Expert Analysis

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• DOJ Enforcement Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

  

  Recent investigations, settlements and a declination to prosecute suggest that controlling the flow of goods into and out of the country, and redressing what the administration sees as reverse discrimination, are likely to be at the forefront of the U.S. Department of Justice's enforcement agenda the rest of this year, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

• Purdue Case Could Transform Patent Obviousness Analyses

  

  If accepted for review by the U.S. Supreme Court, Purdue Pharma v. Accord Healthcare — concerning whether Purdue's abuse-deterrent opioid formulation patents were invalid as obvious — could significantly shift how courts weigh secondary considerations in patent obviousness analyses, say attorneys at Lathrop.

• NM Cyber Ruling Will Spur Litigation As Coverage Remedy

  

  In Kane v. Beazley, the New Mexico Court of Appeals recently found that a cyber liability provision insuring security breaches included coverage for funds transfer fraud, implicitly and incorrectly motivating policyholders to commence litigation to avoid contractual limitations on cyber coverages, say attorneys at Zelle.

• Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

  

  Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

• New Laws Show How States Are Checking AI Developers

  

  Recent state consumer protection legislation shows Utah, Colorado and Texas are primed to impose controls on artificial intelligence, and exemplifies the states' unwillingness to accord strong deference to developers and deployers of AI tools, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

• ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

  

  The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

• IPR Denial In IRhythm Should Not Set A Blanket Rule

  

  Though the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's discretionary denial in iRhythm v. Welch Allyn last month raised concerns that mere knowledge of a patent could bar inter partes review institution, a closer look at the facts and reasoning reveals why this case's holdings should not be reflexively applied to all petitioners, says David McCombs at Haynes Boone.

• 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

  

  Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

• Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

  

  Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.