Residential

Expert Analysis

• Fla. Evidence Code Update Lowers Burden For Image Use

  

  Florida's recent evidence code change permits judicial notice of images and certain other graphics, a hugely meaningful development for litigants across a wide range of practice areas, though the effect will likely be immediately felt in property insurance cases, say Eve Cann and David Levin at Baker Donelson.

• How New FCC Rule Will Improve Telecom Options For Tenants

  

  A new Federal Communications Commission rule that takes effect Sept. 26 will give American tenants newfound access to competitive telecom services, promote consumer choice and help alleviate the anti-competitive effects of revenue sharing agreements, say John Reardon and Emily Edwards at Kutak Rock.

• Key Adaptations For Law Firms Amid Quiet Quitting Movement

  

  While quiet quitting may not be sustainable at law firms with billable hour requirements, there are specific steps law firms should take to maintain engagement and otherwise respond to the trend's underlying message that associates won't spend all their waking hours at work if they don't feel it's worthwhile, says Meredith Kahan at Whiteford Taylor.

• Creating A Hybrid Work Policy? Be Intentional And Inclusive

  

  The pandemic has changed expectations for the future of work forever, and as more employees demand hybrid working options, law firms must develop policies and models that are intentional, inclusive and iterative to lead the industry into the future, says Manar Morales at the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.

• How Fintech Cos. May Transform Real Estate Investment

  

  Fintech companies have begun to meet challenges to real estate investment with innovations that will drive new transactions, but they will need to provide traditional investors with more information about individual properties and communities, say Joseph Bizub and David Reiss at Brooklyn Law School, and Justin Peralta at IBM.

• A Law Firm's Guide To Humane Layoffs As Recession Looms

  

  Amid warnings of a global recession, law firms should prepare for the possibility of associate layoffs, aiming for an empathetic approach and avoiding common mistakes that make the emotional impact on departing attorneys worse, say Jarrett Green, a wellness consultant, and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey & Africa.

• 8 Military Consumer Protection Tips For Finance Cos.

  

  A holistic Servicemembers Civil Relief Act compliance management system is crucial for keeping financial services companies out of hot water, especially after recent federal agency actions sent a stark reminder that they expect institutions to maintain robust controls, says Akeela White at Hinshaw & Culbertson.

• Puerto Rico Bankruptcy Ruling Spells Takings Inconsistency

  

  The First Circuit’s ruling in the Puerto Rico restructuring case that takings claims cannot be impaired in bankruptcy establishes inconsistent treatment of takings claims among appellate courts and raises an important constitutional question, which could lead the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court, say attorneys at Dechert.

• Learning From Trump And Bannon Discovery Strategies

  

  Court-imposed sanctions on both former President Donald Trump and his former aide Steve Bannon for failing to comply with subpoenas illustrate that efforts to bar the door to valid discovery can quickly escalate, so litigants faced with challenging discovery disputes should adopt a pragmatic approach, say Mathea Bulander and Monica McCarroll at Redgrave.

• Judges Who Use Social Media Must Know Their Ethical Limits

  

  While the judiciary is permitted to use electronic social media, judges and judicial candidates should protect themselves from accusations of ethics violations by studying the growing body of ethics opinions and disciplinary cases centering on who judges connect with and how they behave online, says Justice Daniel Crothers at the North Dakota Supreme Court.

• How Calif. Courts Are Ruling On Housing Density Issues

  

  Over the past year, California courts have issued a handful of housing density decisions addressing various efforts to push back against the preemption of local regulations, and important trends are emerging with increasing momentum in favor of state government residential development efforts, says Sean Gaffney at Crosbie Gliner.

• AML Takeaways From Watchdog's Real Estate Guidance

  

  The Financial Action Task Force's recently updated anti-money laundering guidance for the real estate sector, coinciding with related developments from U.S. regulators and legislators, illustrates the continued expansion of risk-based compliance requirements — and the threat of criminal liability — for industry participants, including lawyers, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

• Beware Broad Damage Waivers In Construction Contracts

  

  As the booming construction industry shifts some of project owners' bargaining power to contractors, owners should be on the lookout for certain contract provisions that could broadly waive consequential damages and compromise other potential remedies, says Daniel Miktus at Akerman.