Opinion

Bias Protections At Stake In High Court LGBTQ Wedding Case

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of a web designer who refused to create a wedding website for a same-sex couple in 303 Creative v. Elenis, scheduled for oral arguments Dec. 5, would give a free pass to religious business owners seeking speech-based exemptions from anti-discrimination laws and other protections, say attorneys at Curtis.

Safeguarding Attorneys' Greatest Asset: Our Mental Health

Attorneys who understand that mental fitness is their most valuable characteristic should prioritize mental health care accordingly, including with certain activities they may not realize qualify as self-care, says Wendy Robbins at Holland & Knight.

How 6th Circ. Flint Ruling Adds To 5th Amendment Case Law

The Sixth Circuit’s recent decision in Walters v. Snyder, holding that witnesses can testify at deposition but later invoke their right against self-incrimination at trial in the same case, is significant and long overdue in Fifth Amendment jurisprudence — but its practical effect is limited in parallel proceedings, say Ronald Blum and Rebecca Kimmel at Manatt.

How The Amgen Case May Affect Patent Owners, Prosecutors

Depending on how the U.S. Supreme Court rules in Amgen v. Sanofi, its decision to review the enablement requirement of Section 112 of the Patent Act could result in significant strategic adjustments by patent owners and prosecutors, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

Opinion

Benefits Ruling Shows Need For Revised ERISA Procedure

The Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Collier v. Lincoln Life Assurance demonstrates that not only are there no uniform court procedures for Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are not always followed, demanding a reappraisal of ERISA civil procedure, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

5th Circ. Class Action Rulings Reflect Post-TransUnion Trends

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2021 TransUnion v. Ramirez decision, Fifth Circuit case trends this year highlight the importance of closely evaluating standing challenges where the injury-in-fact is questionable, even where a statutory violation might exist, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

Political Bias Ruling Clarifies NY Law's Worker Protections

The Second Circuit recently held in Truitt v. Salisbury Bank and Trust that the bank potentially violated New York’s Labor Law by forcing an employee to choose between his job and engaging in protected political activity, providing helpful guidance on a section of the law that addresses such issues, says Michael Pospis at Pospis Law.

The Fed. Circ. In November: The Presumption Of TM Validity

The Federal Circuit's recent decision confirming the strength of the presumption of validity of federal trademark registrations in SoClean v. Sunset Healthcare makes clear that the presumption applies with full force, even if the examiner allowed a trademark to issue in error, says Paul Stewart at Knobbe Martens.

Pending High Court ICWA Decision Holds Broad Implications

Oral argument in Brackeen v. Haaland — a child welfare case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court — has called attention to complex interplay between the case and other tribal and racial issues, indicating that consequences will affect Congress' ability to fulfill its trust obligations to tribes, as well as diversity programs that include Native Americans, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

Bias Suit Ruling Offers Disability Accommodation Guidelines

The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in the bias suit Owens v. Georgia Governor's Office of Student Achievement provides clear guidance on the scope of an employee's obligations when seeking disability accommodation, and points to employer best practices to handle such requests, says Scott Hetrick at Adams and Reese.

Opinion

The Dangers Of The SEC's 'Hotel California' Docket

A growing backlog of cases on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's administrative adjudication docket exposes the fallacy that federal agencies' in-house tribunals are worth the systematic deprivation of jury trial rights because their streamlined, efficient processes produce prompt decisions, says Russell Ryan at the New Civil Liberties Alliance.

Opinion

Law Schools Are Right To Steer Clear Of US News Rankings

By opting out of participating in the U.S. News & World Report annual rankings, law schools abandon a profoundly flawed system and free up their resources to adapt to the tsunami of changes overtaking the profession, says Nicholas Allard at Jacksonville University College of Law.

Lessons From Justices' Evolving Approach To COVID Rulings

Akiva Shapiro and William Moccia at Gibson Dunn discuss how the U.S. Supreme Court's approach to COVID-19 cases evolved over the course of the pandemic, and how the progression has affected the court's emergency applications docket and provided guidance for lower courts.

Opinion

Litigation Funders Seek Transparency In Disclosure Debate

Litigation funders want to correct the record on calls for funding disclosure in the name of transparency, as this purported justification obscures the disclosure's adverse effects — prejudicing plaintiffs' cases and discouraging the assertion of meritorious legal claims, say Dai Wai Chin Feman and William Weisman at Parabellum Capital.

7 Key Takeaways For Litigating Willful Patent Infringement

Brian Nolan and Manuel Velez at Mayer Brown explore the impact of the Federal Circuit's 2021 SRI International v. Cisco Systems decision, and six other areas recent parties have focused on when litigating willful infringement in the latest case law.