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Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  Congress Must Consider Accurate Data About Patent Thickets

  

  If Congress revisits a controversial bill this year aimed at limiting the number of patents pharmaceutical manufacturers could assert, it must make sure to act based on accurate reports — such as a recent U.S. Patent and Trademark Office study that found no evidence of patent thicketing, says David Kappos at the Council for Innovation Promotion.

• Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example

  

  Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

• Will 4th Time Be A Charm For NY's 21st Century Antitrust Act?

  

  New York's recently introduced 21st Century Antitrust Act would change the landscape of antitrust enforcement in the state and probably result in a sharp increase in claims — but first, the bill needs to gain traction after three aborted attempts, says Tyler Ross at Shinder Cantor.

• Perspectives

  Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines

  

  KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.

• The Post-Macquarie Securities Fraud-By-Omission Landscape

  

  While the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 opinion in Macquarie v. Moab distinguished inactionable "pure omissions" from actionable "half-truths," the line between the two concepts in practice is still unclear, presenting challenges for lower courts parsing statements that often fall within the gray area of "misleading by omission," say attorneys at Katten.

• AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

  

  Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.

• IP, Licensing, M&A Trends To Watch In Life Sciences This Year

  

  2025 promises to continue an exciting trajectory for the life sciences industry, with major trends ranging from global harmonization of intellectual property to cross-border licensing activity and an increase of nontraditional financial participants in the mergers and acquisition space, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

  

  In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

• Anticipating Direction Of Cosmetics Regulation Under Trump

  

  It is unclear how cosmetics regulation reform from the last few years will fare under President Donald Trump, but the new administration's emphasis on deregulation and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s views on product safety provide some insight, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

• Drug Pricing Policy Trends To Expect In 2025 And Beyond

  

  Though 2025 may bring more of the same in the realm of drug pricing policy, business as usual entails a sustained, high level of legal and policy developments across at least six major areas, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

  

  Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

• Top 10 Healthcare And Life Sciences Issues To Watch In 2025

  

  Under the new Trump administration, this coming year may benefit some healthcare and life sciences stakeholders, while creating new challenges for others amid an increasingly complex regulatory environment, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• Parsing 3rd Circ. Ruling On Cannabis, Employee Private Suits

  

  The Third Circuit recently upheld a decision that individuals don't have a private right of action for alleged violations of New Jersey's Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act, but employers should stay informed as the court encouraged the state Legislature to amend the law, say attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett.

• 4 Keys To Litigating In An Active Regulatory Environment

  

  For companies facing litigation influenced by government regulatory action — a recent trend that a politically charged atmosphere will exacerbate — there are a few principles that can help to align litigation strategy with broader public positioning in the regulatory and oversight context, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

• Kiromic SEC Order Shows Importance Of Self-Reporting

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently filed settled charges against Kiromic BioPharma illustrate the critical intersection between U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory processes and investor disclosures under the securities laws, and showcase how responding promptly to internal whistleblower reports may reap benefits, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.