Expert Analysis

• What Patent Bills Would Mean For Infringement Litigation

  

  Attorneys at Farella Braun summarize a pair of recently introduced patent bills — one that would reform patent eligibility and another that would change procedures for litigating patent invalidity — and explore the potential impact of each.

• Why Privacy And Trade Secret Law Are On A Collision Course

  

  The conflict between the legal regimes of trade secret law and data privacy law is growing as companies increasingly collect and use data about their customers, making it key for organizations to find ways to comply with both laws in order to protect their intellectual property and the privacy of their customer, says Jenny Colgate at Rothwell Figg.

• How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness

  

  Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.

• Opinion

  Litigation Funding Disclosure Should Be Mandatory

  

  Despite the Appellate Rules Committee's recent deferral of the issue of requiring third-party litigation funding disclosure, such a mandate is necessary to ensure the even-handed administration of justice across all cases, says David Levitt at Hinshaw.

• Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

  

  As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

• ComEd Case Shows Wide Reach Of FCPA Accounting Clauses

  

  The recent conviction of former Commonwealth Edison executives and associates, paired with broader civil enforcement actions, demonstrates the government’s willingness to enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act’s accounting provisions, even in domestic cases without a predicate violation of the statute’s anti-bribery provisions, say James Koukios and Nathan Lowry at MoFo.

• Regulating AI: Litigation Questions And State Efforts To Watch

  

  In view of the developing legal and regulatory framework for artificial intelligence systems in the U.S., including state legislation and early federal litigation, there are practical takeaways as we look toward the future, says Jennifer Maisel at Rothwell Figg.

• Opinion

  Justices' Job Transfer Review Should Hold To Title VII Text

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis should hold that a job transfer can be an adverse employment action, and the analysis should be based on the straightforward language of Title VII rather than judicial activism, say Lynne Bernabei and Alan Kabat at Bernabei & Kabat.

• Immigration Program Pitfalls Exacerbate Physician Shortages

  

  Eliminating shortcomings from U.S. immigration regulations and policies could help mitigate the national shortage of physicians by encouraging foreign physicians to work in medically underserved areas, but progress has been halted by partisan gridlock, say Alison Hitz and Dana Schwarz at Clark Hill.

• Perspectives

  Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice

  

  Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.

• And Now A Word From The Panel: 55 Years Of The JPML

  

  As the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation marks its 55th birthday, Alan Rothman at Sidley looks back at its history and finds that, while some features of MDL jurisprudence have changed over the decades, the most remarkable aspect of the panel's practice has been its consistency.

• 9th Circ. Gap Ruling Creates Split On Forum Selection Clause

  

  The Ninth Circuit recently held in Lee v. Fisher that a forum selection clause in Gap's bylaws requiring all derivative claims to be brought in Delaware state court is enforceable, but since the Seventh Circuit struck down a similar clause in Boeing's bylaws last year, Supreme Court review may be on the horizon, say attorneys at Davis Polk.

• Why Justices' SuperValu Ruling Wasn't Quite A 'Seismic Shift'

  

  Notwithstanding an early victory lap by the relators' bar, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. SuperValu Inc. was a win for both whistleblowers and sophisticated companies, but unfortunately left “subjective belief” to be interpreted by lower courts and future litigants, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

• Effectual Relief Questions Linger After Section 363 Ruling

  

  In the months since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in MOAC Mall Holdings, courts and practitioners must grapple with the issue of what effectual relief courts may grant upon an appeal of an unstayed sale order, says Monique Jewett-Brewster at Hopkins Carley.

• What's Next For Enviro Justice After Affirmative Action Ban?

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision striking down affirmative action measures in university admissions raises questions about the future of the Biden administration's environmental justice initiatives — but EJ advocates may still have reasons for cautious optimism, say J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.