The Notice: News and Resources for Paralegals, Litigation Support & Docketing Professionals
Happy Independence Day weekend from your friends at ECFX! We hope you enjoy the long weekend and wish you a safe and happy celebration. In this week's edition of The Notice, you will read about censorship issues in Big Law, a Roe v. Wade update in Texas following Judge Christine Weems' temporary restraining order, and how law schools are changing as a result of the developments in legal technology. Keep reading for more legal news updates below.
And if you are attending the?2022 NALA (National Association of Legal Assistants) Conference & Expo?at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix, Arizona from July 14-16, please be sure to stop by?Booth 202?to learn how ECFX Notice automates the downloading, profiling, storing, and distribution of court documents in ECF notices for state and federal courts and administrative agencies.
You will also have the chance to pick out your very own magic wand!
?In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this issue of The Notice!
?~The Team at ECFX
Working in Large Law
Last week, two prominent?Supreme Court?litigators, Paul Clement and Erin Murphy, resigned from the major?law?firm Kirkland & Ellis.
Their resignation came shortly after the Supreme Court announced its decision in?New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen. In its ruling, the court limited how New York could regulate carrying a handgun and put other state laws?limiting guns?into question.
Clement argued?Bruen, and Murphy carried out crucial work on the case. In his resignation letter, Clement explained that the firm told him and Murphy that they needed to either drop out of existing representation of gun litigation clients or leave the firm. Clement and Murphy considered it wrong to drop their clients just because some of the legal establishment did not like the clients. In turn, the two men resigned and announced they will start their own firm.
?Over the past few years, a handful of law firms had begun?accepting cryptocurrency?in hopes of attracting tech-forward clients and staying in the know.
The past few months, however, have been rough for those in the digital asset space,?with?a general fall in Ether and Bitcoin, among other cryptocurrencies.?
Still, attorneys and consultants are not too worried about firms that had begun accepting cryptocurrency as payment over the past few years. Instead, they are appreciating the benefits of the safeguarding techniques they had initially employed, such as immediately converting the fee into cash, and being mindful from the get-go about which clients are allowed to offer such payments.
What’s more, they still believe dipping their toes into the digital asset space will pay off in the long run.?Alan Cohn, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson, said the distinction between payments and investments is an important one when it comes to cryptocurrency.
News for 2022
?Abortions can resume in Texas after a judge on Tuesday blocked officials from enforcing a nearly century-old ban the state's Republican attorney general said was back in effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure nationwide.
The temporary restraining order by Judge Christine Weems in Harris County came in a last-ditch bid by abortion providers to resume services after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that guaranteed the right of women to obtain abortions.
The order allows clinics to resume services, for now, in a state where abortion was already severely restricted to only up to six weeks of pregnancy under a Texas law that took effect in September that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block.
A further hearing is scheduled for July 12. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office did not respond to a request for comment.
领英推荐
The billionaire family that owns majority stakes in the New York Knicks, New York Rangers and the teams' arena, Madison Square Garden, has never been shy about controlling access to the venues in its empire. Just ask one-time Knicks superstar Charles Oakley, who was famously banned from MSG for about a year after he was ejected from a Knicks game in 2017.
But MSG has escalated its access game: It is now using bans from its venues as a litigation tactic.?
At least two shareholder firms engaged in litigation over the?2021 merger?of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp and MSG Networks Inc have received letters from an MSG lawyer advising that they are barred from entering Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre and other MSG venues until the shareholder suits are resolved.
The justification? Professional conduct rules prohibiting contact between shareholder lawyers and MSG employees, the letter said.
Read the full article?here
?
Technology and Legal Support
Despite the growing amount of legal tech companies in the market, many law firms and legal professionals are reluctant to switch technology vendors. But as technology evolves, that?may soon change.
The?eighth annual “E-Discovery Unfiltered: A Survey of Current Trends and Candid Perspective” report, which included insights from 30 legal professionals and will be released by Ari Kaplan Advisors on July 6, found that many?believe switching providers is too overwhelming, time-consuming and expensive.?
Despite a growing number of e-discovery vendors and the constant improvement in the technology and services they offer, the barriers that legal teams face to switch vendors are making many hesitant to do so.
This could explain why, in the report,?many legal professionals said it would take either “a huge mistake” from their current providers or significantly better technology elsewhere for them to consider switching.
Read more about the full process and solutions?here
In the last year alone,?35% of law firms?have brought in new technology and 55% have improved their use of existing technology. If students want to keep up in the industry, they need to show a willingness and understanding to adapt to these innovative times.?
The legal work environment as a whole is being improved, thanks to technology that?is only likely to benefit students when they graduate. Now, a lot of training and resources are easily available online and a number of PLC law firms are using technology to boost the employee experience.?
Up?until now, optional digital courses relating to law degrees have been available. Most notably, in 2018, Manchester University revealed the first legal technology course that combined classroom study?with an app-building course that was to be used by legal non-profit organizations.?Fast forward to the present day, however, and?hundreds of students?are now studying a digital skills course, which will be a requirement as part of ongoing undergraduate law degrees.??
Stop by?Booth 202?at the?2022 NALA Conference and Expo?to see how ECFX can bring magic to your firm!
?*You can Register?Here?or?Schedule a Meeting?with us*