Expert Analysis

• 9 Years Post-Ritchie, Some Clarity On Texas Fiduciary Duties

  

  The Texas Supreme Court's 2014 Ritchie decision made shareholder conduct harder to police because it rendered some actions unassailable, regardless of the effect on minority owners, but a Texas appellate court's recent opinion in Sohani v. Sunesara provides useful instruction on how to structure an attack on self-dealing, say Robert Wilkins and Kaitlyn Faucett at Lightfoot Franklin.

• Fox Ex-Producer Case Is A Lesson In Joint Representation

  

  A former Fox News producer's allegations that the network's lawyers pressured her to give misleading testimony in Fox's defamation battle with Dominion Voting Systems should remind lawyers representing a nonparty witness that the rules of joint representation apply, says Jared Marx at HWG.

• Cannabis Cos. Must Heed Growing Federal Investigatory Risks

  

  As state-regulated cannabis markets expand rapidly, so too does government oversight, and industry participants must plan ahead to avoid potential liabilities related to workplace health and safety requirements, tax audits, securities regulations and foreign bribery laws, say Alicia Corona and Amy Rubenstein at Dentons.

• Opinion

  Stanford Law Protest Highlights Rise Of Incivility In Discourse

  

  The recent Stanford Law School incident, where students disrupted a speech by U.S. Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, should be a reminder to teach law students how to be effective advocates without endangering physical and mental health, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada.

• Dispute Prevention Strategies To Halt Strife Before It Starts

  

  With geopolitical turbulence presenting increased risks of business disputes amid court backlogs and ballooning costs, companies should consider building mechanisms for dispute prevention into newly established partnerships to constructively resolve conflicts before they do costly damage, say Ellen Waldman and Allen Waxman at the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution.

• Dormant Commerce Clause Issues Are Evolving In Cannabis

  

  As federal courts across the country wrestle with how the Constitution’s dormant commerce clause applies to state-legal cannabis markets, industry stakeholders will need to watch how the issue evolves in several key contexts, including interstate compacts, say Tommy Tobin and Andrew Kline at Perkins Coie.

• Practical Skills Young Attorneys Must Master To Be Happier

  

  For young lawyers, finding happiness on the job — with its competitive nature and high expectations for billable hours — is complicated, but three skills can help them gain confidence, reduce stress and demonstrate their professional value in ways they never imagined, says career counselor Susan Smith Blakely.

• New Mich. Cannabis Policy May Lower Costs For Some Cos.

  

  Under a recently issued bulletin from Michigan’s cannabis regulator, certain growers and processors may be able to significantly reduce costs by shifting the balance of their medical and adult-use licenses — but this strategy does entail some complications, says Robert Hendricks at Warner Norcross.

• Could The Supreme Court Legalize Marijuana Federally?

  

  Amid slow legislative and executive movement on cannabis reform, it’s worth examining whether the U.S. Supreme Court could provide a pathway to federal cannabis legalization — a decision that would surely require strange bedfellows given the court’s current ideological makeup, say Whitt Steineker and Mason Kruse at Bradley Arant.

• Pennsylvania Is Gathering Momentum On Adult-Use Cannabis

  

  Though Pennsylvania has been relatively slow-moving on cannabis reform, recent support from state leaders and pressure from neighboring states signal that legalization efforts are picking up steam, and could lead to the enactment of adult-use legislation soon, says Devin Malone at Clark Hill.

• ABA Opinion Should Help Clarify Which Ethics Rules Apply

  

  A recent American Bar Association opinion provides key guidance on interpreting ABA Model Rule 8.5's notoriously complex choice-of-law analysis — and should help lawyers authorized to practice in multiple jurisdictions determine which jurisdiction's ethics rules govern their conduct, say attorneys at HWG.

• How Cannabis Cos. Can Keep Up With Privacy Compliance

  

  With the cannabis industry's rapid growth and access to sensitive consumer information, and the ever-changing patchwork of state data privacy laws, it is becoming increasingly important for marijuana businesses to treat cybersecurity as a significant risk and management priority, say attorneys at Goodwin.

• 4 Ways To Reboot Your Firm's Stalled Diversity Program

  

  Law firms that have failed to see real progress despite years of diversity initiatives can move forward by committing to tackle four often-taboo obstacles that hinder diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, says Steph Maher at Jaffe.

• What Cannabis Cos. Must Know About Strict Product Liability

  

  To evaluate the traditional product liability risks of their products, cannabis companies should understand the common tests used by courts to determine strict liability, as well as how marijuana consumers are educated about product risks, says Ian Stewart at Wilson Elser.

• DOJ's Google Sanctions Motion Shows Risks Of Auto-Deletion

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice recently hit Google with a sanctions motion over its alleged failure to preserve relevant instant-messaging communications, a predicament that should be a wake-up call for counsel concerning the danger associated with automatic-deletion features and how it's been handled by the courts, say Oscar Shine and Emma Ashe at Selendy Gay.