Features

Mental Health Survey: Improvement, But Pressure from Clients Rose Due to Rate Increases
While several data points from the ALM and Law.com Compass Mental Health Survey in the legal industry indicated that things have improved slightly, many lawyers sounded the alarm on added pressure from clients due to aggressive rate increases.
Features

AI and Open-Source Intelligence Are Redefining Risk In Legal Operations
AI and OSINT are not technologies of the future — they are reshaping legal operations today. The firms that embrace these tools strategically, with an eye toward governance, agility, and user adoption, will be positioned to lead. Those that delay will increasingly find themselves managing risk with outdated methods in an accelerated world. This is a defining moment for legal operations. The leap forward is here — and the opportunity is real.
Features

Understanding The Matrix: Mapping Your Firm’s Capabilities in a Complex Legal Landscape
The Matrix refers to a multidimensional framework that encompasses both internal firm capabilities and external client structures. It extends to understanding sophisticated corporate clients with their increasingly complex buying cycles, specialized legal service requirements, and evolving organizational structures. This dual-focused approach-mapping both your firm's capabilities and your clients' structures and need to those capabilities-provides the foundation for strategic business development and can exponentially increase your win rates.
Features

Divided Over Damages: Courts Split On Whether Failure to Mark Precludes All, or Only Some, Pre-Suit Damages
Only a few district courts have addressed the failure to mark in recent years — but they’ve reached directly opposing conclusions. This article analyzes the conflicting authorities and their reasoning, and it provides guidance to litigants on best practices given the conflict between district courts.
Features

Tea Leaves Tell Tales: Jury Awards $2.36 Million for Bigelow’s “Manufactured in the USA 100%” Label
On April 8, a California jury found that R.C. Bigelow, Inc., the well-known manufacturer of Bigelow teas, intentionally or recklessly misled consumers by claiming that some of its teabags were “Manufactured in the USA.” The price for this mislabeling was steep, with the jury awarding the class action plaintiffs $2.36 million.
Features

Down the Rabbit Hole: Bankruptcy Practice In Uncertain Times
The world — and particularly the U.S. economy — is navigating unprecedented and turbulent times. For bankruptcy professionals, it may feel as though we’ve fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole, where the rules we've long understood and accepted no longer apply. In this new reality, uncertainty defines both the global and American economic landscapes.
Features

Second Circuit Ruling on Copyright Fair Use Defense and Infringement Lawsuit Default Judgments
In copyright litigation, an infringement defendant may claim fair use as an affirmative defense. But the Second Circuit recently ruled that a district court, on its own initiative, could raise a fair use defense for a defendant that hadn’t appeared in the case.
Features

Modernizing the Revenue Cycle: A Strategic Imperative for Law Firms
The legal industry has long relied on the strength of its relationships, the quality of its legal work, and the predictability of its billable hour. But when it comes to financial operations — specifically billing and collections — many firms are still functioning on outdated assumptions, fragmented tools, and reactive processes that no longer meet the demands of the market. If the goal is to grow, improve profitability, and serve clients better, then firms must look at their revenue cycle as a strategic asset — not just a back-office function.
Features

Ninth Circuit Rules That The Substantial Burden Inquiry In RLUIPA Cases Is a Question of Law
Over the last 25 years, since its adoption by Congress in 2000, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) has been the subject of much litigation, when religious organization have tried to establish uses otherwise inconsistent with local zoning. The issues the courts have dealt with are whether the denial of a religious use at a specific location places a substantial burden on religious observance, or if the denial of such a use in a specific location is a proper exercise of government authority.
Features

Theranos Whistleblower Tyler Shultz: A Tale of Courage and Ethical Duty
In the annals of corporate fraud, few stories resonate as powerfully as that of Theranos, the Silicon Valley biotech startup that promised to revolutionize blood testing but collapsed under the weight of its own deception. At the heart of this saga is Tyler Shultz, a young whistleblower. This article recounts Tyler’s extraordinary journey and invites legal professionals to explore its lessons through our CLE program, which bridges his real-world experience with the ethical obligations enshrined in the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- The 'Sophisticated Insured' DefenseA majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.Read More ›
- A Lawyer's System for Active ReadingActive reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.Read More ›
- The Brave New World of Cybersecurity Due Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions: Pitfalls and OpportunitiesLike poorly-behaved school children, new technologies and intellectual property (IP) are increasingly disrupting the M&A establishment. Cybersecurity has become the latest disruptive newcomer to the M&A party.Read More ›
- Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric CodeIn an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.Read More ›
- Guidance on Distributions As 'Disbursements' and U.S. Trustee FeesIn a recent case from the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, In re Paragon Offshore PLC, the bankruptcy court provided guidance on whether a post-plan effective date litigation trust's distributions constituted disbursements subject to the U.S. Trustee fee "tax."Read More ›