Expert Analysis

• Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders

  

  As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.

• Vicarious Liability Questions On The Line In Texas Crash Case

  

  A Texas appellate court's recent decision refusing to adopt the so-called admission rule — which rejects the notion of negligent training as an independent claim against an employer — is likely to be appealed to the state's high court, potentially opening the floodgates for plaintiffs to use reptile theory trial strategies, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

• What Courts Say About Workers' Comp And Medical Marijuana

  

  Whether employers and insurance carriers are required or allowed to reimburse employees for out-of-pocket costs for treating work-related injuries with medical marijuana has spawned a debate, and the state courts that have addressed this matter are split on a number of issues, say Alexandra Hassell and Anthony Califano at Seyfarth.

• Tips For Employers Using OSHA Accident And Injury Data

  

  Since the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently issued two memorandums on enhanced penalties for violations, employers are increasingly looking to reduce their OSHA risks, but they are often unaware of the benefits of data analytics and the readily available public data set that can help companies, says Michael Ryan at Foley & Lardner.

• Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic

  

  Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.

• A Brief Primer On Using Web-Archived Evidence

  

  Because the temporal dimensions of web content — i.e., what appeared online, and when — are increasingly critical to all kinds of claims, attorneys should understand how web archives can be used to furnish key evidence, as well as strategies for admitting and authenticating such evidence in court, says Nicholas Taylor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Research Library.

• Tackling Judge-Shopping Concerns While Honoring Localism

  

  As the debate continues over judge-shopping and case assignments in federal court, policymakers should look to a hybrid model that preserves the benefits of localism for those cases that warrant it, while preventing the appearance of judge-shopping for cases of a more national or widespread character, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.

• Perspectives

  How Attorneys Can Help Combat Anti-Asian Hate

  

  Amid an exponential increase in violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, unique obstacles stand in the way of accountability and justice — but lawyers can effect powerful change by raising awareness, offering legal representation, advocating for victims’ rights and more, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

• Opinion

  Congress Needs To Enact A Federal Anti-SLAPP Statute

  

  Although many states have passed statutes meant to prevent individuals or entities from filing strategic lawsuits against public participation, other states have not, so it's time for Congress to enact a federal statute to ensure that free speech and petitioning rights are uniformly protected nationwide in federal court, say attorneys at Skadden.

• Dealing With Dogmatic Jurors: Voir Dire And Trial Strategies

  

  Dogmatic jurors — whose rigid reliance on external authority can inhibit accurate, objective decision making — may be both good and bad for plaintiffs and defense counsel, so attorneys should understand how to identify such jurors in voir dire and how to meet them where they are during trial, say consultants at Courtroom Sciences.

• Opinion

  Federal Restrictions On Phthalates Are Long Overdue

  

  The health risks of phthalates — chemicals used to increase the durability and flexibility of plastics, and found in hundreds of household products — have been known for decades, so the lack of comprehensive federal policies restricting their use is a problem, given the compelling warnings of their hazards, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.

• Some Client Speculations On AI And The Law Firm Biz Model

  

  Generative artificial intelligence technologies will put pressure on the business of law as it is structured currently, but clients may end up with more price certainty for legal services, and lawyers may spend more time being lawyers, says Jonathan Cole at Melody Capital.

• And Now A Word From The Panel: MDLs As A Last Resort

  

  While the number of individual actions included in multidistrict litigation proceedings has exploded in recent years, it's important to remember that the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation views creation of an MDL as something that should happen only after consideration of all other options, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

• 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.