|
Deciphering disability
Brian East
In 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act,
promising an end to discrimination against people with disabilities
and chronic illnesses. Since then, judicial interpretations
of the law have sharply narrowed its definition of disability.
Courts have rejected the claims of people with cancer, diabetes,
mental illness, and other debilitating conditions. But you can
fight this trend.
Preserving employment class actions
Leslie A. Bailey
Class action bans, common in consumer contracts, have steadily
been making their way into employment contracts, typically embedded
in mandatory arbitration clauses. But all isn’t lost for
workers: The Federal Arbitration Act permits state law challenges
to these clauses, and in many states, exculpatory contracts
are unenforceable. Plaintiffs have prevailed when fighting similar
clauses in consumer contracts, paving the way for employment
lawyers to challenge these bans.
A crackdown on caregiver discrimination
Carmelyn P. Malalis and Linda A. Neilan
Many employers still harbor the outdated belief that people
who need to take care of their young children, aging parents,
or other dependent family members can’t be good workers.
And all too often, those beliefs result in discriminatory practices.
Several federal statutes outlaw “family responsibility
discrimination.” Use them and a growing body of case law
to protect caregivers’ rights in the workplace.
|
Features
Five strategies for Rule 30(b)(6)
depositions
Adam Blank
Plaintiffs and their lawyers have a friend in the Federal Rules
of Civil Procedure—specifically the subsection of Rule
30 that allows you to directly question corporate representatives.
It requires them to answer you thoroughly and truthfully and
imposes sanctions for failure to testify. Used correctly, it
can be the strongest part of your discovery effort.
Lessons learned after the storms
Amy Bach, William F. “Chip” Merlin Jr., and Mary Kestenbaum
Despite insurers’ rosy pronouncements about customer satisfaction,
many victims of hurricanes Rita and Katrina have yet to see
fair compensation. But the tide is turning: Unprecedented numbers
of unhappy policyholders are going to court, and Congress and
the courts are offering meaningful support for their rights.
Here’s how lawyers are helping these victims of nature
and the insurance industry, two years after the storms.
Bad-faith basics
John N. Ellison and Ellen D. Bailey
Bad-faith claims are central to many lawsuits against insurance
companies. While a bad-faith allegation usually concerns the
company’s claims-handling policies and practices and its
refusal to pay claims fairly and promptly, it can also apply
to companies that neglect their duty of good faith and fair
dealing in general. Get back to basics with this mini-review
course on battling bad faith.
|
News & Trends
Governments and tort ‘reformers’
clash over the hiring of private lawyers
Supreme Court redefines pleading standard
Florida high court frees some hospital
records from peer review shield
Disabled travelers sue over inability
to book accessible rooms online
Arkansas Supreme Court strikes down med-mal
affidavit requirement
Third Circuit clears rule allowing lesser
benefits for older retirees
Departments
President’s page
We can change our profession's
future
Supreme Court review
The "well-qualified"
juror
Good counsel
Hearsay
Justice in motion
AAJ questions FDA guidelines on
conflict of interest
Employ Exchange resources for workplace cases
AAJ women press Congress on preemption, arbitration
Legal scholars examine 'genuine tort reform'
Books
Scientific Jury Selection by Joel D. Lieberman
and Bruce D. Sales
The Supreme Court: The Personalities
and Rivalries That Defined America by Jeffrey Rosen
Experts & Professional Services
Classifieds
Lawyer Networking
Products & Services
|
