Expert Analysis

• $38M Law Firm Settlement Highlights 'Unworthy Client' Perils

  

  A recent settlement of claims against law firm Eckert Seamans for allegedly abetting a Ponzi scheme underscores the continuing threat of clients who seek to exploit their lawyers in perpetrating fraud, and the critical importance of preemptive measures to avoid these clients, say attorneys at Lockton Companies.

• Maintaining Legal Compliance For GenAI In Life Sciences

  

  As companies continue to implement generative artificial intelligence to enhance all phases of drug discovery, they must remain mindful of legal, regulatory and practical considerations as best practices in this space emerge and evolve, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

• Trending At The PTAB: The Influence Of Litigation Arguments

  

  Recent decisions from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board shed light on the varying extent to which the board considers patent owners' district court arguments, particularly with respect to the meaning of claim terms, say attorneys at Finnegan.

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  Teaching Business Law Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Teaching business law to college students has rekindled my sense of purpose as a lawyer — I am more mindful of the importance of the rule of law and the benefits of our common law system, which helps me maintain a clearer perspective on work, says David Feldman at Feldman Legal Advisors.

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  Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery

  

  The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.

• Patent Takeaways In Fed. Circ.'s 1st Machine Learning Ruling

  

  The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Recentive Analytics v. Fox, a case of first impression affirming the invalidity of patents that applied general machine learning methods to conventional tasks, serves as a cautionary guide for patent practitioners navigating the complexities of machine learning inventions, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• Opinion

  UK Court Of Appeal's FRAND Ruling Is Troubling

  

  The U.K. Court of Appeal's recent decision in Optis v. Apple disregards a lower court's extensive factual findings and contradicts its own precedent regarding fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms for cellular patents, says Enrico Bonadio at the University of London.

• Opinion

  Int'l Athletes' Wages Should Be On-Campus Employment

  

  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security should recognize participation in college athletics by international student-athletes as on-campus employment to prevent the potentially disastrous ripple effects on teams, schools and their surrounding communities, says Catherine Haight at Haight Law Group.

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  Playing Guitar Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Being a lawyer not only requires logic and hard work, but also belief, emotion, situational awareness and lots of natural energy — playing guitar enhances all of these qualities, increasing my capacity to do my best work, says Kosta Stojilkovic at Wilkinson Stekloff.

• Adapting To PTAB's Reembracing Of Discretionary Denials

  

  Recent guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office marks a swing back toward procedural discretion in Patent Trial and Appeal Board trial institution decisions, bringing unpredictability but also opportunities for drafting petitions, and making and responding to discretionary denial arguments, says Taylor Stemler at Merchant & Gould.

• Crisis Management Lessons From The Parenting Playbook

  

  The parenting skills we use to help our kids through challenges — like rehearsing for stressful situations, modeling confidence and taking time to reset our emotions — can also teach us the fundamentals of leading clients through a corporate crisis, say Deborah Solmor at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Cara Peterman at Alston & Bird.

• 4 Ways To Leverage A Jury's Underdog Perceptions

  

  Counsel should consider how common factors that speak to their client's size, power, past challenges and alignment with jurors can be presented to try and paint their client as a sympathetic underdog, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

• 4 Legislative Proposals Reflect Growing Scrutiny Of Pharma IP

  

  Bipartisan legislative momentum in Congress, including a recent package of bills targeting exclusivity strategies that delay generic and biosimilar competition, signals growing scrutiny of life sciences intellectual property strategies, so biologics companies and investors must pay attention to new strategic, compliance and litigation risks, says Olga Berson at Thompson Coburn.

• Why Hiring Former Jurors As Consultants Can Be Risky

  

  The defense team's decision to hire former juror Victoria George in the high-profile retrial of Karen Read shines a spotlight on this controversial strategy, which raises important legal, ethical and tactical questions despite not being explicitly prohibited, says Nikoleta Despodova at ND Litigation.

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  Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw

  

  While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.