Features

Legal Tech: Can Claiming Incompetence Save You from Spoliation Sanctions?
A recent opinion in Illinois raises the question of whether spoliating parties should be encouraged to present the following defense at trial: "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, yes the main evidence of this case has been destroyed, but it's only because my client and my law firm are completely incompetent when it comes to preserving electronic evidence."
Features

The Interplay Between Vendor Finance Agreements and Bankruptcy
While regularly used among lenders, manufacturers, and dealers, treatment of Inventory financing program agreements in bankruptcy is not uniform, and uncertainty exists with respect to how such agreements may be treated in the context of a manufacturer's Chapter 11.
Features

Commercial Assets Feel Pinch of Climbing Interest Rates and Inflation
Inflation revs up the acceleration engine and, as a response, the Fed makes the biggest single hike in interest rates in four decades, with the promise of more to come. The changes in monetary policy are causing rising issues for capital markets and financing for commercial real estate.
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Current Economic Climate Likely to Cause Law Firms to Offer Flexible and Creative Fee Arrangements
The current economic climate will incline lawyers, specifically litigators, to rethink their fee structures. With inflation at a 40-year high, residential and commercial rents rising, and a predicted looming recession, clients are tightening their budgets, but also demanding the same level of service and results from their attorneys.
Features

Enforcement Update: U.S. Courts Demonstrate Reluctance to Extend Application of Chinese Data Security and Privacy Laws In Civil Discovery
Two recent Chinese laws — the Data Security Law (DSL) and the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) — include provisions aimed at restricting the cross-border transfer of China-based data foreign enforcement and judicial authorities. U.S. courts have not yet addressed whether these data protection and privacy laws could bar the production of documents in civil contexts involving governmental litigants or in criminal proceedings.
Features

Mitigating Risks at Professional Service Firms Using Artificial Intelligence
Truly malicious internal threats can often be treated much like external threats using the tools and backups already in place. But how does a firm proactively identify the softer threats — which may be just as dangerous as the malicious threats and can cripple a firm just as effectively?
Features

The Anatomy of a Supply Chain Cyberattack
Mitigating Its Risks and the Call for Standardization of Software Development Security Protocols This article details the anatomy of a supply chain cyberattack, explores the existing state of supply chain protective contractual terms, and proposes actionable steps with a collective approach to guide legal professionals through their precarious endeavors.
Features

We Must Never Let our Cyber Guard Down
When cyber defenses work, there is a human tendency to become complacent. If you fall into this perception trap, you will quickly find yourself in survival mode — scrambling to restore and recover, and in a position where the best explanation was that the attack was somehow "unexpected." The global cyberthreat is also still very real.
Features

Crypto Asset Legal Difficulties
Exploring crypto assets is akin to visiting the Land of Oz. Outwardly, both seem dazzling, foreign and off-color. However, by removing the technological blinders, equivalent to the emerald glasses worn by the citizens of the Emerald City, attorneys will likely understand that they know all they need to integrate crypto assets into their practice.
Features

Under Shared Responsibility Cloud Model, Data Owners Retain Control of Access and Data
From a legal perspective, the cloud introduces a unique shared responsibility model that many businesses are only now coming to appreciate; specifically, although the cloud provider may house the data and provide functionality for access and data security controls, the legal obligations remain the responsibility of the business procuring these services.
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