SharkCast

Effective collaboration between in-house counsel and outside counsel is essential to managing legal risks, controlling costs, and supporting business objectives. Differing perspectives, pressures, and expectations can create challenges if those relationships are not aligned. In this episode, Kent Schmidt interviews Dorsey Partners Kimberly Neville and Bonnie Paskvan, who bring extensive experience...

The U.S. and U.K. legal systems share many similarities rooted in their common law heritage. However, important differences have developed over time, including those related to liabilities that arise from employment relationships. In this episode, Kent Schmidt interviews Dorsey Partners Lisa Patmore, based in London, and Matt Durham, based in Salt Lake City. They address employment litigation and...

The connection between changes on the regulatory horizon and the creation of new theories of liabilities in civil litigation is well known. A new regulation often creates or expands a standard of care or obligation for a company that a plaintiff, including a consumer in a class action, can point to as a predicate for a tort or other legal theory. The nexus between the regulatory landscape goes eve...

The creative industries, including music and all forms of publishing, have been disrupted perhaps more than any other in the wake of the AI revolution, as new creative powers are unleased, allowing anyone to generate new content with ease.  With these innovation comes litigation risks of copyright infringement. Courts are keeping pace with these rapid AI advancements, applying well-known principle...

In the current volatile environment, societal and political shifts have resulted in increased uncertainty about how employers are to respond to issues ranging from the reversal of DEI standards and norms, changes in EEOC guidance and more claims of reverse discrimination. We are seeing greater division employees on social and political issues with social media providing everyone a platform to spea...

Hidden fees that consumers learn about late in the process of completing a transaction are increasingly targeted in state and federal legislation.  Using names such as “junk fees” and “drip pricing”, these laws create new litigation risks for companies. This episode covers the new statutes as well as FTC regulations, application in common scenarios, pending litigation claims, all to better underst...

Consumer litigation risks are a significant concern for companies selling products and services for personal use, including consumer class action lawsuits, as well as scrutiny and enforcement actions from the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general, and district attorneys. Mitigating these risks requires understanding how self-regulatory organizations (SROs) work. In this episode, Kent S...

A key aspect of identifying litigation risks is uncovering where a company deviated from its established practices, best practices, internal guidelines, or stated values. This process often reveals critical issues, making it advisable for companies to engage counsel to conduct an internal review or third-party investigation. In this episode, SharkCast host Kent Schmidt interviews Dorsey Partner Ma...

Wage claims make up a significant portion of employment litigation, often presenting unique challenges for companies. In this episode, SharkCast host Kent Schmidt interviews Dorsey Partners Aaron Goldstein and Nisha Verma on wage and hour claims. They discuss effective litigation strategies, common pitfalls for employers, and the distinct issues that arise in these cases.  This podcast is not lega...

Antitrust law is complex, demanding a clear grasp of its nuances, especially in identifying permitted versus prohibited conduct. In this episode, SharkCast host Kent Schmidt interviews fellow Dorsey Partner Tony Badaracco about the evolving landscape of antitrust law. With new decisions and emerging trends, staying informed is crucial. This podcast is not legal advice and does not establish an att...

Litigation is an inherently adversarial process. At times the contentiousness and acrimony become a challenge for the parties to address. Hostility increases the costs of litigation as well as the stress levels of all participants. For those reasons alone, counsel must be able to deal with aggressive and unreasonable adverse parties and continually develop these skills. In this episode, Kent Schmi...

On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Final Rule banning the use of non-compete provisions in employment contracts. While subject to legal challenges, the federal standards, combined with diverse state rules on such provisions (ranging from complete bans to general permissiveness) create new challenges for employers. Employers must tread carefully in understanding how to p...

We often hear of litigation trends described in dramatic terms: “the floodgates will open” or “a tidal wave of claims is coming.” Often the predictions end up being off the mark. But with respect to website privacy claims, companies being deluged in litigation claims and the metaphors are apt.  A number of law firms in California and elsewhere are bringing large number of individual lawsuits, clas...

Mandate disclosures relating to climate change represent a new trend in the U.S. and around the world. Recent additions to the climate change regulatory landscape include a new mandate by the SEC and three new laws enacted in California. These climate change provisions portend similar regulations at state and federal levels, as well as around the world. In this episode, Dorsey attorneys Brian Bell...

The challenges of navigating complex litigation increase substantially when parties are required to litigate in a far flung jurisdiction. Litigation in an unfamiliar jurisdiction challenges assumptions about how the litigation process unfolds. Expectations on the timing, sequence and a prudent strategy invariably need to be adjusted to the new norms of the jurisdiction that will be adjudicating th...

Many complex litigation claims turn on the ultimate question of how a reasonable person perceives an advertisement, marketing message, or business practice. Courts in recent years have been required to decide the admissibility of consumer surveys, separating flawed survey models from those which rise to the level of competent evidence. In this episode, Dorsey Seattle Partner Mike Keyes explains th...

One of the most evolving and dynamic categories of litigation risks relates to a company’s employees. Crewmember litigation is what we refer to as the fifth C of the Five Litigation Risks. Each year, new legislation is signed into law and landmark decisions are issued, broadening this risk and the duties of employers to employees. Invariably, the scope and nature of the risk increases, as the tren...

A prudent step in avoiding litigation claims is securing protection for trademarks and other distinctive marks from the time of a company’s initial launch through its maturation and expansion. How can companies effectively manage their trademark portfolios and think about cross-border implications as the business expands to new markets? In this SharkCast episode, Dorsey Partner/Podcast Host Kent S...

The U.S. and European economies collectively represent a third of global trade in goods and services, and close to a third of the world’s GDP. It follows that a staggering amount of personal data is exchanged between U.S. and European-based companies. The collection and use of data of EU citizens raises significant regulatory and consumer litigation concerns. In this episode, Dorsey Partner/Podcas...

Effectively managing litigation risks entails understanding what litigation risk transfer vehicles are available to companies. The most apparent way to transfer risk is obtaining appropriately comprehensive liability insurance prior to a claim being filed. Today’s sophisticated legal market brings new ways to allow a company to hedge liability, limiting exposure in connection with even pending lit...

Managing litigation risks includes thinking about the process and forum by which commercial disputes will be resolved. Yet, there is no consensus among business transactional and trial lawyers on whether arbitration provisions are advantageous in most commercial transactions. In this episode, Dorsey Partner Richard Silberberg and Dorsey Partner/Podcast Host Kent Schmidt tackle the topic of arbitra...

Litigation risks associated with consumer privacy are well-known. Until this year, almost all of the consumer privacy litigation was aimed at companies releasing individuals’ personal information to others. But with the advent of AI, we are seeing new permutation of privacy claims — liability for companies that receive data scraped from the internet including de-anonymizing data of website visitor...

Managing litigation effectively is a collaborative process among trial counsel, in-house lawyers, c-suite executives and others in the company. It is imperative that all participants in the process work together for a successful result. In this episode, we explore these topics with seasoned trial lawyer, J Jackson.  Drawing on his decades of experience, J discusses how he works from the beginning...

The end of June marked the conclusion of the U.S. Supreme Court’s most recent term. In addition to cases that grab headlines dealing with social, political, or public policy issues, the Court also decides issues that impact business litigation. Its decision will now play out in courts around the country as judges apply the new cases. In this episode, we hear from three Dorsey appellate lawyers, St...

E-discovery has transformed the way we handle complex commercial litigation over the last 25 years. New technology brings emerging challenges as well as opportunities. In this episode, Dorsey Partners Kent Schmidt, Kate Johnson, and Dorsey Director of Knowledge Management/Innovation Caroline Sweeney discuss ways to manage expenses and burden of collecting, reviewing and producing massive amounts o...