Class Action

Expert Analysis

• Jurors Should Ask More Questions During Trials

  

  Permitting jurors to submit written questions, or even to pose questions orally to witnesses on the stand, advances several important goals and promotes both fairness and efficiency, says Matthew Wright of McCarter & English LLP.

• The Narrow Meaning Of Asacol Class Action Ruling

  

  Following the First Circuit's decision last month in the Asacol antitrust litigation, some predicted the end of the Rule 23 class action process. While there is much of interest in the opinion, early comments overstated the court’s concerns and views, says Fred Isquith of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP.

• Calif. Ruling Dings Engagement Letter Arbitration Clauses

  

  The California Supreme Court's recent decision in Sheppard Mullin v. J-M Manufacturing has cast doubt on arbitration clauses in attorney engagement agreements, jeopardizing the efficient resolution of malpractice claims and fee disputes, say Sharon Ben-Shahar Mayer and Mark Drooks of Bird Marella Boxer Wolpert Nessim Drooks Lincenberg & Rhow PC.

• 10 Things We Wish We Were Told When Going In-House

  

  Attorneys at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Perkins Coie LLP and the Healthcare Association of New York State reflect on lessons they learned the hard way when transitioning to in-house counsel positions.

• The Uncertain Future Of Illinois' Biometric Privacy Law

  

  The Illinois Legislature was at the forefront of protecting biometric information from unauthorized disclosure. A decade later, the exact scope of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act is about to be decided by the state high court in Rosenbach v. Six Flags, says Richard Darke of Duane Morris LLP.

• The Virtual Law Team: Advantages For Litigants And Lawyers

  

  The virtual law team was created as a necessary response to mass tort litigation — however, with advances in technology and ever-increasing specialization of the legal practice, the model should be considered in multiplaintiff litigation of any size, say attorneys at Faegre Baker Daniels LLP.

• Q&A

  BigLaw Alums Q&A: Mark Migdal's Lara O'Donnell Grillo

  

  BigLaw firms tended to be inflexible, with methods that were inconsistent with how I wanted to practice law. There were many time-wasting aspects of the practice, says Lara O’Donnell Grillo of Mark Migdal & Hayden.

• The Latest On Bristol-Myers' Class Action Application

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's Bristol-Myers Squibb opinion left open the question of whether the personal jurisdiction holding extends to nationwide class actions. While no circuit court of appeals has weighed in, the Fifth Circuit and the D.C. Circuit are on the verge of doing so, say Ted Holt and Mary Caroline Wynn of Maynard Cooper & Gale PC.

• A Series Of Avoidable Missteps In PLX Sale

  

  It takes an extraordinary series of mistakes for a stockholder or a banker to be found to have aided and abetted a board’s fiduciary breaches. The Delaware Chancery Court's decision last month in a shareholder suit following PLX Technology's acquisition illustrates the errors and how they can be readily avoided, say attorneys with Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP.

• High Court Junk Fax Case Is Not Just About Junk Faxes

  

  Depending on the U.S. Supreme Court’s eventual decision in PDR Network v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic — a case involving junk faxes under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act — the outcome could have a profound impact on TCPA litigation nationwide, say David Gettings and Alan Wingfield of Troutman Sanders LLP.