Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice

Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  BigLaw's Associate Salary Model Is A Relic Of A Bygone Era

  

  Legal industry compensation practices are once again in the news as BigLaw firms continue to match the new high watermark of $190,000 for first-year associate salaries. The typical model of increasing associate salaries uniformly fails star associates, the firms they work for and, ultimately, the clients they serve, says William Brewer, managing partner of Brewer Attorneys & Counselors.

• #MeToo At Law Firms And What We Can Do About It

  

  While some may say it’s ironic, it’s also embarrassing and enraging that the very industry that offers anti-harassment training, policies and counsel now finds itself the subject of #MeToo headlines. The American Bar Association recommendation that will bring about the greatest change is the call to provide alternative methods for reporting violations, says Beth Schroeder, chair of Raines Feldman LLP's labor and employment group.

• Knowledge Lawyers Can Help Firms Stay Ahead Of The Curve

  

  In a profession notoriously averse to change, it should come as no surprise that there is skepticism about the value of having attorneys perform nonbillable tasks. But U.S. law firms have slowly begun to incorporate knowledge lawyers into their operations — and the trend is likely to continue, says Vanessa Pinto Villa of Hogan Lovells.

• An Anti-SLAPP Motion In Name Only

  

  The Ninth Circuit’s decision last month in Planned Parenthood v. Center for Medical Progress has effectively turned the anti-SLAPP motion into a hybrid of typical motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment. As a result, defendants have lost the primary benefit of the anti-SLAPP process, says Joseph Gjonola of Roxborough Pomerance Nye & Adreani LLP.

• Bristol-Myers Squibb: 1 Year Later

  

  In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California — limiting where plaintiffs can bring claims and curbing forum-shopping in mass tort litigation — courts have grappled with questions that the ruling did not address, and defendants have pursued jurisdictional defenses in class actions and federal cases that were not previously available, say attorneys with Eversheds Sutherland LLP.

• An Unprecedented Look Inside The FARA Unit

  

  For close observers of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the June 8 release by the U.S. Department of Justice of over 50 FARA advisory opinions was a watershed. These opinions offer an unprecedented glimpse into how the FARA Registration Unit interprets the law, say Brian Fleming and Andrew Herman of Miller & Chevalier Chtd.

• Pre-Mediation Caucuses May Improve Mediation Efficiency

  

  The more procedural tools a mediator can offer, the higher the likelihood that a mediation will be successful. Mediators should be prepared to employ pre-mediation initial caucuses in appropriate cases, says JAMS mediator and arbitrator Thomas Elkind.

• Why Lawyers Shouldn't Accept Fees In Cryptocurrency: Part 2

  

  The legal industry has already begun to feel the impact of anti-bribery and anti-money laundering requirements. When involved with cryptocurrency trading and remittance, law firms face more than the risk of being perceived as organizations that support money laundering practices, says John Reed Stark of John Reed Stark Consulting LLC.

• Product Liability Meets The Internet Of Things At The CPSC

  

  At last month's U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission hearing on connected devices and product safety, presenters raised issues ranging from health and privacy concerns to terrorism risks, insurance requirements and product standards. Stakeholders must closely monitor regulatory developments, but also prepare for possible action from Congress, say Heather Capell Bramble and Thomasina Poirot of Venable LLP.

• Why Lawyers Shouldn't Accept Fees In Cryptocurrency: Part 1

  

  Law firms are increasingly accepting cryptocurrency as payment for services. While this might seem innovative and forward-thinking, ironically it is much more of a throwback, says John Reed Stark of John Reed Stark Consulting LLC.