NYC Issues Key Opinion on Litigation Financing

Litigation funding has grown exponentially in the past few years. However, the NYC Bar recently issued an opinion drawing a line in the sand when it comes to third parties entering into agreements with attorneys. After issuing its opinion, some of the largest financiers of complex litigation responded with sharp criticism of both the substance of the opinion and its effect of stalling progress in this area. However, the opinion also provides an opening that could lead to the eventual change in ethical rules that underscore its conclusion.
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Sex Discrimination Claim Arising from No Severance

A severance package is pay and/or benefits employers pay employees following a termination or layoff. Often, the employee's acceptance of the severance will include a release of any potential claims against the employer. Of course, severance packages are not required. In a recent decision, a court considered what happens when every departing employee is not offered a severance package. In Barbera v. Pearson Educ., Inc., the employer had a policy that provided severance pay for employees that were involuntarily terminated. The policy had certain exceptions, including when the employee was terminated as a result of a sale or merger and was offered employment by the purchasing company.
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We Need Your Vote!

Attention blog readers! We are proud to announce that our Professional Liability Matters blog has made it to the voting round in The Expert Institute’s 2018 Best Legal Blog Contest! Over the past month, this contest received thousands of nominations, which were then narrowed to the “most exciting, entertaining, and informative legal blogs online today.” The polls are now open – if you like our blog, please consider voting. How it works: You can submit one vote per blog. In order to cast your vote,…
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Attorney Fee Waived for Failure to Advise of Billing Alternatives

The contingency based fee agreement is a common form of representation. There are clear benefits to this arrangement for both attorney and client. Of course there are also risks. In a recent decision in New Jersey, the court concluded that attorneys must properly advise clients about the various billing options before proceeding with an engagement. In this case, despite a written fee agreement, the court struck over $280,000 in legal fees and costs.
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Fee Dispute ≠ Malpractice

A New Jersey appeals court recently ruled that a disbarred attorney cannot sue his former attorney for malpractice in connection with a fee dispute.  In an unpublished opinion in the case of Schildiner v. Toscano, the Appellate Division upheld a decision from the Essex County Superior Court dismissing the lawsuit filed by the disbarred lawyer ("Lawyer"), against the firm he hired, ("Law Firm").
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Crime Policy Coverage: Direct Means Direct

In a recent decision, a Federal District Court grappled with the definition of "direct loss" under a commercial crime policy. The court in CP Food & Beverage, Inc. v. U.S. Fire Ins. Co., concluded that “direct means direct” and an insured's losses from payment card charge-backs when certain employees made fraudulent charges on customers’ payment cards were only the “indirect” result of employee theft, and therefore not covered under the insured’s policy. 
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ADA: How Reasonable is Reasonable?

How reasonable must a reasonable accommodation be? Is moving an employee’s work location reasonable? Is providing an employee an aide reasonable? Of course, the answer depends on the circumstances and that's what makes ADA compliance often difficult for employers. Consider the recent example of Hill v. Assocs. for Renewal in Educ., Inc.
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Data Breach and Insider Trading

Attorneys practicing in mergers and acquisitions are familiar with the sensitive nature of their work and the potential for abuse of the information obtained. In addition to being restrained from trading on that information themselves, they must take extensive precautions to ensure that they do not allow that information to slip to friends, family members, or colleagues. Unfortunately, one cannot assume that others won't use that information to make trades that could ensnare both the attorney and firm in extensive criminal and civil litigation, regardless of intent. Accordingly, both formal and informal mechanisms are put in place to keep potential inside information from those who are not required to have it in their work.
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The Benefits of Early Notice of a Claim

According to our friends at CPA Gold, LINK, from a purely risk management perspective, bringing your insurer into the claims process is extremely prudent and can save you a lot of money. Here are the reasons you should contact your insurer or agent sooner, rather than later: involvement of counsel, denial of coverage, deductible concerns and risk management. Each of these factors, and others, were addressed by CPA Gold and are absolutely worth considering.
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