Expert Analysis

• Ga. Mirror-Image Rule Makes Settlements Fraught For Insurers

  

  The Georgia Court of Appeals' recent decision in Pierce v. Banks shows how strictly Georgia courts will enforce the rule that an insurer's response to a settlement demand must be a mirror image of the demand — and is a reminder that parties must exercise caution when accepting such a demand, says Seth Friedman at Lewis Brisbois.

• In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development

  

  As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

• Global Analysis Of Climate Suits Reveals Strategic Focus

  

  A recent report from the Grantham Institute, reviewing climate lawsuits around the world and identifying eight types of so-called strategic litigation, offers insights that may help companies reduce their exposure and protect their reputations, say Jason Halper and Sharon Takhar at Cadwalader.

• Opinion

  NYC Sidewalk Obligations Must Go Beyond Construction

  

  New York City's recently announced Get Sheds Down plan will bring sweeping changes to regulation of the scaffolding and construction sheds looming over sidewalks — but it cannot stop there, says Michael Pollack at Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law.

• Terror Funding Suit Could Affect Inherited Jurisdiction In NY

  

  Depending on how New York’s highest court answers two questions certified from the Second Circuit in a case litigating companies’ liability for terrorist attacks, foreign companies with no relevant New York contacts may be subject to suit in state courts by virtue of an asset purchase, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

• Perspectives

  A Judge's Pitch To Revive The Jury Trial

  

  Ohio state Judge Pierre Bergeron explains how the decline of the jury trial threatens public confidence in the judiciary and even democracy as a whole, and he offers ideas to restore this sacred right.

• Rebuttal

  Mallory Ruling Doesn't Undermine NC Sales Tax Holding

  

  Contrary to the conclusion reached in a recent Law360 guest article, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Mallory ruling shouldn't be read as implicitly repudiating the North Carolina Supreme Court’s sales tax ruling in Quad Graphics v. North Carolina Department of Revenue — the U.S. Supreme Court could have rejected Quad by directly overturning it, says Jonathan Entin at Case Western Reserve.

• How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness

  

  Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.

• Opinion

  Litigation Funding Disclosure Should Be Mandatory

  

  Despite the Appellate Rules Committee's recent deferral of the issue of requiring third-party litigation funding disclosure, such a mandate is necessary to ensure the even-handed administration of justice across all cases, says David Levitt at Hinshaw.

• Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

  

  As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

• What Calif. 'Take-Home' COVID Ruling Means For Employers

  

  The California Supreme Court’s recent holding in Kuciemba v. Victory that employers are not liable for the spread of COVID-19 to nonemployee household members reflects a sensible policy position, but shouldn't be seen as a sea-change in the court's employee-friendly approach, say Brian Johnsrud and Brandon Rainey at Duane Morris.

• Operant Conditioning: Techniques To Prepare Your Witness

  

  Attorneys can apply operant conditioning principles, such as positive and negative reinforcement, during witness preparation sessions to enhance the quality of witnesses’ deposition and trial testimony and counter the potential influence of opposing counsel, say Bill Kanasky and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

• Operant Conditioning: Tactics That Can Derail Your Witness

  

  There are many ways opposing counsel may use operant conditioning principles, including rewards and punishments, to obtain damaging testimony from your witnesses, so understanding this psychological theory is key, say Steve Wood and Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences.

• Perspectives

  Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice

  

  Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.

• Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too

  

  While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.