Emerging Litigation Podcast

Tom Hagy interviews jury and trial expert Tara Trask about picking juries in an age of misinformation, general distrust, tribalism, unleashed social media warriors, flamers, and propagandists, and unorthodox legal strategies that seem to unfold on a daily basis. All of these conditions began to accelerate in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election in which Donald Trump prevailed over Hillary...

“Of all the opportunities legal operations teams might identify to save time, money, and resources while potentially improving quality, Robotic Process Automation may currently offer the biggest and most immediate opportunities.” That is from the forthcoming book, "Legal Operations in the Age of AI and Data," specifically the “Automation in Legal Departments” chapter written by Tara Emor...

Surveys abound on artificial intelligence and the law – many of them by companies bringing the technology into their products for attorneys.  One survey says three quarters of lawyers expect AI to be integrated into their legal practices in the near term. Half say they expect it will boost productivity, half feel it will be transformative, while  nine out of ten attorneys expressed concerns about...

Laundering money generated in the drug trade. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that between $800 billion to $2 trillion is laundered annually. Laundering money intended to support terrorism. The International Monetary Fund is concerned about terrorism financing, and proliferation financing, providing funds for nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons. Money that is embezzled...

Litigators who do other things besides litigate -- you know them.   Some perform comedy, act on stage or in film, or they are gifted musicians. Some are even drummers. (Drummer joke, if that’s not too edgy.)  One highly acclaimed San Francisco class action litigator is talented on the kit and owns her own drum company. Another Los Angeles-based litigator started his own record label. Another San F...

Today we talk about liability forecasting and the role it plays in the administration of massive, sometimes multi-billion-dollar mass tort settlement trusts. These mechanisms were built to fairly and judiciously compensate current and future claimants for their injuries.  Mass tort litigation is a complicated beast as is the administration of these trusts. There are many overlapping, interlocking,...

In this episode we talk about artificial intelligence in the world of invention. My guest recently co-wrote an article for the Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law about 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. The decision app...

Annual U.S. litigation cost estimates vary wildly.  Some say $250 billion, others say $430 billion. When you consider indirect costs, such as lost productivity or economic damages, some put the costs as high as  $1.5 trillion. According to Statista, more than $5 billion is spent on employment litigation alone, and another $4.5 billion on commercial litigation. Litigation surrounding intellectual p...

This isn’t going to be another theoretical sermon on the business of law, but how two partners  – with the help of a business expert – re-envisioned their practice, throwing out traditional models and transforming their firm into something unique. First, we’re going to talk about looking strategically at your law firm as you would any business. The goal here, being tweaking or adjusting your pract...

The PFAS family of man-made compounds are found in countless consumer products, as well as medical devices and firefighting foam. The incredibly strong carbon-fluorine bond that make PFAS so useful also makes them incredibly persistent. They are so ubiquitous that PFAS can be found in the blood of every human on earth and rainwater throughout the world.  In this episode we are going to give you so...

According to the Department of Agriculture Americans consume 137 pounds of fresh produce per year. That not only fuels our bodies but also a $146 billion industry.  Produce starts to degrade immediately after harvest, so transporting fresh fruits and vegetables from farms to stores in a safe and timely manner poses numerous challenges. What legal and reputational risks do growers, brokers, and shi...

What’s gotten into some corporations these days?  Some are reducing their carbon footprint and reducing waste. Some are demanding ethical behavior. Some are even paying attention to wages of frontline workers. In this episode we discuss the role of attorneys and in-house counsel in the courageous new world of Environment, Social, and Governance, or ESG. And, not to disappoint, I mention a beloved...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down Berkeley, California's ban on natural gas infrastructure in new buildings. The court ruled unanimously that the ban violates federal law. This subject is important as we will likely see more natural gas bans in the future and the Berkeley case has set a precedent for how similar cases may be treated.  The case was brought by the Californ...

The Federal  Trade Commission’s proposed rule banning non-compete agreements between employers and workers has met with considerable support and just as much opposition. Proposed on Jan. 5, 2023, a vote on a final rule not anticipated until Spring 2024. Will all of the challenges to the rule result in a substantially different final version? Why has the FTC chosen now? Who is contesting the rule a...

Challenged by the pandemic, war, trade conflicts, natural disasters, consumer demand, and inflationary pressures, the global supply chain has drawn heightened scrutiny for its impact on the economy, the labor market, the delivery of goods and services, and national security.  What have the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission had to say? Have they sufficiently addressed the issu...

The IRS closed more than 72,000 appeals last year and its Chief Counsel's Office received more than 65,000 cases. That's a lot of disputes. Safe to say they are about rules. Following rules. Not following rules. Questioning rules. Then, there are rules about rules that the IRS must follow.   The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) is such a beast. The APA places requirements on federal ag...

There are no borders when it comes to commerce, which means there are no borders when it comes to business disputes and litigation, either.   In addition to evidence and witnesses being spread across continents -- from Chicago to Shanghai to Sumatra -- nations'  various rules and traditions governing discovery is another substantial complicating factor.  Navigating these complexities requires...

Auto-GPT is a new generative artificial intelligence application which autonomously “self-prompts” to engage beyond a human-chatbot discussion. This takes us into a realm of AI self-prompted actions that do not need additional human inputs. It also potentially puts the “traditional” GPT models on a fast track to further reduce human interaction. The number of use cases as well as the number of leg...

You might think that if you purchase a product for a price inflated by bad actors in the supply chain that you would be able to collect damages. Unfortunately, depending on who you are, you would be wrong. Consumers and businesses, indirect purchasers of products whose prices are fixed by those who supply the maker of your purchase may not collect damages in states that, surprisingly, do not have...

Consumers are driving a wave of litigation against companies for allegedly sharing details of what videos they watch on their platforms.  Will litigation tamp down this activity?  What harm is being caused?  How will existing laws be interpreted?  Are these organizations within their rights?  Dozens of organizations -- ranging from the rough-and-tumble NFL to the decidedly less rough-and-tumble NP...

In this episode we talk about the advantages of having technology and software development capabilities inside your law firm. Can you imagine? And we’re not just talking about someone who is adept at unjamming the printer.   While the legal tech industry offers myriad high-quality solutions (some of my best friends are technology solutions), there are times when a litigator just wants that one thi...

Last year the Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz law firm filed the first class action against L’Oréal and Softsheen-Carson for injuries, primarily to Black women, allegedly caused by hair relaxers and straighteners.  Now there are more than 60 cases consolidated in multidistrict litigation.   Recent studies cited in the litigation show that Black women who use these products develop cancers...

According to studies cited in a 2019 article in Business Insider , people develop first impressions of you “even before you open your mouth,” that 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...

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...

It’s unlikely Sen. Elizabeth Warren has a future in copywriting for the fintech industry. (That was sarcasm.) 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 pup...