Consumer Protection

Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Lawyers Must Address Racial Injustice With Radical Candor

  

  The legal industry is uniquely positioned, and indeed obligated, to respond to the racial disparities made clear by the recent killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, but lawyers must be willing to be uncomfortable, says Tiffani Lee at Holland & Knight.

• Mortgage Servicers Will Bear Brunt Of CARES Act Relief

  

  The CARES Act provides assistance to some borrowers who do not need help, and requires the wrong entities — mortgage servicers — to finance a large portion of this assistance, says Greg Halm at Berkeley Research Group.

• How Lawyers Can Network Better, Virtually And In Person

  

  The current decrease in formality and increase in common ground due to the work-from-home environment can make it easier to have a networking conversation, says Megan Burke Roudebush at Keepwith.

• Practical Tips For Presenting Your Case To Litigation Funders

  

  One mistake that attorneys commonly make when presenting a case to a third-party funder is focusing almost exclusively on liability and giving short shrift to the damages analysis — resulting in an aspirational damages estimate that falls apart under scrutiny, say Cindy Ahn and Justin Maleson at Longford Capital and Casey Grabenstein at Saul Ewing.

• Online Ad Lessons From FTC Lending Marketplace Settlement

  

  The Federal Trade Commission’s recent settlement with LendEDU over deceptive marketing practices demonstrates why online ads should always be clearly labeled as paid and how financial institutions and other companies should adjust their digital marketing compliance, says Nathan Viebrock at Troutman Sanders.

• Perspectives

  Illinois Must Do More To Protect Consumers In Debt

  

  A recent Illinois Supreme Court order limiting debt collectors' ability to freeze personal bank accounts during the pandemic is progress, but it does not solve the underlying issue that debt courts are rigged against low-income people, says Ashlee Highland at CARPLS Legal Aid.

• Avoiding Inadvertent Privilege Waivers In E-Communications

  

  Attorneys at WilmerHale highlight recent developments in privilege law, the significant challenges raised by nontraditional working arrangements popularized during the pandemic, and ways to avoid waiving attorney-client privilege when using electronic communications.

• Strategies For Managing Calif. Litigation As Courts Reopen

  

  As state and federal courts in California begin to reopen, strategic decisions need to be made about where cases should be filed, public and private perception of litigation conduct, alternative plans for discovery, and more, says attorney Steven Brower.

• Assessing The Novel Antitrust Claims In Humira Case

  

  Indirect purchasers are accusing AbbVie of anti-competitive conduct through the use of so-called patent thickets to allegedly delay biosimilar versions of Humira — a theory that would potentially hold a pharmaceutical company liable for the acquisition and enforcement of its patents, raising important legal and economic questions, say analysts at Charles River Associates.

• When Unclear Retail Rent-To-Own Terms Draw FTC Ire

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's recent settlement with Progressive Leasing over its failure to clearly disclose rent-to-own prices illustrates the FTC's propensity to seek equitable monetary relief from national advertisers, as well as policy differences between Republicans and Democrats, say John Feldman and Gerry Stegmaier at Reed Smith.

• 7 Considerations For BIPA Class Action Defense

  

  Jad Sheikali at Honigman outlines the ever-growing list of issues facing companies defending class actions under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act and how jurisdictional pitfalls and recent developments in preemption may affect defense strategies.

• Opinion

  Don't Cancel Your Summer Associate Programs

  

  While pulling off an effective summer associate program this year will be no easy feat, law firms' investments in their future attorneys should be considered necessary even during this difficult time, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.

• Calif. Justices' Ruling Marks Turning Point For Jury Trial Right

  

  The California Supreme Court’s holding that unfair competition and false advertising claims don’t need to be tried by a jury in Nationwide Biweekly v. Superior Court creates a framework for analyzing causes of action under other state laws that could steer courts to similar conclusions, says Patrick Hammon at McManis Faulkner.

• The Legal Risks Of Bias In Artificial Intelligence

  

  Bias in artificial intelligence algorithms is inevitable, so companies that use AI should take proactive steps to avoid disparate impact on legally protected classes and minimize the risk of lawsuits, say Brig. Gen. Patrick Huston at the Army JAG Corps and Lourdes Fuentes-Slater at Karta Legal.

• 5 Ways To Reduce Post-Pandemic Legal Malpractice Exposure

  

  History suggests that legal malpractice claims will rise following the current economic downturn, and while a certain percentage of the claims will be unavoidable, there are prophylactic steps that law firms can take, says John Johnson at Cozen O'Connor.