Product Liability

Expert Analysis

• Peering Behind The Peer Review Curtain

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals specified peer review as one criterion for evaluating scientific evidence. But not all peer review is created equal, and sometimes additional exploration — whether through discovery into your adversaries’ experts, or early investigation of your own potential experts — may make sense, says William Childs of Bowman and Brooke LLP.

• 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.

• How 2 Cases Have Settled NY Insurance Allocation Law

  

  The past two years have seen insurance coverage lawyers coming to terms with the impact of two landscape-changing decisions from New York's highest court, Viking Pump and Keyspan. Together, these cases make clear that under New York law, the allocation approach that will apply to long tail claims is governed by the presence of certain policy language, say Cort Malone and Vivian Michael of Anderson Kill PC.

• 6 Tips For Drafting Autonomous Vehicle Contracts

  

  During the past year, I have been tossed headfirst into the murky water of autonomous vehicle contract drafting, where no well-tested forms exist and negotiating parties often do not know what terms to request. But what is required more than anything is just old-fashioned, common-sense business lawyering, says Jim Jordan of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC.

• 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.