Mental Health Is Not A Luxury – It Is The Gateway To The Successful Practice Of Law
“Mental health” and “work-life balance” may feel like clickbait whenever you come across those terms, but these conditions are vital ingredients to the successful practice of law. So vital, in fact, that the American Bar Association’s model rules state that a lawyer must decline or withdraw from representing a c…
ALFA International Publications
Building Relationships with Managing Partners
Building a relationship with a mentor can be a crucial step in advancing your career. An effective way to do so is by expressing a willingness and desire to be mentored by being open to new adventures, being thorough, taking initiative and being honest about your ability to commit to additional work.
When able just say, “YES!” but do not over commit…
Presenting a corporate representative is often seen as running the gauntlet, something that the rules of discovery require, and you simply hope to get through it without your client suffering wounds that cannot be corrected or accounted for at trial. A poor deposition by the corporate representative can be the material that results in a nuclear verdict. The corporate representative is the embodime…
Implementation of Generative AI[i]
In an August 20, 2024, appearance on Bloomberg Technology, the Chairman and CEO of multinational cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (“PANW”) estimated that 20% of employees within organizations are currently using or experimenting with the use of generative artificial intelligence technology. Further, he expressed that often organizations are unaware…
A Practitioner’s Guide To Understanding the 2023 Amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 702
Following more than two decades of various forms of misapplication of the “Daubert trilogy” of United States Supreme Court cases articulating the standards for admitting scientific and other forms of expert testimony, the December 1, 2023 amendments to Rule 702 have the effect of: (1) raising the admissibil…
In products liability cases, every step must be executed with precision, much like a carefully choreographed dance. A misstep in this intricate “Litigation Tango” can lead to significant financial, reputational, and operational consequences. This dance becomes ever more challenging when it involves multiple business partners, each with its own set of interests. Today’s litigious environment is cha…
You mean like – FOREVER-forever?
If you have looked at the news recently, you have probably seen headlines of all shapes and sizes about PFAS and “forever” chemicals—those man-made substances lasting thousands of years that are in most of the consumer products we use and have been detected in the bloodstream of every American who has been tested. This panel will present a brief description of what…
A. Introduction
It is extremely easy with social media to reach hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people with a simple press of an icon. Obviously, this is a great way to get important messages and information out to a broad group quickly. On the other hand, if a message is sent before giving it the proper thought, the result could be disastrous to the sender. As we push the team theme…
Introduction
While product liability statutes across the United States may include slight variation, the underlying requirements to prove a design defect claim are, in a broad sense, similar. Section 2(b) of the Restatement Third, Torts: Products Liability (1998) ( “Restatement”), notes as follows:
A product . . . is defective in design when the foreseeable risks of harm posed by the product c…
Gilead Case and its Ruling
California courts pave the way for radical expansion of liability for pharmaceutical manufacturers who delay in bringing new drugs to the market. Gilead Sciences, Inc. v. Superior Court, No. A165558, 2024 Cal. App. LEXIS 14, at *14 (Cal. Ct. App. Jan. 9, 2024) (review granted).[i]
Case Background
Defendant Gilead is a pharmaceutical manufacturer which developed and sold …