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'Moneyball' for Litigators
Big data is ubiquitous these days, but still largely untapped in legal circles. Litigators can take a page out of a sports team's playbook and use the patterns and trends found in data to make more informed decisions about case staffing, spend management, case strategy and probable outcomes.
Michael Lewis' book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game describes how the Oakland Athletics and the team's general manager Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt in the movie of the same name) relied on empirical data to assemble a competitive baseball team. Despite having one of the lowest payroll budgets in baseball, Beane was able to identify players who had success indicators such as on-base and slugging percentages, even though they were not necessarily the most desirable according to traditional standards. He used principles of “sabermetrics,” the empirical analysis of baseball statistics, to recruit a winning team.
Some people also think of litigation as a game, and in many ways it is similar to professional sports: Within their budgets, parties choose players to compete on their behalf; there are rules that must be followed and there is often discussion of whether the playing field is level; and there are certainly winners and losers. Like in baseball, litigators can use data analytics to choose the members on their teams based on money available to be invested, skill set needed, and situational factors (venue, opponent, winning percentage against opponent and in venue).
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.