March 18, 2020

Coronavirus Preparedness: Law Firm Edition

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nearly every facet of business, and the legal profession is no exception. Law schools nationwide have either closed their doors for the semester or transitioned to online learning environments . Likewise, more and more law firms are temporarily shuttering their doors, including but certainly not limited to BigLaw giants Quinn Emanuel and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath . If BigLaw...

March 16, 2020

Coronavirus and Force Majeure Checklist

This Coronavirus and Force Majeure Checklist provides guidance on issues and measures counsel should consider when determining the applicability of the coronavirus with respect to force majeure clauses in your clients’ commercial contracts. This checklist is jurisdiction and industry neutral and, therefore, you should review applicable state and industry law before taking any definitive action regarding your client’s...

March 15, 2020

Coronavirus Impact on Lenders and Borrowers: Client Alert Digest

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has battered global markets as many industries grapple with weaker demand and an uncertain outlook. In turn, borrowers and lenders may find themselves navigating credit documentation that did not anticipate such a drastic downturn, leaving forecasted cash flow (which lenders counted on for repayment) lower than the reality. While credit documentation may not specifically address a global...

January 27, 2020

Five Legal Trends to Watch in 2020

If we could see the future with perfect clarity, we would all be on a yacht somewhere. But even so, some of the biggest trends that will impact the legal profession over the next year are inescapable. An aging population, the integration of technology in daily life and the continued loosening of traditional gatekeeping rules in the legal profession—all of these forces feel like certainties. And all of them give...

December 18, 2019

Elder Law: Three Reasons Why It’s a Unique Niche Legal Practice

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that there will be 59.8 million baby boomers in 2030 between the ages of 66 and 84. In that same year it anticipates that more than 20 percent of the entire U.S. population will be 65 years old and over. The aging of the U.S. population is not going to end with baby boomers. Gen Xers and Millennials will be following in their footsteps. With life expectancy for U.S. residents reaching...

December 05, 2019

Burning Out: How Immigration Lawyers Can Cope with a Rapidly Changing Practice

It’s not easy being a U.S. immigration lawyer these days—members of the immigration bar are reporting levels of stress not seen in decades. From working with asylum seekers to securing employment visas for professionals, it seems everything is more difficult due to a maelstrom of policy changes . Judges, too, are also stressed out by how they have been told to handle cases amidst an ever-growing docket backlog...

November 04, 2019

Accepting Cryptocurrency for Legal Services Presents Risks and Rewards

In an effort to keep pace with an increasingly digitized world, many law firms are beginning to accept cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as payment from clients. Gaining an understanding of how cryptocurrency works can be daunting. But for lawyers, it may be worth the effort. After all, with 7.1 million active users of Bitcoin alone, it seems that cryptocurrency is here to stay. Still, the decision to take this new form...

September 09, 2019

What the California Consumer Privacy Act Means to Data Protection Law

Following on the heels of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, commonly referred to as GDPR , comes CCPA, the California Consumer Privacy Act. It’s California’s effort to enhance consumer data privacy at the state level. CCPA builds on California’s “Shine the Light Law” (CA Civil Code §1798.83) from 2005 and shares the goal of GDPR—to protect sensitive...

April 16, 2019

Five Factors Impacting Real Estate in 2019

While many micro-level factors often have a significant effect on the local real estate market (school districts, regional infrastructure, etc.), it’s important to widen the lens from time to time and look at some of the larger, macro-level drivers influencing the real estate industry. Here are five important trends to look at in 2019. 1) THE ECONOMY The economy is about as macro as it gets when you think about...

April 02, 2019

Tiny Homes: An Affordable Housing Solution, or a Regulatory Nightmare?

Tiny homes have been romanticized by television networks like HGTV® . For many, tiny homes are alluring because most require little to no mortgage payment, offering occupants a level of financial freedom. Yet, what none of these hit TV shows talk about are the legal headaches that many tiny homeowners experience. Zoning laws can make it nearly impossible to build and occupy a tiny home, even if you own the land. The...

February 20, 2019

Hashing Out the Details of Marijuana Tax Law

When your client is excited about the prospect of starting a new marijuana business, it’s likely considered a real “buzz-kill” to bring up complicated tax laws. But to avoid costly mistakes in penalties or overpayments, that is exactly what you need to do. Setting up and running a business that is legal at a state level but illegal at a federal level has unique complications when it comes to federal...

December 18, 2018

Data Privacy: How to Keep Current with Data Security Laws and Regulations

How do you handle the privacy and data security issues for your firm and your clients? How do you stay abreast of the myriad rules and regulations governing data security and cybersecurity problems? Are cybersecurity attackers and data breach specialists winning the cybersecurity war? According to IBM's sponsored 2018 Cost of a Data Breach Study by Ponemon Institute , "the global average cost of a data...

October 10, 2018

Five Events Solo and Small Law Firm Lawyers Should Attend

Most small or solo firms have learned to be efficient with both time and money: with less capital to spend on marketing activities than bigger firms and limited time to invest in attending important industry conferences, lawyers have to be selective and strategic about where they spend their time and money. With so many legal conferences to choose from it can be difficult to narrow down which ones will deliver the best...

July 10, 2018

5 Small Law Twitter® Accounts Worth Following

When it comes to Twitter ® , small and midsize law firms find themselves occupying something of a no-man’s land. On the one hand, small law firms are typically not as wellequipped to leverage Twitter as their larger peers, which tend to have bigger budgets, teams and follower counts. The sheer scale behind the operations at Kirkland & Ellis LLP (20,000 followers), Latham & Watkins (30,000 followers)...