Life Sciences

Expert Analysis

• Why AFAs Are Key To The Future Of Legal Practice

  

  Alternative fee agreements can help align law firm and client interests, increase efficiency and eliminate corporate extortion, among other benefits. They are the best thing to happen to the practice of law in decades, says Kelly Eisenlohr-Moul at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.

• What Conn. Opioid Ruling Means For Liability Insurers

  

  In New Haven v. Purdue, a Connecticut state judge ruled last week that opioid manufacturers are not liable for cities' emergency and social services costs. This decision protects liability insurance from being transformed into a funding mechanism for social problems that it was not designed to cover, say Patrick Bedell and Kevin Harris of BatesCarey LLP.

• How A No-Deal Brexit Would Affect Life Sciences Cos.

  

  Under a no-deal Brexit scenario, all provisions of EU law will no longer apply to the U.K., with potentially chaotic results for the life sciences industry. In particular, the impact on marketing authorizations could be highly disruptive, say attorneys at Latham & Watkins LLP.

• Circuits Left To Develop FCA Discovery Case Law

  

  Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in two major False Claims Act cases, both involving the government’s knowledge or suspicion of violations allegedly resulting in knowingly false claims. Nichols Liu LLP attorneys consider the implications for the materiality standard and FCA cases going forward.

• The Trump Administration's Latest Drug Pricing Initiatives

  

  In 2018, the Trump administration took few concrete steps that will significantly impact drug prices in the near future. The most consequential ideas lack political support, while the more feasible ideas are unlikely to change much, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray LLP.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Barron Reviews 'The Clamor Of Lawyers'

  

  Can lawyers lead a revolution? According to "The Clamor of Lawyers: The American Revolution and Crisis in the Legal Profession" — a slim but elegant volume by Peter Charles Hoffer and Williamjames Hull Hoffer — they can and they did, says First Circuit Judge David Barron.

• Cannabis S Corps Should Reconsider Restructuring

  

  The U.S. Tax Court recently expanded the application of Internal Revenue Code Section 280E, disallowing certain deductions, to include an S corporation acting as a dispensary's “management” company. In response, cannabis companies may want to weigh the tax risks and potential benefits of alternate planning strategies, says Justin Hobson at Lane Powell PC.

• Handling Corporate Congressional Probes In The Trump Era

  

  President Donald Trump’s approach to crisis communications has changed the game enough to demand companies' consideration of a whole new set of options. John Hellerman of Hellerman Communications and Bill Pittard of KaiserDillon PLLC discuss whether corporations can successfully use similar tactics.

• Opinion

  The Case For Lawyer-Directed Litigation Funding In NY: Part 2

  

  Lawyer-directed nonrecourse litigation funding is more likely to protect a lawyer's exercise of independent professional judgment than traditional means of litigation finance, and furthermore enables worthwhile cases that otherwise could not be funded, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson of Holland & Knight LLP.

• Opinion

  The Case For Lawyer-Directed Litigation Funding In NY: Part 1

  

  Contrary to what the New York City Bar Association concluded in an ethics opinion last year, lawyer-directed nonrecourse commercial litigation funding does not violate New York rules on sharing fees with nonlawyers, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson of Holland & Knight LLP.