Illinois

Expert Analysis

• Avoiding 6 Common E-Discovery Production Pitfalls

  

  Vanessa Barsanti and Sarah Mahoney at Redgrave explore how attorneys can prevent collateral discovery disputes by efficiently overseeing the electronic document review process and ensuring the integrity of the information provided to opposing counsel.

• Series

  AGs In A Pandemic: Weiser Talks Colo. Health Orders

  

  Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser explains how his office collaborated with local governments to enforce COVID-19 public health orders, and how moral suasion and education have limited the need for civil and criminal penalties against businesses.

• Law Firm Biz Development Tips For The Pandemic Era

  

  Jessica Starr and Monica Ulzheimer at Alston & Bird look at four areas where business development and other law firm administrative teams can take a leadership role in driving practice growth at a time when attorney interactions with clients and peers are limited.

• Avatar IP Considerations For Music-Gaming Integration

  

  Before integrating music into video games using reproductions of artists as avatars, game publishers and entertainers should make a concerted effort to obtain appropriate permissions or licenses to minimize the risk of intellectual property and likeness rights infringement, say attorneys at Covington.

• 'Faithless Electors' Bring New Questions For States

  

  With a razor-thin margin separating the presidential candidates, so-called faithless electors who cast their Electoral College ballots for someone other than the winner of the state's popular vote could prompt legal challenges, with no clear guidance for states that lack strong controls, say Simon Cataldo and Cory Liu at the Ashcroft Law Firm.

• The Legal Implications Of Mobile Health Advancements

  

  With the pandemic rapidly accelerating the timeline for the shift to remote and mobile health care, providers will need to keep a close eye on new privacy and cybersecurity risks, and on new potential to collect real-time information from patients, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

• Opinion

  BigLaw Must Drop The Billable Hour To Improve Diversity

  

  Implementing pay structures that compensate attorneys for achieving clients' goals rather than measuring success based on hours billed is a necessary first step to keeping underrepresented attorneys in BigLaw, says Elizabeth Korchin at Therium Capital.

• The Post-Election State AG Enforcement Landscape

  

  Election results so far have kept the number of Republican and Democratic state attorneys general even, and no matter the outcome of the presidential race, AGs will work across the aisle on important issues like health care, competition and the environment, says former Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan at Kirkland.

• The Power Of Private Actions For Natural Resource Damages

  

  As private actions seeking natural resource damages grow in popularity, responsible parties and property owners should be aware of their potential ability to recover damages with such claims, but also of their potential exposure to them, say Matthew Conley and Charles Dennen at Archer & Greiner.

• 2 Rulings Guide On Out-Of-State Worker Jurisdiction Issues

  

  An Illinois federal court’s recent decisions in Tekway v. Agarwal and Liqui-Box v. Scholle — permitting Illinois-based companies to sue former out-of-state employees in Chicago — demonstrate how employers can establish minimum contacts so lawsuits can be filed in their home jurisdictions, say Robert Duda and Terry Smith at Smith O'Callaghan.

• 8 Tips For Effective Oral Advocacy In Virtual Court Hearings

  

  Jim Lofton at Lofton Legally Speaking explains why tightly constructed arguments, the right camera angle and good online behavior are crucial to a powerful virtual courtroom presentation.

• A GC's Blueprint For Improving Legal Industry Diversity

  

  General counsel are in a unique position to ensure that their partner law firms are giving significant case assignments to underrepresented attorneys, and to help future generations of lawyers access meaningful opportunities early in their education or careers, says Laura Schumacher, chief legal officer at AbbVie.

• State AGs Have A Decisive Role To Play In Election

  

  As the U.S. braces for a turbulent election amid the COVID-19 pandemic, state attorneys general have the power to preserve the integrity of the election process, and they are well-equipped to meet this challenge head-on, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

• Perspectives

  Book Review: Did The High Court Cause Mass Incarceration?

  

  William Pizzi's argument in "The Supreme Court's Role in Mass Incarceration" that the U.S. Supreme Court is responsible for the high rate of incarceration is compelling, but his criticism overlooks the positive dimensions of the criminal procedure decisions under Chief Justice Earl Warren, says U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman of the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

• What A Trump Or Biden Win Will Mean For State AGs

  

  The outcome of the presidential election will have significant consequences on cooperation between federal agencies and state attorneys general, but either way robust multistate investigations — especially in the consumer protection space — will continue, says Sean Riley at Cozen O'Connor.