Expert Analysis

• Future Paths For AI Inventorship After Justices' Thaler Denial

  

  Anup Iyer at Moore & Van Allen examines the current and future state of AI inventorship in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to hear Thaler v. Vidal, including collaboration, international challenges, and the need for closer examination in research and development-intensive sectors.

• Series

  Participating In Living History Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  My role as a baron in a living history group, and my work as volunteer corporate counsel for a book series fan association, has provided me several opportunities to practice in unexpected areas of law — opening doors to experiences that have nurtured invaluable personal and professional skills, says Matthew Parker at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

• How Attys Can Weather The Next Disaster Litigation Crisis

  

  On the heels of a number of damage catastrophes and ensuing litigation this summer alone, attorneys must recognize that it’s a matter of when, not if, the next disaster — whether natural or artificial — will strike, and formulate plans to minimize risks, including consolidating significant claims and taking remedial measures, says Mark Goldberg at Cosmich Simmons.

• Opinion

  Private Equity Owners Can Remedy Law Firms' Agency Issues

  

  Nonlawyer, private-equity ownership of law firms can benefit shareholders and others vulnerable to governance issues such as disparate interests, and can in turn help resolve agency problems, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

• Application Of Defend Trade Secrets Act Continues To Vary

  

  Seven years after the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, anticipated uniformity has proved somewhat elusive, with federal courts sometimes incorporating state-law requirements into claims brought under the act instead of using it to bypass inconsistencies between state laws, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

• A Topic-Based Analysis Of FDA Responses To FOIA Requests

  

  By using a topic modeling method, it's possible to discern the major recurring topics in Freedom of Information Act requests made to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as well as the likelihood of success for individual topics, says Bradley Thompson at Epstein Becker.

• Opinion

  Proving Causation Is Key To Fairness And Justice

  

  Ongoing litigation over talc and acetaminophen highlights the important legal distinction between correlation and causation — and is a reminder that, while individuals should be compensated for injuries, blameless parties should be protected from unjust claims, say Drew Kershen at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and Henry Miller at the American Council on Science and Health.

• How To Protect Atty-Client Privilege While Using Generative AI

  

  When using generative artificial intelligence tools, attorneys should consider several safeguards to avoid breaches or complications in attorney-client privilege, say Antonious Sadek and Christopher Campbell at DLA Piper.

• Opinion

  HIV Drug Case Against Gilead Threatens Medical Innovation

  

  The California Court of Appeals should dismiss claims alleging that Gilead should be held liable for not bringing an HIV treatment to market sooner, or else the biopharmaceutical industry could be disincentivized from important development and innovation, says James Stansel at Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

• How New Lawyers Can Leverage Feedback For Growth

  

  Embracing constructive criticism as a tool for success can help new lawyers accelerate their professional growth and law firms build a culture of continuous improvement, says Katie Aldrich at Fringe Professional Development.

• RICO Trade Secret Standard Prevails Within 9th Circ. Courts

  

  Federal courts in the Ninth Circuit seem to be requiring a relatively high degree of factual detail — arguably more than is expressly mandated by statute — to plead and maintain Racketeer and Corrupt Organizations Act claims in trade secret disputes, says Cary Sullivan at Jones Day.

• Series

  ESG Around The World: Australia

  

  Clive Cachia and Cathy Ma at K&L Gates detail ESG-reporting policies in Australia and explain how the country is starting to introduce mandatory requirements as ESG performance is increasingly seen as a key investment and corporate differentiator in the fight for global capital.

• Concerns For 510(k) Sponsors After FDA Proposes Major Shift

  

  While there may be public health benefits from modernizing the 510(k) process for clearing medical devices, recent draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Devices and Radiological Health leaves meaningful open questions about the legal and regulatory implications of the new approach, and potential practical challenges, say attorneys at Covington.

• Developers Are Testing Defenses In Generative AI Litigation

  

  In the rapidly growing field of generative artificial intelligence law in the U.S., there are a few possible defenses that have already been effectively asserted by defendants in litigation, including lack of standing, reliance on the fair use doctrine, and the legality of so-called data scraping, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

• Approval Regs Must Change To Keep Up With Biologics Tech

  

  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s system for approving biologic therapies, which bans applicants from drawing on previously established safety and efficacy data, may slow innovation in life-saving gene and cell therapies, but policy updates could help the regulatory paradigm keep pace with the scientific cutting edge, say Eva Temkin and Jessica Greenbaum at King & Spalding.