Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Litigation Funders Seek Transparency In Disclosure Debate

  

  Litigation funders want to correct the record on calls for funding disclosure in the name of transparency, as this purported justification obscures the disclosure's adverse effects — prejudicing plaintiffs' cases and discouraging the assertion of meritorious legal claims, say Dai Wai Chin Feman and William Weisman at Parabellum Capital.

• Tale Of 2 Mergers: The DOJ Antitrust Division's Mixed Results

  

  Attorneys at V&E look at the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's recent successful challenge to Penguin Random House’s purchase of Simon & Schuster, and its unsuccessful challenge to U.S. Sugar’s acquisition of Imperial Sugar — exploring the market realities, the strength of witness testimony and the affected stakeholders in each case.

• 5 Principles For Better Professional Development Programs

  

  The pandemic and ensuing "great resignation" have resulted in a more transient legal work force, but law firms can use effective professional development programs to bridge a cultural gap with new associates and stem associate attrition, says Matthew Woods at Robins Kaplan.

• Series

  My Favorite Law Prof: How I Learned To Practice With Passion

  

  First Circuit Judge Gustavo Gelpí recalls how Suffolk University Law School's Joseph Glannon taught the importance of the law as both a tool and a profession, and that those who wish to practice law successfully must do so with love, enthusiasm and passion.

• Opinion

  State-Led Programs Can Speed Up Brownfield Development

  

  Too often, publicly funded brownfields programs are not optimized to achieve redevelopment in the near term, but policymakers can address this problem by directing additional resources toward state-level brownfields programs that offer thoughtfully designed tax incentives and liability protection, says Gerald Pouncey at Morris Manning.

• State AG Consumer Protection Shift Isn't An Election Fad

  

  We are starting to see the first signs of a new state attorney general consumer enforcement paradigm emerge — with creative use of most favored nation clauses as structural tools — and that is unlikely to end when the last ballot is counted for the 2022 election, says O.H. Skinner at Alliance for Consumers.

• Miss. Ruling Deepens Jurisdiction Split In Vape Battery Cases

  

  The Mississippi Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dilworth v. LG Chem demonstrates that foreign entities whose products enter the state’s nascent medical cannabis market can be sued there — deepening a judicial divide over personal jurisdiction in exploding vape battery cases, say Slates Veazey and Jaime Weida at Bradley Arant.

• Questions To Ask Before Making A Lateral Move As Partner

  

  Law firm partners considering lateral moves should diligently interview prospects — going beyond standard questions about compensation to inquire about culture, associate retention and other areas that can provide a more comprehensive view, says Lauren Wu at VOYLegal.

• Navigating Whether Workers' Cannabis Use Is Protected

  

  Although a recent Nevada decision that an employee's nonwork cannabis consumption wasn’t protected against employer retaliation suggests state "lawful activities" laws may not always cover off-duty cannabis use, employers must also ensure policies and practices don’t run afoul of such statutes, says Jennifer Mora at Seyfarth.

• Series

  My Favorite Law Prof: How I Learned To Argue Open-Mindedly

  

  Queens College President Frank Wu reflects on how Yale Kamisar’s teaching and guidance at the University of Michigan Law School emphasized a capacity to engage with alternative worldviews and the importance of the ability to argue for both sides of a debate.

• ABA's No-Contact Rule Advice Raises Questions For Lawyers

  

  The American Bar Association's ethics committee recently issued two opinions concerning the no-contact rule — one creates an intuitive and practical default for electronic communications, while the other sets a potential trap for pro se lawyers, say Lauren Snyder and Deepika Ravi at HWG.

• 4 Key Skills For An Effective Attorney Coaching Conversation

  

  As BigLaw firms are increasingly offering internal coaching as one of many talent strategies to stem ongoing lawyer attrition, Stacey Schwartz at Katten discusses how coaches can help attorneys achieve their goals.

• Perspectives

  How Civilian Attorneys Can Help Veterans

  

  With legal aid topping the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' annual list of unmet needs of veterans facing housing insecurity, nonmilitary volunteer attorneys can provide some of the most effective legal services to military and veteran clients, say Anna Richardson at Veterans Legal Services and Nicholas Hasenfus at Holland & Knight.

• Series

  My Favorite Law Prof: How I Learned That Culture Shapes Law

  

  U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York considers how a class with Jerry Cohen at Harvard Law helped him understand culture and history’s influence on jurisprudence, and how even seemingly settled law can evolve — all while espousing a more humanistic approach to teaching that restored Judge Rakoff's pride in being a lawyer.

• 9 Legal Ethics Considerations In Natural Disaster Preparation

  

  Since natural disasters like Hurricane Ian do not relieve lawyers of their ethical obligations to clients, law firms should focus their preparedness efforts on specific areas crucial to continuity of representation and ethics compliance, like business and communications contingency planning, record redundancy and more, says Mark Hinderks at Stinson.