Emerging Litigation Podcast
Intellectual Property Trial Team Diversity with Tara Trask
Intellectual Property Trial Team Diversity with Tara Trask Diversity and inclusion initiatives aren’t just valuable for checking off compliance boxes and writing marketing copy. Those benefits are a distant second and third to the genuine value team diversity has on the success of a company or a project. That also means law firms and trials. A recent article published by the American Bar Association Tort and Insurance Practice Section hailed diversity of perspectives for how they improve a team’s ability to resolve legal issues, innovate solutions, and introduce factors homogeneous teams may miss. The National Association for Law Placement reported that women and people of color are making great progress at major law firms. Nearly half of associates are women and, based on summer associate statistics, women are expected to break the 50% as early as this year or next. Black associates made impressive gains, but there remains room for improvement. At the partner level, however, Black and Latinx women and men remain stuck in the low single digits. In this episode we drill down even further to examine trial teams in the intellectual property arena. I was thrilled to speak with Tara Trask, one of the nation’s leading experts on IP trials and juries, having directly worked on or observed more of these proceedings than just about anyone. Tara has championed research on this topic as part of her work and presentations for the American Intellectual Property Law Association. The diversity spark lit up for Tara when she and her panelists enjoyed an enthusiastic reaction to an AIPLA conference session she moderated titled, “Perspectives on Diversity: Views on Trial Teams From the Bench, The Boardroom, and the Jury Box.” Listen to Tara’s insights based on analysis of her own cases, analysis of related studies, and expanded fact-gathering she is leading in collaboration with the association. [...]
Persuasion as Direct and Honest Trial Advocacy with Jack Siegal
Persuasion as Direct and Honest Advocacy with Jack Siegal The relevance to jury trials and jury persuasion is obvious. According to studies cited in a 2019 article in Business Insider, people develop first impressions of you “even before you open your mouth.” That means your mere appearance “affects how trustworthy, promiscuous, and powerful people think you are.” It’s the trustworthy part that attorneys need to pay attention to. Regardless of the strength of their case or whether the law is on their side, an attorney still must be persuasive. And, unless the audience – whether it is a judge, a panel of judges, a regulatory body, or a jury – sees you as credible, the rest will likely not matter. But what makes an attorney, or anyone for that matter, credible? Is this something you’re born with or is it something you can develop over time? Is it true, as some studies suggest, that you can change some first impressions by making some changes in how you present yourself, or are you just stuck with a less than trustworthy vibe? Interested in upping your jury persuasion game? A Good Place to Start Listen to my interview with attorney Jack I. Siegal, a partner with Fox Rothschild LLP in Boston. Jack believes we can all make positive adjustments in the nuanced practice of achieving credibility. This podcast is the audio companion to the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation. The Journal is a collaborative project between HB Litigation Conferences and the Fastcase legal research family, which includes Full Court Press, Law Street Media, and Docket Alarm. The podcast itself is a joint effort between HB and our friends at Law Street Media. If you have comments or wish to participate in one our projects please drop me a note at Editor@LitigationConferences.com. P.S. Toward the end I could barely manager my ADHD and took the conversation into a chat that [...]
Electronic Fund Transfer Fraud with Brad Rustin
Electronic Fund Transfer Fraud with Brad Rustin Grifters, scammers, con artists Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who championed the creation of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), calls the Zelle digital payments network a “preferred tool for grifters like romance scammers, cryptocurrency con artists, and those who prowl social media sites advertising concert tickets and purebred puppies — only to disappear with buyers’ cash after they pay.” 18 million Americans defrauded Scams and fraud committed via the Zelle platform and other peer-to-peer services are surging. According to one lawsuit 18 million Americans were defrauded by schemes perpetrated via apps like Zelle in 2020. Some 1,500 member banks and credit unions participate in the Zelle service. People sent $490 billion via the app in 2021. But Zelle owner, Early Warning, and its consortium comprising Bank of America, Truist, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo, have refused to refund customers for most of their losses. Sen. Warren issued a report that the claims for fraud received by just four banks will likely exceed $255 million by the end of 2022 – a $165 million increase over 2020. The senator and consumers say Zelle is violating federal consumer protection law. What is fraud? The heart of the problem is this: banks and consumers do not agree on the definition of “fraud.” For clarity on issues surrounding the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and its implementing regulation—Regulation E—listen to my interview with fintech attorney Brad Rustin of Nelson Mullins. In addition to chairing the firm’s Financial Services Regulatory Practice, Brad counsels financial institutions in regulatory matters, including strategic agreements, product development, and operational compliance. Brad is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist and a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager. He received his JD, magna cum laude, from the University of South Carolina School of Law and his BA in Political Science and [...]
A Shameless Plug for Our Content Services
Your content marketing is everything you’ve ever dreamed of. Right?
Sara is marketing director at a boutique law firm. When we asked her how their blog was going, she made a sad face. But then, we made Sara smile.*
Critical Legal Content was founded by Tom Hagy, former Editor & Publisher of Mealey’s Litigation Reports and VP at LexisNexis, founder of HB, current litigation podcaster and editor-in-chief. CLC’s mission is to help smaller firms and service providers not only create content — blogs, articles, papers, webinars, podcasts (like the stuff on this site) — but also to get it out there. How? Via social media, this website, your website, and potential via our podcast and journal which we publish in collaboration with vLex Fastcase and Law Street Media. The goal is to attract readers and dizzy them with your brilliance.
*Inspired by actual events.
Create content like a real legal publisher.
Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation
EMR Audit Trail—What Is It? Why Do They Matter? What Should You Look For? by Haley K. Grieco and Brooke E. Reddin
The Authors Haley K. Grieco (hgrieco@hallboothsmith.com) is a partner in the Paramus, New Jersey, office of Hall Booth Smith, where she defends physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers in a wide range of medical malpractice litigation. Brooke E. Reddin (breddin@hallboothsmith.com) is an associate with the firm, where she focuses her practice on healthcare, medical malpractice, and aging services litigation. 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 the world. EMR Audit Trail—What Is It? Why Do They Matter? What Should You Look For? "As the healthcare industry becomes increasingly digitized, it is imperative that attorneys appreciate the impact it may have on their clients and their practice. In medical malpractice matters, discovery requests for metadata—specifically, the production of the EMR audit trail—has steadily increased over the past few years." Abstract: Maintaining electronic medical records, or EMRs, is now a nearly universal best practice among medical providers from small physician practices to large hospital networks. Unlike handwritten or typed records, these digital documents carry with them much more data than meets the eye. In this article, the authors—two medical malpractice attorneys— discuss what attorneys need to know about EMRs in the litigation context and the metadata bread crumb trail they leave behind. They discuss the types of data involved, federal requirements, discovery considerations, privacy implications, and the pros and cons and risks of using these records in defending healthcare providers. During the past ten years electronic medical records (EMR) have all but rendered obsolete handwritten medical records. Medical providers have had to learn computer systems, programs, software, hardware, and forms like never before. When hospitals, facilities, and medical offices change EMR systems, the process of learning the new system starts over. But what about [...]
Employers Be WARNed: Workforce Reduction Rules Meet New Workplace Definitions as Employees Go Remote by Juan Enjamio and Steven DiBeneditto
The Authors: Juan C. Enjamio (jenjamio@huntonak.com) is managing parter of the Miami office of Hunton Andrews Kurth where he dedicates his practice to complex domestic and international employment law matters. Steven J. DiBeneditto Jr. (sdibeneditto@huntonak.com) is a Washington, DC-based associate in the firm’s employment and labor group. 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 the world. Employers Be WARNed Workforce Reduction Rules Meet New Workplace Definitions as Employees Go Remote "Numerous courts have opined that a “home base” is a place in which the employee has some sort of physical connection. But this connection must be more than a “notional” base, whereby the employee has a menial relationship." Introduction A common sentiment during the Covid-19 pandemic was that a different society would emerge from its ashes. While overstated in many cases, one segment of society that appears to have changed for good is the white collar workplace. Indeed, after enjoying the flexibility of working from home for more than 2 years, many white collar workers are demanding that a remote work option remain a permanent fixture at their place of employment. And with seemingly no negotiating leverage due to worker shortages across the country, employers have mostly acceded to these demands, with many opting to implement a “hybrid” workforce where employees work from home for part of the work week and transit to the physical workplace for the rest of the week. Other employers have opted to have employees work entirely from home in what is now generally known as a “remote” employee. But widespread adoption of a Hybrid Workforce presents a complex set of legal challenges for employers. These challenges are especially prevalent when making employment decisions using laws that were drafted decades ago [...]
Insurance Coverage for Digital Assets: Mitigating Losses in Cryptocurrency and Non‐Fungible Token Markets by Scott DeVries, Jessica Cohen-Nowak and Adriana Perez of Hunton Andrews Kurth GalleryInsurance Coverage for Digital Assets: Mitigating Losses in Cryptocurrency and Non‐Fungible Token Markets by Scott DeVries, Jessica Cohen-Nowak and Adriana Perez of Hunton Andrews Kurth
Insurance Coverage for Digital Assets: Mitigating Losses in Cryptocurrency and Non‐Fungible Token Markets by Scott DeVries, Jessica Cohen-Nowak and Adriana Perez of Hunton Andrews Kurth
Companies and individuals are riding the ups and downs of cryptocurrency and NFTs—with losses and swings in the billions of dollars—but digital assets are not going away. Abstract: The risk of loss in certain categories may be mitigated by insurance, whether provided by tailored policies and/or under policies designed specifically for digital asset owners. Those with exposure to the digital asset sector should be attuned to the emerging marketplace for such insurance products. While it is early days for NFT-specific coverage, the rise of cryptocurrency has created a substantial marketplace for crypto coverage. Insurers are becoming increasingly able to model and assess risk, so more products are coming to market. That said, digital asset holders need to be able to select coverage that best suits their needs. In this article, the authors discuss the history and status of coverage for digital assets to assist readers in exploring how they might use insurance to mitigate risk in this emerging and rocky sector of global finance. "Over the course of a decade, the marketplace for cryptocurrency has increased from zero to an estimated $250 billion. However, only $6 billion in insurance coverage is currently available. It would be a gross understatement to say that there is a truly remarkable imbalance between market value and insurance capacity." Introduction Crypto markets are experiencing the greatest crash in their history to date. The value of a Bitcoin (BTC) has plummeted 70% from its peak and Ethereum (ETH) has fallen 77%. Since last November, the value of cryptocurrency tokens has lost $2 billion in value. As noted financial publication Barron’s put it: “Crypto is having a ‘Lehman moment,’ a shattering of confidence triggered by plunging asset prices, liquidity freezing up, and billions of dollars wiped out in a few scary weeks.” Cryptocurrency companies are halting withdrawals and transfers, platforms are seizing up, and regulators [...]
HB Webinars on the West LegalEdcenter
Content Partners
