Transportation

Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Dakota Pipeline Challenge Undermines Permitting Process

  

  If Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. Army Corps of Engineers succeeds at challenging the Dakota Access Pipeline's environmental permitting more than three years after it came online, other infrastructure projects might also face legal battles long after they are built, says David Hill at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy.

• The Pandemic's Long-Term Impact On Law Firm Operations

  

  Brian Burlant at Major Lindsey looks at how pandemic-era remote work has changed the way law firms operate — from shifts in secretarial functions to associate professional development — and explains why some alterations may be here to stay.

• Biden Workplace Agenda Will Bring Change Despite Hurdles

  

  Employers should be prepared to navigate a new dynamic under the Biden administration because some workplace policies — like joint employer, independent contractor and overtime regulations — may bypass congressional roadblocks with reform through administrative action, says Jessica Summers at Paley Rothman.

• Opinion

  Lack Of Access To Remote Court Proceedings Is Inexcusable

  

  Blanket rules that bar recording or dissemination of remote public court proceedings impede presumptive common law and First Amendment right of access, greatly expand courts' powers over nonparties, and likely run afoul of U.S. Supreme Court precedent, says Matthew Schafer at ViacomCBS.

• Opinion

  Why Attacks On Trump's Election Lawyers Are Problematic

  

  The vilification of Jones Day and Porter Wright for their involvement in President Donald Trump's election lawsuits is an attack on lawyers' duty to advocate for their clients' causes fearlessly and zealously within the bounds of the law, says Pierce O'Donnell at Greenberg Glusker.

• Advancing The Democratic Tax Agenda In 2021

  

  Even with a divided government starting next year, Democrats will have a major effect on tax policy, pursuing legislative compromises and regulatory changes in service of President-elect Joe Biden's tax plan, and potentially reversing many Trump administration initiatives, say Russell Sullivan and Radha Mohan at Brownstein Hyatt.

• Tesla Ruling Leaves Self-Driving Liability Questions Open

  

  A California federal court recently dismissed Umeda v. Tesla, saying that the wrongful death suit involving a driver-assist system should have been filed where the crash occurred, but the underlying liability questions the case raised remain to be resolved, say Matthew Berkowitz and Brian O'Shea at Carr Maloney.

• Avoiding 6 Common E-Discovery Production Pitfalls

  

  Vanessa Barsanti and Sarah Mahoney at Redgrave explore how attorneys can prevent collateral discovery disputes by efficiently overseeing the electronic document review process and ensuring the integrity of the information provided to opposing counsel.

• What To Expect From US Trade Policy In The Biden Era

  

  President-elect Joe Biden’s administration will shift focus away from transactional relationships, focusing instead on multilateralism and rebuilding relations with key allies, even if a number of Trump administration trade initiatives live on, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

• Opinion

  Biden Independent Contractor Plan Sends Confusing Message

  

  President-elect Joe Biden’s inconsistent campaign plan for independent contractors supports enforcement of existing laws against intentional worker misclassification while also proposing a challenging-to-meet federal classification standard modeled after California’s A.B. 5, says Richard Reibstein at Locke Lord.

• Justices May Clarify Personal Jurisdiction Online In Ford Suits

  

  At the U.S. Supreme Court's oral argument in Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, the justices suggested that the court will soon clarify how the internet affects personal jurisdiction, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

• Law Firm Biz Development Tips For The Pandemic Era

  

  Jessica Starr and Monica Ulzheimer at Alston & Bird look at four areas where business development and other law firm administrative teams can take a leadership role in driving practice growth at a time when attorney interactions with clients and peers are limited.

• 6 Class Action Shifts Employers Can Expect Under Biden

  

  Legislative, regulatory and enforcement efforts under President-elect Joe Biden’s administration could enhance the scope and value of workplace class actions by expanding workers’ rights, remedies and procedural avenues, and emboldening the plaintiffs bar to ramp up case filings, say Gerald Maatman and Jennifer Riley at Seyfarth.

• Car Cos. Should Weigh Calif. Emissions Disclosure Deal

  

  In light of the California Air Resources Board's recent warning that it is continuing to investigate the type of vehicle emissions defeat devices that led to the 2015 Dieselgate scandal, manufacturers should review their emissions compliance regimes and self-disclose any issues by year-end, says Jonathan Martel at Arnold & Porter.

• What Really Caused Carnival's COVID-19 Stock Drop?

  

  Contrary to recent shareholder complaints that Carnival's stock plummeted due to disclosures correcting misrepresentations related to the pandemic, economic analysis shows market factors fully explain the cruise company's price reaction, and offers an approach for evaluating similar hospitality industry claims, say Atanu Saha and Yong Xu at StoneTurn.