Disorder in The Court: The Crossroads of Incivility and Wellness in the Legal Profession Abrasive or burned out? Overworked or uncivil? Zealous advocate or bully? The legal profession is currently navigating a critical crossroads where the traditional, often adversarial culture of lawyering meets an urgent need for practitioner well-being. Based on recent reports, it is widely believed that civility in the legal profession is under severe strain, with many arguing it is in critical condition. While not entirely dead, the...

Why Accurate Legal Messages Still Get Misunderstood: Using AI to Pressure-Test Communication with Officials, Boards, and the Public Local government lawyers regularly have to explain nuanced legal conclusions to elected officials, boards, department leaders, law-enforcement personnel, and members of the public—audiences who may not share the lawyer’s vocabulary, assumptions, or objectives. Even when a message is legally accurate, it may be interpreted through a political, operational, or emotional lens. A recommendation may be heard as obstruction, an explanation as evasion,...

The First 24 Hours: Media, Messaging and Liability After a Critical Incident Critical incidents are judged twice: first by what happened, and then by how leaders explained it. In the first 24 hours after an officer-involved shooting, in-custody death, mass-casualty event or other high-liability incident, incomplete facts, intense media pressure and competing voices can turn an operational crisis into a lasting legal and reputational problem. This practical webinar examines how municipal attorneys, law-enforcement leaders, public information officers and elected officials...

Debugging City Hall: The Practical, Ethical, and Litigation Risks of Lindke v. Freed at Two Years While the Supreme Court's two-prong test is now familiar, the operational gap between the doctrine and its daily application remains the hard part for municipal counsel. Lindke v. Freed replaced appearance-based reasoning with a structured test: actual authority to speak for the government on the specific matter, and a purported exercise of that authority in the specific post or moderation action. Lower courts are still working...

PFAS & Products Liability Law: How Cities are Securing Funding Through Litigation & Settlements with Polluters CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply. This webinar will provide an overview of how legal action against polluting chemical manufacturers is providing significant funding for municipalities nationwide. Ken Sansone will first provide a brief update on the state and federal regulatory landscape for PFAS in drinking water, wastewater, and biosolids, focusing on current and...