Construction

Expert Analysis

• 5 Ways Retailers Can Mitigate Product Liability Litigation Risk

  

  While courts sometimes hold retailers liable for injuries caused by products they sold but did not manufacture — as a California appeals court did recently in Bolger v. Amazon — retailers can implement a number of strategies to reduce product liability litigation risk, say Alexandra Cunningham and Elizabeth Reese at Hunton.

• Opinion

  The Case For A Nonpolitical Federal Judiciary

  

  For the last 20 years, at the insistence of both parties, U.S. Supreme Court nominations have been fierce ideological battles — which is bad for the country and bad for the public's perception of the legitimacy of the court, say Judge Eric Moyé, Judge Craig Smith and Winston & Strawn partner Tom Melsheimer.

• The Keys To A Better Privilege Logging Paradigm

  

  Current privilege logging practices to identify what information is being withheld from discovery often lead to costly disputes, so practitioners should adopt a system based on trust and good faith, similar to the presumptions embedded in the business judgment rule for corporate directors and officers, say Kevin Brady at Volkswagen and Charles Ragan and Ted Hiser at Redgrave.

• White House Due Process Memo Could Reform Enforcement

  

  A little-noticed memo recently issued by the Trump administration in response to the pandemic, directing federal agencies to provide greater due process to individuals and companies under regulatory investigation, represents a long-overdue sea change in the way justice is carried out in enforcement proceedings, say Joan Meyer and Norman Bloch at Thompson Hine.

• Law Firm Hiring Considerations In A COVID-19 Economy

  

  Financially robust law firms are entering the recruiting market aggressively knowing that dislocations like the COVID-19 crisis present rare competitive opportunities, and firms that remain on the sidelines when it comes to strategic hiring will be especially vulnerable to having their best talent poached, says Brian Burlant at Major Lindsey.

• Lessons From Md.'s Purple Line For Public-Private Contracts

  

  Recent litigation over the Purple Line light rail project in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., illustrates why unambiguous contracts are a must when private and public entities enter into a partnership to develop critical infrastructure, says Laura Fraher at Shapiro Lifschitz.

• Streamlining Power Transmission Siting To Help Renewables

  

  It can take years and cost millions of dollars to secure state regulatory approval for electric transmission system upgrades needed to facilitate clean energy development, so it is important for states to create abbreviated siting processes for projects with limited anticipated impacts, says Andy Flavin at Troutman Pepper.

• Opinion

  Lawyers Must Act To Preserve Democracy This Election

  

  COVID-19 concerns and glaring gaps in registration threaten to dampen voter turnout in the 2020 election, so attorneys should take on the problem by leveraging their knowledge and resources in seven ways, says Laura Brill at Kendall Brill.

• Opinion

  State AG Enforcement Is Important For Workers' Rights

  

  A recent increase in state attorney general labor and employment enforcement — including a challenge that prompted a New York federal judge to strike down the U.S. Department of Labor’s joint employer rule last week — sends an important message that worker protections are not easily revoked, says Catherine Ruckelshaus at the National Employment Law Project.

• How To Effectively Defend Witnesses In Remote Depositions

  

  When a witness is isolated from the defending lawyer during a remote deposition, carefully planning the logistics and building witness confidence are critical to avoiding damaging admissions, say Jessica Staiger at Archer Daniels and Alec Solotorovsky at Eimer Stahl.

• Whether And How To Compel Remote Arbitration

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  As the pandemic delays in-person arbitration hearings, mediator and arbitrator Theodore Cheng provides arbitrators with a checklist to examine the rationale and authority for compelling parties to participate in remote hearings.

• The Unique Challenges Of Protecting A Law Firm Brand

  

  Recent law firm trademark disputes highlight how the tension between legal ethics rules and trademark law can make it difficult for firms to select brands that are distinctive and entitled to protection, say Kimberly Maynard and Tyler Maulsby at Frankfurt Kurnit.

• Now Is The Time To Engage With NY Climate Reg Process

  

  New York state is rapidly mobilizing to implement the extraordinary greenhouse gas emission reductions required by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, so stakeholders must engage quickly to influence how the law's broad mandates are turned into enforceable regulations, say Kevin Healy and Philip Karmel at Bryan Cave.

• Liability For Incidental Migratory Bird Killings Still In Flux

  

  Following a New York federal court's recent opinion vacating the U.S. Department of the Interior's move to weaken migratory bird protections, industry players must be mindful of potential liability for incidental killings until the DOI clarifies the issue in a forthcoming rule, say Peter Whitfield and Aaron Flyer at Sidley.

• Why Texas Developers Should Monitor School Tax Changes

  

  Large Texas taxpayers building capital-intensive projects need to account for recent school district tax legislation because projects with property tax incentive agreements under a popular state economic development program may be impacted as elements of the new school finance regime are applied for the first time, say Matt Larsen and Bucky Brannen at Baker Botts.