Expert Analysis

• Jan. 6 Panel Transcripts Highlight Attorney Ethics Issues

  

  Recently released transcripts of Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony to the U.S. House Jan. 6 committee demonstrate that there is always a lurking conflict when someone other than the client is paying the fee, and that disclosure must therefore be painstaking and extensive, says Steven Lubet at Northwestern University.

• 7 Tips To Increase Your Law Firm's DEI Efforts In 2023

  

  Law firms looking to advance their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts should consider implementing new practices and initiatives this year, including some that require nominal additional effort or expense, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Gina Rubel at Furia Rubel.

• Series

  Keys To A 9-0 High Court Win: Get Back To Home Base

  

  When I argued for the petitioner in Morgan v. Sundance before the U.S. Supreme Court last year, I made the idea of consistency the cornerstone of my case and built a road map for my argument to ensure I could always return to that home-base theme, says Karla Gilbride at Public Justice.

• Atty-Client Privilege Arguments Give Justices A Moving Target

  

  Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case regarding the scope of the attorney-client privilege appeared to raise more questions about multipurpose counsel communications than they answered, as the parties presented shifting iterations of a predictable, easily applied test for evaluating the communications' purpose, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.

• 5 Gen X Characteristics That Can Boost Legal Leadership

  

  As Generation X attorneys rise to fill top roles in law firms and corporations left by retiring baby boomers, they should embrace generational characteristics that will allow them to become better legal leaders, says Meredith Kahan at Whiteford Taylor.

• 6 Questions For Boutique Firms Considering Mergers

  

  To prepare for discussions with potential merger partners, boutique law firms should first consider the challenges they hope to address with a merger and the qualities they prioritize in possible partner firms, say Howard Cohl and Ron Nye at Major Lindsey.

• Del. Justices' Reversal Of Boardwalk Award May Apply Widely

  

  The Delaware Supreme Court's recent Boardwalk Pipeline v. Bandera Master Fund decision that a general partner wasn't liable for willful misconduct is likely to have wide applicability for noncorporate entities, which courts are unlikely to view as entitled to more protection than Boardwalk's public unit holders, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• 5 Tips For Adding Value To Legal Clients' Experience In 2023

  

  Faced with a potential economic downturn this year, attorneys should look to strengthen client relationships now by focusing on key ways to improve the client experience, starting with a check-in call to discuss client needs and priorities for the coming year, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

• 6 Ways To Avoid Compounding Errors When Practicing Law

  

  For lawyers and law firms, inevitable human error can lead to claims of malpractice or ethical violations, but the key is to avoid exacerbating mistakes by adding communication failures, conflicts of interest or insurance coverage losses, says Mark Hinderks at Stinson.

• What Will Keep Legal Talent Professionals Up At Night In 2023

  

  Hybrid work environments, high demand for lateral hires and a potential slowdown of the economy defined 2022 in the always-busy marketplace for legal talent, and as BigLaw looks at the year ahead, there are five major sources of concern for the teams charged with securing and retaining that talent, say advisers at Baretz+Brunelle.

• The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2022

  

  A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from the "great resignation" to potential expansion of attorney-client privilege.

• What 3 Legal Industry Trends From 2022 Mean For Next Year

  

  Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey & Africa looks back on the year in legal recruiting, including practice areas that saw the most movement, which regions seemed most ripe for new office openings and who was promoted to partner, and makes some look-ahead predictions for 2023.

• Learning From This Year's Legal Industry Discrimination Suits

  

  To limit the risk of lawsuits and make the workplace a more welcoming environment for female attorneys, it is important to reflect on lawyers' recent discrimination and sexual harassment claims against law firms and public employers, says Hope Comisky at Griesing Law.

• The Other Side Says Your Evidence Is A Deepfake. Now What?

  

  Recent trials have shown that defendants are increasingly casting doubt on the reliability of video evidence by claiming it was altered by artificial intelligence, and litigants will need to incorporate certain best practices to approach the risk of deepfakes — even if there’s no credible basis for the opposing party’s accusation, say Matthew Ferraro and Brent Gurney at WilmerHale.

• Series

  The Future Of Legal Ops: AI Has Important Role To Play

  

  Though the debut of OpenAI's ChatGPT has prompted some fears about negative impact on lawyers, artificial intelligence technology can be a powerful tool for legal operations professionals if used effectively to augment their work, say Justin Ben-Asher and Gwendolyn Renigar at Steptoe, and Elizabeth Matthews at TotalEnergies.