Business of Law

Expert Analysis

• Series

  Why I Became A Lawyer: Finding A Voice, And A New Home

  

  My Fulbright scholarship project developed after I talked to my grandmother in the Philippines about the cost of her medication. Drugs developed in the U.S. and Europe are typically sold there for prices beyond the reach of many Filipinos. So I advocated for compulsory licensing for lifesaving medicines, says Melissa Martinez of McGuireWoods LLP.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Willett Reviews 'Guilty Pleasures'

  

  Professor Laura Little’s new book, "Guilty Pleasures: Comedy and Law in America," will make you laugh and make you think — and to a federal circuit judge who reads the Constitution for the articles, it is ... appealing, says Fifth Circuit Judge Don Willett.

• Women In Law Need Equal Treatment, Not Affirmative Action

  

  The sheer number of women entering the legal profession means gender equality is coming, one way or the other. This Women’s History Month, BigLaw firms should reflect on this with the understanding that they dismiss the flight of senior female attorneys from their ranks at their peril, says Tamara Kurtzman, founder of TMK Attorneys PC.

• Opinion

  Even Vile Defendants Deserve Good Representation

  

  It's a sad day when a Harvard professor must defend himself for representing Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Criminal justice is not a popularity contest; at the foundation of our democracy is every defendant’s constitutional right to vigorous legal representation, says Lara Yaretsian, a Los Angeles-based criminal defense attorney.

• Rebuttal

  Visible Diversity Is A Sign Of Organizational Health

  

  A recent Law360 guest article cautioned against the hazards that can stem from pursuing "optimal" diversity, but overlooks the value of paying attention to visible diversity, says Matt Lykken of Potomac Law Group PLLC.

• Simple Secrets For Writing A Killer Brief

  

  These days, the legal profession offers meager opportunity for oral argument, so we need to focus on being better, brighter, tighter writers. And the key to writing a better brief is grabbing your judge's attention with a persuasive, well-crafted story, says Daniel Karon of Karon LLC.

• 3 Lessons From A Crypto Mock Trial

  

  We recently hatched a plan to test whether litigators could get blockchain ledger entries into evidence under the existing Federal Rules of Evidence, and we found a federal judge willing to help us, say attorneys Justin Steffen, Andrew Hinkes, Lisa Braganca, Christopher Veatch, Kashan Pathan and Jimmie Zhang.

• Q&A

  A Chat With McDermott COO John Yoshimura

  

  In this monthly series, Amanda Brady of Major Lindsey & Africa interviews management from top law firms about the increasingly competitive business environment. Here we feature John Yoshimura, chief operating officer at McDermott Will & Emery LLP.

• Opinion

  The Problem With 'Optimal' Diversity

  

  Organizations should seek to avoid discrimination, but they should also be wary of the idea that diverse teams function better than nondiverse teams, because this reasoning lacks evidence and can lead to a slippery slope, says J.B. Heaton of J.B. Heaton Research LLC.

• Fresh Takes On Seeking Costs And Fees Under Rule 45

  

  Recent case law reveals that courts vary widely in their approaches to shifting the costs and fees incurred in responding to a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 subpoena. Nonparties responding to such requests should consider certain district court trends, say attorneys at Pepper Hamilton LLP.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Smith Camp Reviews 'Echo Of Its Time'

  

  "Echo of Its Time" is the story of Nebraska’s federal district court from statehood in 1867 to the demise of Prohibition in 1933. Professors John Wunder and Mark Scherer have written an objective, unsentimental and insightful history, layered with context and rich in character study, says U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp of the District of Nebraska.

• Guest Feature

  'The Mooch' Talks Mayhem, Con Law, Lessons From Harvard

  

  Anthony Scaramucci is probably best known for the 11 days he spent as White House director of communications in 2017. But when White and Williams LLP attorney Randy Maniloff sat down to chat with "the Mooch," he was interested in hearing a different story.

• Opinion

  Legal Operations Teams Are Gaining Popularity In EU

  

  As the European and global economies continue to change, any legal department that does not want to get outflanked by faster, more agile competitors should consider the value that legal operations teams have to offer, says Hans Albers, president of the Association of Corporate Counsel Europe.

• Why Proper Document Redaction May Be An Ethical Duty

  

  Paul Manafort's attorneys recently filed a court document containing incompletely redacted information, highlighting the need for attorneys to become competent at redaction — or at least at verifying that redaction has been performed correctly. Failure to do either could be construed as legal malpractice, says Byeongsook Seo of Snell & Wilmer LLP.

• Series

  Why I Became A Lawyer: A Refugee's Journey Of Firsts

  

  Even as a child in war-torn Iran, I began to develop a sense of justice and a desire for equality and the rule of law. These instincts ultimately guided me to become a federal prosecutor, and now a partner in private practice, says Raymond Aghaian of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.