Illinois

Expert Analysis

• The Pandemic's Toll On Criminal Defendant Rights: Part 2

  

  Attorneys at DLA Piper look at how prepandemic precedent affords courts substantial discretion to limit criminal defendants' constitutional rights to confront witnesses and to receive a speedy trial during the COVID-19 crisis.

• And Now A Word From The Panel: MDL Nostalgia

  

  After covering the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation for eight years, Alan Rothman at Sidley looks back at the advent of video hearings during the pandemic and a panel full of U.S. district court judges, as well as the persistent dominance of product liability cases in the panel's docket.

• How Mediators Can Help Parties Overcome Emotional Barriers

  

  Litigants' emotions can doom the prospects for settlement during mediation, so listening with empathy and helping parties look at a case less emotionally are important tools in a mediator's kit, says Sidney Schenkier at JAMS.

• The State Of Consumer Class Actions Amid COVID-19

  

  While the pandemic has slowed the filing of consumer class actions, they remain a significant part of the litigation landscape — with false labeling claims remaining particularly popular, likely because they are easy to file and frequently survive motions to dismiss, say attorneys at Skadden.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Wardlaw Reviews 'Hamilton And The Law'

  

  Lisa Tucker's collection of essays, "Hamilton and the Law: Reading Today's Most Contentious Legal Issues Through the Hit Musical," has the seemingly incongruous effect of drawing the reader into America's formative history while also contemplating the intractable issues facing us today, including racial justice, immigration and gender equality, says Ninth Circuit Judge Kim Wardlaw.

• 7 Tips For Predeposition Meetings Under New Federal Rule

  

  Attorneys can use a new predeposition meet-and-confer obligation for federal litigation — taking effect Tuesday — to better understand and narrow the topics of planned testimony, and more clearly outline the scope of any discovery disputes, says James Wagstaffe at Wagstaffe von Loewenfeldt Busch.

• What Biden Presidency May Mean For Data Privacy Litigation

  

  The administration of President-elect Joe Biden will likely bring major changes to data privacy law and attendant litigation, including federal legislation that could preempt state laws, renegotiation of conditions for EU data transfers to the U.S., and increased Federal Trade Commission enforcement activity, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

• CFPB Settlement Shows Common FCRA Compliance Flaws

  

  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent settlement with debt collector Afni underscores the agency’s ongoing interest in recurring Fair Credit Reporting Act compliance errors related to computer glitches, response deadlines and first delinquency dates, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

• Ethics Reminders As Employees Move To Or From Gov't

  

  Many organizations are making plans for executives to go into government jobs, or for government officials to join a private sector team, but they must understand the many ethics rules that can put a damper on just how valuable the former employee or new hire can be, say Scott Thomas and Jennifer Carrier at Blank Rome.

• Surveying Drug Pricing Reform: The Latest State Activity

  

  Attorneys at Ropes & Gray explore four types of high-impact drug pricing initiatives at the state level — pricing transparency, pharmacy benefit manager controls, drug importation and value-based arrangements — examining how the current wave of reforms may affect drug companies' business operations.

• Don't Fear IP-Antitrust 'Turducken' In Reverse-Payment Cases

  

  Although some judges are apprehensive of a "turducken" analysis — a patent case stuffed inside a reverse-payment antitrust action — it is procedurally viable and may be a fair way to adjudicate the antitrust liability of generic companies settling Hatch-Waxman litigation, say attorneys at Katten.

• A Key To Helping Clients Make Better Decisions During Crisis

  

  As the pandemic brings a variety of legal stresses for businesses, lawyers must understand the emotional dynamic of a crisis and the particular energy it produces to effectively fulfill their role as advisers, say Meredith Parfet and Aaron Solomon at Ravenyard Group.

• Where Data Privacy And CFPB Are Headed Under Biden

  

  Data privacy is likely to be a key area of legislative and enforcement focus for President-elect Joe Biden, and consumer financial protection is expected to be an immediate priority due to the economic impact of the pandemic, with the most drastic shift likely to occur at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

• 6 Best Practices For Banks Serving The Marijuana Industry

  

  As more states legalize marijuana, financial institutions with marijuana-related business customers should implement robust and nuanced compliance programs, and those that do not want to serve the industry should have policies in place for determining whether existing customers are engaged in marijuana-related activities, say attorneys at Venable.

• Avoiding Copyright Liability For Tattoo Depiction In Media

  

  Two recent diverging copyright decisions concerning Take-Two video games' depiction of professional athletes' tattoos provide guidance on strategically using the implied license and fair use defenses when digital reproductions may infringe copyrighted tattoos, says Rowley Rice at Munger Tolles.