Expert Analysis

• Newly Acquired Information Can Be Key In Drug Label Cases

  

  The question of whether federal law preempts state law claims is often central in pharmaceutical labeling cases, like the Fosamax litigation now before the Third Circuit — but parties must also consider whether there is newly acquired information to justify submitting a proposed labeling change in the first place, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• Justices Face Tough Question On HHS Hospital Pay Formula

  

  In Advocate Christ Medical Center v. Becerra, the U.S. Supreme Court will determine whether the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services properly applied certain Medicare reimbursement adjustments to hospitals — a decision that could significantly affect hospitals' ability to seek higher Medicare reimbursement for low-income patients, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

• How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment

  

  Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.

• Key Healthcare Issues That Hinge On The Election Outcome

  

  The 2024 presidential race, while not heavily dominated by healthcare issues compared to past elections, holds significant implications for the direction of healthcare policy in a potential Harris or Trump administration, encompassing issues ranging from Medicare to artificial intelligence, says Miranda Franco at Holland & Knight.

• Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In September

  

  Cases that were reversed or vacated by the Federal Circuit last month provide helpful clarity on collateral estoppel, patent eligibility, construction of claim terms that have different boundaries across different claims, and the role of courts as neutral arbiter, say attorneys at Bunsow De Mory.

• Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

  

  Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.

• Fostering Healthcare Industry Success With Joint Ventures

  

  As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, joint ventures remain a key strategy to unite health systems, private equity firms and physician practices in leveraging their collective strengths to foster innovation and improve patient care, say Carole Becker and Travis Jackson at McDermott.

• Opinion

  Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules

  

  The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

• The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

  

  The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

• Webuild Ruling Complicates Arb. Award Enforcement In US

  

  A Delaware federal court's recent decision in Sociedad Concesionaria Metropolitana de Salud v. Webuild, if read literally, could undercut the United States' image as a proarbitration jurisdiction by complicating creditors' efforts to enforce awards against property in this country, says Jeff Newton at Omni Bridgeway.

• How 2 Proposed Bills Could Transform Patent Law

  

  The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act and the Prevail Act may come up for vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee after the election, and both offer benefits and challenges for inventors and companies seeking to obtain patents, says Philip Nelson at Knobbe Martens.

• Series

  Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

• Tobacco Surcharge Suits Spotlight Wellness Reg Compliance

  

  A mounting wave of tobacco-user surcharge litigation against employee benefit plans highlights compliance challenges associated with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act wellness regulations, and reminds plan sponsors to ask existential questions about the utility of their wellness programs, say Finn Pressly and Lesley Wolf at Ballard Spahr.

• The Key To Solving High Drug Costs Is Understanding Causes

  

  One-sided views on who or what contributes to the high cost of pharmaceuticals render possible solutions much harder to discover and implement, and a better approach would be to examine history and learn why costs have increased and what legislation has and hasn't helped, says Nancy Linck at NJ Linck Consulting.

• Opinion

  Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

  

  With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.