The modern practice of designation—where lawyers from opposing counsel help decide which lawyers a client should use—has concentrated influence within a small group of lawyers. Ask anyone who knows anything about the system and they will name five law firms that dominate the market: Kirkland & Ellis; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton…

Companies will need to shore up their compliance practices—including the ease with which employees can report ethical lapses and wrongdoing internally—in the wake of the Justice Department’s announcement last week that it is launching a whistleblower program that could funnel millions of dollars to informants. Corporate attorneys view the program,…

The tragic death of Pinsent Masons U.K. partner Vanessa Ford has rocked the global legal industry because so many know what it is like to feel overwhelmed, stressed and burnt out. The big question now is whether all this impassioned discussion will lead to changes, or will just end up…

The U.S. Court of Appeals removed an injunction barring Texas from requiring pornography websites, domestic and foreign, to implement its age-verification law to protect minors. In considering two First Amendment free-speech challenges, a three-judge panel partially upheld the H.B. 1181, a law that was to go into effect Sept. 1,…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit certified three questions to the Illinois Supreme Court pertaining to workers’ compensation claims from alleged harms from diseases like asbestosis or angiosarcoma that may not show up for years after employment terminates. Judge Amy St. Eve authored the March 6 opinion, which…

A Pennsylvania federal judge denied a former county commissioner’s motion for partial summary judgment against emotional distress and retaliation claims from former courthouse employees who have accused him of sexual abuse and harassment. In a March 7 opinion, U.S. Magistrate Judge Daryl F. Bloom of the Middle District of Pennsylvania denied…