Class Action

Expert Analysis

• Planning A Legal Career With A Future Relocation In Mind

  

  Lawyers move to New York City to work on some of the most sophisticated work the legal market has to offer. This exposure and experience is an amazing asset and many of the skills developed will make associates very marketable in the event they consider relocating to another market. However, this isn’t always the case, says Jacqueline Bokser LeFebvre of Major Lindsey & Africa.

• Northern District Of Illinois Is Botching TCPA Fax Rule

  

  While the D.C. Circuit’s recent decision eliminating the solicited fax rule under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act seems clear on its face, at least two opinions from the Northern District of Illinois have inexplicably disregarded that holding, say David Almeida and Mark Eisen of Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP.

• The Elephant In The Room: Advancing Women To Partnership

  

  Despite more focus and investment, the numbers continue to show little progress in advancing women to the top tiers of firm leadership. Considering the irreversible nature of the transformation of the market for top talent, it is time to start experimenting and innovating from the core, rather than from the periphery, say Anusia Gillespie and Scott Westfahl of Harvard Law School.

• How Midsize Law Firms Can Minimize Cybersecurity Threats

  

  It can be challenging for midsize law firms to develop an enterprise cybersecurity program that mitigates the eminent threat of data breach and meets the regulatory and compliance requirements of the firm and its clients. This challenge becomes daunting when considering the steady rise in client audits, say K. Stefan Chin of Peckar & Abramson PC and John Sweeney of Logicforce.

• Enforcing Arbitration Clauses In Product Packaging

  

  Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions pertaining to the enforceability of arbitration clauses provide guidance to manufacturers looking to bind consumers through the use of product packaging. Under certain states’ laws, such clauses may be enforceable — so long as reasonable notice is provided, along with notice that failure to return the product constitutes assent, says Abby Sacunas of Cozen O'Connor.

• High Court Signals Interest In Vitamin C Price-Fix Case

  

  For all companies engaged in international commerce, guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court on the Second Circuit's controversial decision in the Vitamin C Antitrust Litigation would be welcome. If the Supreme Court's recent request for input from the acting solicitor general is any indication, the court may agree, say Nicholas Melzer and Janet Chung of Holland & Knight LLP.

• 9th Circ. Price Advertising Decision Threatens Retailers

  

  The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Linda Rubenstein v. Neiman Marcus comes amid a wave of lawsuits targeting retailers for deceptive pricing. Though unpublished and without precedential effect, the decision will embolden plaintiffs to file similar class actions against retailers and could make it more difficult for them to succeed on motions to dismiss, say Rick Shackelford and Colin Fraser of Greenberg Traurig LLP.

• Courts Rein In TCPA 'Revocation Of Consent' Claims

  

  As we all anxiously await a decision in the appeal from the Federal Communications Commission's “any reasonable method” ruling, several courts have found other ways to limit this particular species of Telephone Consumer Protection Act abuse. The most recent and notable is the Second Circuit's decision last month in Reyes v. Lincoln, say Michael Daly and Daniel Brewer of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.

• Weekly Column

  Innovating For Wise Juries: Matching Experts

  

  In the penultimate installment of this series, Stephen Susman, Richard Lorren Jolly and Dr. Roy Futterman of the NYU School of Law Civil Jury Project answer a question on many legal analysts’ minds: What if both sides’ expert witnesses sat in a hot tub discussing the case while a jury watched?

• Rebuttal

  The Rise Of Midsize Firms

  

  Recently, this publication featured an op-ed in which one law firm partner contended that midsize firms will be the next casualty of the legal market, due to a supposed inability to compete with BigLaw or boutique firms for business. Though we can expect to see Am Law firms continue to lead the market in megadeals and life-or-death litigations, by all indications midsize is on the rise, says Ronald Shechtman of Pryor Cashman LLP.