Property

Expert Analysis

• How The 'Rocket Docket' Continues To Roar Through COVID

  

  While the Eastern District of Virginia rocket docket is no longer the nation's fastest civil trial court, it continues to keep litigation moving efficiently, with pandemic protocols resulting in new benefits for litigants, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

• It's Time To Upgrade Our Attorney Licensure Rules

  

  The bar exam does a poor job of testing the skills employers expect from new lawyers, and those who pass the bar can practice indefinitely without independent oversight, so states should consider alternative means for assuring competence and personal stability for new as well as experienced lawyers, says David Friedman at Willamette University.

• Insurer Considerations For Post-Pandemic Virtual Mediation

  

  To determine whether to continue engaging in virtual mediations after the pandemic ends, insurers should weigh the format's challenges against its benefits, including decreased hostility between parties, time and cost, and increased client participation, say Jennifer Gibbs and Amanda Rodriguez at Zelle.

• Data-Based Predictions On Case Timelines After Pandemic

  

  Richard Finkelman and Karl Schliep at Berkeley Research Group analyze state and federal court data to pinpoint trends and predict changes in case resolution time frames after the COVID-19 pandemic upended judicial proceedings across the country, and they explain how parties can use these analytics to inform litigation decisions.

• Embracing ESG

  

  In this Expert Analysis series, in-house counsel share how they are adapting to the growing importance of environmental, social and corporate governance factors.

• The Right Condo Governance Provisions Can Enhance Safety

  

  Though condominium and community governance documents cannot prevent a structural failure, such as the Champlain Towers tragedy, developers and their lawyers can draft these documents to better educate board members and remove obstacles to preserving community assets, says Bob Burton at Winstead.

• Risks To Consider For Commercial Real Estate Gap Closings

  

  The use of the gap closing mechanism in commercial real estate transactions — when there is a delay between a purchase and the recording of documents — has been increasing amid the pandemic, but certain complications can arise for buyers when an intervening matter influences a title's quality, says Jennifer Ioli at Sherin and Lodgen.

• Avoiding Unauthorized Practice Of Law In Remote Work

  

  The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many lawyers to telecommute, potentially from home jurisdictions where they are not admitted, raising questions about compliance with states’ unauthorized practice of law mandates — but attorneys can look to rules, advisory opinions and case law for clarity, say Lauren Snyder and Amy Richardson at Harris Wiltshire.

• NY Ruling Should Make Counsel More Cautious In Emails

  

  A recent New York Appellate Division decision, Philadelphia Insurance v. Kendall, makes it much more likely that a settlement could be effectuated by simple email exchanges without more formal written documentation memorializing all the terms of the settlement, says Christopher Gorman at Abrams Fensterman.

• Where Insurance Coverage For Condo Collapse Gets Murky

  

  Property and casualty coverage for the Champlain Towers tragedy may be complicated, since different versions of collapse coverage are found in different policies, both for the individual condo owners and the condominium association, say Glenn Jacobson and Mark Binsky at Abrams Gorelick.

• Courts Should Heed Contract Law In COVID-19 Physical Loss

  

  While a recent Law360 guest article urged courts to adopt the particle theory of coverage in deciding COVID-19-related property loss and damage claims, this approach ignores the intent, function and language of commercial insurance policies — not to mention the science itself, say Adam Fleischer and Elisabeth Ross at BatesCarey.

• Insurance Brokers Should Expect Wave Of E&O Claims

  

  Policyholders' unsuccessful COVID-19 business interruption suits and the pandemic-related move to remote work will likely result in a plethora of errors and omissions claims brought against insurance agents and brokers, as evidenced by recently filed cases, says Peter Biging at Goldberg Segalla.

• COVID Insurance Rulings Are Misinterpreting 'Physical Loss'

  

  Recent court decisions interpreting "direct physical loss" clauses to deny COVID-19 business interruption recovery where the subject property has not been structurally altered contradict the purpose of all-risks insurance, the ordinary meaning of the operative policy language and pre-pandemic case law, says ​​​​​​​Lee Epstein at Flaster Greenberg.