Expert Analysis

• Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: January Lessons

  

  In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five rulings from October and November, and identifies practice tips from cases involving consumer fraud, oil and gas leases, toxic torts, and wage and hour issues.

• Series

  Judges On AI: How Judicial Use Informs Guardrails

  

  U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado discusses why having a sense of how generative AI tools behave, where they add value, where they introduce risk and how they are reshaping the practice of law is key for today's judges.

• Evenflo IP Ruling Shows Evidence Is Still Key For Injunctions

  

  Notwithstanding renewed policy and doctrinal attention to patent injunctions, the Federal Circuit's December decision in Wonderland v. Evenflo signals that the era of easily obtained patent injunctions has not yet arrived, say attorneys at King & Wood.

• Justices' Med Mal Ruling May Spur Huge Shift For Litigators

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in the medical malpractice suit Berk v. Choy, holding that a Florida procedural requirement does not apply to medical malpractice claims filed in federal court, is likely to encourage eligible parties to file claims in federal court, speed the adjudicatory process and create both opportunities and challenges for litigators, says Thomas Kroeger at Colson Hicks.

• Challenging Restitution Orders After Supreme Court Decision

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s Ellingburg v. U.S. decision from last week, holding that mandatory restitution is a criminal punishment subject to the Sixth Amendment, means that all challenges to restitution are now fair game if the amount is not alleged in the indictment, say Mark Allenbaugh at SentencingStats.com and Doug Passon at Doug Passon Law.

• State Of Insurance: Q4 Notes From Pennsylvania

  

  Last quarter in Pennsylvania, a Superior Court ruling underscored the centrality of careful policy drafting and judicial scrutiny of exclusionary language, and another provided practical guidance on the calculation of attorney fees and interest in bad faith cases, while a proposed bill endeavored to cover insurance gaps for homeowners, says Todd Leon at Marshall Dennehey.

• Justices' Double Jeopardy Ruling May Limit Charge-Stacking

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent holding in Barrett v. U.S. that the double jeopardy clause bars separate convictions for the same act under two related firearms laws places meaningful limits on the broader practice of stacking charges, a reminder that overlapping statutes present prosecutors with a menu, not a buffet, says attorney David Tarras.

• How 2025 Recalibrated Fair Use For The AI Era

  

  Although the Second Circuit's decision last year in Romanova v. Amilus Inc. did not involve artificial intelligence, its formulation of relevant fair use factors provides a useful guide for lower courts examining AI cases in 2026, demanding close attention from legal practitioners on both sides of these disputes, say attorneys at Cleary.

• Series

  Adapting To Private Practice: 5 Tips From Ex-SEC Unit Chief

  

  My move to private practice has reaffirmed my belief in the value of adaptability, collaboration and strategic thinking — qualities that are essential not only for successful client outcomes, but also for sustained professional satisfaction, says Dabney O’Riordan at Fried Frank.

• 5 Drug Pricing Policy Developments To Watch In 2026

  

  2026 may prove to be a critical year for drug pricing in the U.S., with potential major shifts including several legislative initiatives moving forward after being in the works for years, and more experimentation on the horizon concerning GLP-1s and Section 340B pricing, say attorneys at Manatt.

• 2026 Int'l Arbitration Trends: Awards Against Sovereign States

  

  The enforcement of arbitral awards against sovereign states is one of the most contentious and rapidly evolving areas in international arbitration, with three defining issues on the 2026 horizon: the scope of sovereign immunity, assignability of rights, and availability of fraud and corruption defenses, say attorneys at Cleary.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Start A Law Firm

  

  Launching and sustaining a law firm requires skills most law schools don't teach, but every lawyer should understand a few core principles that can make the leap calculated rather than reckless, says Sam Katz at Athlaw.

• Opinion

  What Justices Got Right In Candidate Standing Ruling

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's decision this month in Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections broadens standing for candidates challenging state election rules, marking a welcome shift from other decisions that have impeded access to federal courts, says Daniel Tokaji at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

• Justices' Med Mal Ruling May Hurt Federal Anti-SLAPP Suits

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Berk v. Choy restricts the application of certain state laws in diversity actions in federal court — and while the ruling concerned affidavit requirements in medical malpractice suits, it may also affect the use of anti-SLAPP statutes in federal litigation, says Travis Chance at Brownstein Hyatt.

• Fed. Circ. Patent Decisions In 2025: An Empirical Review

  

  In 2025, the Federal Circuit's increased output was not enough to keep up with its ever-growing patent case load, and patent owners and applicants fared poorly overall as the court's affirmance rate fell, says Dan Bagatell at Perkins Coie.