Expert Analysis

• $735M Tesla Settlement Drives Home Lessons For Boards

  

  As one of the largest settlements of its kind, the recent $735 million deal between Tesla and 11 nonemployee directors highlights the increased scrutiny placed on compensation practices and director independence, and provides further caution to members of boards and their compensation committees, say attorneys at Cleary.

• 3 Areas Look Ripe For New SEP Licensing, Litigation

  

  As we wait for standard-essential patent litigation over 5G, data compression and several other technologies have quietly developed elements that make them attractive to SEP holders, turning them into areas to watch for increased licensing and litigation in the near term, say Brian Johnson and Michael O’Mara at Axinn.

• To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation

  

  Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.

• Automakers Must Prep For California's Car Data Privacy Probe

  

  With California recently announcing its intent to probe how automotive companies are collecting and using data from internet-connected vehicles, automakers and their suppliers must act quickly to create flexible, dynamic data management and compliance programs, say Melissa Ventrone and Myriah Jaworski at Clark Hill.

• Calif. Protected Species Law Changes: Real Fix Or Red Tape?

  

  California's recent amendments to its "fully protected species" statutes create a temporary permitting regime intended to accelerate the building of renewable energy, transportation and water infrastructure in response to climate change — but the new legislation could become another obstacle to the projects it purports to benefit, says Paul Weiland at Nossaman.

• Perspectives

  More States Should Join Effort To Close Legal Services Gap

  

  Colorado is the most recent state to allow other types of legal providers, not just attorneys, to offer specific services in certain circumstances — and more states should rethink the century-old assumptions that shape our current regulatory rules, say Natalie Anne Knowlton and Janet Drobinske at the University of Denver.

• Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

  

  Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

• NHTSA Fuel Proposal May Boost EVs — Given More Chargers

  

  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recently proposed revised fuel economy standards may spur automakers to further advance development and sales of electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles — but only if consumer concerns over inadequate infrastructure are addressed, say Levi McAllister and Mark Fanelli at Morgan Lewis.

• Series

  The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

  

  Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

• Aviation Watch: Osprey Aircraft May Face Tort Claims

  

  A recent U.S. Marine Corps Command report found that the cause of a 2022 Osprey crash was a problem known to the manufacturer and the military for over 10 years — and the aircraft may now be on its way to a day of reckoning in the tort liability arena, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

• 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

• DC Circ. Ruling Puts Issue Class Cert. Under Microscope

  

  The D.C. Circuit's recent Harris v. Medical Transportation Management decision, which pushed back against lax application of Rule 23(c)(4) to certify issue classes as an end-run around the predominance requirement, provides potentially persuasive fodder for seeking to limit the scope of issue classes in other circuits, say attorneys at Skadden.

• Opinion

  3 Ways Justices' Disclosure Defenses Miss The Ethical Point

  

  The rule-bound interpretation of financial disclosures preferred by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — demonstrated in their respective statements defending their failure to disclose gifts from billionaires — show that they do not understand the ethical aspects of the public's concern, says Jim Moliterno at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.

• Despite Fears, American Axle Is Rarely Used To Nix Patents

  

  When the Federal Circuit decided American Axle v. Neapco, invalidating claims as being directed to ineligible subject matter under Section 101, practitioners feared the decision would affect the eligibility and validity of mechanical patents under the section, a fear that recent research shows hasn't been borne out, say Ryan Schermerhorn, Christopher Zahn and Daniela Dulworth at Marshall Gerstein.

• 5 Ways To Improve Commercial Arbitration Clauses

  

  Arbitration clauses have become ubiquitous as parties hope to streamline disputes, but with boilerplate language leading to the same downsides as conventional litigation, commercial contract drafters should opt for custom-written terms, say Lauren Zimmerman and Jeff Zalesin at Selendy Gay.