Technology

Expert Analysis

• Limiting Law Firms' Professional Liability Risks: Part 2

  

  With law firms increasingly exposed to professional liability risks associated with their corporate client relationships, firms must craft well-structured client engagement letters to help protect against malpractice claims. Two key elements of an engagement letter are how it defines the scope of engagement and how it handles conflicts of interest, say Stuart Pattison and John Muller of Sompo International Holdings Ltd.

• Aviation Watch: Is There Really A Pilot Shortage?

  

  In April, regional carrier Great Lakes Airlines ceased operations, blaming a lack of qualified cockpit personnel. It joins other airlines whose recent business woes have been attributed to a shortage of trained pilots. But the Air Line Pilots Association says poor pay and benefits are the issue. Retired attorney and private pilot Alan Hoffman explores how the current situation came about, and what lies ahead.

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  From Lawmaker To Lawyer: Prioritizing Is Always Key

  

  Today, members of Congress often seem able to blame colleagues of the other party for not getting anything done for their constituents. In law practice, you can’t really blame a bad result for your clients on the lawyers on the other side, says former Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., of Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP.

• What's Next For Issue Preclusion And Patent Invalidity

  

  Following the Federal Circuit's recent decision in Voter Verified v. Election Systems, district courts may begin to rethink their approach to issue preclusion as it applies to patent invalidity, say John O’Quinn and Hannah Bedard of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

• ICOs As Exempt Securities Offerings: An Economic Analysis

  

  Assuming that initial coin offerings are securities offerings, issuers must register them with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission unless they rely on an exemption from registration. Among the available exemptions from registration, three look well-suited for ICOs, say members of Bates White LLC and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.

• What You Should Know About The 24/7 Cybercrime Network

  

  The CLOUD Act raises the possibility of agreements between the U.S. and EU on law enforcement access to digital evidence, and the EU’s proposed “e-evidence” regulation would streamline law enforcement access to data among its 28 member states. These two actions will greatly change the way that the G7's 24/7 Cybercrime Network operates, says Chris Ott of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.

• Classifying $10B Of Auctioned Airwaves For Tax Purposes

  

  Television broadcasters who participated in the 2017 Federal Communications Commission spectrum auction should carefully consider how the auction proceeds should be treated for state tax apportionment purposes, say attorneys at Reed Smith LLP.

• Limiting Law Firms' Professional Liability Risks: Part 1

  

  Corporate law departments are increasingly demanding more concessions from outside legal counsel, and presenting engagement letters that open the door to greater professional and cyber liability exposure for law firms — often beyond the scope of their insurance coverage. Firms must add their own language to engagement letters to limit liability, say Stuart Pattison and John Muller of Sompo International Holdings Ltd.

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  From Lawmaker To Lawyer: How Congress Affected My Career

  

  Being a former member of Congress put me in an advantageous position when I approached law firms in the late '70s, at a time when there were few female lawyers, and even fewer African-American lawyers, in major law firms, says former Rep. Yvonne B. Burke, D-Calif., a director of Amtrak.

• Design Patent Damages And The Jury's Confusion In Apple

  

  Comments from a juror after the Apple v. Samsung trial revealed a specific problematic conclusion reached by the jury in its decision-making process, say Derek Dahlgren and Spencer Johnson of Rothwell Figg Ernst & Manbeck PC.