Technology

Expert Analysis

• Where We Are In The US Trade Secret Crackdown On China

  

  As the U.S. Department of Justice continues to focus on prosecuting trade secret theft by China, U.S. companies are also filing private civil lawsuits against Chinese companies in federal courts, relying on both the Defend Trade Secrets Act and state trade secret laws, say attorneys at Wiggin and Dana.

• Opinion

  Don't Cancel Your Summer Associate Programs

  

  While pulling off an effective summer associate program this year will be no easy feat, law firms' investments in their future attorneys should be considered necessary even during this difficult time, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.

• Tech Will Play Key Role In Real Estate's Road To Recovery

  Excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor

  

  With unprecedented stress on real estate operations due to the COVID-19 crisis, this is a time to reflect on the property technology industry's success in recent years and to recognize how those models can be used to rebuild for the future, say attorneys at Goodwin.

• Tips For Spoliation Claims In Trade Secret Cases

  

  As businesses move toward the complete digitization of information, spoliation issues are increasingly arising in the context of trade secret litigation, and a recent California federal court's decision in WeRide v. Huang is a great example of how plaintiffs can use spoliation offensively to obtain a win, say attorneys at Arent Fox.

• Early Securities Litigation Trends Stemming From Recent IPOs

  

  Attorneys at WilmerHale analyze Securities Act complaints against companies that went public immediately prior to and during the COVID-19-induced market volatility, providing preliminary insights into whether, when and on what basis recent issuers are facing securities litigation.

• New Trend In IPR Institution Appealability Demands Scrutiny

  

  While a recent trend of federal courts holding that U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decisions instituting inter partes reviews are not appealable requires close following, there are two remedies practitioners can seek apart from appeal, say Brett Cooper and Kevin Schubert at McKool Smith.

• The Legal Risks Of Bias In Artificial Intelligence

  

  Bias in artificial intelligence algorithms is inevitable, so companies that use AI should take proactive steps to avoid disparate impact on legally protected classes and minimize the risk of lawsuits, say Brig. Gen. Patrick Huston at the Army JAG Corps and Lourdes Fuentes-Slater at Karta Legal.

• 5 Ways To Reduce Post-Pandemic Legal Malpractice Exposure

  

  History suggests that legal malpractice claims will rise following the current economic downturn, and while a certain percentage of the claims will be unavoidable, there are prophylactic steps that law firms can take, says John Johnson at Cozen O'Connor.

• Opinion

  Justices Should Construe Computer Fraud Law Narrowly

  

  In U.S. v. Van Buren, the U.S. Supreme Court should follow burglary and trespass cases to limit the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act’s scope to accessing or misusing employer data and avoid the absurd result of criminalizing an employee's unauthorized Facebook visit, say Anthony Volini and Karen Heart at DePaul University.

• Using The M&A Slowdown To Prepare A Portfolio Co. For Sale

  Excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor

  

  Dealmakers can take advantage of COVID-19’s dampening effect on M&A activity to work through timing, pandemic considerations and sale process coordination for portfolio company sales so their deals will be ready when the market eventually picks back up, say Michael Gilligan and Caitlin Cornell at Schulte Roth.

• Opinion

  Credibility Concerns About Virtual Arbitration Are Unfounded

  

  Concerns that videoconferenced arbitration hearings compromise an arbitrator's ability to reliably resolve credibility contests are based on mistaken perceptions of how many cases actually turn on credibility, what credibility means in the legal world, and how arbitrators make credibility determinations, says Wayne Brazil at JAMS.

• Opinion

  Google's Fair Use Defense At High Court Is Disingenuous

  

  Because strong copyright protection does not hinder interoperability, Google’s argument in its U.S. Supreme Court case against Oracle that all application programming interfaces are subject to fair use should not prevail, says James Skyles at Skyles Law Group.

• CFIUS Proposal May Disproportionately Hit Certain Countries

  

  A recent Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States proposal would change the trigger for mandatory CFIUS filing from industry group designation to nationality-based export controls, facilitating investment from favored countries while discouraging investment from others, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• CCPA Is 1 Of Many Retailer Data Privacy Class Action Worries

  

  As class actions targeting the sale of consumer data pose an increasing threat to retailers under the California Consumer Privacy Act and other states’ consumer protection laws, companies must ensure compliance with each statute and assess their vulnerability to deceptive conduct allegations, say Stephanie Sheridan and Meegan Brooks at Steptoe & Johnson.

• A Lawyer's Guide To Client Service Continuity Planning

  

  Ensuring uninterrupted client service and compliance with ethical obligations in a time when attorneys are more likely to fall ill means taking six basic — yet often ignored — steps to build some redundancy and internal communication into legal practice, say attorneys at Axinn.