Expert Analysis

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  Playing Softball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  My time on the softball field has taught me lessons that also apply to success in legal work — on effective preparation, flexibility, communication and teamwork, says Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty.

• USPTO's Track One A Reliable Patent Pathway Amid Backlog

  

  As the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office faces a backlog of unexamined utility, plant and reissue patent applications, patent applicants should consider utilizing the USPTO's Track One Program, which not only expedites the process but also increases the likelihood of working with more senior examiners, says Ryan Schermerhorn at Marshall Gerstein.

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  Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Time Management

  

  Law students typically have weeks or months to prepare for any given deadline, but the unpredictability of practicing in the real world means that lawyers must become time-management pros, ready to adapt to scheduling conflicts and unexpected assignments at any given moment, says David Thomas at Honigman.

• Privacy Policy Lessons After Google App Data Verdict

  

  In Rodriguez v. Google, a California federal jury recently found that Google unlawfully invaded app users' privacy by collecting, using and disclosing pseudonymized data, highlighting the complex interplay between nonpersonalized data and customers' understanding of privacy policy choices, says Beth Waller at Woods Rogers.

• How Hyperlinks Are Changing E-Discovery Responsibilities

  

  A recent e-discovery dispute over hyperlinked data in Hubbard v. Crow shows how courts have increasingly broadened the definition of control to account for cloud-based evidence, and why organizations must rethink preservation practices to avoid spoliation risks, says Bree Murphy at Exterro.

• Assessing Potential Ad Tech Remedies Ahead Of Google Trial

  

  The Virginia federal judge tasked with prying open Google’s digital advertising monopoly faces a smorgasbord of potential remedies, all with different implications for competition, government control and consumers' internet experience, but compromises reached in the parallel Google search monopoly litigation may point a way forward, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

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  Writing Musicals Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  My experiences with writing musicals and practicing law have shown that the building blocks for both endeavors are one and the same, because drama is necessary for the law to exist, says Addison O’Donnell at LOIS Law.

• 3 Circuits Breathe Life Into Privacy Enforcement, For Now

  

  With the Second Circuit's recent decision in Verizon v. Federal Communications Commission, three courts of appeals have weighed in on all four record-breaking fines imposed, showing that — at least for now — the FCC continues to have broad authority to set and enforce privacy rules outside of the Fifth Circuit, say attorneys at HWG.

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  Adapting To Private Practice: From Va. AUSA To Mid-Law

  

  Returning to the firm where I began my career after seven years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia has been complex, nuanced and rewarding, and I’ve learned that the pursuit of justice remains the constant, even as the mindset and client change, says Kristin Johnson at Woods Rogers.

• 7 Document Review Concepts New Attorneys Need To Know

  

  For new associates joining firms this fall, stepping into the world of e-discovery can feel like learning a new language, but understanding a handful of fundamentals — from coding layouts to metadata — can help attorneys become fluent in document review, says Ann Motl at Bowman and Brooke.

• How Trump's Space Order May Ease Industry's Growth

  

  President Donald Trump's recent executive order aimed at removing environmental hurdles for spaceport authorization and streamlining the space industry's regulatory framework may open opportunities not only for established launch providers, but also smaller companies and spaceport authorities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Agentic AI Puts A New Twist On Attorney Ethics Obligations

  

  As lawyers increasingly use autonomous artificial intelligence agents, disciplinary authorities must decide whether attorney responsibility for an AI-caused legal ethics violation is personal or supervisory, and firms must enact strong policies regarding agentic AI use and supervision, says Grace Wynn at HWG.

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  Being A Professional Wrestler Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Pursuing my childhood dream of being a professional wrestler has taught me important legal career lessons about communication, adaptability, oral advocacy and professionalism, says Christopher Freiberg at Midwest Disability.

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  Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

  

  Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.

• Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

  

  A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.