Massachusetts

Expert Analysis

• Cannabis Legalization's Effects On Insurance Industry

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Resolution of the legal uncertainty presented by the dueling federal and state approaches to cannabis will pave the way for legal cannabis businesses to access the insurance protections the industry needs for everything from workers' compensation to auto insurance to general liability, says Christy Thiems at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

• 7 Lessons For Young Lawyers Starting Their Careers

  

  This year's law graduates and other young attorneys must recognize that the practice of law tests and rewards different skills and characteristics than law school, and that what makes a lawyer valuable changes over time, says Vernon Winters, retired partner at Sidley.

• COVID Eviction Bans May Not Continue To Survive In Court

  

  State and local moratoriums against evictions during the pandemic are likely to withstand plaintiffs' constitutional challenges in the short term, but plaintiffs may start to see more success as time goes on, say attorneys at Goodwin.

• The Pandemic's Bright Spots For Lawyers Who Are Parents

  

  The COVID-19 crisis has allowed lawyers to hone remote advocacy strategies and effectively represent clients with minimal travel — abilities that have benefited working parents and should be utilized long after the pandemic is over, says Chelsea Loughran at Wolf Greenfield.

• Opinion

  Revise Mansfield Diversity Mandates To Also Benefit Veterans

  

  The well-intentioned efforts and salutary purposes of the legal industry's Mansfield Rule diversity metric are tainted by the Diversity Lab initiative's omission of veterans, who are underrepresented at large law firms and entitled to advantageous treatment based on more than 200 years of public policy, says Robert Redmond at McGuireWoods.

• AGs To Fill Void As Justices Say FTC Can't Impose Restitution

  

  State attorneys general are likely to emerge as even more influential consumer protection enforcers, taking the lead in federal-state restitution partnerships, following the U.S. Supreme Court's determination Thursday in AMG Capital v. Federal Trade Commission that the FTC is not authorized to seek equitable monetary relief, say Alissa Gardenswartz and former Sen. Mark Pryor at Brownstein Hyatt.

• Mich. Pandemic Rent Ruling Is A Critical Win For Tenants

  

  A Michigan federal court's well-reasoned decision in Bay City Realty v. Mattress Firm, upholding temporary frustration as a valid defense for failure to pay rent during the pandemic, rejects common commercial landlord arguments and is likely to contribute toward a growing trend of decisions favoring tenants, says Aaron Goodman at Baker McKenzie.

• Bankruptcy Litigation Could See More Third-Party Funding

  

  The next few years could be an opportune time for bankruptcy litigants to capitalize on the advantages of third-party financing as the obstacles to its use — including attorney ethics issues and prohibitions against champerty — seem to be clearing at a slow but steady pace, say Daniel Simon and Natalie Rowles at McDermott.

• Perspectives

  States Must Factor Race In COVID-19 Vaccine Prioritization

  

  In order to ensure equity and efficiency in controlling the pandemic, states should use race as a factor in vaccine prioritization — and U.S. Supreme Court precedent on affirmative action and racial integration offers some guidance on how such policies might hold up in court, say law professors Maya Manian and Seema Mohapatra.

• Prepare For Global Collaboration In Crypto Tax Enforcement

  

  Recent Internal Revenue Service victories involving John Doe summonses served on cryptocurrency exchanges — and statements by the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement about global collaboration in cryptocurrency-related tax investigations — should prompt assessment of prior virtual currency transactions and remediation before an enforcement agency shows up at the door, say attorneys at McDermott.

• Why The Future Law Firm Model Is Industry-Based Offerings

  

  Multidisciplinary, industry-based groups at law firms allow for more holistic legal advice, lead to sustainable client relationships, and are likely to replace practice group monoliths at many firms, say Jennifer Simpson Carr at Furia Rubel, Timothy Corcoran at Corcoran Consulting and Mike Mellor at Pryor Cashman.

• Ruling Shows 5th Circ. Reluctant To Second-Guess Agencies

  

  The Fifth Circuit's recent opinion in Sierra Club v. U.S. Department of the Interior, declining to overturn a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ruling allowing impacts to two endangered cat species, confirms the court's deferential standard of review for agency decisions backed by reasonable justification, says Rebecca Barho at Nossaman.

• Thought Leadership's Critical Role In Law Firm Diversity

  

  Minority attorneys are often underrepresented in conferences, media interviews and other law firm thought leadership campaigns, which affects their visibility with potential clients and their ability to advance at their firms, says John Hellerman at Hellerman Communications.

• Protecting Federal Stimulus Payments From Creditors

  

  Unlike the federal stimulus from the CARES Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, payments provided under the recently enacted American Rescue Plan Act are not exempt from garnishment by creditors, creating legal and operational challenges for banks that try to protect them, say Lori Sommerfield and John Culhane at Ballard Spahr.

• What Associates Should Consider Before Switching Practices

  

  The current high demand for midlevel associates provides them a rare opportunity to potentially explore new practice areas, but associates should first ask themselves six questions to begin figuring out why a change sounds appealing, says Stephanie Biderman at Major Lindsey.