Sports & Betting

Expert Analysis

• Picking The Right Location And Tools For Virtual Courtrooms

  

  Attorneys should consider the pros and cons of participating in virtual court proceedings from home versus their law firm offices, and whether they have the right audio, video and team communication tools for their particular setup, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• Beware Atty Ethics Rules When Reporting COVID-19 Fraud

  

  Attorneys considering blowing the whistle on False Claims Act violations by recipients of COVID-19 relief may face a number of ethical constraints on their ability to disclose client information and file qui tam actions, say Breon Peace and Jennifer Kennedy Park at Cleary.

• Looking For Judicial Activists? Check The Footnotes

  

  U.S. Supreme Court nominees typically face intense questioning over potential judicial activism, but a better way to gauge judges' activist tendencies may be to look at the footnotes in their opinions, say Christopher Collier at Hawkins Parnell and Michael Arndt at Rohan Law.

• Best Practices For Legal Technology Adoption

  

  The pandemic has accelerated the need to improve the practice of law through technology, but law firms and in-house legal departments must first ensure they have employee buy-in and well-defined processes for new digital tools, say Dan Broderick at BlackBoiler and Daryl Shetterly at Orrick.

• The Pandemic's Long-Term Impact On Law Firm Operations

  

  Brian Burlant at Major Lindsey looks at how pandemic-era remote work has changed the way law firms operate — from shifts in secretarial functions to associate professional development — and explains why some alterations may be here to stay.

• Opinion

  Lack Of Access To Remote Court Proceedings Is Inexcusable

  

  Blanket rules that bar recording or dissemination of remote public court proceedings impede presumptive common law and First Amendment right of access, greatly expand courts' powers over nonparties, and likely run afoul of U.S. Supreme Court precedent, says Matthew Schafer at ViacomCBS.

• What The Sports Industry Can Expect Under Biden

  

  At the start of President-elect Joe Biden's administration, the sports industry should be prepared to comply with significant policy changes on hot-topic issues like COVID-19 management, immigration, and equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, says Elizabeth Polido at Morgan Lewis.

• Opinion

  Why Attacks On Trump's Election Lawyers Are Problematic

  

  The vilification of Jones Day and Porter Wright for their involvement in President Donald Trump's election lawsuits is an attack on lawyers' duty to advocate for their clients' causes fearlessly and zealously within the bounds of the law, says Pierce O'Donnell at Greenberg Glusker.

• Avoiding 6 Common E-Discovery Production Pitfalls

  

  Vanessa Barsanti and Sarah Mahoney at Redgrave explore how attorneys can prevent collateral discovery disputes by efficiently overseeing the electronic document review process and ensuring the integrity of the information provided to opposing counsel.

• Law Firm Biz Development Tips For The Pandemic Era

  

  Jessica Starr and Monica Ulzheimer at Alston & Bird look at four areas where business development and other law firm administrative teams can take a leadership role in driving practice growth at a time when attorney interactions with clients and peers are limited.

• Rulings Show Limits Of Federal Agency Vacancy Law

  

  Recent court decisions applying the Federal Vacancies Reform Act to invalidate improper presidential appointments of acting federal agency heads have had little evident impact, highlighting shortcomings in the law that could become more acute if the presidency and Senate are controlled by different parties, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

• Avatar IP Considerations For Music-Gaming Integration

  

  Before integrating music into video games using reproductions of artists as avatars, game publishers and entertainers should make a concerted effort to obtain appropriate permissions or licenses to minimize the risk of intellectual property and likeness rights infringement, say attorneys at Covington.

• Opinion

  BigLaw Must Drop The Billable Hour To Improve Diversity

  

  Implementing pay structures that compensate attorneys for achieving clients' goals rather than measuring success based on hours billed is a necessary first step to keeping underrepresented attorneys in BigLaw, says Elizabeth Korchin at Therium Capital.

• 8 Tips For Effective Oral Advocacy In Virtual Court Hearings

  

  Jim Lofton at Lofton Legally Speaking explains why tightly constructed arguments, the right camera angle and good online behavior are crucial to a powerful virtual courtroom presentation.

• A GC's Blueprint For Improving Legal Industry Diversity

  

  General counsel are in a unique position to ensure that their partner law firms are giving significant case assignments to underrepresented attorneys, and to help future generations of lawyers access meaningful opportunities early in their education or careers, says Laura Schumacher, chief legal officer at AbbVie.