New York

Expert Analysis

• How Drug Cos. Can Adapt To New Reference Pricing Rules

  

  Considering the Trump administration's aggressive drug reference pricing rules, and more price control measures potentially on the horizon, drug and biotech companies should prepare a comprehensive readiness strategy tailored to country-specific considerations, says Meenakshi Datta at Sidley.

• Citibank Loan 'Blunder' Ruling Raises Appellate Issues

  

  A New York federal court's recent ruling that Citibank could not claw back funds it mistakenly wired to Revlon lenders contains several legal issues an appellate court will likely review without deference to the lower court — and could lead to the lenders being ordered to return the payments, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• Ethics Tips For Attorneys Telecommuting Across State Lines

  

  Attorneys working remotely from jurisdictions in which they are not admitted should take precautionary steps to avoid engaging in unauthorized practice of law, say John Schmidt and Michael Seaman at Phillips Lytle.

• NY Rulings Show State Court Aversion To Securities Act Suits

  

  In a welcome development for defendants, a New York state court's back-to-back rejections of Securities Act class claims in Sundial Growers and Lyu v. Ruhnn Holdings signal a growing judicial backlash against the flood of similar litigation following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Cyan, say Israel Dahan and Alexander Noble at King & Spalding.

• 6 Ways Legal Employers Can Help Pandemic-Weary Parents

  

  Parenting during the pandemic has introduced a series of competing personal and professional obligations for attorneys and professional staff, and even organizations that are supportive of their parent employees can take steps to do better, says Meredith Kahan at Saul Ewing.

• How Cos. Can Weather Growing DOJ Labor Antitrust Scrutiny

  

  In light of of the U.S. Department of Justice's increasing antitrust scrutiny of labor markets and President Joe Biden's vow to eliminate most noncompetes, companies should customize their compliance plans and review employee agreements to mitigate risk, say Eric Grannon and Adam Acosta at White & Case.

• Pandemic Force Majeure Interpretations May Be Shifting

  

  A New York federal court's ruling in JN Contemporary Art v. Phillips Auctioneers, deeming COVID-19 to be a natural disaster that triggers a force majeure clause, appears to loosen previously strict contours of contractual interpretation and could create a legal quandary for obligees, say Kimberly Daily and Matthew Rawlinson at Eversheds Sutherland.

• Questions Loom About DOJ Dismissal Power In FCA Suits

  

  The Second Circuit's recent decision to grant a U.S. Department of Justice motion to dismiss a False Claims Act suit, without weighing in on the standard for assessing the agency’s decision, illustrates a significant trend, given an increase in agency dismissals and the expected uptick in FCA cases amid the pandemic, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

• Republican AGs Likely To Challenge Biden On Multiple Fronts

  

  During recent presidential administrations, state attorneys general have challenged federal regulations and obtained nationwide injunctions against executive orders — and there is every reason to believe that Republican attorneys general will continue this trend, resisting Biden administration efforts on climate change, health care, immigration and more, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

• 3 Degrees Of Legalization Show True Prevalence Of Cannabis

  

  The three degrees of state marijuana legalization regimes throughout the U.S. show that cannabis is only fully illegal in three U.S. states and one territory — not 14 states as some counts indicate — and even in those places, there are stirrings of change, says Julie Werner-Simon at Drexel University's Thomas R. Kline School of Law.

• Remote Working Tips For Lawyer Trainees And Their Firms

  

  The prospect of joining a law firm during the pandemic can cause added pressure, but with a few good practices — and a little help from their firms and supervising attorneys — lawyer trainees can get ahead of the curve while working remotely, say William Morris and Ted Landray at King & Spalding.

• Mitigate Key FCPA Risks With Tailor-Made Compliance

  

  Multinational companies should take a pragmatic approach to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance by being aware of key risk areas — such as inappropriate gift-giving, liability for third-party actions, and countries with recurring corruption issues — and implementing custom-designed procedures that evolve with their operations, says Howard Weissman at Miller Canfield.

• Too Wealthy To Bail: Navigating Pretrial Release Strategy

  

  Recent noteworthy bail decisions, including a New York federal court's denial of Ghislaine Maxwell's $28.5 million bail package offer, reveal that high-net-worth defendants should demonstrate significant ties to the U.S. and provide comprehensive financial disclosures to mitigate flight-risk objections, say Sean Buckley and Amanda Tuminelli at Kobre & Kim.

• What Biden's Ethics Pledge Means For Gov't Revolving Door

  

  Attorneys at Nossaman look at how President Joe Biden’s ethics pledge goes beyond those of his predecessors by imposing post-employment shadow lobbying and golden parachute restrictions on his administration’s appointees — and how a House bill proposing expansion of federal ethics law could affect enforcement.

• Opinion

  Punishing Bar Exam Policies On Menstrual Products Must Go

  

  Law graduates across the states are sitting for the grueling two-day bar exam this week despite menstruation-related barriers, such as inadequate menstrual product and bathroom access, which could be eradicated with simple policy tweaks, say law professors Elizabeth Cooper, Margaret Johnson and Marcy Karin.