The 2024 LTN Law Firm Tech Survey spoke with 30 technologists at top U.S. law firms to get a sense of what technology issues they faced over the past year, how their technology posture, policies and investments are changing, and their thoughts on technology’s impact on the future of the legal industry.
Structural, generational and workplace trends are redefining the professional development landscape. There is a new model emerging — one which recognizes the value of human skills in client development and talent retention and acknowledges the firm’s responsibility in helping budding lawyers build these skills. Yet today’s partners typically have notable gaps in the areas most needed today. One area, in particular, few get the training they need to be most effective in leadership.
After nearly four years of litigation, the Second Circuit held recently that a small commercial landlord lacked standing to seek declaratory relief against the City of New York challenging the Guaranty Law under the Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Most of the federal circuit courts that have addressed what qualifies either as a "compilation" or as a single creative work apply an "independent economic value" analysis that looks at the market worth of the single creation as of the time when an infringement occurs. But in a recent ruling of first impression, the Fifth Circuit rejected the "independent economic value" test in determining which individual sound recordings are eligible for their own statutory awards and which are part of compilation.
Practical strategies to explore doing business with friends and social contacts in a way that respects relationships and maximizes opportunities.
As the relationship between in-house and outside counsel continues to evolve, lawyers must continue to foster a client-first mindset, offer business-focused solutions, and embrace technology that helps deliver work faster and more efficiently.
At the motion to dismiss stage, courts usually won't consider affirmative defenses. This issue arose recently in a preferential transfer case, where a defendant sought to dismiss a complaint by arguing it was a mere conduit, not an initial transferee.
This article focuses on the cure requirement under Section 1124(2)(A), highlights how courts have interpreted the interplay between Section 1124(2)(A) and related Bankruptcy Code provisions, and suggests best practices to ensure that creditors are not leaving money on the table.
The next company general counsel to slide a morality clause across the desk for a celebrity or web influencer to sign shouldn't be surprised if that talent also whips out a morals clause, one to cancel the contract if the company's brand acts immorally.
Copyright law has long struggled to keep pace with advances in technology, and the debate around the copyrightability of AI-assisted works is no exception. At issue is the human authorship requirement: the principle that a work must have a human author to be eligible for copyright protection. While the Copyright Office has previously cited this "bedrock requirement of copyright" to reject registrations, recent decisions have focused on the role of human authorship in the context of AI.
