Business of Law

Expert Analysis

• Keeping PR Strategy Communications Privileged: Part 1

  

  Companies faced with high-profile litigation often turn to public relations firms to help defend their reputations and maintain shareholder confidence. But recent cases are a reminder that internal PR firm documents face uncertain privilege protection, even when those documents are generated in support of a broader legal strategy, says Jeffrey Schomig of WilmerHale.

• What Lawyers Can Do To Prevent And Combat Burnout

  

  Lawyer burnout has been called a “romantic disorder” because it is characteristic of a work ethic admired in the legal culture. But the negative impacts of burnout are real and lawyers need to recognize the signs and solutions, says Jennifer Gibbs of Zelle LLP.

• Opinion

  Law Schools Should Be More Like Medical Centers

  

  Medical centers and their faculty matter to the practice of medicine. Law schools and their faculty do not matter to the practice of law, says J.B. Heaton of J.B. Heaton PC.

• Opinion

  Courts Are Getting It Right On Litigation Funding Discovery

  

  Earlier this month, a California federal court denied discovery into the identification of third-party funders with a financial interest in the outcome of an underlying patent infringement action. This decision in MLC v. Micron follows a long line of well-reasoned precedent across U.S. federal courts, say Matthew Harrison and Sarah Jacobson of Bentham IMF.

• Settlement Counsel Key For Efficient Mass Tort Resolution

  

  Team-based specialization in mass tort litigation defense allows each member to draw on individual strengths, maximizing their contribution. A core tenet of this approach is using settlement counsel to focus on strategic initiatives and end-game resolution efforts, separate from the heated battle lines of the litigation, say attorneys at Faegre Baker Daniels.

• Diversity's Next Step: Developing Minority Partners

  

  The lack of minority partners comes at a high cost to firms, say attorneys at Lightfoot Franklin & White LLC, as they suggest several practical ways to tackle this problem.

• Arbitrators And Mediators Should Reflect Society's Diversity

  

  Alternative dispute resolution providers have made great strides toward diversity, but recent statistics show there is still work to be done. There are certain steps ADR providers can take to actively recruit more women and minority candidates to serve as arbitrators and mediators, says James Jenkins of the American Arbitration Association.

• Why AFAs Are Key To The Future Of Legal Practice

  

  Alternative fee agreements can help align law firm and client interests, increase efficiency and eliminate corporate extortion, among other benefits. They are the best thing to happen to the practice of law in decades, says Kelly Eisenlohr-Moul at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Barron Reviews 'The Clamor Of Lawyers'

  

  Can lawyers lead a revolution? According to "The Clamor of Lawyers: The American Revolution and Crisis in the Legal Profession" — a slim but elegant volume by Peter Charles Hoffer and Williamjames Hull Hoffer — they can and they did, says First Circuit Judge David Barron.

• Opinion

  The Case For Lawyer-Directed Litigation Funding In NY: Part 2

  

  Lawyer-directed nonrecourse litigation funding is more likely to protect a lawyer's exercise of independent professional judgment than traditional means of litigation finance, and furthermore enables worthwhile cases that otherwise could not be funded, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson of Holland & Knight LLP.