Massachusetts

Expert Analysis

• 5th Circ. PPP Ruling Doesn't Doom Debtors Seeking Loans

  

  Despite the Fifth Circuit’s recent ruling in Hidalgo County Emergency Service Foundation v. Carranza barring debtors from receiving Paycheck Protection Program loans, this financial assistance is still available by filing in other circuits and through further workarounds, say Shane Ramsey and John Baxter at Nelson Mullins.

• Litigation Strategies For When Trade Secret, Patent Converge

  

  As statistics reveal that in recent years, the number of patent infringement lawsuits has decreased while the number of trade secret cases has risen, Vincent Ling at Munger Tolles offers key considerations for asserting or defending these overlapping IP rights during the pleading, discovery and trial stages.

• Pa. Ruling Shows Limits To Worker Free Speech Rights

  

  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Carr v. Pennsylvania proves that public sector employees’ First Amendment rights are not ironclad, and could trigger an accountability standard for their off-duty social media comments, says Mathew Parker at Fisher Phillips.

• Inclusivity Considerations For Law Firms Reopening Offices

  

  While most law firms will focus on ensuring physical office spaces are as safe as possible for attorneys and staff members, it's equally important to consider the impact office reopening decisions will have on a firm's culture of diversity and inclusion, says Manar Morales at the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.

• Opinion

  State AG-Private Atty Alliances Must Be Put To The Lucia Test

  

  In view of recent decisions using the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 opinion in Lucia to examine the propriety of local officers, it makes sense to question — under states' appointments clauses — the now-common practice of private attorneys prosecuting civil enforcement actions on behalf of state attorneys general, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• States Could Use Wayfair Laws To Fix Depleted Budgets

  

  As states grapple with filling revenue shortfalls caused by the COVID-19 health crisis, they may look to expand laws stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court's Wayfair decision to reach more taxpayers, says Jennifer Karpchuk at Chamberlain Hrdlicka.

• NY High Court Case Could Upend Litigation Finance Industry

  

  A ruling in favor of the defendant in Fast Trak Investment v. Sax, a case recently accepted by the New York Court of Appeals, could enable borrowers to avoid repaying litigation funders by claiming state usury law violations, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

• Associates Can Prioritize Biz Development Despite Pandemic

  

  Although many traditional business development activities are on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, associates should seize the unique opportunities of this time to cultivate business by strengthening their personal and professional relationships, and developing new ones, says Jeremy Schneider at Jackson Lewis.

• Opinion

  Let's Create An Ethical Obligation For Attys To Fight Racism

  

  In this moment of national recognition of historical institutional racism, the American Bar Association must implement a model rule that explicitly declares efforts to fight racism and advance equality to be a matter of attorneys' ethics and professional conduct, say Marc Firestone at Philip Morris International and David Douglass at Sheppard Mullin.

• New Pharma Co. Defenses For 'Innovator Liability' Claims

  

  Under the so-called innovator liability theory, a handful of states have permitted plaintiffs who took generic medication to sue the manufacturer of the branded form of the drug — but pharmaceutical companies have recently had success fighting such claims with three key strategies, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

• Mask-Wearing Prosecution Witnesses May Face Roadblocks

  

  When in-person criminal jury trials resume, witnesses wearing masks as protection against the coronavirus will almost certainly lead to a new line of cases weighing public health against a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confront prosecution witnesses, says Scott Grubman at Chilivis Grubman.

• 6 Considerations When Shopping For Legal Tech Software

  

  When evaluating the vast range of legal technology options available today, law firms will want to make sure that firm intellectual property and client data stored in the software are encrypted, isolated, protected through backups and in compliance with the ever-growing list of data regulations, say Eric Tucker and Dorna Moini at Documate.

• Law Firm Strategies For Publicizing Laterals Amid Lockdowns

  

  With business development dinners and social events no longer viable for new lateral hires, law firms need a refreshed game plan — one that fully exploits the digital landscape, say Andrew Longstreth and Jesse Dungan at Infinite Global and Michael Coston at Coston Consulting.

• Are Your Slack Communications Primed For E-Discovery?

  

  With the increasing use of channel-based platforms such as Slack, Messenger and Teams in the work-from-home era, companies should assume they may be compelled to produce channel-based data in litigation and take proactive steps to protect sensitive information, say Jessica Brown and Collin James Vierra at Gibson Dunn.

• Mass. Solar Incentive Restrictions Make Site Scrutiny Crucial

  

  In light of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources' recent rule changes restricting incentives for solar development on ecologically sensitive greenfield sites, landowners and solar developers should assess target properties carefully before building, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.