Working Group on Legal Opinions Foundation

A. seminar - the fall 2022 and spring 2023 seminars of the Working Group on Legal Opinions Foundation ("wglo") had broad agendas. Programs of note included: (1) what's next for the statement of opinion practices; (2) current issues bearing on enforceability Opinions; (3) tribar special report on risk allocation Opinions; (4) toward consensus: reconciling commercial and real property opinion practice; (5) current issues bearing on negative assurance letters; (6) recent opinion developments; (7) takeaway: opinion risk and second partner review; (8) drilling down on digital assets under the ucc; (9) current ethics issues relating to Opinions; (10) the role of experts and the use of opinion literature in litigation; (11) tax Opinions are different: guidance for transactional lawyers; (12) securities law opinion issues: underwriting agreement Opinions and legend removal Opinions in pipes and other contexts; (13) current audit letter practice; (14) takeaway: opinion letters that affect contract rights - another way to look at the williams and bandera cases; (15) current practice trends: insights from the 2019 survey of law firm opinion practices; and (16) forms of Legal advice and comfort: Opinions, memoranda, etc.

Seminars - wglo conducts seminars on questions relating to third party Legal opinion practice and related areas. Attendance is ordinarily about 125. Members are entitled to designate one attendee for each seminar. Wglo's membership includes law firms, bar associations and others interested in Legal opinion practice in business law, real estate, municipal bond, international, tax and other areas from across the country. As a result, the wglo seminars provide a proper setting to debate significant issues involving Legal opinion practice.education about Legal opinion practice is central to wglo's mission. There are no national educational programs for Legal opinion practice, although specialized programs are presented from time to time by bar associations, law firms and others. Our programs have included, in 2014, a boot camp program of wglo aimed at younger law firm opinion committee members. During fiscal year 2023, wglo commenced planning for a successor program to the boot camp, which program could be aimed at a different audience, have a different agenda, and be held in a different format.joint committee with aba/bls - wglo is concerned with broadening the consensus that exists about Legal opinion customary practice. In that regard, wglo has been engaged in a joint project with the Legal Opinions committee of the business law section of the american bar association. That project has produced a statement of opinion practices and related core opinion principles which has been approved by many bar associations and other lawyer groups. Wglo and the american bar association are continuing this partnership and are studying potentially expanding the statement of opinion practices to address additional topics.wglo as incubator - wglo attendees are leaders of Legal opinion practice nationally. In parts of the semi-annual seminar programs, attendees meet to discuss issues of common interest in smaller groups. These groups sometimes decide to take additional steps to help the Legal opinion community deal with a specific problem or approach. Wglo fosters these groups since the steps they take, which may include publishing, increase and strengthen opinion understanding and the opinion literature. In addition wglo, in conjunction with its seminar program, has sponsored programs and sessions that have resulted in a series of articles prepared by seminar attendees. At least one other Group of wglo attendees is Working on a specific project regarding local counsel opinion practice.

B. webinars - wglo conducted two webinars during the year. The topics were: (1) reviewing the 2022 amendments to the Delaware general corporation law and alternative entity acts from a practitioner's perspective; and (2) out of the fire swamp: what the reversal of bandera means for Legal Opinions.