Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  High Court Dispute Shows Need For CWA Clarity

  

  Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency illustrates the problems with two overly broad tests used to determine jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act, and offers the U.S. Supreme Court the opportunity to once and for all determine the scope of federal authority under the landmark measure, say Thomas Ward and Jeffrey Augello at the National Association of Home Builders.

• Evaluating The Legal Ethics Of A ChatGPT-Authored Motion

  

  Aimee Furness and Sam Mallick at Haynes Boone asked ChatGPT to draft a motion to dismiss, and then scrutinized the resulting work product in light of attorneys' ethical and professional responsibility obligations.

• 7 Tips To Increase Your Law Firm's DEI Efforts In 2023

  

  Law firms looking to advance their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts should consider implementing new practices and initiatives this year, including some that require nominal additional effort or expense, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Gina Rubel at Furia Rubel.

• Series

  Keys To A 9-0 High Court Win: Get Back To Home Base

  

  When I argued for the petitioner in Morgan v. Sundance before the U.S. Supreme Court last year, I made the idea of consistency the cornerstone of my case and built a road map for my argument to ensure I could always return to that home-base theme, says Karla Gilbride at Public Justice.

• New US Waters Definition May Rock The Boat

  

  Federal agencies' latest attempt to define "waters of the United States" attempts to avoid previous rules' failings, though it will potentially increase administrative difficulties for regulated entities and also leaves ample ground for litigation, say Christopher Thomas and Andrea Driggs at Perkins Coie.

• What's At Stake In High Court's Tribal Bankruptcy Ruling

  

  By accepting Lac du Flambeau v. Coughlin, the U.S. Supreme Court has an opportunity to revisit tribal sovereign immunity by way of interpreting the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, with significant repercussions when tribes are eligible to file as debtors, says Wilda Wahpepah at Sheppard Mullin.

• Atty-Client Privilege Arguments Give Justices A Moving Target

  

  Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case regarding the scope of the attorney-client privilege appeared to raise more questions about multipurpose counsel communications than they answered, as the parties presented shifting iterations of a predictable, easily applied test for evaluating the communications' purpose, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.

• 5 Gen X Characteristics That Can Boost Legal Leadership

  

  As Generation X attorneys rise to fill top roles in law firms and corporations left by retiring baby boomers, they should embrace generational characteristics that will allow them to become better legal leaders, says Meredith Kahan at Whiteford Taylor.

• 6 Questions For Boutique Firms Considering Mergers

  

  To prepare for discussions with potential merger partners, boutique law firms should first consider the challenges they hope to address with a merger and the qualities they prioritize in possible partner firms, say Howard Cohl and Ron Nye at Major Lindsey.

• 5 Tips For Adding Value To Legal Clients' Experience In 2023

  

  Faced with a potential economic downturn this year, attorneys should look to strengthen client relationships now by focusing on key ways to improve the client experience, starting with a check-in call to discuss client needs and priorities for the coming year, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

• 6 Ways To Avoid Compounding Errors When Practicing Law

  

  For lawyers and law firms, inevitable human error can lead to claims of malpractice or ethical violations, but the key is to avoid exacerbating mistakes by adding communication failures, conflicts of interest or insurance coverage losses, says Mark Hinderks at Stinson.

• What Will Keep Legal Talent Professionals Up At Night In 2023

  

  Hybrid work environments, high demand for lateral hires and a potential slowdown of the economy defined 2022 in the always-busy marketplace for legal talent, and as BigLaw looks at the year ahead, there are five major sources of concern for the teams charged with securing and retaining that talent, say advisers at Baretz+Brunelle.

• The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2022

  

  A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from the "great resignation" to potential expansion of attorney-client privilege.

• Will BLM's 2nd Attempt At Natural Gas Waste Rule Succeed?

  

  The Bureau of Land Management's new natural gas waste reduction proposal revamps a 2016 rule struck down for trying to regulate air emissions — and while the proposal's focus is reducing operator costs and raising taxpayer revenue, it may still face court challenges, say Andrew Glenn and Katie Andersen at Husch Blackwell.

• What 3 Legal Industry Trends From 2022 Mean For Next Year

  

  Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey & Africa looks back on the year in legal recruiting, including practice areas that saw the most movement, which regions seemed most ripe for new office openings and who was promoted to partner, and makes some look-ahead predictions for 2023.