Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Biden FRAND Policy Will Help Protect Competition

  

  The Biden administration's recently issued draft policy statement on licensing negotiations and remedies for standard-essential patents subject to voluntary fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms is a welcome departure from the previous U.S. Department of Justice's flawed approach to navigating the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property, says Timothy Muris at Sidley.

• How AI Can Transform Crisis Management In Litigation

  

  Attorneys should understand how to use rapidly advancing artificial intelligence technology to help clients prepare for potential catastrophic events and the inevitable litigation arising from them, from predicting crises before they occur to testing legal theories once they arise, say Stratton Horres at Wilson Elser and David Steiger.

• Supervisor Relationships Are Key To Beating Atty Burnout

  

  In order to combat record attorney turnover and high levels of burnout, law firm partners and leaders must build engaging relationships with supervisees, fostering autonomy and control, enabling expression of values, and building a sense of community and belonging, says Anne Brafford at the Institute for Well-Being in Law.

• Online Subscriptions Face New Calif. Arbitration Standard

  

  After a California state appeals court's recent ruling in Sellers v. JustAnswer against a website's so-called sign-in-wrap agreement that bound consumers to individual arbitration, companies offering recurring subscriptions to California consumers should reevaluate their enrollment processes, says Joseph Addiego at Davis Wright.

• Lessons From Moderna's COVID Vaccine Patent Dispute

  

  The National Institutes of Health's legal battle over Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine patent application highlights the unwelcome complications that can ensue when businesses collaborate in developing products, and the importance of best practices in naming inventors, says William Honaker at Dickinson Wright.

• Libor Isn't Only Benchmark Transition That Requires Attention

  

  The final publication of the Eleventh District Cost of Funds Index, used to price adjustable-rate mortgages, is less than two weeks away, and demands the same kind of commitment and process that has gone into replacing Libor to avoid costly delays and litigation, says Jeffrey Armstrong at Berkeley Research Group.

• Make-Whole Claim Lessons From Hertz Bankruptcy Ruling

  

  After the Delaware bankruptcy court's recent decision in Wells Fargo v. Hertz, courts may continue to hear the assertion that early payoff premiums constitute unmatured interest, which could shape best practices in formulating make-whole clauses to avoid such arguments, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

• The Rising Demand For Commercial Litigators In 2022

  

  Amid broken supply chains, pandemic-induced bankruptcies and a rise in regulation by litigation, strong commercial litigators — strategists who are adept in trying a range of tortious and contractual disputes — are becoming a must-have for many law firms, making this year an opportune moment to make the career switch, say Michael Ascher and Kimberly Donlon at Major Lindsey.

• Biden's Antitrust Shift May Play Out On The Golf Course

  

  The Biden administration's tougher stance on antitrust enforcement could bring about changes in professional golf, particularly restrictions on non-PGA tournaments and broadcasts, says Tad Lipsky at George Mason University.

• Key Contract Lessons In Del. Justices' Hotel Deal Ruling

  

  The Delaware Supreme Court recently ruled in AB Stabile v. MAPS Hotels that a Chinese financial conglomerate breached a hotel sale agreement's standard ordinary course covenant, providing significant insight on the meaning and application of these contracts, and the need for consent on material changes prior to closing, say attorneys at Quinn Emanuel.

• 5 Advertising Law Trends To Watch

  

  For the world of advertising, 2022 will bring new compliance challenges and considerations shaped by legal developments in everything from nonfungible-token commerce in the metaverse to the ever-growing impact of social media on young users, say Jason Gordon and Deborah Bessner at Reed Smith.

• 6 Months On, Liability Lessons From Surfside Condo Collapse

  

  The collapse of the Champlain South Tower in Surfside, Florida, and the ongoing litigation that has followed serve as a wakeup call to engineers and contractors, who should review best practices for communicating warning signs and negotiating liability-limiting contract clauses, says Adrien Pickard at Shapiro Lifschitz.

• M&A Ruling Illustrates Limits Of Disclaiming Fraud In Del.

  

  The Delaware Chancery Court's recent ruling in Fortis Advisors v. Johnson & Johnson shows that parties negotiating M&A transactions should be mindful that extracontractual fraud claims may only be eliminated through explicit anti-reliance provisions, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

• How In-House Counsel Can Make The Case For Settling Early

  

  Following the recent settlement in McDonald's v. Easterbrook, in-house counsel should consider decision-tree analyses and values-driven communications plans to secure effective, early resolutions in litigation, saving time and money and moving the company mission forward, say Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein and Richard Torrenzano at The Torrenzano Group.

• To Retain Talent, GCs Should Prioritize Mission Statements

  

  With greater legal demands and an increasing number of workers resigning during the pandemic, general counsel should take steps to articulate their teams' values in departmental mission statements, which will help them better prioritize corporate values and attract and retain talent, says Catherine Kemnitz at Axiom.