Expert Analysis

• 5 Issues To Watch As Fed. Circ. Hears Moderna Vax IP Case

  

  Upcoming oral arguments before the Federal Circuit in Arbutus v. Moderna will test whether patent liability protections for government contractors extend to vaccines distributed to the public, and the resolution of certain questions, such as how to define “for the government,” may be key to the outcome, say attorneys at Honigman.

• Managing Employer Risk Under Calif.'s No Robo Bosses Law

  

  California's No Robo Bosses Act marks the state's first statutory limit on using artificial intelligence in employee discipline and termination decisions, creating exposure for employers through its corroboration and notice requirements, burden-shifting framework, and potential reach under the Private Attorneys General Act, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• IRS Rule May Put Private Schools' Exempt Status At Risk

  

  In light of recently proposed Treasury regulations that would narrow the options for diversifying student communities, private schools should reexamine how race enters their admissions, financial aid and student programs or risk losing tax-exempt status, say attorneys at Atkinson Andelson.

• AG Watch: Minnesota Takes Action To Secure Child Safety

  

  Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has built one of the most aggressive and structurally coherent child protection enforcement programs in the country, targeting consumer-facing sectors that his office has concluded prey on minors, such as tobacco and nicotine, social media platforms, and artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

• Southern Glazer's Deal Tests FTC's Robinson-Patman Push

  

  A California federal court's recent decision in Federal Trade Commission v. Southern Glazer's secures a rare Robinson-Patman Act pricing limitations agreement, but conditions attached to the decision indicate that practitioners may only see a handful of new private RPA cases a year, says Steven Cernak at Bona Law.

• Opinion

  The SEC Crypto Proposal Rests On A Term No One Can Define

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently proposed Regulation Crypto Assets is its most ambitious attempt to set rules for the crypto industry, but its repeated use of the phrase "essential managerial efforts" means it perpetuates the uncertainty the regime is meant to cure, says Joseph A. Hall at Davis Polk.

• How DC Circ. Ruling Permits Playacting Bribery Defense

  

  The D.C. Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Burke decision appears to create a circuit split on whether prosecutors must prove public officials’ intent in bribery cases, and opens a gap between what appears to be corrupt conduct and what the law can reach, says Liz Aloi at MoFo.

• Series

  Being In The Peace Corps Made Me A Better Lawyer

  

  When I served in the Peace Corps, the people of the West African village where I was stationed helped me acclimate to my new surroundings and enabled me to develop problem-solving, teamwork and empathy skills that have bolstered my legal practice far beyond the ability to offer technical advice, says Brian Bewley at McGuireWoods.

• Opening Up Fraud Talks With Customers After SAR Guidance

  

  Federal financial regulators’ recent statement that the Bank Secrecy Act permits financial institutions to discuss potential fraud with customers, provided they don’t reveal the existence of any suspicious activity reports, means banks that have been tighter-lipped than regulations require can consider passing additional useful information on to customers, say attorneys at MoFo.

• EPA Rollback Puts Power Plant GHG Rules In Flux

  

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent actions on power plant greenhouse gas emissions create immediate implications for power plant operators and long-term regulatory uncertainty, while raising questions about the relationship between federal and state approaches to climate-related litigation, say attorneys at Van Ness Feldman.

• Unpacking FDIC's Modernized Bank Merger Review Rules

  

  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s proposed revisions to its Bank Merger Act review process are a shift from its more skeptical prior posture toward a more structured and transaction-facilitative approach, though some broader uncertainty remains concerning antitrust alignment with the U.S. Department of Justice, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• FTC's BOTS Act Blitz Raises Stakes For Ticket Resellers

  

  Recent lawsuits and enforcement actions brought by the Federal Trade Commission under the Better Online Ticket Sales Act signal sustained ticket industry enforcement, but industry actors can reduce risk by screening practices and partnerships related to ticket purchasing, and evaluating the scale of their ticket operations, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• AGs' Paramount Settlement Reflects States' Growing Influence

  

  The recent California federal court approval of the California v. Paramount Skydance settlement illustrates how state attorneys general are gaining new independence and influence, and companies must account for state enforcement when assessing merger risks ahead of a deal's closing, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

• Dissecting Dodd's, Gensler's Prediction Market Amicus Briefs

  

  Former Sen. Chris Dodd and former U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler's recent amicus briefs in support of New Jersey's petition for U.S. Supreme Court review of Kalshi v. Flaherty draw on legislative history to counter the CFTC's claim of federal preemption over the prediction markets, says Trace Schmeltz at Steptoe.

• 6th Circ. Spotlights Cannabis Contract Enforceability Risks

  

  The Sixth Circuit's recent reversal of a $31.8 million jury verdict against a subsidiary of cannabis giant Curaleaf highlights that state licenses do not necessarily provide the legal foundation needed to enforce contracts in federal court, which is a pattern that appears across many sectors, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.