Business of Law

May 31, 2024
Illinois Strengthens Atty Ethics Rules For Harassment, Bias

The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that the state's professional conduct rules for attorneys have been amended to deem the act of engaging in harassment or discrimination as professional misconduct, and not just in the event a court or administrative agency finds that a lawyer violated a law prohibiting such actions.
May 31, 2024
WDTX Chief Adds New Hurdle For Patent Attys Eyeing Albright

The Western District of Texas' chief judge has made it harder for parties to have their patent cases end up in U.S. District Judge Alan Albright's court by refusing to automatically connect related litigation.
May 31, 2024
GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

Consumers have asked a federal judge to sign off on their $197 million class action settlement with Visa and Mastercard over claims the companies conspired with banks on ATM access fees. And Microsoft's President Brad Smith is going to tell Congress about what the company is doing to upgrade cybersecurity, including linking executive pay to it.
May 31, 2024
Lambda Legal To Expand With $180M Campaign

Lambda Legal, a national nonprofit focused on the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people and those living with HIV, announced on Friday a $180 million fundraising campaign, along with an organizational strategy that aims to expand its legal team significantly by 2026.
May 31, 2024
Smith Gambrell Faces Slimmed Data Breach Suit

A California federal judge has trimmed the claims a proposed class of data breach victims brought against international law firm Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP, leaving the firm to face claims of negligence, invasion of privacy and violation of the California Unfair Competition Law.
May 31, 2024
Orrick Leads List Of Top Law Firms For Women, Diversity

Talent strategies firm Seramount released its latest list of the 45 best law firms for women and diversity this week, with the 2024 cohort of winners showing strides over previous years in representation, advancement and benefits for lawyers who are women or from other underrepresented groups.
May 31, 2024
Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

Brewer Attorneys & Counselors, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and attorneys Eugene Volokh and Alan Morrison lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the National Rifle Association can proceed with certain claims in the gun rights group's lawsuit against a former New York state official.
May 31, 2024
Don't Fear AI Hallucinations, Embrace Them, Scholar Says

When it comes to artificial intelligence, most early adopters fear the so-called hallucinations that the systems can produce. However, one scholar says the creativity those hallucinations represent is a valuable feature lawyers should embrace.
May 31, 2024
Del. Chancellor Questions 'Rush' To Amend Corporation Law

Weeks before the Delaware State Bar Association sent state lawmakers a draft bill explicitly allowing corporations to broadly cede some governance rights to chosen stockholders, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of Delaware Chancery Court made an unprecedented, direct appeal to think twice.
May 31, 2024
The Top In-House Hires Of May

Legal department hires during the last full month of spring included high-profile appointments at Southwest, Hormel and UnitedHealth. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from May.
May 31, 2024
Trump Condemns NY Trial As Verdict Echoes In DC

A day after his conviction on 34 felony counts, former president Donald Trump on Friday attacked the Manhattan jury's verdict in a lengthy speech that mischaracterized multiple elements of the case as the decision reverberated through Washington, D.C.
May 31, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen financier Crispin Odey file a defamation claim against the Financial Times, Ford hit with the latest "Dieselgate" claim and a human rights activist bring a privacy claim against Saudi Arabia. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
May 31, 2024
Texas Judge Opts Not To Recuse And Tosses Chamber Suit

A Texas federal judge has thrown out the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's suit seeking to block the Federal Trade Commission from implementing a ban on noncompete clauses because a different plaintiff was first to file, adding he declined to recuse himself because no companies in his stock portfolio were parties in the case.
May 31, 2024
Disbarring Giuliani Would 'Protect The Public,' DC Panel Says

A Washington, D.C., attorney ethics panel agreed Friday that Rudy Giuliani's role in former President Donald Trump's attempt to overturn Pennsylvania's presidential election in 2020 amounted to misconduct "of the utmost seriousness," and that disbarring him would "protect the public, the courts, and the integrity of the legal profession."
May 31, 2024
In Rarity, 1 Party's Judges Gain 100% Control Of Circuit Bench

At the First Circuit, the judges' robes are all black, but the judges are all blue. It's a new and unusual instance of one political party's judicial picks controlling each active seat on a federal appeals court, and the Democratic dominance could prove magnetic for ideologically charged litigation.
May 31, 2024
Houston Judge's Vast Display Reflects 25 Years On Bench

Along the hallways leading to U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison's Houston courtroom hang hundreds of notes, photos, thank-you cards and other correspondence, serving as a kind of interactive scrapbook of Judge Ellison's 25 years on the bench.
May 30, 2024
Regulator Says Attys Hit For AI Use Have Themselves To Blame

An attorney for Colorado's ethics watchdog said Thursday that recent disciplinary action against lawyers for filing briefs with fake case citations generated by ChatGPT indicates a "lawyer problem" rather than issues with the technology.
May 30, 2024
Colo. Justice Says Outside Watchdog Key For Judicial Ethics

A Colorado Supreme Court justice said Thursday that third-party oversight of judges' conduct was crucial to maintaining the public's trust in the legal system, speaking as part of an American Bar Association panel that touched on recent controversies, including those involving U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and his wife.
May 30, 2024
Here's What Comes Next After Trump's Conviction

Donald Trump's forthcoming appeal of his historic conviction Thursday in the New York hush money case could include challenges to the state's evidence and jury instructions, but it's unlikely the case will be resolved before Election Day.
May 30, 2024
Donald Trump Convicted Of All 34 Counts In NY Trial

Former President Donald Trump was convicted by a Manhattan jury Thursday of 34 felonies over a plot to illegally sway the 2016 presidential election in his favor by concealing hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
May 30, 2024
Judge In Fatal Crash Remembered As 'Extraordinary' Mentor

A Nevada federal judge who was reportedly struck and killed by a vehicle near the federal courthouse Wednesday is remembered as a loving family man, hardworking judge and mentor who was generous with his time.
May 30, 2024
The 'Not-Postings' Of A Delaware Chancery Court Judge

Close observers of Delaware's Court of Chancery have recently gotten a new window into the First State's preeminent court of equity: Delaware Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster, one of seven judges on the court's bench, has recently rejoined LinkedIn.
May 30, 2024
NYU Law Review Beats Bias Claims Over Diversity Efforts

A New York federal court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit from a self-described straight white male, first-year law student at New York University claiming the NYU Law Review is discriminatory.
May 30, 2024
ExamSoft, Bar Examiners Face $2M Software Crash Claims

A 68-year-old former paralegal who hopes to become a pro bono attorney has sued the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee and ubiquitous bar exam test-taking software vendor ExamSoft Worldwide Inc. for $2 million, claiming three software crashes stymied her ability to take a exam offered remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
May 30, 2024
Ballard Spahr Faces Claim It Fired Worker Over Sick Husband

A former legal assistant at Ballard Spahr LLP claims the firm fired her in retaliation for using the Family and Medical Leave Act to take time away from work to care for her cancer-stricken husband, according to a complaint filed in Pennsylvania federal court.

Expert Analysis

AI In Health Law: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

As the use of artificial intelligence accelerated this year, Expert Analysis writers examined AI's significant impact on the healthcare sector, ranging from key compliance considerations for companies utilizing AI tools to regulators' efforts to keep up with rapidly evolving technologies.
AI In IP Law: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

Keeping up with generative artificial intelligence was the name of the game for intellectual property lawyers in 2023 as the government worked to determine whether AI-generated output is protectable under the law and guest writers assessed the technology's risks and rewards.
The Most-Read Securities Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

Securities guest article topics that piqued reader interest this year include how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission utilized seldom-used rules to go after bad actors, and how Delaware courts increased scrutiny on boards of directors — sometimes in surprising ways.
The Most-Read Employment Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

This year, some of the most popular employment topics in articles written for Law360's Expert Analysis section focused on workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, new unionization rules from the National Labor Relations Board, and proposed regulations for implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
Managing AI Risks: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

Amid the rapidly developing legal landscape around artificial intelligence, Law360 Expert Analysis writers tackled a range of compliance and litigation challenges, providing insights on privacy in the age of AI, the role of class actions in AI risk mitigation, and the creation of corporate AI policies.
The Most-Read Law360 UK Guest Articles Of 2023

Benefits of the new EU Unified Patent Court, artificial intelligence regulation and M&A trends amid rising inflation were among the hot topics U.K. Expert Analysis articles explored this year.
The Most-Read IP Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office incentives and restrictions, Federal Circuit decisions on exact meaning, and lessons from the comedic whodunit “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” were among popular intellectual property topics guest authors tackled this year.
The Most-Read Trials Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

Law360 guest columnists provided a number of tips and insights for trial attorneys this year, including pitfalls to avoid in witness preparation, color psychology pointers that can enhance trial graphics, and strategies for excluding expert testimony.
The Most-Read Access To Justice Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

In their commentary on emerging access to justice issues this year, Law360 guest experts covered the importance of tiered legal assistance in eviction cases, the evolution of financial bail conditions, and the role of public defenders in addressing the root drivers of crime.
The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.
So You Want To Write A Guest Article?

If your New Year's resolution is to spend more time writing, here's everything you need to know to pitch guest article ideas to Law360.
Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season

Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
Series

Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.