Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Humanism Should Replace Formalism In The Courts

  

  The worrying tendency for judges to say "it's just the law talking, not me" in American decision writing has coincided with an historic decline in respect for the courts, but this trend can be reversed if courts develop understandable legal standards and justify them in human terms, says Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher.

• 20 Years On, Campbell Holds Lessons On Reining In Ratios

  

  Twenty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in State Farm v. Campbell provided critical guidance on the constitutionally permissible ratio of punitive to compensatory damages — and both Campbell and subsequent federal circuit court decisions informed by it offer important pointers for defendants, say attorneys at Dechert.

• Don't Let Client Demands Erode Law Firm Autonomy

  

  As clients increasingly impose requirements for attorney hiring and retention related to diversity and secondment, law firms must remember their ethical duties, as well as broader issues of lawyer development, culture and firm integrity, to maintain their independence while meaningfully responding to social changes, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

• 6th Circ. Ruling's Seismic Shift In FCA Kickback Causation

  

  It is difficult to overstate the significance of the Sixth Circuit’s recent decision in the False Claims Act kickback case U.S. v. Hathaway, which shifts the government's burden of proof by adopting a more defense-friendly causation standard and curbing an expansive definition of remuneration, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Why Event-Driven Securities Class Actions Often Succeed

  

  Though corporate defendants point to event-driven cases as evidence that the American securities class action regime has gone haywire, in fact, these suits illustrate precisely why securities litigation works so well to protect investors and the broader capital markets, say Daniel Barenbaum and Michael Dark at Berman Tabacco.

• As EVs Surge, Regs For Charger Warranties Remain Murky

  

  Even as electric vehicles move rapidly into the mainstream, extended warranties for EV chargers do not always fit clearly into existing regulatory categories — but how such contracts are classified can have serious implications for the companies that issue and sell them, say attorneys at Locke Lord.

• Opinion

  Federal Judge's Amici Invitation Is A Good Idea, With Caveats

  

  An Arkansas federal judge’s recent order — inviting amicus briefs in every civil case before him — has merit, but its implementation may raise practical questions about the role of junior attorneys, economic considerations and other issues, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation.

• 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.

• 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.

• Pollutant Insurance Case Holds Clues For Ohio Train Litigation

  

  A recent Rhode Island Supreme Court decision in Regan Heating v. Arbella could mean that the wide-reaching impacts of the February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, will trigger the enforcement of any total pollution exclusion contained in Norfolk Southern's commercial general liability policy, says Kayla O’Connor at Saxe Doernberger.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• States Shouldn't Fear HIPAA When Improving Gov't Services

  

  As the looming end of the COVID-19 public health emergency motivates states to streamline their processes for individuals seeking public benefits, they should generally not have to worry about violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act when sharing data across government services, says Jodi Daniel at Crowell & Moring.