Emerging Litigation Blog
Edited and curated by Tom Hagy, this blog features articles from the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation, episodes of the Emerging Litigation Podcast, webinars produced by HB Litigation and Critical Legal Content, and guest posts. Many of the contributions come from the Editorial Advisory Board for the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation, published by Fastcase Full Court Press. The podcast is a collaboration between HB, CLC, Fastcase, and Law Street Media. Contact: Editor@LitigationConferences.com.
Litigation Prognostication with Dan Rabinowitz
In this episode, Dan Rabinowitz, Co-Founder and CEO of Pre/Dicta, discusses how the power of technology will make predicting litigation as commonplace as predicting the weather. He also shares insights into a study Pre/Dicta conducted that tested assumptions about judges based on their political affiliations. Listen and learn!
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!
Jury Selection in the Age of Conspiracy Theories and Distrust with Tara Trask
In this episode, we discuss picking juries in an age of misinformation, general distrust, tribalism, unleashed social media surfers, and unorthodox legal strategies unfolding on a daily basis with Tara Trask of Trask Consulting, jury and trial expert. "Jury service is an opportunity for everyday Americans to interact with an important institution, our courts, and play their part as citizens,"Trask says. "The court system could very well be our saving grace in trying to hang on to our democracy." Listen now.
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!
The Intersection of Generative AI and the Legal Profession with Niki Black
In this episode, we discuss the current state and future of generative artificial intelligence and the practice of law with Nicole Black, attorney, legal tech journalist, and author. As she notes, "The legal field is one of the most likely to be impacted by generative AI because the technology can significantly replace certain workflows or assist with those workflows in impactful ways". Listen and learn more!
The Corporate Transparency Act: A New Effort to Fight Money Laundering with Lori Smith
In this episode, we discuss the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) with Lori Smith of Stradley Ronon, including the key facets of the Act's requirements, potential penalties, and chances for litigation. As Lori notes, "the U.S. is one of the few countries in the world where you can form entities, and nobody can tell who owns them". The CTA aims to prevent this from being the case. Listen and learn more!
Litigators, YES Litigators: One Attorney’s Journey Within and Without the Legal Industry
In this episode, we discuss all the things one former litigator, Somya Kaushik, Senior Corporate Counsel at Mineral and Adjunct Professor of Law at Lewis & Clark Law School has done, and the advantages she feels a litigator can bring to a small company – one that isn’t embroiled in litigation (and would like to keep it that way). As she notes, "a litigator is well-positioned to identify actual but often overlooked legal risks, effectively mitigating issues and reducing both business and legal risks". 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!
Navigating International Discovery
In this episode, we discuss navigating the complexities of international discovery with Ben Daniels of Robinson+Cole and the benefits of understanding jurisdictional differences and having specialized tools and strategies to cut through the complexities. As Ben notes, "if you litigate in a foreign court, discovery, as it is known in the U.S., is not going to happen. But parties often forget a powerful tool to get around those restrictions". Listen and learn more!
Fresh Produce Law, Contracts, and Risks
In this episode, we discuss Fresh Produce Transportation Law with Katy Esquivel of Esquivel Law Chartered and the challenges of transporting fresh fruits and vegetables from farms to stores in a safe and timely manner. What legal and reputational risks do growers, brokers, and shippers face? What laws come into play? What are the essential components of contracts among participants in the supply chain? As Katy notes, "there is nobody in this country with a more tangible vested interest in the safety of produce than growers and everyone along the supply chain". Listen and learn more!
Machines Inventing Machines: Artificial Intelligence and Patent Law
In this episode, we talk to Robert A. McFarlane of Hanson Bridgett LLP about artificial intelligence in the world of invention and questions raised in a recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that expounded on the principle that only human beings - not machines - can be named as inventors under U.S. patent law. Listen and learn more!
The Awesome Potential of Advanced Dispute Resolution
In this episode we talk to Rich Lee, founder of New Era ADR, about hot topics and issues involving what is referred to here as "Advanced Dispute Resolution", or ADR. What are the benefits of ADR? How can ADR enhance Access to Justice? How does employing ADR impact Accessibility, Diversity, and the Environment? What is the influence of Gamesmanship in legal proceedings? As Rich explains, "ADR is about rethinking litigation to make it more efficient for both sides. Get parties to be pragmatic, get to the point, present their arguments, and get it resolved". Listen now to learn more!
Applying Business Strategy to Your Law Firm
In this episode of the Emerging Litigation Podcast, we hear from James Grant about looking strategically at your law firm as you would any business and explore one litigation firm’s journey through that transformative process. As he argues, "lawyers must learn AI now or else watch their competition fly past them in operational efficiency, customer service, and client retention". Listen to learn more!
PFAS Regulation, Litigation, and Differentiation
In this episode, we give you some history of the PFAS compounds, discuss some of their important differences, review what litigation we're seeing (including the various claims and defenses), note what we can learn from recent settlement structures, forecast the impact of any new regulation, and predict what litigation might be next. Listen to our guests David Marmins and Morgan Harrison of Arnall Golden Gregory LLP.