Class Action

Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Credibility Concerns About Virtual Arbitration Are Unfounded

  

  Concerns that videoconferenced arbitration hearings compromise an arbitrator's ability to reliably resolve credibility contests are based on mistaken perceptions of how many cases actually turn on credibility, what credibility means in the legal world, and how arbitrators make credibility determinations, says Wayne Brazil at JAMS.

• 2 New Accounting Fraud Cases Offer Lessons For Boards

  

  Luckin Coffee and TAL Education Group — two high-profile Chinese companies listed in the U.S. — recently announced suspected cases of colossal revenue fraud, and these case studies may help companies recognize the germinating seeds of accounting fraud, say Fabian Roday at Fangda Partners and William Fotherby at Meredith Connell.

• Traps For The Unwary In Class Actions Targeting PPP Lenders

  

  Recent class actions challenging how lenders prioritized Paycheck Protection Program applications or alleging failure to pay agent fees to those facilitating loan applications may be based on the flimsiest of legal theories, however risks still exist, as we saw earlier this month in a Michigan federal court decision, say Richard Gottlieb and Brett Natarelli at Manatt.

• CCPA Is 1 Of Many Retailer Data Privacy Class Action Worries

  

  As class actions targeting the sale of consumer data pose an increasing threat to retailers under the California Consumer Privacy Act and other states’ consumer protection laws, companies must ensure compliance with each statute and assess their vulnerability to deceptive conduct allegations, say Stephanie Sheridan and Meegan Brooks at Steptoe & Johnson.

• A Lawyer's Guide To Client Service Continuity Planning

  

  Ensuring uninterrupted client service and compliance with ethical obligations in a time when attorneys are more likely to fall ill means taking six basic — yet often ignored — steps to build some redundancy and internal communication into legal practice, say attorneys at Axinn.

• Employee Virus Testing Could Spark Class Action Claims

  

  While employee COVID-19 testing may enhance safety and reassure a nervous workforce, its potential to generate Americans with Disabilities Act, wage and hour, discrimination, and privacy class actions should not be ignored, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

• Virtual Meetings Could Be Fertile Ground For Legal Discovery

  

  Many remote meeting technologies include recording features as default settings, raising three primary concerns from a legal discovery and data retention perspective, and possibly bringing unintended consequences for companies in future litigation, says Courtney Murphy at Clark Hill.

• The Role Of Remote Mediation After The Crisis Is Over

  

  When the dark cloud of COVID-19 has passed and resolution centers are once again peopled with warring parties and aspiring peacemakers, remote mediations will likely still be common, but they are not going to be a panacea for all that ails the dispute resolution industry, says Mitch Orpett at Tribler Orpett.

• 7 Steps To Romancing The Virtual Classroom

  Excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor

  

  For professors, trainers, lawyers, students and businesses grappling with the unexpected challenges of distance learning, trial attorney and teacher James Wagstaffe offers best practices for real-time online instruction.

• College Refund Suits Raise Complex Tuition Questions

  

  The flurry of putative class actions against universities contending that students no longer receive the benefit of their bargain with remote learning during the pandemic will require courts to undertake individualized and burdensome inquiries to determine what exactly tuition pays for, say attorneys at Bryan Cave.

• Key Return-To-Work Considerations For Law Firms

  

  There may be precious little notice before the legal community ramps up, so it's important to have return-to-work plans that address the unique challenges law firms will face in bringing employees back to offices, say attorneys Daniel Gerber, Barbara O'Connell and Richard Tucker.

• A Creative Solution For Teaching Local Practice In Law School

  

  To help prepare my students to navigate local practice, I wrote a set of rules for the classroom that mimics those they might encounter from a local judge or court, says Michael Zuckerman at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

• Va. Pro-Worker Laws Create New Litigation Risks For Cos.

  

  Virginia employers will likely face an increase in bias and retaliation claims, as well as collective wage and hour litigation, under new laws that create protections for LGBTQ employees, additional remedies for recovering unpaid wages, and independent contractor and whistleblower regulations, says Jack Blum at Polsinelli.

• Anticipating The Top 4 COVID-19 Employment Claims

  

  Several trends taking shape among early claims against employers related to COVID-19 provide guidance for handling Families First Coronavirus Response Act paid leave, Americans with Disabilities Act and Family and Medical Leave Act obligations, and discrimination and wage and hour issues, says Lariza Hebert at Fisher Phillips.

• Broker Liability For Insureds' COVID-19 Losses Likely Limited

  

  Policyholders may attempt to hold insurance brokers liable for unsuccessful COVID-19 business interruption claims — and at least one such suit has already been filed — but brokers should be fairly safe as long as they followed certain best practices in advising clients, say Glenn Jacobson and Thomas Maeglin of Abrams Gorelick.