Welcome to your daily briefing on legal developments in Pennsylvania. Today we're covering 5 key stories including updates on pennsylvania legal headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
2 stories
The Philadelphia Bar Association has issued its recommendations for judicial retention candidates in advance of the November 4 general election.
These recommendations provide guidance for PA legal professionals and voters evaluating judicial candidates on the retention ballot.
The Philadelphia Bar Association Commission on Judicial Selection has issued its recommendations for judicial candidates in the 2023 election.
PA legal professionals rely on these nonpartisan evaluations to inform voting decisions that shape the Commonwealth's judiciary.
Reach professionals in this market
3 stories
Arbitration clauses are most often struck down for procedural unconscionability — surprise placement, font that hides them, or no opportunity to negotiate — rather than substantive issues. A clause that is conspicuous, separately initialed, and accompanies a clear written notice of waiver of jury trial survives review in most jurisdictions.
A void arbitration clause means the dispute lands in court, often with discovery and jury exposure that the clause was meant to prevent. Drafting discipline at contract formation is cheap; defending the clause years later is not.
A clear scope-of-work paragraph — naming the specific matter, what is included, and what is explicitly excluded — eliminates roughly 70% of fee disputes by attorneys who track them. Generic "represent client in connection with X matter" language invites assumption-based conflict when adjacent issues surface mid-engagement.
Fee disputes are the leading bar-complaint trigger and are nearly always preventable at contract formation. The cost of a 30-minute scope conversation is trivial against the cost of a fee-arbitration filing.
Most conflict-of-interest systems index by named party only. They miss conflicts created when the named party is a wholly-owned subsidiary, a shared parent's affiliate, or a private-equity portfolio company under common control. The model rules treat these as conflicts even though no name match exists.
A conflict that surfaces mid-matter typically requires withdrawal at the worst possible moment, plus a fee writedown for work done. Catching it at intake is a 10-minute process; catching it at month six is a six-figure problem.
Get Pennsylvania legal intelligence delivered to your inbox every morning.
Subscribe FreeView all past issues
Feature your brand across the U.S., Canada, and select international markets and 10 industry verticals.
Become a National Partner