Business of Law

Expert Analysis

• Weighing The Virtual Courtroom Option In Civil Cases

  

  Lawyers can look to federal district courts' recent virtual proceedings to evaluate whether remote appearances would further their clients' interests in civil lawsuits or if they would impose unfairness and inefficiency, say Christopher Green and Sara Fish at Fish & Richardson.

• Attys Shouldn't Overlook Obligations To Potential Clients

  

  A recent American Bar Association opinion addressing the types of new-client consultations that could lead to disqualification is a reminder that lawyers indeed owe prospective clients certain duties, which call for attention to three best practices, say Sarah Sweeney and Thomas Wilkinson at Cozen O'Connor.

• Strategies For Associates Seeking Jobs Amid Hiring Slump

  

  Law firms will be hiring conservatively well into 2021 and beyond, but associates eyeing a new firm or market can successfully make a move if they are pragmatic about their requirements, say Rebecca Glatzer and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

• Safeguards Against Legal Malpractice Liability As Claims Rise

  

  History suggests that the COVID-19 crisis will lead to a surge in legal malpractice claims, but proper documentation, regular conflict checks and a few other steps can help minimize exposure, say attorneys at Munger Tolles.

• 3 Ways Law Firms Can Guard Diversity Gains During Crisis

  

  Law firm managing partners must institute comprehensive, firmwide policies to ensure tenuous progress made in recruiting and retaining more women and attorneys of color is not lost due to pandemic-related layoffs and budget cuts, says Debra Pickett at Page 2 Communications.

• What I Learned As A Virtual Summer Associate

  

  It is necessary in a virtual law firm summer program to think twice about asking questions you may be able to answer on your own, but this independence and other aspects of a remote internship may help to instill habits that would be useful for future full-time associates, says law student Kelley Sheehan, who interned at Patterson & Sheridan this summer.

• Lesser-Known Litigation Funding Best Practices For Attorneys

  

  Following the American Bar Association's recent publication of third-party litigation funding guidance, Jiamie Chen and Dai Wai Chin Feman at Parabellum Capital outline some additional considerations, including the ethical limitations on single-case funding and the futility of economic prenegotiations between attorneys and their clients.

• Opinion

  ADA Protects Lawyers With Disabilities, But We Must Do More

  

  As an attorney with cerebral palsy, Danielle Liebl at Reed Smith says that while the 30-year-old Americans with Disabilities Act has protected her against discrimination, the legal industry must do more to accommodate lawyers with disabilities and make them more comfortable in self-identifying.

• Perspectives

  Legal Deserts Threaten Justice In Rural America

  

  Many small towns and rural counties have few lawyers or none at all, which threatens the notion of justice for all Americans and demands creative solutions from legislators, bar associations and law schools, says Patricia Refo, president of the American Bar Association.

• Analyzing Upward And Downward Trends In Legal Tech

  

  Advances in legal technology are often accompanied by bombastic overstatements, but it is important to separate the wheat from the chaff by looking at where various technologies stand on the hype curve, says Lance Eliot at Stanford Law School.

• Q&A

  Coping With A Pandemic: Eckert Seamans' Karen Elliott

  

  As society continues to adapt to COVID-19, Law360 is sharing reactions from around the business and legal community. Today's perspective comes from Richmond-based Karen Elliott, a member at Eckert Seamans focused on labor and employment law and commercial litigation matters.

• Opinion

  ABA's New Guidance On Litigation Funding Misses The Mark

  

  The American Bar Association should revise its recently approved best practices on third-party litigation funding as they do not reflect how legal finance actually works and could create confusion among lawyers, says Andrew Cohen at Burford Capital.

• What Firms Should Ask Before Hiring Attorneys From Gov't

  

  In the final year of any presidential administration, there is an undeniable appetite on the part of large law firms for government-savvy legal talent, but firms need to first consider how they will actually utilize their new star hire, says Michael Ellenhorn at Decipher.

• The Ethics Of Using Chatbots For Legal Services

  

  Delegating legal work to robots involves several risks, including running afoul of statutes dictating unauthorized practice of law, but with the right precautions, law firms can lawfully employ artificially intelligent chatbots that can imitate human conversations, say attorneys at Haynes and Boone.

• Opinion

  ABA Must Seize Opportunity To Respond To Bar Exam Chaos

  

  The challenges of administering bar exams this year have put the future of the profession in jeopardy, but the American Bar Association at its ongoing annual meeting can adopt a resolution that would urge jurisdictions to take emergency actions with respect to licensure of new attorneys, says Nicholas Allard, former president of Brooklyn Law School.