Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Murdaugh Reversal Masks Deeper Justice System Issues

  

  The South Carolina Supreme Court's recent reversal of Alex Murdaugh's murder conviction leans heavily on improper jury influence by an ex-county clerk of court while underbilling other errors in the case, which are emblematic of larger issues with the justice system, says Barry Edwards at Fair Trial Analysis.

• Del. Justices' Ripeness Ruling Shields Advance Notice Bylaws

  

  The Delaware Supreme Court’s recent decision dismissing two AES and Owens Corning stockholder challenges of advance notice bylaws as unripe provides corporations more room to insulate their nomination procedures from activist pressure, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• How The High Court Expanded Freight Broker Liability

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II that freight brokers may be liable for selecting unsafe motor carriers, the key question will be whether brokers used reasonable care in selecting a given motor carrier, with the concurring opinion offering some clues as to what reasonable care might look like, says Marc Blubaugh at Benesch.

• 'Anderson Method' Ruling Shows Copyright Limits In Fitness

  

  The Ninth Circuit's ruling in Tracy Anderson Mind and Body v. Megan Roup, finding that sequences of exercises developed and recorded by Tracy Anderson were not copyrightable choreographic works, is a reminder that even highly creative fitness programming can fall outside the scope of copyright protection, says Meredith Bobber Strauss at Michelman & Robinson.

• 2nd Circ.'s Cantero Redo Complicates Mortgage Escrow Issue

  

  The Second Circuit's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America reflects the absence of definitiveness in mortgage escrow preemption jurisprudence, leaving lenders to navigate conflicting state rules and pricing challenges amid a deepening circuit split, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

• 3 Rulings Show How Creditors Make Civil RICO Claims Stick

  

  An Arizona federal court's recent decision concerning UniCredit Bank Austria is one of few in which creditors' claims against debtors for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act violations have survived motions to dismiss, and these claims' substantial benefits make the rulings worth analyzing for guidance, says Brian Asher at Asher Research.

• What Fed. Circ.'s Poultry Patent Ruling Says About 'About'

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Enviro Tech v. Safe Foods highlights how approximation language in patent claims affects not only litigation outcomes, but also portfolio value, competitive positioning and prosecution strategy, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: May Lessons

  

  In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four recent rulings from cases involving allegations of Title VII violations, the Employment Retirement Income Security Act, prison dental care violations and overcharging for PACER access.

• Texas Ruling Makes Avoiding Appraisal Nearly Impossible

  

  By deciding that a coverage dispute doesn't nullify an appraisal clause, the Texas Supreme Court, in its recent Ace American Insurance ruling, makes appraisal nearly unavoidable in state personal auto and residential property disputes, says David Winter at Norton Rose.

• Series

  NY Times Word Puzzles Make Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Every morning I let The New York Times humble me with word games, which offer a chance to recalibrate my brain before the day's chaos arrives and remind me that a solution — whether to a puzzle or employment law issue — almost always exists once I find the right angle, says Amy Epstein Gluck at Pierson Ferdinand.

• Tracking Tech Suit Is A Risk Management Reminder For Cos.

  

  The Fifth Circuit recently heard oral argument in Rand v. Eyemart Express — an appeal that could reshape the legal landscape for businesses that deploy tracking tech on their websites — underscoring the importance of proactive risk management for companies across multiple industries, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lesson: Diagnose Before Arguing

  

  Law school often skips over explicitly teaching students how to determine what kind of problem a case presents before they commit to a particular doctrinal path, which risks building arguments that are internally coherent but externally misaligned, says Melanie Oxhorn at Kobre & Kim.

• 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.

• Decoding Arbitral Disputes: EU's Arb. Defense From Russia

  

  The EU's latest package of restrictive measures against Russia marks a significant shift from merely resisting Russian jurisdictional tactics to proactively protecting arbitration and exclusive jurisdiction agreements, elevating the procedural importance of dispute resolution clauses, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.

• 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.