Expert Analysis

• 4 Ways To Reboot Your Firm's Stalled Diversity Program

  

  Law firms that have failed to see real progress despite years of diversity initiatives can move forward by committing to tackle four often-taboo obstacles that hinder diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, says Steph Maher at Jaffe.

• DOJ's Google Sanctions Motion Shows Risks Of Auto-Deletion

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice recently hit Google with a sanctions motion over its alleged failure to preserve relevant instant-messaging communications, a predicament that should be a wake-up call for counsel concerning the danger associated with automatic-deletion features and how it's been handled by the courts, say Oscar Shine and Emma Ashe at Selendy Gay.

• How Companies Can Use Gov't Funding Amid Bankruptcy

  

  As the risk of economic dislocation continues, a look back at four pandemic-era Chapter 11 cases — including their dismissal and eventual reinstatement — highlights a strategy businesses may use where government conditions financial assistance on an applicant not being in bankruptcy, say Matthew McGuire and Howard Robertson at Landis Rath.

• NY Hospitality Employers Face Lofty Compliance Burden

  

  As New York hospitality businesses have reopened over the last year, there are more employment compliance considerations now than ever before, including regulations and laws related to wage rates, tip credits, just cause and uniform maintenance pay, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• What To Expect From A Litigation Finance Industry Recession

  

  There's little data on how litigation finance would fare in a recession, but a look at stakeholders' incentives suggests corporate demand for litigation finance would increase in a recessionary environment, while the number of funders could shrink, says Matthew Oxman at LexShares.

• McDonald's Harassment Ruling And 'Mission-Critical Risk'

  

  The Delaware Chancery Court's recent decision in the McDonald's case appears to have expanded the potential for Caremark liability beyond the parameters that many legal analysts had understood to apply, finding that maintaining workplace safety is a mission-critical risk for companies but also reinforcing the high bar for that liability, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• Justices Leave Questions Open On Dual-Purpose Atty Advice

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury on grounds that certiorari was improvidently granted leaves unresolved a circuit split over the proper test for deciding when attorney-client privilege protects a lawyer's advice that has multiple purposes, say Susan Combs and Richard Kiely at Holland & Hart.

• Steps Lawyers Can Take Following Involuntary Terminations

  

  Though lawyers can struggle to recover from involuntary terminations, it's critical that they be able to step back, review any feedback given and look for opportunities for growth, say Jessica Hernandez at JLH Coaching & Consulting and Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub.

• High Court Ax Of Atty-Client Privilege Case Deepens Split

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury as improvidently granted maintains a three-way circuit split on the application of attorney-client privilege to multipurpose communications, although the justices have at least shown a desire to address it, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.

• A Look At NLRB GC's Memos On Misleading Employees

  

  The National Labor Relations Board's general counsel recently confirmed her plan to limit what she considers coercive and misleading statements by employers during union organizing drives, and provided some guidance for employers that, if recognized and followed, may keep a company out of legal trouble with the NLRB, says Rebecca Leaf at Miles & Stockbridge.

• 3 Job Satisfaction Questions For Partners Considering Moves

  

  The post-pandemic rise in legal turnover may cause partners to ask themselves what they really want from their workplace, how they plan to grow their practice and when it's time to make a move, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.

• 4 Exercises To Quickly Build Trust On Legal Teams

  

  High-performance legal teams can intentionally build trust through a rigorous approach, including open-ended conversations and personality assessments, to help attorneys bond fast, even if they are new to the firm or group, says Ben Sachs at the University of Virginia School of Law.

• 8 Steps To Improve The Perception Of In-House Legal Counsel

  

  With the pandemic paving the way for a reputational shift in favor of in-house corporate legal teams, there are proactive steps that legal departments can take to fully rebrand themselves as strong allies and generators of value, says Allison Rosner at Major Lindsey.

• Procedure Rule 7.1 Can Simplify Litigators' Diversity Analysis

  

  A recent amendment to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7.1 will help trial courts determine whether the parties to a case are diverse, and may also allow litigators to more quickly determine whether they can remove certain cases to federal court, says Steve Shapiro at Schnader Harrison.

• How Companies Could Define 'Social' In ESG Metrics

  

  While the "social" prong of environmental, social and governance criteria is still hard to evaluate, a three-tiered approach similar to the framework for tracking greenhouse gas emissions could serve as a good basis for companies to develop goals and measure progress in a uniform way, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.