Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice

Expert Analysis

• Series

  Judging A Book: Lipez Reviews 'Last Great Colonial Lawyer'

  

  In his new book, "The Last Great Colonial Lawyer: The Life and Legacy of Jeremiah Gridley," Charles McKirdy argues that Gridley — someone I had never heard of — was the last great colonial lawyer, and that his cases illuminate his times. The author largely substantiates both claims, says First Circuit Judge Kermit Lipez.

• Why A Hoverboard Suit Against Amazon Went Up In Flames

  

  Should an e-commerce firm be held liable for the defects of every item it sells on its global internet marketplace? The plaintiffs in Fox v. Amazon.com argued exactly that, and the district court answered with a resounding “no.” Online marketplaces are simply not in a position to supervise every product sold on their platforms, says Jed Winer of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.

• Interview Essentials For Attorneys On The Move

  

  Across the country this fall, recent law school graduates, law firm associates and experienced professionals will interview for positions in private practice and government service. Sharing tips on how to stand out in this high-pressure, hypercompetitive process are Eileen Decker, former U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, and Keith Jacoby, co-chairman of Littler Mendelson PC’s class action practice group.

• Risk Mitigation Strategies For Gene Therapy Developers

  

  In recent weeks, a handful of scientific articles in peer-reviewed medical literature, as well as alarmist headlines in the popular press, have questioned the safety of an important gene editing technology. While plaintiffs lawyers may take such indicators of evolving science out of context to support future claims, there are ways companies can mitigate the risks, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

• Roundup

  Clerking For Ginsburg

  

  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined the U.S. Supreme Court 25 years ago and is not planning to retire anytime soon — she has hired clerks through 2020. What's it like to assist Justice Ginsburg? In this series, former clerks reflect on the experience.

• Opinion

  A Right To Carry Everywhere, On A Road To Nowhere

  

  On July 24, a Ninth Circuit panel applied textualist reasoning in Young v. Hawaii to secure a right for individuals to carry firearms in public. To end the gun epidemic — demonstrated in Chicago recently with 74 people shot in one weekend — it’s past time to turn a spotlight on the root cause: legal carelessness and oversights of text, says Robert W. Ludwig of the American Enlightenment Project.

• Series

  Clerking For Ginsburg: 3 Surprises

  

  It had never occurred to me that judges don’t always love the way their appellate cousins review their work and tell them — in public — all the things they got wrong. I was frequently struck by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s acute awareness of the delicacy of this relationship, says attorney David Post.

• Series

  Clerking For Ginsburg: A Superhero Supreme

  

  As a clerk for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, my job was to mirror my boss’ views and values in everything I did. Years later, I find that I am still striving to live up to the values Justice Ginsburg instilled in me, as both a lawyer and a spouse, says Burden Walker, an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland.

• Calif. Courts Say Schools Must Protect Students

  

  Almost two decades after the Columbine shooting, we still suffer from attacks committed by obviously troubled individuals already on school officials’ or law enforcement’s radar. Recent rulings by California courts have held that schools have an affirmative duty to take reasonable steps to protect students, say Brian Kabateck and Joana Fang of Kabateck Brown Kellner LLP.

• Looking Forward To Oral Argument In BNSF V. Loos

  

  In the coming term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in BNSF Railway v. Michael Loos and decide whether a railroad employer is required to withhold employment tax from work-related personal injury awards. The ruling will affect thousands of claims made by railway workers each year, say Christopher Collier and Michael Arndt at Hawkins Parnell Thackston & Young LLP.