Expert Analysis

• 9th Circ. Rule Block Unlikely To Deter FinCEN Cartel Focus

  

  The Ninth Circuit recently blocked the Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit's border cash reporting rule, interpreting it as an impermissible use of an emergency anti-money laundering tool, but regulators are more likely to see the opinion as a road map for building a more defensible rule, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

• 5 Financial Statement Fraud Red Flags To Spot Post-Sripetch

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court recently held in Sripetch v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that disgorgement exists to strip a wrongdoer of unjust enrichment, not merely to compensate victims for what they lost, shifting the work at the center of securities fraud cases in five ways, says Rand Manasse at Green Lane Partners.

• QVC Ch. 11 Confirmation Shows Independent Directors' Value

  

  QVC's recently confirmed Chapter 11 plan joins a growing body of restructuring precedent demonstrating that well-functioning independent director frameworks can create the evidentiary and governance foundation necessary to resolve complex intercompany disputes, preserve value and secure judicial approval of contested transactions, say attorneys at Choate.

• Series

  Being A Sommelier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Being a sommelier has quietly shaped how I practice law by changing the way I think, communicate and connect with people, and offers a constant reminder that expertise is about making your knowledge useful and accessible to others, says Kara Du at Sheppard.

• MF Doom IP Suit Highlights Hurdles For Trademark Claims

  

  A recent lawsuit involving unauthorized merchandise bearing MF Doom's name and likeness is likely a preview of how infringement and counterfeit cases against online marketplaces will be defended going forward, shedding light on how intellectual property counsel can avoid dismissal of their claims, say Purdue Global Law School professor Scott Mortman and Southwestern Law School student Eden Burkow.

• Calif. Drug Ruling Affirms Defect-Centric Liability Framework

  

  The California Supreme Court's decision in Gilead Tenofovir Cases this week rejects a novel duty-to-innovate theory of negligence that could have reshaped product liability exposure well beyond the pharmaceutical industry, instead signaling that negligence claims premised on nondefective products are unlikely to succeed, say attorneys at Dechert.

• Navigating Court Divergence On Method Claims And Venue

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Hikma v. Amarin decision putting a spotlight on the pleading standard for inducement, patent litigants must adapt to courts' differing approaches to how separate method steps affect the determination of patent venue validity, say attorneys at Weil.

• AI, Prediction Markets Lead Securities Developments In 2026

  

  Securities class actions tied to artificial intelligence and the battle over prediction market regulation both raise novel questions that courts are only beginning to address and that will continue to resonate throughout the second half of the year, say attorneys at Skadden.

• Where Is The Line On Actionable Comms In Securities Cases?

  

  Recent securities cases demonstrate the difficulty in discerning a clear difference between statements made in connection with the purchase or sale of securities and those that aren't, with that line more likely attributable to individualized factual situations than to any doctrinal differences of opinion between various courts, says Samuel Groner at Fried Frank.

• NJ Supreme Court Ruling Exposes D&O Gaps For PE Boards

  

  The New Jersey Supreme Court's recent decision in Mist Pharmaceuticals v. Berkley Insurance, barring directors and officers coverage, serves as a cautionary tale for private equity executives serving in overlapping roles at sponsor and portfolio companies, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• Post-Ismael Bias Cases Reinforce Familiar Employer Lessons

  

  Despite the Eleventh Circuit's 2025 decision in Ismael v. Roundtree sparking concern that summary judgment could become more difficult for employers in discrimination and retaliation cases, courts continue to examine whether the employer's explanation, decision-making process and contemporaneous record tell a consistent story, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

• Fed. Circ. In June: When Courts Can't Correct Patent Errors

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Enanta v. Pfizer explores and clarifies the limits of what can be corrected in a patent application, even if the error is obvious, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

• Challenging Detention After 5th Circ. Ends Bond Clocks

  

  After the vacatur of the Fifth Circuit’s holding that the U.S. Constitution requires bond hearings for detained noncriminal noncitizens, practitioners should go back to filing habeas petitions, pending the court's en banc rehearing, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

• Patent Eligibility Bulletin: New USPTO Guidance And AI Risks

  

  In the second quarter of 2026, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office updated its subject matter eligibility declarations in line with its increasingly permissive patent eligibility stance, while the Federal Circuit rigorously applied the Alice framework in a decision that highlighted risks facing patent claims that utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning, say attorneys at Banner Witcoff.

• State Of Insurance: Q2 Notes From Illinois

  

  The second quarter of 2026 featured a trio of auto insurance opinions from Illinois' appellate courts, addressing a notice requirement, narrowing insurers' exposure for delayed payment of underinsured motorist claims, and creating a district split on coverage for employee-drivers under employers' policies, says Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey.