Expert Analysis

• A Litigation Move That Could Conserve Discovery Resources

  

  Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben proposes the preliminary legal opinion procedure — seeking a court's opinion on a disputed legal standard at the outset, rather than the close, of discovery — as a useful resource-preservation tool for legally complex, discovery-intensive litigation.

• Litigators Should Approach AI Tools With Caution

  

  Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT hold potential to streamline various aspects of the litigation process, resulting in improved efficiency and outcomes, but should be carefully double-checked for confidentiality, plagiarism and accuracy concerns, say Zachary Foster and Melanie Kalmanson at Quarles & Brady.

• 5 Ways Attorneys Can Use Emotion In Client Pitches

  

  Lawyers are skilled at using their high emotional intelligence to build rapport with clients, so when planning your next pitch, consider how you can create some emotional peaks, personal connections and moments of magic that might help you stick in prospective clients' minds and seal the deal, says consultant Diana Kander.

• 5 Keys To A Productive Mediation

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Cortney Young at ADR Partners discusses factors that can help to foster success in mediation, including scheduling, preparation, managing client expectations and more.

• What New EU, UK Internet Safety Regs Mean For Platforms

  

  The U.K. and the EU have recently produced new regimes for combating online harm, which will drastically change the way all digital platforms regulate user-generated content — and service providers will be required to take proactive measures rather than respond to takedown obligations, say Tessa Adams and Ron Moscona at Dorsey & Whitney.

• Evaluating The Legal Ethics Of A ChatGPT-Authored Motion

  

  Aimee Furness and Sam Mallick at Haynes Boone asked ChatGPT to draft a motion to dismiss, and then scrutinized the resulting work product in light of attorneys' ethical and professional responsibility obligations.

• 6 Antitrust Compliance Tips For Employers From MLB Probe

  

  Major League Baseball's recent investigation into possible collusion between the Mets and Yankees — involving then-free agent Aaron Judge — can teach employers of all types antitrust lessons in a time when competition for top talent is fierce, says Mohamed Barry at Fisher & Phillips.

• 7 Tips To Increase Your Law Firm's DEI Efforts In 2023

  

  Law firms looking to advance their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts should consider implementing new practices and initiatives this year, including some that require nominal additional effort or expense, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Gina Rubel at Furia Rubel.

• Series

  Keys To A 9-0 High Court Win: Get Back To Home Base

  

  When I argued for the petitioner in Morgan v. Sundance before the U.S. Supreme Court last year, I made the idea of consistency the cornerstone of my case and built a road map for my argument to ensure I could always return to that home-base theme, says Karla Gilbride at Public Justice.

• 3 NFT Issues Practitioners Should Consider In 2023

  

  The use of non-fungible tokens grew dramatically in 2022 across many industries, so attorneys should keep their eyes on developments in licenses to artwork, royalties on secondary sales and applications of securities law, says Mark Radcliffe at DLA Piper.

• The 7th Circ.'s Top 10 Civil Opinions Of 2022

  

  Attorneys at Jenner & Block examine the most significant decisions issued by the Seventh Circuit in 2022, and explain how they may affect issues related to antitrust, the False Claims Act,​ ​federal jurisdiction and more.

• Loot Box Litigation Lessons For Game Developers

  

  The legal landscape for loot boxes — online game mechanisms that contain collectible items, in-game weapons or various aesthetic upgrades — is a gray area, but game developers and publishers can look to recent court decisions for guidance, say Saphya Council and Emma Smizer at Frankfurt Kurnit.

• Atty-Client Privilege Arguments Give Justices A Moving Target

  

  Recent oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case regarding the scope of the attorney-client privilege appeared to raise more questions about multipurpose counsel communications than they answered, as the parties presented shifting iterations of a predictable, easily applied test for evaluating the communications' purpose, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.

• 5 Gen X Characteristics That Can Boost Legal Leadership

  

  As Generation X attorneys rise to fill top roles in law firms and corporations left by retiring baby boomers, they should embrace generational characteristics that will allow them to become better legal leaders, says Meredith Kahan at Whiteford Taylor.

• 6 Questions For Boutique Firms Considering Mergers

  

  To prepare for discussions with potential merger partners, boutique law firms should first consider the challenges they hope to address with a merger and the qualities they prioritize in possible partner firms, say Howard Cohl and Ron Nye at Major Lindsey.