hiring should view an applicant's Multistate Bar Examination score as the best metric of legal ability — over law school name or GPA, says attorney Alice Griffin.

• Ghosting In BigLaw: How To Come Back From Lack Of Feedback

  

  Junior associates can feel powerless when senior colleagues cut off contact instead of providing useful feedback, but young attorneys can get back on track by focusing on practical professional development and reexamining their career priorities, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.

• Steps To Success For Senior Associates

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.

• Cannabis Seed Importation Carries CBP Enforcement Risks

  

  Though cannabis seed importation may be arguably legal, potential importers — such the recent MMJ-Global Cannabis partnership to bring cannabis THC products into the U.S. — risk action from U.S. Customs and Border Protection until the agency issues an official ruling on cannabis seed admissibility, say Adams Lee and Vince Sliwoski at Harris Bricken.

• FARA Advisory Opinions Raise Questions For Digital Media

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice's latest advisory opinions on the Foreign Agents Registration Act indicate that the broad geographic reach of the internet and digital media could bring a wide variety of activities within the scope of FARA, but lawyers are left to try to discern nuggets of guidance from these heavily redacted letters, say attorneys at Covington.

• Legal Profession Must Do More For Lawyers With Disabilities

  

  At the start of Disability Pride month, Rosalyn Richter at Arnold & Porter looks at why lawyers with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in private practice, asserting that law firms and other employers must do more to conquer the implicit bias that deters attorneys from seeking accommodations.

• Opinion

  Appellate Funding Disclosure: No Mandate Is Right Choice

  

  The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules' recent decision, forgoing a mandatory disclosure rule for litigation funding in federal appeals, is prudent, as third-party funding is only involved in a minuscule number of federal cases, and courts have ample authority to obtain funding information if necessary, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

• Halkbank Ruling Gives Gov't Leverage But Erodes Comity

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Halkbank v. U.S., denying the Turkish state-owned bank immunity from prosecution, erodes the historic principle of comity in favor of imposing domestic law on foreign states, and could potentially usher in an era of mutually assured litigation between world powers, say Solomon Shinerock and Annika Conrad at Lewis Baach.

• Preparing For FDA's Surprise Foreign Drug Inspection Regime

  

  Foreign drug manufacturers face an increased likelihood of unannounced inspections under a recently expanded U.S. Food and Drug Administration pilot program, so they should take several steps to prepare — or face the risk of an import alert blocking their product from the U.S. market, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• Justices' Corruption Ruling May Shift DOJ Bank Fraud Tactics

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month in Ciminelli v. U.S., curtailing a government theory of wire fraud liability, prosecutors may need to reconsider their approach to the bank fraud statute, particularly when it comes to foreign bank enforcement, says Brian Kearney at Ballard Spahr.

• Tips For Obtaining Removal From OFAC's Sanctions List

  

  To obtain interim relief or removal from the Office of Foreign Assets Control's specially designated nationals list, sanctioned individuals or entities must determine why they were designated and seek relief from OFAC, while demonstrating transparency and a willingness to remediate conduct, says Robert Seiden at Seiden Law.

• How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks

  

  Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.

• Foreign Investment In Real Estate Is Getting More Complicated

  

  Increasing federal scrutiny and a proliferation of new state laws targeting foreign investment in real estate may complicate or prevent transactions even by U.S. companies or funds that have shareholders or limited partners from China and other countries of concern, say attorneys at Akin.

• Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip

  

  After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

• 5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving

  

  Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.