Aerospace & Defense

Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  What The Oracle-TikTok Saga Means For Oracle Licensees

  

  Though Oracle's attempts to take control of TikTok and become a competitive provider of third-party cloud-hosting services appear to have failed, Oracle's licensees should still consider themselves targets for aggressive cloud sales tactics and anticipate forthcoming audit activity, say Arthur Beeman, Joel Muchmore and Melissa Wehri at Beeman & Muchmore.

• 6 Changes The Legal Industry Should Prepare For

  

  As clients increasingly demand better efficiency, predictability and cost-effectiveness from their legal partners, especially during the pandemic, law firms and other legal service providers may need to explore new ways to bundle and deliver services — and move away from billing by time, says Joey Seeber at Level Legal.

• Arizona May Have Nudged US Law Firms Toward Future IPOs

  

  No U.S. law firm has its shares listed on a public stock exchange unlike some lucrative overseas counterparts, but by allowing nonattorneys to become stakeholders in law firms, Arizona may have paved the way for this to change should other U.S. states — particularly New York — follow suit, says Marc Lieberman at Kutak Rock.

• Aviation Watch: The 737 Max Returns To Flight

  

  After the Federal Aviation Administration's recent order allowing Boeing's 737 Max to return to service, the plane still must contend with the effects of two years of adverse publicity and COVID-19's impact on air travel, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

• Addressing The Security Risks Of University Foreign Funding

  

  Higher education institutions that accept foreign funding should address serious concomitant security risks by identifying specific sources and establishing compliance procedures that promote transparency, protect data and research, and account for U.S. national security interests, say attorneys at Manatt.

• CFPB's Busy 2020 May Foretell Regulatory Uptick Ahead

  

  The last year stood out for its marked resurgence in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau activity, suggesting 2021 will usher in even more vigorous enforcement, enhanced fair lending regulation, and renewed assaults on consumer arbitration and payday lending, says Richard Gottlieb at Manatt.

• DC Circ. Lobbyist Ruling May Lead To 1st Amendment Clarity

  

  The D.C. Circuit’s recent opinion in Akhmetshin v. Browder, leaving the government contacts exception's application to foreign lobbyists unsettled, may compel courts to clarify the availability of First Amendment defamation defenses to foreign companies involved in lobbying, says Joe Meadows at Bean Kinney.

• 4 Legal Industry Trends Litigation Financiers Are Watching

  

  Some recent litigation developments demonstrate efforts by law firms and their clients to search for opportunities in the COVID-19 economic fallout, while others — such as the rise of contingency fee arrangements — reflect acceleration of tendencies that were already underway, says William Weisman at Therium Capital.

• A Lawyer's Guide To Setting Well-Being Goals In 2021

  

  In the face of rising client demands due to the pandemic and the changing regulatory environment, and with remote work continuing for the foreseeable future, lawyers should invest in their well-being by establishing inspiring yet realistic goals for 2021 — one month at a time, says Krista Larson at Morgan Lewis.

• Opinion

  Congress Must Fix The AML Whistleblower Law

  

  Fundamental differences between whistleblower provisions in the recently passed Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Dodd-Frank Act will render the new law ineffective until Congress amends it to fully conform to Dodd-Frank's highly successful reward provisions, says Stephen Kohn at Kohn Kohn.

• Keyword Searches To Improve Your Privilege Doc Review

  

  "Confidential" and other search terms commonly used to locate privileged documents during e-discovery are pretty ineffective, so practitioners should consider including specific types of keywords that are demonstrably better at targeting privilege, say Robert Keeling at Sidley and Rishi Chhatwal at AT&T.

• The Benefits Of More Alternative Dispute Resolution At GAO

  

  While disruption amid the pandemic undoubtedly contributed to a 210% uptick in the use of alternative dispute resolution at the U.S. Government Accountability Office in fiscal year 2020, bid protest practitioners should hope the upward trend continues given the various efficiencies it brings to the procurement process, says Noah Bleicher at Jenner & Block.

• ABA Approves Remote Practice, But Questions Remain

  

  Lawyers working remotely during the pandemic while physically outside the jurisdictions in which they are licensed will find some comfort in a recent American Bar Association opinion sanctioning such practice, but there is ambiguity regarding the contours of what's allowed, say attorneys at Harris Wiltshire.

• Keys To Creating Standout Law Firm Thought Leadership

  

  Whether geared toward a global audience or a particular client, a law firm's articles, blog posts and client alerts should strive to be original by harnessing a few editorial tools and following the right distribution sequence, say Steven Andersen and Tal Donahue at Infinite Global.

• PPP Enforcement Issues To Watch In 2021

  

  Derek Adams at Potomac Law, and Ellen London and Steven Deolus at Alto Litigation, examine the evolution of the Paycheck Protection Program, the impact of constant changes to eligibility and reporting rules, and enforcement developments to expect this year.