Expert Analysis

• Perils Of Incorporation By Reference At The Federal Circuit

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent decision backing a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling against Medtronic illustrates the perils of arguments through incorporation by reference, which can result in waiver of arguments and an adverse decision on appeal, says Ryan Hagglund at Loeb & Loeb.

• Series

  Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.

• 5th Circ. Ruling Sets Bostock, Faith Exemption Up For Review

  

  The Fifth Circuit's Braidwood v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission decision could tee up U.S. Supreme Court review of whether employing an individual to whose protected class the employer objects infringes on the employer's religious beliefs, potentially narrowing LGBTQ worker protections from the high court's 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County decision, says Adam Grogan at Bell Law.

• Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.

• Trump NY Fraud Trial Shows Civil, Criminal Case Differences

  

  Former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial currently unfolding in New York provides a reminder that civil bench trials can be just as damaging, if not more so, than criminal prosecutions, due to several key elements of civil litigation procedure, says retired attorney David Moskowitz.

• High Court's Chevron Review May Be A Crypto Game-Changer

  

  The outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court's review of the Chevron doctrine in its pending Loper v. Raimondo case will potentially usher in a paradigm shift in cryptocurrency regulation, challenging agency authority and raising hopes for a recalibrated approach that favors judicial interpretation, says Sylvia Favretto at Mysten Labs.

• 7 Critical Copyright And AI Questions Courts Need To Address

  

  U.S. courts have yet to rule on many copyright issues regarding generative artificial intelligence technologies, so developers and users should consider several questions when evaluating risks, developing risk mitigation plans and making decisions about particular use cases, say John Delaney and Sean West at Perkins Coie.

• How Purdue High Court Case Will Shape Ch. 11 Mass Injury

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent arguments in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, addressing the authority of bankruptcy courts to approve nonconsensual third-party releases in Chapter 11 settlement plans, highlight the case's wide-ranging implications for how mass injury cases get resolved in bankruptcy proceedings, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.

• Why E-Commerce Tools Are Under Fire Amid Privacy Lawsuits

  

  As lawsuits try to shoehorn new technologies into decades-old privacy laws never intended for the digital age, e-commerce tools and the companies that use them are increasingly at risk, and retailers should act now to minimize their potential exposure, say attorneys at Benesch.

• How New Expert Rules Are Already Changing Court Decisions

  

  Though not formally effective until last week, some courts have been relying for several years on amended federal rules clarifying judges’ gatekeeping role, so counsel should be prepared to justify their expert witnesses’ methodologies and expect additional motion practice on expert testimony admissibility, say Colleen Kenney and Daniel Kelly at Sidley.

• Opinion

  Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave

  

  To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.

• Pa. Court's Venue Ruling Is Likely To Worsen Forum Shopping

  

  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent Hangey v. Husqvarna decision claims to narrowly clarify the standard for evaluating whether a venue is proper, but has broader implications that are likely to exacerbate the forum-shopping problem that already plagues corporate defendants in Pennsylvania, says Stefanie Pitcavage Mekilo and Joseph Schaeffer at Babst Calland.

• 1st Circ. Ruling Helps Clarify Test For FLSA Admin Exemption

  

  The First Circuit’s recent decision in Marcus v. American Contract Bridge League will help employers navigate the Fair Labor Standards Act's "general business operations" exemption and make the crucial and often confusing decision of whether white collar employees are overtime-exempt administrators or nonexempt frontline producers of products and services, says Mark Tabakman at Fox Rothschild.

• How Cannabis Cos. Are Adapting In Shifting Bankruptcy Arena

  

  Recent bankruptcy cases show that federal courts have begun to demonstrate more openness to downstream businesses in the cannabis industry, and that even though receivership can be a viable option for those denied access to the bankruptcy system, it is not without its own risks and complexities, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

• 9th Circ. Ruling May Expand Short-Swing Profit Exemption

  

  The Ninth Circuit’s recent dismissal of a shareholder derivative suit in Roth v. Foris Ventures LLC provides boards of directors with greater latitude to approve certain securities transactions under the the Securities Exchange Act’s Section 16(b) short-swing profits rule, say John Stigi and John Mysliwiec at Sheppard Mullin.