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Expert testimony can play a crucial role in the trial process. Consequently, parties often file motions to disqualify the opposing side's expert witnesses. The success of these motions in federal cases is controlled by the Federal Rules of Evidence ("FRE"), which stipulate that expert testimony must meet certain standards of reliability to be admissible. In May 2022, the Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules ("ACER") approved proposed amendments to Rule 702 of the FRE.1 The amendments would [...]

In a shocking win for California employers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held on February 15, 2023 that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts California's controversial Assembly Bill 51 (AB 51), which attempted to criminalize employers' use of mandatory arbitration agreements in the Golden State. AB 51's Goal of Criminalizing Legally Enforceable Mandatory Arbitration Agreements Notwithstanding the FAA's long history of favoring arbitration nationally, California has engaged in a prolonged effort [...]

Most class-action lawyers know about Johnson v. NPAS Solutions., LLC—an Eleventh Circuit panel decision that outlawed service awards to lead plaintiffs in class actions, which "compensate[] a class representative for his time and rewards him for bringing a lawsuit." 975 F.3d 1244, 1260 (11th Cir. 2020). You'd be forgiven for initially writing off Johnson as an aberration. It overturned decades of longstanding class-action practice based upon two 19th Century Supreme Court cases that pre-date Federal Rule of Civil [...]