Expert Analysis

• How Law Firms Can Counteract The Loneliness Epidemic

  

  The legal industry is facing an urgent epidemic of loneliness, affecting lawyer well-being, productivity, retention and profitability, and law firm leaders should take concrete steps to encourage the development of genuine workplace connections, says Michelle Gomez at Littler and Gwen Mellor Romans at Herald Talent.

• 5 Keys To Building Stronger Attorney-Client Relationships

  

  Attorneys are often focused on being seen as the expert, but bonding with clients and prospects by sharing a few key personal details provides the basis for a caring, trusted and profoundly deeper business relationship, says Deb Feder at Feder Development.

• BlackRock Suit Highlights Antitrust Risks Of ESG

  

  In Texas v. BlackRock, pending in Texas federal court, 13 state attorneys general are suing large institutional investors in the coal business, underscoring key reasons companies may want to alter their approach to developing and implementing policies related to environmental, social, and governance factors, especially if coordination with competitors is involved, say attorneys at Manatt.

• Notable Q4 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

  

  In a continuation of trends in property and casualty insurance class actions, last quarter insurers struggled with defending the merits and class certification of sales tax and fee suits, and labor depreciation cases, but succeeded in dismissing privacy class actions at the pleading stages, says Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.

• Expropriation Claims After Justices' Holocaust Asset Ruling

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Hungary v. Simon, rejecting Holocaust survivors' claims against the Hungarian government under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act's expropriation exception, continues the trend of narrowly interpreting that exception and offers important guidance for future plaintiffs considering such claims, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

• Series

  Racing Corvettes Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  The skills I use when racing Corvettes have enhanced my legal practice in several ways, because driving, like practicing law, requires precision, awareness and a good set of brakes — complete with the wisdom to know how and when to use them, says Kat Mateo at Olshan Frome.

• Opinion

  At 100, Federal Arbitration Act Is Used To Thwart Justice

  

  The centennial of the Federal Arbitration Act, a law intended to streamline dispute resolution in commercial agreements, is an opportunity to reflect on its transformation from a tool of fairness into a corporate shield that impedes the right to a fair trial, says Lori Andrus at the American Association for Justice.

• Opinion

  Attorneys Must Act Now To Protect Judicial Independence

  

  Given the Trump administration's recent moves threatening the independence of the judiciary, including efforts to impeach judges who ruled against executive actions, lawyers must protect the rule of law and resist attempts to dilute the judicial branch’s authority, says attorney Bhavleen Sabharwal.

• Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

  

  “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

• Del. Supreme Court TripAdvisor Ruling May Limit 'MFW Creep'

  

  The Delaware Supreme Court's recent Maffei v. Palkon ruling regarding TripAdvisor's proposed reincorporation to Nevada potentially signals a turning point in the trend of expanding the protections from Kahn v. M&F Worldwide to other types of transactions, says Andrew J. Haile at Elon University.

• Reading The Tea Leaves On Mexico, Canada And China Tariffs

  

  It's still unclear whether the delay in the imposition of U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports will result in negotiated resolutions or a full-on trade war, but the outcome may hinge on continuing negotiations and the Trump administration's possible plans for tariff revenues, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

• How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work

  

  Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.

• Biden-Era M&A Data Shows Continuity, Not Revolution

  

  While the federal antitrust agencies under former President Joe Biden made broad claims about increasing merger enforcement activity, the data tells a different story, with key claims under Biden coming in at the lowest levels in decades, say attorneys at Covington.

• 10 Issues To Watch In Aerospace And Defense Contracting

  

  This year, in addition to evergreen developments driven by national security priorities, disruptive new technologies and competition with rival powers, federal contractors will see significant disruptions driven by the new administration’s efforts to reduce government spending, regulation and the size of the federal workforce, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

• Navigating The Trump Enviro Rollback And Its Consequences

  

  The Trump administration's rapid push for environmental deregulation will lead to both opportunities and challenges, requiring companies to adopt strategic approaches to a complex, unpredictable legal environment in which federal rollbacks are countered by increased enforcement by states, and risks of citizen litigation may be heightened, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.