Expert Analysis

• USPTO-Fed. Circ. Split Complicates Machine Learning Patents

  

  The wide chasm between the USPTO's and the Federal Circuit's approach to eligibility for machine learning patents means that patent drafters must avoid functional claiming and specifications if they hope to avoid invalidation of a machine learning patent at the appellate court, says attorney Michael Kiklis.

• Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

  

  In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four recent rulings involving wage and hour allegations, medical care for incarcerated individuals, oil and gas royalty payments, and nuisance claims.

• AG Watch: Ohio AG Joins State Antitrust Enforcement Trend

  

  Amid the recent reprioritization in the federal government's competition enforcement agenda, two recent cases provide critical insight into how the Ohio attorney general will proceed in the relatively unprecedented trend of state attorneys general aggressively pursuing antitrust matters, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

• Series

  Being A Singer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Before law school, I spent seven years trying to make it as a professional singer in Los Angeles, and nearly everything I learned about preparation, humility, confidence and more has followed me into my legal practice, says Jessica Caterina at Moses & Singer.

• Mass. UHC Fraud Suit Signals States' Medicaid FCA Push

  

  Massachusetts' recently filed False Claims Act suit alleging UnitedHealthcare misrepresented the health status of enrollees in a Medicaid senior care organization plan it managed pushes forward a new phase of state-level scrutiny of managed care data and Medicaid payment mechanisms, say Li Yu at Bernstein Litowitz, Ellen London at London & Naor and Gwendolyn Stamper at Vogel Slade.

• The Growing Antitrust Risks Of AI Pricing For Health Insurers

  

  Attorneys at Patterson Belknap provide an overview of the increased risk of antitrust enforcement for health insurance companies using algorithmic price models, including in the form of multidistrict private litigation, new state and federal bills, and potential federal enforcement.

• FDA Draft Guidance Maps Payor Strategy For Psychedelics

  

  Recently revised guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will operationalize a framework permitting drug developers to share product information with insurance companies, giving psychedelic therapeutics developers a road map for building a successful payor infrastructure before approval, says Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell.

• Trade Secret Practice Tips From The 1st Half Of 2026

  

  Intellectual property attorneys should consider what several significant developments in 2026 thus far mean for how they protect, litigate and value trade secrets, focusing on new state noncompete bans, cases scrutinizing how plaintiffs identify trade secrets and federal rulings on damages doctrines, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

• Preparing For Next Congress With Eye On Investigation Risk

  

  Rod Rosenstein, Brian Whisler and Bruce Linskens at Baker McKenzie offer advice for organizations seeking to build a proactive response plan to potential congressional oversight as the election looms.

• Opinion

  Denying Emergency Abortion Care Is A Liability Oversight

  

  Health systems in states with abortion bans should consider that refusing to provide emergency abortion care carries greater legal risk than the risk of prosecution under post-Dobbs laws for providing treatment, say Kimberly Chernoby at FemInEM and Rachel Rebouché at the University of Texas, Austin School of Law.

• Carbon Health Settlement Highlights Why Evidence Is Key

  

  The California Attorney General's Office's first-of-its-kind settlement with Carbon Health, imposing penalties for alleged corporate practice of medicine violations, shows that friendly professional corporation challenges usually hinge not on the parties' management services agreement, but on whether the operational record matches it, says Ben Dubin at VC Expert Services.

• How To Brace For A Potential Democratic Oversight Push

  

  With the possibility of a shift in congressional control after the November midterm elections, companies and their general counsel should prepare now by mapping oversight exposure, reviewing government interactions, preserving records and developing coordinated communications strategies, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

• Remote Work Rulings Show ADA Fights Hinge On Process

  

  Two opposite outcomes in recent Fifth Circuit and D.C. federal court cases underscore that the legality of denying employees' disability accommodation requests for remote work depends less on broad policy and more on how it's applied, says Paul Sweeney at Ice Miller.

• Series

  Being A Magician Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  The skills I've developed as a lifelong magician have translated directly into tangible benefits in the courtroom because performing magic and trying cases both live at the intersection of psychology, storytelling, timing and disciplined rehearsal, says Mark Dombroff at Fox Rothschild.

• How Litigants Are Testing Conversion Therapy Ruling's Scope

  

  Litigants are already using the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Chiles v. Salazar ruling, which applied strict scrutiny to Colorado’s conversion therapy ban, to challenge laws limiting algorithmic rental pricing, artificial intelligence-based discrimination and anti-union employer speech, and courts must soon decide Chiles’ First Amendment limits, say attorneys at O'Melveny.