Expert Analysis

• 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.

• Avoiding Negative Tax Consequences In Loan Modifications

  

  Borrowers who may be caught in the dramatic uptick in nonperforming commercial real estate loans should consider strategies to avoid income and capital gains tax that may be triggered by loan modifications, says Aman Badyal at Glaser Weil.

• 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.

• What Purdue Ch. 11 Means For Future Of Third-Party Releases

  

  The Second Circuit’s highly anticipated ruling approving Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plan establishes stringent factors that lower courts must consider before approving nonconsensual third-party releases, but the circuit split on the matter means the issue is far from resolved, say Gregory Hesse and Kollin Bender at Hunton.

• 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.

• An Investor's Road Map For Distressed Crypto Assets

  

  For investors treasure hunting for distressed crypto assets, there are three key contexts in which these investments can be made, but there are procedures and potential pitfalls that can make or break success, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

• 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.

• How Wash. Bankruptcy Amendments Will Aid Debtors

  

  Washington state’s recently updated bankruptcy exemptions — which provide greater protection for debtors’ assets, including cash, vehicles and personal injury proceeds — bring the state up to speed in terms of asset protection, and may result in an increase in Chapter 7 liquidation filings, says Richard Symmes at Symmes Law.

• 2 Rulings Show How Electricity May Factor Into Bankruptcy

  

  Recent rulings from an Oregon federal court and a New York bankruptcy court have evened a split over whether electricity is a good or a service under the Bankruptcy Code, illustrating the importance of relying on dictionary definitions and prior rulings when arguing that electricity is a good, says Shane Ramsey at Nelson Mullins.

• The Texas Two-Step May Be Losing Steam

  

  The Texas Two-Step is a powerful bankruptcy strategy that has been used in recent high-profile cases, including Johnson & Johnson’s talc unit bankruptcy case, but ongoing debate and legal challenges raise the question of whether this maneuver is losing reliability, say Brendan Best and Justin Allen at Varnum.

• The Road Ahead For Rite Aid And Other Troubled Retailers

  

  With corporate bankruptcies at their highest levels since 2010, familiar large retailers, like Rite Aid, may need to take the inevitable plunge, with a few patterns in metrics and behaviors tipping off potential insolvency issues, says Talin Keshishian at BG Law.

• Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention

  

  The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.

• Bittrex Bankruptcy Order Highlights Creative Crypto Financing

  

  In a recent first, the Delaware bankruptcy court authorized Bittrex to obtain post-petition financing solely in bitcoin from the debtor-in-possession lender, an order that may serve as a catalyst for future debtors to explore creative mechanisms for crypto financing and payback, says Kyle Arendsen at Squire Patton.

• Opinion

  Despite Its Plan Objections, UST Also Won In Purdue Ch. 11

  

  The Second Circuit’s recent decision approving Purdue Pharma’s reorganization plan is a win even for the dissenting Office of the U.S. Trustee because the decision sets extremely stringent guidelines for future use of nonconsensual third-party releases, say Edward Neiger and Jennifer Christian at Ask.