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Expert Analysis

• While On Firmer Ground, Uncertainty Remains For SEC's ALJs

  

  The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia's recent opinion in Lemelson v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission affirmed the legitimacy of the SEC's administrative proceedings, but pointedly left unanswered the constitutional merits of tenure protection enjoyed by SEC administrative law judges — potentially the subject of future U.S. Supreme Court review, says Dean Conway at Carlton Fields.

• FDA's Hasty Policymaking Approach Faces APA Challenges

  

  Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has abandoned its usual notice-and-comment process for implementing new regulatory initiatives, two recent district court decisions make clear that these programs are still susceptible to Administrative Procedure Act challenges, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.

• Legal Considerations Around Ibogaine As Addiction Therapy

  

  Recent funding approval in Texas pertaining to the use of ibogaine for the potential treatment of substance use disorders signals a growing openness to innovative addiction treatments, but also underscores the need for rigorous compliance with state and federal requirements and ethical research standards, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

• How Patent Attys Can Carefully Integrate LLMs Into Workflows

  

  With artificial intelligence-powered tools now being developed specifically for the intellectual property domain, patent practitioners should monitor evolving considerations to ensure that their capabilities are enhanced — rather than diminished — by these resources, say attorneys at McDonnell Boehnen.

• The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

  

  The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

• New PTAB Denial Processes Grow More And More Confusing

  

  Guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office about the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's new workload management and discretionary denial processes has been murky and inconsistent, and has been further muddled by the acting director's seemingly contradictory decisions, say attorneys at Finnegan.

• Arguing The 8th Amendment For Reduction In FCA Penalties

  

  While False Claims Act decisions lack consistency in how high the judgment-to-damages ratio in such cases can be before it becomes unconstitutional, defense counsel should cite the Eighth Amendment's excessive fines clause in pre-trial settlement negotiations, and seek penalty decreases in post-judgment motions and on appeal, says Scott Grubman at Chilivis Grubman.

• 9th Circ. Decisions Help Clarify Scope Of Legal Lab Marketing

  

  Two Ninth Circuit decisions last week provide a welcome development in clarifying the line between laboratories' legal marketing efforts and undue influence that violates the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act, and offer useful guidance for labs seeking to mitigate enforcement risk, says Joshua Robbins at Buchalter.

• $95M Caremark Verdict Should Put PBMs On Notice

  

  A Pennsylvania federal judge’s recent ruling that pharmacy benefits manager CVS Caremark owes the government $95 million for overbilling Medicare Part D-sponsored drugs highlights the effectiveness of the False Claims Act, as scrutiny of PBMs’ outsized role in setting drug prices continues to increase, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

• Biotech Collaborations Can Ease Uncertainty Amid FDA Shift

  

  As concerns persist that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's reduced headcount will impede developments at already-strapped biotech companies, licensing and partnership transactions can provide the necessary funding and pathways to advance innovative products, say attorneys at Troutman.

• Series

  Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator

  

  Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.

• Does Research Tool Safe Harbor Cover AI Drug Development?

  

  As artificial intelligence increasingly takes root in drug development, many questions may emerge regarding current gaps in courts' application of the research tool exception to the safe harbor defense against patent infringement, and whether that defense applies to AI-based tools, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

  

  Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

• Opinion

  4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

  

  As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

• How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

  

  E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.