Expert Analysis

• Roundup

  The Future Of Legal Ops

  

  Legal operations professionals discuss the most important demands facing corporate legal departments today, and how companies are changing or are expected to change in order to adapt.

• Series

  The Future Of Legal Ops: AI Has Important Role To Play

  

  Though the debut of OpenAI's ChatGPT has prompted some fears about negative impact on lawyers, artificial intelligence technology can be a powerful tool for legal operations professionals if used effectively to augment their work, say Justin Ben-Asher and Gwendolyn Renigar at Steptoe, and Elizabeth Matthews at TotalEnergies.

• 4 Proactive Strategies For 'Rocket Docket' Discovery In SDNY

  

  With more than half of Southern District of New York judges now allowing four or fewer months for fact discovery, civil litigators in this aspiring "rocket docket" jurisdiction should prioritize case management methods that make the most of this compressed timeline, say Jaclyn Grodin and Nicholas Cutaia at Goulston & Storrs.

• Opinion

  Law Schools Must Prep Students To Tackle Gun Violence

  

  Given that Gen Z — the so-called mass shooting generation — is now of law school age, it's time for schools to invest more in courses, clinics and other resources to prepare their students to enter the growing field of gun violence prevention litigation, says Kaivan Shroff at Everytown for Gun Safety.

• How In-House Attys Can Manage Cyber Risks Of Mass Layoffs

  

  As mass layoffs expose employers to greater cyber threats, in-house attorneys should include cybersecurity considerations in their preparation for and management of the employee separation process, including in separation agreements and exit interviews, says Foster Sayers at Pramata.

• Opinion

  Increasing Law Firm Polarization Will Degrade Rule Of Law

  

  As evidenced in recent instances of law firms separating from attorneys who represented certain industries or espoused certain views, firms and the legal practice itself have grown troublingly polarized and intolerant of dissent, says Rebecca Roiphe at New York Law School.

• How To Deal With Difficult Clients, Practically And Ethically

  

  Meredith Stoma at Lewis Brisbois discusses common obstacles for counsel working with difficult clients and provides guidance on ethically managing or terminating these challenging relationships — as, for example, counsel for Ye have recently done.

• Where Kavanaugh May Land On SEC In-House Court Issue

  

  Justice Brett Kavanaugh's agreement with the U.S. Supreme Court majority in West Virginia v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, along with a previous dissenting opinion in the D.C Circuit, is a good predictor of his views in two cases challenging judicial procedures at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Trade Commission, says Evan Stewart at Cohen & Gresser.

• Opinion

  Federal Courts Should Adopt Supreme Court's Amicus Stance

  

  The federal courts of appeals should adopt the U.S. Supreme Court's new approach to amicus curiae briefs, which allows the friend-of-the-court submissions to be filed without consent from the court or the parties, says Lawrence Ebner at Atlantic Legal Foundation.

• Patent Fee-Shifting Often Leaves Prevailing Parties Unpaid

  

  A prevailing party may have a 2-3 chance of getting paid under the Section 285 fee-shifting statute for patents, making reform efforts to ensure receipt of payment worth considering, say Adam Shartzer and Josh Carrigan at Fish & Richardson.

• 3 Pricing Trends In Law Firm Use Of Litigation Funding

  

  As BigLaw firms increasingly include litigation funding as a financing option for clients, internal pricing groups are taking the lead on standardizing and centralizing firm processes, and aggregating risk budgets, says Brendan Dyer at Woodsford Group.

• Safeguarding Attorneys' Greatest Asset: Our Mental Health

  

  Attorneys who understand that mental fitness is their most valuable characteristic should prioritize mental health care accordingly, including with certain activities they may not realize qualify as self-care, says Wendy Robbins at Holland & Knight.

• Opinion

  Law Schools Are Right To Steer Clear Of US News Rankings

  

  By opting out of participating in the U.S. News & World Report annual rankings, law schools abandon a profoundly flawed system and free up their resources to adapt to the tsunami of changes overtaking the profession, says Nicholas Allard at Jacksonville University College of Law.

• Opinion

  Litigation Funders Seek Transparency In Disclosure Debate

  

  Litigation funders want to correct the record on calls for funding disclosure in the name of transparency, as this purported justification obscures the disclosure's adverse effects — prejudicing plaintiffs' cases and discouraging the assertion of meritorious legal claims, say Dai Wai Chin Feman and William Weisman at Parabellum Capital.

• 5 Principles For Better Professional Development Programs

  

  The pandemic and ensuing "great resignation" have resulted in a more transient legal work force, but law firms can use effective professional development programs to bridge a cultural gap with new associates and stem associate attrition, says Matthew Woods at Robins Kaplan.