Civil Law

The Milan Local Division of the UPC clarifies the requirements to grant preservation of evidence measures

With two recent orders, the Milan Local Division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), which has already been in the spotlight in Europe for its pragmatic approach to preliminary orders, has clarified some important aspects concerning the grant of provisional measures for collecting evidence provided for in the UPC system (equivalent to the Italian search orders or the saisie available in France and Belgium).  

Specifically, the Local Division upheld the orders for preservation of evidence previously issued in the … Read the rest

Civil Law

Government Enforcement, Compliance & Investigations Webinar Series: Trends in State Attorneys General Multistate Litigation

On December 11, Matt Diehr, Kyle Gilster, and Rebecca Furdek presented this month’s session in Husch Blackwell’s Government Enforcement, Compliance & Investigations webinar series. They highlighted the capabilities of the firm’s State Attorney’s General practice through a robust discussion about trends in multistate litigation. The presentation focused on enforcement trends in consumer protection and antitrust as well as the tension with federal enforcement–both when the states “fill the gaps” in federal enforcement and when the states sue the federal government. … Read the rest

Civil Law

Morning At AI Summit: Tech Debt, Cultural Debt, Whack-A-Mole, And The Benefits Of “I Don’t Know“

Business leaders from Unilever, EY, and NBC Universal shared a consistent message at the AI Summit: embrace the ‘I don’t know’ and think holistically about AI transformation.

The contrast with how most law firms approach AI couldn’t be more striking. While other industries talk about reimagining entire workflows, legal still treats AI as something to bolt onto existing processes.

They also discussed the concept of  “cultural debt”:following the cow path just because it’s visible, even when it leads nowhere productive. Sound … Read the rest

Civil Law

The 2026 ‘burning issues’ confronting firm leaders

Keywords: Uncertain, Unstable, Changing, Chaotic, Complex, Technology, AI, Private Equity, Talent, Litigation Finance

[Editor’s note: This post is an large excerpt from Patrick’s and Michael’s annual survey of law firm leaders. By a wide margin, what makes this year’s survey so interesting are the numbers of issues that five or ten years ago, no one would have seen coming—AI, PE investment in law firms. Many thanks to Patrick and Michael for sharing these interesting and provocative findings. wdh.]

Everybody wants … Read the rest

Civil Law

Hourly Wages Plus Productivity Bonuses Survive California Court of Appeal Challenge

Recently, in Mora v. C.E. Enterprises, Inc., the California Court of Appeal upheld a trial court’s decision in favor of an auto dealership alleged to have used an improper “piece rate” or “flag hours” compensation model.

Two former service technicians alleged that the dealership’s compensation system violated requirements for compensating for productive and non-productive time and failed to comply with Labor Code section 226.2. They claimed they were not fully compensated for all hours worked and sought relief under … Read the rest