Construction

Expert Analysis

• Perspectives

  Judges On Race: The Path To A More Diverse Bench

  

  To close the diversity gap between the judiciary and the litigants that regularly appear in criminal courts, institutions including police departments, prosecutor offices and defense law firms must be committed to advancing Black and Latino men, says New York Supreme Court Justice Erika Edwards.

• FWS Guidance On Incidental Bird Killings May Be Short-Lived

  

  In the near term, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recently issued final environmental impact statement asserting that incidental killings of migratory birds are not illegal will provide companies with more regulatory certainty, but the Biden administration may seek to reverse course, say Peter Whitfield and Aaron Flyer at Sidley.

• Opinion

  NY Must Uproot Old Laws To Make Real Climate Progress

  

  New York leads the nation in its efforts to confront climate change, but to fully realize the state's environmental ambitions, policymakers must update laws that encourage continued fossil fuel consumption, say Justin Gundlach at New York University School of Law and Elizabeth Stein at the Environmental Defense Fund.

• COVID-19 Has Broad Impact On Lost-Profit Determinations

  

  The COVID-19 pandemic is already adding new complexities to damages calculations used in lost-profit claims litigation, even in cases in which the coronavirus is not the direct cause of the breach, say Neil Ashton and Michael Yachnik at StoneTurn.

• Tips For Identifying A Culturally Competent Mediator

  

  Attorneys can pick open-minded neutrals by taking a client's race, gender, sexual orientation and nationality into account, and by ensuring the mediator is able to communicate effectively across cultures, says Anelise Codrington at Swift Currie.

• A Look At Spoliation Risk In The 11th Circ., By The Numbers

  

  Attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland look at Eleventh Circuit opinions from the past five years to determine the odds of a spoliation finding, and how risks in the federal appeals court compare to those in the federal district and state courts of Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

• Opinion

  NLRB Memos Extend GC's Employer-Friendly Policy Spree

  

  While three recent National Labor Relations Board general counsel advice memos favoring management wane in legal importance ahead of the upcoming administration change, they add to the GC’s unprecedented efforts to change labor law through letters and rulemaking, says Samuel Morris at Godwin Morris.

• How Construction Industry Can Adapt To COVID-19 Disruption

  

  As COVID-19 decreases funding and increases costs for the construction industry, participants should review their contract clauses pertaining to risk allocation, as well as their insurance policies to assess the scope of their coverage, say James Barriere and Chad Caplan at Hinckley Allen.

• COVID-19 Spurs Associates To Think Bigger — Like Partners

  

  What is the firm's data on profit per partner? How do the rainmakers seal deals without pre-COVID-19 pricey dinners? Is the firm financially stable? These are the kinds of partner-level questions associates are now asking before choosing a new firm, which points to a major shift in the lateral landscape, say Kate Reder Sheikh and Rebecca Glatzer at Major Lindsey & Africa.

• Opinion

  GCs Are Uniquely Qualified To Lead Diversity Initiatives

  

  As guardians of their companies' codes of conduct and ethical standards, general counsel have the ability to endorse changes that will help their corporations create more diverse and equitable workplaces, says Deborah Marson at Iron Mountain.

• 3 Ways Defendants Can Nip Civil RICO Claims In The Bud

  

  Federal courts across the country have rejected civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claims at the pleading stage in several recent cases that illustrate how defendants can utilize specificity, distinct enterprise and proximate cause to head off allegations of racketeering, says Gopi Panchapakesan at Bird Marella.

• Perspectives

  Judges On Race: Reducing Implicit Bias In Courtrooms

  

  With unconscious biases deeply embedded in the court system, judges must take steps to guard against the power and influence of stereotypes during jury selection, evidence admissibility hearings, bail proceedings and other areas of judicial decision making, says U.S. Circuit Judge Bernice Donald.

• Navigating Atty Relationship Conflicts That May Imperil Cases

  

  In light of recent American Bar Association guidance on conflicts of interest posed by social or intimate relationships between opposing counsel, lawyers must carefully consider whether any personal ties could lead to ethics violations that may affect the outcome of a case, say Thomas Wilkinson and Douglas Fox at Cozen O'Connor.

• Opinion

  Opportunity Zone Investment Options Should Be Expanded

  

  Future opportunity zone legislation should limit the capital gains requirement and broaden tax incentives to allow participation from currently excluded investors with deep connections to community revitalization, says Venroy July at Miles & Stockbridge.

• How COVID-19 May Change Universities' Use Of P3s

  

  Universities using public-private partnerships for campus capital and maintenance projects face potential losses from reductions in demand and revenue caused by COVID-19 — but university P3s may continue to flourish with contractual limits on private partners' risks, say Yukiko Kojima and Josh Burke at Nossaman.