Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Bar Score Is Best Hiring Metric Post-Affirmative Action

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling striking down affirmative action admissions policies, law firms looking to foster diversity in hiring should view an applicant's Multistate Bar Examination score as the best metric of legal ability — over law school name or GPA, says attorney Alice Griffin.

• Local Gov'ts Must Be Vigilant Ahead Of New TCPA Rules

  

  Before updated Telephone Consumer Protection Act rules take effect later this month, local governments hoping to avoid costly liability landmines should ensure their calling policies and equipment are flexible enough to comply with any proposed modifications before employing the use of automated messages, say Gerard Lederer and Gregory Caffas at BB&K.

• 2 Years Later: TransUnion's Impact On Data Breach Litigation

  

  In the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark TransUnion decision, plaintiffs have sought to bypass the effects of the ruling — which poses a significant impediment to large data breach class actions and uncertainty for cyber insurers — through various clever pleading forms, say Jason Fagelman and Sarah Cornelia at Norton Rose, and Amanda Thai at Beazley.

• Ghosting In BigLaw: How To Come Back From Lack Of Feedback

  

  Junior associates can feel powerless when senior colleagues cut off contact instead of providing useful feedback, but young attorneys can get back on track by focusing on practical professional development and reexamining their career priorities, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.

• Steps To Success For Senior Associates

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.

• Legal Profession Must Do More For Lawyers With Disabilities

  

  At the start of Disability Pride month, Rosalyn Richter at Arnold & Porter looks at why lawyers with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in private practice, asserting that law firms and other employers must do more to conquer the implicit bias that deters attorneys from seeking accommodations.

• A Look At Section 230 After High Court's Refusal To Clarify

  

  In light of the U.S. Supreme Court's declining to address Section 230 in a group of actions against major social media platforms, website operators and their counsel should err on the side of caution when engaging with or verifying users' content, say Neusha Etemad and Anne Marie Ellis at Buchalter.

• Opinion

  Appellate Funding Disclosure: No Mandate Is Right Choice

  

  The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules' recent decision, forgoing a mandatory disclosure rule for litigation funding in federal appeals, is prudent, as third-party funding is only involved in a minuscule number of federal cases, and courts have ample authority to obtain funding information if necessary, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

• How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks

  

  Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.

• Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip

  

  After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

• Broadcast Deal Parties, Beware In-House FCC Hearings

  

  Potential buyers and sellers in the telecom space should take note of the recent collapse of Standard General's attempted takeover of Tegna, which could not find its way out of a procedural maze created by the Federal Communications Commission's administrative law judge review, says Dennis Corbett at Telecommunications Law Professionals.

• 5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving

  

  Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.

• Opinion

  FCC Caller Authentication Rules Are Counterintuitive

  

  The Federal Communications Commission's recently adopted STIR/SHAKEN caller authentication rules were intended to stop robocalls, but are instead causing businesses to lose control of whether they are being identified properly or at all by various terminating carriers, leading to inaccurate labeling of calls, says Ray Pasquale at Unified Office.

• Practical Steps For Compliance Leaders Amid Evolving Risks

  

  As corporate compliance leaders face evolving challenges, from changing regulatory expectations to new technology, they can implement certain action items to optimize their compliance programs for today’s environment, say consultants at Charles River Associates.

• Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention

  

  The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.