Expert Analysis

• A Fed. Circ. Blueprint For Drafting Medical Device Patents

  

  The Federal Circuit's decision in Constellation Designs v. LG last month, among other recent rulings, underscores the importance of emphasizing engineering, rather than clinical goals, when drafting patent claims for medical devices and software as a medical device, says Brandon Theiss at Volpe Koenig.

• DTSA Data Shows Hidden Value Of Ex Parte Seizure Filings

  

  Ten years of Defend Trade Secrets Act data indicate that although there is a low success rate for civil seizure applications, intellectual property litigators should continue filing them anyway in order to better their odds of obtaining other provisional relief, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• What Model Risk Guidance Update Means For Banks

  

  Federal prudential regulators recently issued new model risk management guidance for banks that is designed to reduce prescriptive supervisory expectations and instead focus more on material financial risk, so banking organizations should reassess their model inventories, apply the new materiality framework and update their internal policies, say attorneys at Orrick.

• Becoming The Biz-Savvy GC That Portfolio Companies Need

  

  Candidates for general counsel roles at private equity-backed portfolio companies should prioritize proving their sector-specific experience, commercial judgment and ease with uncertainty — and attorneys hoping to be candidates in five to 10 years should start working on those skills now, says Dimitri Mastrocola at Major Lindsey.

• AI Regulatory Gaps May Fuel FCA Enforcement Action

  

  The intersection of artificial intelligence and False Claims Act enforcement presents legal risk for government contractors across several industries, particularly in the absence of a federal regulatory framework explicitly governing its development and use, say attorneys at O’Melveny.

• Operational AI Washing: The Section 220 Information Strategy

  

  Plaintiffs filing AI washing claims will likely use Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law to obtain internal board records, but 2025 amendments have fundamentally changed the landscape of presuit shareholder document demands in ways that create both risk and opportunity for companies, say attorneys at Akerman.

• AI-Proofing Class Action Notices From Pro Se Objection Surge

  

  Class action practitioners should prepare for a likely surge in artificial intelligence-enabled pro se objections by implementing several practical strategies to navigate this shift, says Britany Wessan at Almeida Law Group.

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  Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

  

  Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

• 'Mobile' Sources For On-Site Generation May Be A Risky Bet

  

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering treating large on-site generators used at data centers as mobile rather than stationary sources under the Clean Air Act, a significant policy change that would leave developers that adopt this solution at risk of regulatory reversals, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

• AI Investment Advice May Fail Investor Protection Rules

  

  Based on an ongoing study of artificial intelligence platforms' investment advice given to retail investors, direct access to AI may not yield recommendations for typical households that are suitable under relevant securities rules, raising new and important issues in the regulation of financial markets, says Bruce Carlin at Rice University.

• Exploring The Legal Gray Area Around AI Voices In Music

  

  The growing prevalence of AI music on online platforms highlights unique legal questions and ambiguities surrounding the usage of artificial intelligence to create accurate voice clones of existing singers, says Michael Maicher at Volpe Koenig.

• 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

  

  The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

• Framing AI Risk Management In The Art World

  

  With gallery professionals indicating a widening gap between operational adoption of artificial intelligence and cultural acceptance of AI as an art medium, certain intellectual property, privacy and governance considerations are becoming critical for art industry stakeholders, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

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  Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

• AG Watch: Reconciling 2 Maryland Data Privacy Statutes

  

  In-house counsel should map the interplay between the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act's strictly necessary standard to deliver a requested service, and the Protection From Predatory Pricing Act's exemption of consent-based pricing within loyalty programs, before the state attorney general begins enforcement on the latter in October, says Erek Barron at Mintz.