Expert Analysis

• 9th Circ. Ruling Clarifies Doc Protection Limits In Gov't Probes

  

  The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Kalbers v. U.S. Department of Justice confirms that Rule 6(e) provides robust protections when documents are in the government's possession only through a grand jury subpoena, emphasizing for companies the importance of careful labeling from the outset of an investigation, say attorneys at Cooley.

• Berk May Spur More Pushback Against Med Mal Gatekeeping

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Berk v. Choy may appear to be a run-of-the-mill reminder that a federal procedural rule trumps its state counterpart, but it could inspire more challenges to state-created prerequisites to filing medical malpractice lawsuits, say attorneys at Decof Mega.

• Getting The Most Out Of Learning And Development Programs

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Junior associates can better develop the legal, business and interpersonal skills they need for long-term success by approaching their firms’ learning and development programs armed with five tips for getting the most out of these resources, says Lauren Hakala at Reed Smith.

• A Shift In Fed. Circ.'s Approach To Patent Summary Judgment

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Range of Motion v. Armaid may come to be seen as a seminal opinion for potentially exposing and entrenching the Federal Circuit's movement away from its previous framework for identifying obvious noninfringement cases, says Nicholas Nowak at Nowak IP Group.

• Considering The Risks That Arise When IP Outlives Its Owner

  

  Federal and state court decisions show that the statutory regime for each category of intellectual property promises continuity after the owner's death, but the law does not provide a succession framework for how those rights are to be exercised, says Erin Daly at Daly Law & Strategy.

• Del. Blackbaud Ruling Signals A New Era For Cyberinsurance

  

  The recent Delaware Supreme Court ruling in Travelers v. Blackbaud shows that cyberinsurance is moving into a second maturity phase, in which insurers will increasingly attempt to recover their payments from vendors and insureds will face new pressure to justify cyber incident reimbursements, say Steven Teppler at Mandelbaum Barrett and Jade Davis at Shumaker.

• How A High Court Music Piracy Ruling Shrinks ISP Liability

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent opinion in Cox Communications Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment, which concerned the boundaries of contributory copyright infringement for internet service providers, dramatically lessens both the risk that an ISP will be held contributorily liable and, relatedly, the incentives an ISP may have to help combat online copyright infringement, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• Opinion

  AI Presents A Make-Or-Break Moment For Outside Counsel

  

  The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence by corporate legal departments is forcing a long-overdue reset of the relationship between inside and outside counsel, and introducing a significant opportunity to shed frustrating inefficiencies and strengthen collaboration for firms willing to embrace the shift, says Intel Chief Legal Officer April Miller Boise.

• 8 Tariff Refund Questions For Restructuring Professionals

  

  For restructuring and turnaround professionals, seeking refunds following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision invalidating tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act raises several questions about how to capture legitimate recoveries while protecting an enterprise from the consequences of its own history, says Jonny Frank and Laura Greenman at StoneTurn, and Andrew Popescu at Province.

• Series

  Watching Hallmark Movies Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  I realize you may be judging me for watching, and actually enjoying, Hallmark Channel movies, but the escapism and storylines actually demonstrate qualities and actions that lead to an efficient, productive and positive legal practice, says Karen Ross at Tucker Ellis.

• Fed. Circ. In February: When Grammar Trumps Patent Specs

  

  The Federal Circuit's decision in Netflix v. DivX last month highlights the challenge of interpreting potentially misplaced modifiers in complicated technological patents, and the potential for grammatical rules to provide a default interpretation for unclear claim language, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

• Acquiring Co-Insurer Coverage Aid In Fla. Builder Defect Suits

  

  With the recent influx of Florida construction defect lawsuits putting builder’s insurance carriers in the crosshairs, parties must actively seek new methods tailored to the state to compel as many subcontractors, carriers and co-insurers as possible to share the expense and risk of their defense, says Nick Richardson at Segal McCambridge.

• New Orphan Drug Law Provides A Key Fix For Pharma Cos.

  

  The Consolidated Appropriations Act enacted last month restores the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's long-standing interpretation of "same disease or condition," related to orphan drug exclusivity, resolving years of regulatory uncertainty and litigation that have discouraged rare disease research, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

• What 2nd Circ. Discovery Stay Means For Sovereign Litigation

  

  The Second Circuit’s recent stay of a postjudgment discovery order against Argentine officials in an oil investment dispute is worth examining in its full doctrinal and practical context, as limiting enforcement efforts that pry into foreign governments' internal workings could quietly reshape the trajectory of sovereign litigation in the U.S., says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

• Employment Cases Offer Arbitration Clause Drafting Lessons

  

  Two recent federal court decisions granting employers' motions to compel arbitration highlight that companies can improve their chances of avoiding court by approaching arbitration clauses as a series of related drafting choices, anticipating disputes on the arbitral seat, hearing location and governing law, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.