Appellate

Judges Who Use Social Media Must Know Their Ethical Limits

While the judiciary is permitted to use electronic social media, judges and judicial candidates should protect themselves from accusations of ethics violations by studying the growing body of ethics opinions and disciplinary cases centering on who judges connect with and how they behave online, says Justice Daniel Crothers at the North Dakota Supreme Court.

Rebuttal

Courts Are Not Shifting On COVID Biz Interruption Stance

Although a recent Law360 guest article suggested that the pendulum is about to swing in favor of policyholders seeking business interruption coverage for pandemic-related losses, the larger body of appellate case law — applying the laws of 25 states — continues to find no coverage, say attorneys at Dentons.

Rebuttal

ABA Is Defending Profession's Values From Monied Influences

A recent Law360 guest article suggested that the American Bar Association ignored new opportunities for the legal industry by opposing nonlawyer ownership of law practices, but any advantages would be outweighed by the constraints nonlawyer owners could place on the independence that lawyers require to act in the best interest of their clients, says Stephen Younger at Foley Hoag.

4th Circ. Underlines Immigration Judges' Standard Of Conduct

The Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Acevedo v. Garland that an immigration judge’s bad behavior is central when considering a request for a new hearing critically recognizes that the judge’s behavior determines whether a respondent can meaningfully participate in their proceeding, says Monica Mananzan at the CAIR Coalition.

Where States Stand On The Legality Of Abortion

Excerpt from Practical Guidance

In light of Indiana recently joining 19 other states in criminalizing abortion prior to viability, Amanda Zablocki and Mikela Sutrina at Sheppard Mullin review the current slate of state abortion laws and their broader implications.

Opinion

FCC Preemption Ruling Is A Win For Cell Tech, Consumers

The Ninth Circuit ensured in Cohen v. Apple that the Federal Communications Commission's governance of radiofrequency emissions would not be undermined by contrary state and local standards — and prevented a fractured regulatory environment from stifling the continued rapid growth of cellular technology, say attorneys at Wiley.

How In-House Counsel Can Better Manage Litigation Exposure

In anticipation of economic downturn and increased litigation volume, the true struggle for an in-house team is allocating their very limited and valuable attentional resources, but the solution is building systems that focus attention where it can be most effective in delivering better outcomes, say Jaron Luttich and Sean Kennedy at Element Standard.

Opinion

Congress Should Rescue The ACPA From Irrelevance

A circuit split underscores the need for Congress to amend the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act to include reregistration in accordance with statutory language, legislative intent and sound public policy, says Baraa Kahf at Knobbe Martens.

Practical E-Discovery Lessons From The Alex Jones Case

The accidental disclosure of mobile phone data during the Alex Jones defamation damages trial underlines the importance of having in place a repeatable e-discovery process that includes specific steps to prevent production of data that may be privileged, sensitive or damaging to the case, say Mike Gaudet and Richard Chung at J.S. Held.

Opinion

Mar-A-Lago And The Inherent Problems With DOJ Filter Teams

A Florida federal court's decision to appoint a special master to screen the documents seized from former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate for privilege is not an outcome normally seen in white collar practice, but it is a welcome change as there are three significant problems with government filter teams, say Jack Sharman and Mary Parrish McCracken at Lightfoot Franklin.

Employer Compliance After 4th Circ. Gender Dysphoria Ruling

The Fourth Circuit's recent ruling on gender dysphoria in Williams v. Kincaid changes what constitutes a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and to contend with this new interpretation of the law, employers would be wise to consider ways of learning what transgender employees need in the workplace, says Jakob Williams at Clark Hill.

What Snap Removal Debate Means For Insurance Disputes

A potential circuit split regarding the permissibility of snap removal to federal court, which allows defendants to circumvent the forum defendant rule, is particularly a concern in insurance cases due to the difficulty of removing such cases, and the perception that some state courts are more favorable to policyholders, says Greg Mann at Rivkin Radler.

The Ethical Risks For Lawyers Accepting Payments In Crypto

Ohio recently became the fifth jurisdiction to provide attorneys guidance on accepting cryptocurrency as payment or holding cryptocurrency in escrow, but lawyers should beware the ethics rules such payments may implicate, and consider three practical steps to minimize the risks, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Jared Marx at HWG.

9th Circ. Accidental Death Ruling Raises Critical ERISA Issue

The Ninth Circuit’s recent ruling in Wolf v. Life Insurance Co. of North America helps clarify whether accidental death insurance covers reckless conduct, and raises an important Employee Retirement Income Security Act principle about claim denial that will likely affect future cases, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

Recent Employer Lessons On Facing Calif. Labor Hearings

A California state appeals court in Elsie Seviour-Iloff v. LaPaille recently set forth multiple important holdings expanding the potential relief available to employees pursuing administrative relief for wage claims with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, and they offer crucial takeaways for employers, says Tyler Bernstein at Sheppard Mullin.