Expert Analysis

• A Lawyer's Guide To Approaching Digital Assets In Discovery

  

  The booming growth of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens has made digital assets relevant in many legal disputes but also poses several challenges for discovery, so lawyers must garner an understanding of the technology behind these assets, the way they function, and how they're held, says Brett Sager at Ehrenstein Sager.

• Opinion

  High Court's Ethics Statement Places Justices Above The Law

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court justices' disappointing statement on the court's ethics principles and practices reveals that not only are they satisfied with a status quo in which they are bound by fewer ethics rules than other federal judges, but also that they've twisted the few rules that do apply to them, says David Janovsky at the Project on Government Oversight.

• Opinion

  Time For Law Schools To Rethink Unsung Role Of Adjuncts

  

  As law schools prepare for the fall 2023 semester, administrators should reevaluate the role of the underappreciated, indispensable adjunct, and consider 16 concrete actions to improve the adjuncts' teaching experience, overall happiness and feeling of belonging, say T. Markus Funk at Perkins Coie, Andrew Boutros at Dechert and Eugene Volokh at UCLA.

• Tips For In-House Legal Leaders In A Challenging Economy

  

  Amid today's economic and geopolitical uncertainty, in-house legal teams are running lean and facing increased scrutiny and unique issues, but can step up and find innovative ways to manage outcomes and capitalize on good business opportunities, says Tim Parilla at LinkSquares.

• Beware Patchwork Of State NIL Laws For Student-Athletes

  

  With each U.S. state at a different stage of engaging with name, image and likeness laws for collegiate and high school student-athletes, the NIL world is as much a minefield for attorneys as it is for the players themselves — and counsel must remain on red alert for any and all legislative changes, say Lauren Bernstein and Dan Lust at Moritt Hock.

• What Justices' Loper Bright Ruling Will Mean For Chevron

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to hear Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo will ultimately have big consequences for agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutory language, whether the court lets Chevron deference stand, overturns it entirely, or crafts a new contextual standard, say J. Michael Showalter and Samuel Rasche at ArentFox Schiff.

• How Cognizant Bribery Case Could Shape DOJ Investigations

  

  A case playing out in New Jersey federal court – U.S. v. Coburn, involving bribery charges against former Cognizant executives – will examine when a company’s cooperation becomes an outsourced investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, and could potentially limit the government’s use of certain evidence, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.

• What Associates Need To Know Before Switching Law Firms

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  The days of staying at the same firm for the duration of one's career are mostly a thing of the past as lateral moves by lawyers are commonplace, but there are several obstacles that associates should consider before making a move, say attorneys at HWG.

• Less Cyber Coverage, More Compliance Risk For Cos.

  

  Despite recent favorable court decisions recognizing cyber coverage under various policies, policyholders face a challenging road ahead due to insurers' new policy exclusions and regulators' new reporting requirements and increased penalties, say Luma Al-Shibib and Steven Pudell at Anderson Kill.

• A Case For Sharing Mediation Statements With Counterparties

  

  In light of a potential growing mediation trend of only submitting statements to the mediator, litigants should think critically about the pros and cons of exchanging statements with opposing parties as it could boost the chances of reaching a settlement, says Arthur Eidelhoch at Eidelhoch Mediation.

• Tackling Long-Tail Legacy Liability Risk: A Defendant's Toolkit

  

  Johnson & Johnson was recently rebuffed in its efforts to employ the "Texas Two-Step," which is likely to affect this increasingly popular method to isolate and spin off large asbestos and talc liabilities, but companies have multiple options to reduce long-tail legacy liability risk, says Stephen Hoke at Hoke LLC.

• Working From Home? Beware Insider Trading, Tipping Risks

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently pursued traders who received material nonpublic information from loved ones while working from home, so those with work secrets should take extra precautions and inform family and friends of insider trading risks, say Dixie Johnson and Lauren Konczos at King & Spalding.

• Preparing For Legal Scrutiny Of Data Retention Policies

  

  Two recent cases involving Google and Meta should serve as a call to action for companies to ensure their data retention policies are updated and properly implemented to the degree of being able to withstand judicial scrutiny, especially as more data is generated by emerging technologies, say Jack Kallus and Labeed Choudhry at Kaufman Dolowich.

• Md. Abuse Law Makes Past Liability Coverage Review Vital

  

  Maryland is the first state to allow an indefinite lookback period for previously time-barred lawsuits by victims of child sexual abuse against public and private entities — and lawsuits brought under the new law likely will implicate coverage under insurance policies issued over the past 80 years or longer, say Michael Levine and Olivia Bushman at Hunton.

• EPA's Good Neighbor Ozone Plan: What Cos. Should Know

  

  With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently issued Good Neighbor Rule set to restrict ozone-forming smokestack emissions from power plants and industrial facilities in 23 states, the time is now for companies to consider options available under the rule to mitigate costs and legal exposure, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.