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Expert Analysis

• Playing Piano Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Playing piano and practicing law share many parallels relating to managing complexity: Just as hearing an entire musical passage in my head allows me to reliably deliver the message, thinking about the audience's impression helps me create a legal narrative that keeps the reader engaged, says Michael Shepherd at Fish & Richardson.

• AI Trade Secret Conviction Highlights Espionage Risks

  

  A California federal court's conviction last month of an ex-Google engineer who stole artificial intelligence trade secrets for the benefit of China is the latest in a series of foreign economic espionage cases and illustrates the urgent need for U.S. companies to implement robust security measures, says attorney Peter Toren.

• How To Counter 7 Logical Fallacies In Legal Arguments

  

  Many legal arguments are riddled with reasoning flaws that can effectively distract or persuade the fact-finder, but these tactics lose much of their power when attorneys recognize and strategically shine a light on them, says Allison Rocker at BakerMcKenzie.

• AI-Generated Doc Ruling Guides Attys On Privilege Risks

  

  A New York federal court's ruling, in U.S. v. Heppner, that documents created by a defendant using an artificial intelligence tool were not privileged, can serve as a guide to attorneys for retaining attorney-client or work-product privilege over client documents created with AI, say attorneys at Sher Tremonte.

• The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Leadership Strategy After Day 1

  

  For law firm leaders, ensuring a newly combined law firm lives up to its promise, both in its first days of operation and well after, includes tough decisions, clear and specific communication, and cheerleading, says Peter Michaud at Ballard Spahr.

• Reel Justice: 'Sentimental Value' And Witness Anxiety

  

  "Sentimental Value" reminds us that anxiety can interfere with performance, but unlike actors, witnesses cannot rehearse their lines or control the script, so a lawyer's role is not to eliminate stress, but to create conditions where the accuracy of a witness's testimony survives under pressure, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University.

• Calif.'s Civility Push Shows Why Professionalism Is Vital

  

  The California Bar’s campaign against discourteous behavior by attorneys, including a newly required annual civility oath, reflects a growing concern among states that professionalism in law needs shoring up — and recognizes that maintaining composure even when stressed is key to both succeeding professionally and maintaining faith in the legal system, says Lucy Wang at Hinshaw.

• Trivia Competition Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Playing trivia taught me to quickly absorb information and recognize when I've learned what I'm expected to know, training me in the crucial skills needed to be a good attorney, and reminding me to be gracious in defeat, says Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.

• Clarifying A Persistent Misconception About Settlement Talks

  

  An Indiana federal court’s recent Cloudbusters v. Tinsley ruling underscores the often-misunderstood principle that Rule 408 of the Federal Rules of Evidence does not bar parties from referencing prior settlement communications in their pleadings — a critical distinction when such demands further a fraudulent or bad faith scheme, say attorneys at Hanson Bridgett.

• Law School's Missed Lessons: What Cross-Selling Truly Takes

  

  Early-career attorneys may struggle to introduce clients to practitioners in other specialties, but cross-selling becomes easier once they know why it’s vital to their first years of practice, which mistakes to avoid and how to anticipate clients' needs, say attorneys at Moses & Singer.

• Tick, Tock: Maximizing The Clock, Regardless Of Trial Length

  

  Whether a judge grants more or less time for trial than an attorney hoped for, understanding how to strategically leverage the advantages and attenuate the disadvantages of each scenario can pay dividends in juror attentiveness and judicial respect, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation.

• Wage-Based H-1B Rule Amplifies Lottery Risks For Law Firms

  

  Under the wage-based H-1B lottery rule taking effect Feb. 27, law firms planning to hire noncitizen law graduates awaiting bar admission should consider their options, as the work performed by such candidates may sit at the intersection of multiple occupational classifications with differing chances of success, says Jun Li at Reid & Wise.

• Judges On AI: Practical Use Cases In Chambers

  

  U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Goddard in the Southern District of California discusses how she uses generative artificial intelligence tools in chambers to make work more efficient and effective — from editing jury instructions for clarity to summarizing key documents.