#contract-issues

#contract-issues

According to Bloomberg Law's Workload & Hours Survey, a third of nonequity partners also say they're undervalued in their roles and more than half say they were burnt out in 2025.

Costa's then-manager told him that ServiceNow would not pay this commission because the Sales Compensation Department had concluded that Costa had 'overachieved to a degree that was outside normal' in relation to his sales quota. In other words, ServiceNow believed Costa had made too much money, notwithstanding that his commission was only a small percentage of the revenue recognized and received by ServiceNow.

If your partner in Munich mishandles customer data, or your reseller in Paris uses a "black box" AI tool to generate deceptive ads, it isn't just their reputation on the line. It's yours. With the EU AI Act now in full swing and GDPR entering its "mature enforcement" era, the distance between a partner's mistake and your company's $20 million fine has never been shorter.

The legal profession rewards endurance, precision and control. It also quietly normalizes stress, isolation and overextension. For patent practitioners and other IP lawyers, the pressures are uniquely acute: compressed prosecution deadlines, high-stakes litigation exposure, often unrealistic client-driven budget constraints, regulatory whiplash at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and increasingly complex technologies layered with global filing and prosecution strategy.

well enough to work but not well enough to serve the public in any capacity

Judge Jenkin wrote that the Batton's plaintiffs interests would not be impaired if their motion to intervene was denied, as they would have the opportunity to object to the settlement at the agreement's final approval fairness hearing.

Leading legal departments are shifting from reactive negotiation to proactive pricing design, setting guardrails before rates are proposed rather than responding after the fact. This approach enables departments to establish parameters and expectations upfront, fundamentally changing the negotiation dynamic and improving outcomes.

Market forces such as rising attorney salaries, persistent inflation, and unrelenting demand in premium practices are giving firms the confidence to push hourly rates beyond historical norms.

Once she paid rent and moved in, she became a month-to-month tenant, regardless of the length of time she stayed in your house. As a month-to-month tenant, she is required to give you a 30-day written notice of termination, and she is responsible for rent during that 30-day period, whether she stayed there or not.

DLSE Investigations and Enforcement Employers doing business in California are well aware of the DLSE, aka the Labor Commissioner's Office, which, among other things, investigates wage and hour practices and adjudicates employees' wage theft claims. With Superbowl LX on our minds, we thought it appropriate to take a time out for a recap of the 2025 DLSE season's expansive impact on employers.

They don't drive it. They don't manage it. They don't control it. They let it control them. And then one day, they look up and realize discovery closed last week, the client is asking why nobody has taken the key depo, the adjuster wants a status report "by the end of the day," and the partner is asking the question that makes your stomach drop: "Where are we on this file?"

From law firms to in-house legal teams, the rules of value are being rewritten. The question is: Who's ready to lead the change? In the first episode of 2026 for the UpLevel View podcast, Stephanie Corey and Ken Callander sit down with Rita Gunther McGrath, Columbia Business School professor and Wall Street Journal columnist, to talk about how AI is forcing professional services to price outcomes instead of hours.

With the Supreme Court potentially poised to invalidate recent tariffs, organizations face a confusing scenario: the possibility of some $200B in refunds to be sought, the specter of tariff reinstatement through other means, and general ongoing unpredictability regarding costs and processes for global trade. Having clear visibility into contract terms - such as price adjustments and renegotiation provisions - is essential to navigating this volatility, while implementing favorable terms in supplier, customer, and partner agreements can help build resilience.

The most important concept in any personal injury case is "negligence." You can't simply sue a business because you got hurt on their property; you have to prove that they did something wrong. To win your case, you generally need to show that the business had a duty to keep you safe, that they failed in that duty, and that their failure directly caused your injury.

Marriage is a romance, but legally, it is also a financial partnership. While no one anticipates separation, a prenuptial agreement acts as a crucial roadmap to protect your assets and save you stress down the line. But if you have already exchanged vows, is it too late? Absolutely not. Whether you are engaged or celebrating an anniversary, you can still secure your future.