What Has Happened to Law Firms with Mark Zauderer
How did law firms evolve from professional partnerships into large business enterprises? In this episode, Mark C. Zauderer reflects on five decades of change in the legal industry, examining the rise of centralized management, the decline of mentorship, growing profitability pressures, and the influence of political and social forces on modern law firms.
FTC Warns Law Firms About Diversity Certifications – This Time Alluding to Antitrust
The FTC has warned major U.S. law firms that participation in diversity certification programs could raise antitrust concerns, framing coordinated diversity efforts as a potential labor-market competition issue. This article examines the Commission’s cautionary letters regarding the Mansfield Certification program, the broader pattern of executive branch pressure on law firms and media organizations, and recent court decisions addressing discrimination claims and government retaliation. It also explores how antitrust enforcement, free speech concerns, and regulatory scrutiny are converging to reshape the legal and media landscapes. As political pressure and enforcement intensify, firms must reassess collaborative initiatives while preserving independence and competitive integrity.
An Innovative New Law Firm Self-Ranking Tool with Molly Huie and Sara Lord — Listen Now!
What if law firms could measure success using more than just headcount and revenue? In this episode, Molly Huie of Bloomberg Industry Group joins data strategist Sara Lord of Reed Smith to discuss Bloomberg’s innovative Leading Law Firms self-ranking tool. The program blends financial strength, talent, innovation, growth, and excellence metrics into an interactive platform that helps firms benchmark performance in a more meaningful way. The conversation explores how the tool benefits business development leaders, managing partners, and firms of all sizes seeking data-driven insights.
Data Security for Small Law Firms with Ondrej Krehel and Gaspare Marturano
Data Security for Small Law Firms with Ondrej Krehel and Gaspare Marturano Joining me to discuss this important issue is Ondrej Krehel, CEO & Founder of LIFARS, a New York-based incident response and digital forensics firm specializing in cybersecurity protection. Ondrej is recognized for his digital forensic expertise and ethical hacking skills. He participates in high-profile engagements around the world using his proprietary methodology to achieve the most rapid root-cause analysis and remediation. He is a former lecturer at FBI Training Academy who has led forensic investigations and cybersecurity involving the U.S. government, including military cyber special operations. [...]
Johnson & Johnson Advances $6.5B Texas Two‑Step Talc Settlement Plan
Read about Johnson & Johnson’s renewed $6.5 billion talc settlement effort through the “Texas Two-Step” bankruptcy strategy, and how the case may reshape mass-tort bankruptcy law, MDL practice, and corporate liability risk management. The article looks beyond the settlement amount to the deeper legal question of whether a solvent parent company can use Chapter 11 to centralize and cap tort exposure.
Summary Judgment and Sham Affidavits: Protecting Your Motion from Contradictory Testimony
In this article, Cat Gavrilidis of Swift Currie examines how inconsistent testimony can undermine summary judgment and how courts apply the sham affidavit rule when affidavits contradict prior deposition statements. She explores jurisdictional differences and outlines practical steps attorneys can take to prevent contradictions, correct the record, and protect a well-founded motion before trial.
Agentic AI on Trial: You Be The Judge Part 1 – Medical Diagnostics | Featuring An AI Expert, a Google Cloud Exec, and a Florida Circuit Judge
When autonomous AI systems make life-and-death decisions, who is responsible when something goes wrong? In Part 1 of the Agentic AI on Trial series, Galina Datskovsky, PhD, Marina Kaganovich, and Hon. Lisa Walsh examine a hypothetical agentic AI mammography triage system designed to operate with minimal human oversight. The panel explores accountability across developers, hospitals, clinicians, and data providers—and whether new standards of care are emerging for machine decision-making. A must-listen for health tech, compliance, and healthcare operations professionals navigating the legal and operational risks of autonomous AI.
Mexico Bans Imports of Foreign Textiles: Does My Insurance Policy Cover That?
Diana Gliedman, Dennis Nolan, and Fiona Hogan examine the impact of Mexico’s recent presidential decree banning certain foreign textile imports through the IMMEX program and increasing tariffs on textile products. The ban has disrupted operations for textile companies and third-party logistics providers, leading to unexpected costs, rerouting challenges, and supply chain delays. The authors outline how businesses may find relief through insurance policies such as Supply Chain Insurance, Business Interruption, Contingent Business Interruption, and Marine Cargo/Stock Throughput Insurance. They emphasize the need for swift action to review coverage, notify insurers, and document losses to maximize potential claims.
Wildfire Insurance Coverage for Homeowners and Businesses with Anderson Kill
The horrific wildfires unleashing carnage in Southern California underscore the need for reliable insurance protection both for businesses and homeowners. In this episode, three seasoned attorneys discuss the types of damages and losses typically covered under homeowner and commercial property insurance policies, policy limitations, navigating the claims process, and business interruption coverage. They also talk about a Jan. 10, 2025, ruling out of the Northern District of California in Bottega v. National Surety which held in a business interruption case that whether smoke damage caused the suspension of operations at the policyholders’ businesses is a genuine issue of fact. Check out our interview with Anderson Kill attorneys Dennis Artese, Marshall Gilinsky, and Joshua Gold. They know this area of the law inside and out.
Mental Wellbeing and Fulfillment for Litigators: Sara Lord Interviews Gary Miles
In this episode, Sara Lord of Legal Metrics speaks with Gary Miles, success coach and former litigator. about the professional dissatisfaction litigators experience when the pursuit of fulfillment clashes with high-stress demands, and practical strategies for managing anxiety and embracing mindfulness. Listen and learn.
Protecting Policyholders as AI Is Developed for Insurance Claims Handling by Marshall Gilinsky and Madison Marlow
The authors, Marshall Gilinsky and Madison Marlow discuss the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) within the insurance industry and outline the potential consequences of diminished human oversight in AI-driven insurance claims handling, highlighting the need for watchdogs and regulators to demand that AI tools under development afford “explainability” and protect policyholder rights.
Technology-Assisted Review: Sara Lord Interviews Data Scientist Lenora Gray
In this episode, Sara Lord of Legal Metrics speaks with Lenora Gray of Redgrave Data about eDiscovery in the practice of litigation and how it has been transformed by technology-assisted review tools – or TAR, and how these tools work. Every litigator needs to understand how eDiscovery tools work. They should be able to answer questions around the approach being used, why that approach was chosen, the reliability of the assisted review, what human oversight was implemented, and more. Listen and learn. PLUS: Watch the video for outtakes and bonus content!
Transforming Legal Workflows with AI: Sara Lord Interviews Tara Emory and Wilzette Louis
In this episode, Sara Lord of Legal Metrics speaks with Tara Emory and Wilzette Louis of Redgrave Data about the game-changing potential of robotic process automation and AI, and how these are not just futuristic concepts but practical solutions to today's legal challenges. As Tara notes, "Wherever your team is spending most of its time on manual tasks, that’s where you can further automate with technology and get the most benefit". Wilzette adds, "AI-driven automation technology can take different aspects of an entire workflow and bring them into a set of processes that a software robot can perform for you. Soon, adopting such technology will be a must for firms to compete". Listen and learn more!
Massive Mass Tort Settlements and Liability Forecasting
In this episode, we discuss Liability Forecasting and the role it plays in the administration of massive, sometimes multi-billion-dollar mass tort settlement trusts with guests Mark Eveland and Ed Silverman of Verus LLC, which provides litigation support services to law firms working on mass torts, such as case management and medical review services, settlement administration, business and advisory services, and analytics. Liability forecasting mechanisms were built to fairly and judiciously compensate current and future claimants for their injuries. Listen and learn more!
Digital Health Care Companies, Beware: Federal Agencies Are Tracking Your Use of Online Tracking Technologies
The Authors Patricia A. Markus (trish.markus@nelsonmullins.com) represents health care providers and health technology companies across the country on wide-ranging regulatory compliance, reimbursement, licensure, and operational matters, with a special focus on issues surrounding health information privacy, security, and technology. Shane Duer (shane.duer@nelsonmullins.com) focuses his practice on healthcare regulatory and corporate matters, with an emphasis on data privacy, cyber security, and information management concerns within and beyond the health care industry. Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in [...]
Flying Cameras: Gaps in Drone Regulation and How Courts Can Fill Them … at Least for Now
Authors With deep experience in the law and regulation of unmanned aerial vehicles, Kathryn practices in the Providence, R.I., offices of Robinson+Cole. She is a member of the firm’s groups that focus on business litigation, data privacy and security, and drone compliance. Kathryn is also a member of the Editorial Board of Advisors for the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation and the Emerging Litigation Podcast. Blair Robinson is a cybersecurity intern at Robinson+Cole. She will graduate in 2023 with a J.D. from the Roger Williams University School of Law to complement her Masters of Science degree in [...]
Melicent Thompson on Coverage for Covid-19 Business Income Losses
Melicent B. Thompson on COVID-19 Coverage Abstract COVID-19 indisputably has taken an enormous economic toll. Governmental shutdown orders early in the pandemic and ongoing restrictions on business’ operations have resulted in a flood of claims for insurance coverage for business income losses attributable to those orders and restrictions. This article reviews the litigation and legislative developments directed at attempting to find insurance coverage for such losses and the reasons why those efforts have been unsuccessful for the most part. Author Melicent B. Thompson (mthompson@gllawgroup.com) is a Partner with the law firm Gfeller Laurie, LLP, in West Hartford, [...]
Courtney Klein on Social Media & Security
A Restructured Paradigm for Corporate Teamwork By Courtney Klein of Soteria Risk Consultants Social media has become an integral part of everyday life. It’s how some of us get our news, research our opinions, learn about local events, and connect with friends. For the modern western business, it is also immensely important for staying in touch with customers, advertising, and overall visibility. For this reason, many companies employ veritable armies of “Social Media Specialists” that do everything from designing graphics to writing tweets to replying to customer questions and complaints. Some companies interact with each other (such as [...]