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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

HOSTAGE SITUATION – Law firms continue to be victimized by ransomware attackers. But, as Victoria Hudgins reports, what may be even more dangerous than the attacks themselves is those law firms' lack of understanding regarding their own cyber insurance policies. Despite the growing frequency and awareness of ransomware, some firms purchase insurance and incorrectly assume ransomware costs and coverage is included. Unfortunately, they often don't find out otherwise until they're attacked and forced to pay the ransom out of pocket.

CLASS OF 2020 - How much is the "college experience" worth? Since early April, Dave Kostiuk reports, dozens of class action lawsuits have been filed against universities and colleges on behalf of students who claim they are overpaying for tuition while being robbed of much of what makes college, college—clubs, sports, posters of John Belushi from "Animal House," etc.—by COVID-19 restrictions. But those students' alleged loss is the legal industry's gain, as institutions have begun turning to major law firms, including Cooley, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Meanwhile, the lawsuits are being spearheaded by a few prominent plaintiffs firms, including Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, Bursor & Fisher and Berger Montague.

PRODUCTIVE PRACTICE - Products liability attorneys on both sides of the courtroom aisle were plenty busy in 2019, according to Lex Machina's Product Liability Litigation Report. As Amanda Bronstad reports, the study showed that, even when excluding cases associated with MDLs, there were 5,261 product liability filings in federal courts in 2019, up from 4,943 in 2018, and the highest volume since 2010, the starting point of data in the report. But while the largest chunk of cases over the past five years was filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana—thanks to the Xarelto MDL—another jurisdiction could be closing in on the top spot in 2020. As of May 15, about 7,790 lawsuits had been filed in the Northern District of Florida's MDL over 3M earplugs used in combat.

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EDITOR'S PICKS

Law Schools Have an 'Obligation' to Help End Racism and Injustice, Deans Argue

Pryor Cashman Associate Suspended Without Pay in Wake of Arrest in Firebombing Incident

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

CASH INFUSION – Full disclosure: This happened in Canada, so you technically may not have been sleeping at the time (though maybe you were taking a quarantine nap?). Marlisse Silver Sweeney reports that the Supreme Court of Canada recently issued a ruling that opened the door to third-party litigation funding in insolvency proceedings. The decision is particularly timely, as those cases are expected to spike as a result of the COVID-19 economic downturn.

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WHAT YOU SAID

"I feel pretty disrespected right now. I've given everything I can to the system. I've gotten sick, I've gotten the flu, I've picked up every germ you could pick up at the [Criminal Justice Center]. … Now I'm saying I'm particularly vulnerable.'"

— A Philadelphia defense attorney in her second trimester of pregnancy, who asked not to be named, voicing frustrations shared by several of her peers about Philadelphia's limited remote access capabilities for lawyers with incarcerated clients.

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