Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is emerging as a game-changer, particularly in the realm of contract drafting. As the legal landscape rapidly evolves, it is essential that every legal professional understands both its potential and current limitations to effectively and ethically harness its capabilities.

If jurors don't understand your case, it's unlikely they’ll deliver the verdict you want when they return from the deliberation room. During this webcast, legal storytelling specialist David Mann focuses on the most critical element of cases that involve financial, procedural, or legal complexity and offers solutions to simplify these complexities in ways that respect juror intelligence. Through visual language, heuristics, and strategic wording, David Mann will show you how to persuade juries and make your case resonate in the courtroom and into the deliberation room - register today!

Perhaps taking the principle of “zealous advocacy” too literally, some attorneys exude hostility and employ bully tactics to gain a perceived advantage. Whether you are working in a transactional setting or in a court of law, the other party’s counsel can be a thorn in your side. They may fail to promptly respond to correspondence or return your calls on matters of urgency. They may be deceitful, obstructive, condescending, or inappropriate, crossing both ethical and professional lines. You owe it to your clients and to yourself to maintain composure while being an effective advocate for your clients. This practical program on dealing with difficult counsel will provide guidance for effectively handling challenging behaviors and personalities.

As a lawyer, you likely negotiate everyday within your law office, with your clients, or with external parties on behalf of your clients. Each side’s role is to convince the other side that they must provide a better deal than they actually have to in order to reach an agreement. But how far can you go in your negotiations without crossing the ethical line? Make sure you have the insight to navigate complex ethical questions that arise in your daily practice, ensuring you maintain your professional reputation while securing the best outcomes for your clients.

Franchising is an effective way for brand owners to achieve rapid expansion through franchisee investment. But although widely utilized across a variety of industries, franchising is not without its legal risks. Federal and state franchise laws can apply to a surprisingly broad spectrum of contractual arrangements, making it crucial for attorneys to remain vigilant and avoid creating “accidental franchises.” Regulatory issues and shifting trends – such as the NLRB’s expanded joint employer rule, increasing investment by private equity firms in both franchisees and franchisors, and the rise of alternate channels of distribution – also create opportunities and pitfalls in drafting and negotiating franchise agreements.

Trial is war and the best weapon in your arsenal should be your discovery depositions. Effective depositions are the foundation of a successful case. Cases can be won or lost at the deposition stage. A deposition is not simply a conversation. It’s a complicated inquiry and at times an interrogation that – with meticulous preparation and thoughtful strategizing - can elicit answers that will increase the likelihood of a desirable result for your case. Depositions are often the most useful discovery mechanism to help you win your case or push your case to settle. Defending depositions also takes strategic thinking to ensure that your client is prepared and equipped to navigate difficult questions. It is critically important to properly prepare your client and to also be prepared to properly intervene when necessary to protect your client and avoid improper questioning and harassment by your opponent. Seasoned trial attorney Joshua Van Naarden will examine the best strategies that will help you maximize the efficacy of your depositions. Watch this webcast and become armed and ready to win your next case with tried and true strategies that will help you take effective depositions and obtain compelling testimony for use at trial.

In a closely watched decision during the 2022–2023 term, the U.S. Supreme Court considered challenges to the consideration of race in college admissions at Harvard University and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The Court’s ruling sets important new legal precedent and will have a significant impact on admissions policies and practices on college campuses. Attorneys must be prepared to help clients understand how this Court precedent impacts the admissions practices, goals, and initiatives in place on college campuses. Join our expert panel as we break down the recent court decisions, evaluate how these decisions fit into the framework of existing federal and state law and agency guidance, and consider potential developments in legal issues in college admissions. Learn practical tips for updating admissions policies now to manage compliance in an evolving legal landscape.

People with disabilities rely on service and assistance animals to perform a variety of tasks: assist with everyday functions like walking and retrieving objects; alert an individual to sights, sounds, and dangers; alert people with diabetes of an oncoming hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic event and the need to take medication; and provide emotional support, comfort, and companionship. Current federal and state laws create an assortment of rules and regulations which can be difficult to untangle depending on many different factors, such as the species of animal, the tasks it performs, the training it has received—if any at all—and the location in which an individual seeks to rely on the animal. The result can be confusing for attorneys and their clients, and it can lead to otherwise avoidable lawsuits and expenses. This seminar helps attorneys understand the differing requirements, whether in an employment or housing setting, a place of public accommodation (such as a store, restaurant, or other business), a public building (such as city hall or a town library), or various modes of transportation. The faculty provides vital instruction and guidance on what you need to know to advise clients, whether they are individuals who rely on service or assistance animals, or public and private entities that are required to comply with civil rights laws.

Indemnification, limitation of liability, and representations and warranties provisions are the foremost clauses parties entering into a commercial agreement use to limit exposure to risk. The clarity of these clauses contained in the contract, along with the interplay between each, become critical should disputes between the contracting parties arise and the disagreement be taken to court. As counsel, it is essential you know how to negotiate, draft, and revise these clauses to avoid boilerplate or ambiguous language that can lead to costly litigation.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) fluency has become essential to operating an inclusive law practice, as has Collaborative Intelligence or thinking with those who think differently. DEIB fluency and Collaborative Intelligence strategies and practices can make it possible to unleash each person’s potential and think across habitual dividers, enabling us to maximize inclusivity, as well as communicate more productively to better serve client needs. Demographic data on attorneys compiled by the Supreme Judicial Court has shown some increase in the profession’s diversity, but it is certainly not representative of the myriad of clients from different worlds that may need counsel. DEIB and Collaborative Intelligence concepts can help practitioners meet those diverse communication needs. When making important decisions, we slowly and deliberately evaluate options and make a conscious decision. But hundreds of times a day we use our intuitive judgment to make quick decisions. Even if in our slow thinking we work to avoid discrimination, it easily creeps into our fast thinking. These quick decisions rely on life experiences and associations; these unconscious biases can unintentionally hinder us and our organizations and lead to decisions that are incompatible with our goals and conscious values. This training provides an overview of DEIB terms and unconscious bias concepts; and teaches you tools to help communicate in more productive ways. We are accustomed to thinking about diversity through the lens of race and gender, etc., but many of us are unaware that there is also a range of differences in how we think. This training outlines four Collaborative Intelligence strategies, recognizing this different kind of diversity so that you can work and think more effectively with others, including your clients, who might approach things using other internal frameworks.