Expert Analysis

• Latest PTAB Moves Suggest A Subtle Recalibration

  

  Recent decisions from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, as U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires transitions into his new role, offer new procedural and substantive tools for patent owners in procuring patent rights and enforcing them against would-be petitioners, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• NY Zelle Suit Highlights Fraud Risks Of Electronic Payments

  

  The New York attorney general's recent action against Zelle's parent company, filed several months after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau abandoned a similar suit, demonstrates the fraud risks that electronic payment platforms can present and the need for providers to carefully balance accessibility and consumer protection, say attorneys at Weiner Brodsky.

• Opinion

  Courts Must Continue Protecting Plaintiffs In Mass Arbitration

  

  In recent years, many companies have imposed onerous protocols that function to frustrate plaintiffs' ability to seek justice through mass arbitration, but a series of welcome court decisions in recent months indicate that the pendulum might be swinging back toward plaintiffs, say Raphael Janove and Sasha Jones at Janove Law.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Client Service

  

  Law school teaches you how to interpret the law, but it doesn't teach you some of the key ways to keeping clients satisfied, lessons that I've learned in the most unexpected of places: a book on how to be a butler, says Gregory Ramos at Armstrong Teasdale.

• How Occasional Activists Have Reshaped Proxy Fights

  

  The sophistication and breadth of first-time activist engagement continue to shape corporate governance and strategic outcomes, as evidenced across corporate annual meetings this summer, meaning advisers should anticipate continued innovation in tactics, increased regulatory complexity, and a persistent focus on board accountability, say attorneys at MoFo.

• How The FTC Is Stepping Up Subscription Enforcement

  

  Despite the demise of the Federal Trade Commission's click-to-cancel rule in July, the commission has not only maintained its regulatory momentum, but also set new compliance benchmarks through recent high-profile settlements with Match.com, Chegg and Amazon, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• Enter The Wu-Tang Ruling That May Change Trade Secret Law

  

  A New York federal court's recent holding that a Wu-Tang Clan album qualifies as a trade secret provides the first federal framework for analyzing trade secret claims involving assets valued primarily for exclusivity, potentially reshaping Defend Trade Secrets Act jurisprudence for the digital economy, says Jason Bradford at Jenner & Block.

• Opinion

  New US-UK Tech Deal Offers Opportunities To Boost Growth

  

  The recently announced U.S. and U.K. Technology Prosperity Deal, encouraging businesses on both sides of the Atlantic to work together toward technological advance, will drive both investment in U.K. capabilities and returns for U.S. investors, says Peter Watts at Hogan Lovells.

• ConvergeOne Ruling May Disrupt Backstop Fee Approach

  

  A Texas federal court's recent ruling in ConvergeOne has the potential to seriously disrupt previously accepted market practice when it comes to sourcing new capital for a restructuring, while offering a nebulous market test for a new approach, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• Shutdown May Stall Hearings, But Gov't Probes Quietly Go On

  

  Thanks to staff assurances under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, the core work of congressional investigations continues during the shutdown that began Oct. 1 — and so does the investigative work that is performed behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

• Series

  Adapting To Private Practice: 3 Tips On Finding The Right Job

  

  After 23 years as a state and federal prosecutor, when I contemplated moving to a law firm, practicing solo or going in-house, I found there's a critical first step — deep self-reflection on what you truly want to do and where your strengths lie, says Rachael Jones at McKool Smith.

• How Courts May Interpret Data-Driven Healthcare Fraud Suits

  

  As the U.S. Department of Justice and other agencies increasingly turn to data mining as an enforcement tool, courts will have to determine how far data alone can take a fraud case, and sound theory, clinical expertise and institutional context will play an important role, say Jaime Jones at Sidley and Andrée-Anne Fournier and Atang Gilika at Analysis Group.

• Breaking Down The Intersection Of Right-Of-Publicity Law, AI

  

  Jillian Taylor at Blank Rome examines how existing right-of-publicity law governs artificial intelligence-generated voice-overs, deepfakes and deadbots; highlights a recent New York federal court ruling involving AI-generated voice clones; and offers practical guardrails for using AI without violating the right of publicity.

• What 2 Recent Rulings Mean For Trafficking Liability Coverage

  

  Two recent federal district court decisions add to a growing number of courts concluding that Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act claims may trigger coverage under commercial general liability policies, rejecting insurer arguments regarding public policy and exclusion defenses, says Joe Cole at Shumaker.

• Civil Maritime Nuclear Sector Poised For Growth, Challenges

  

  The maritime industry now stands on the verge of a nuclear-powered renaissance, with the need for clean energy, resilient power generation and decarbonized logistics driving demand for commercial maritime nuclear technology — but these developments will raise significant new legal, regulatory and technical questions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.