Policy & Compliance

Expert Analysis

• What Big Tobacco's Cannabis Investments Mean For Market

  

  The tobacco industry appears to be shoring up investments in the cannabis market, most recently with Philip Morris’ purchase of an Israeli cannabis tech company, pointing to a bright future for vaped and noncombustible products, and signaling that marijuana rescheduling may be on the horizon, say Slates Veazey and Whitt Steineker at Bradley Arant.

• To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation

  

  Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.

• How Merger Review Overhaul Could Affect Health Industry

  

  For those in the health care industry considering growth and expansion strategies, the antitrust agencies' recent proposals for new Hart-Scott-Rodino rules and more complex merger guidelines will increase deal timelines, the merging parties' burden, and overall uncertainty and potential antitrust risk as to the outcome, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

• What Circuit Split May Mean For FCA Kickback Liability

  

  The recent circuit split on the meaning of the resulting-from provision in False Claims Act kickback cases could have significant ramifications for FCA liability, as it could affect the standard of causation that plaintiffs must meet to establish liability, say former federal prosecutors Li Yu, Ellen London and Gregg Shapiro.

• More States Should Join Effort To Close Legal Services Gap

  

  Colorado is the most recent state to allow other types of legal providers, not just attorneys, to offer specific services in certain circumstances — and more states should rethink the century-old assumptions that shape our current regulatory rules, say Natalie Anne Knowlton and Janet Drobinske at the University of Denver.

• How Health Cos. Can Brace For Tracking Tech Scrutiny

  

  A joint letter sent by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights and Federal Trade Commission last month highlights the agencies' concerns about tracking technologies, and may foreshadow a spike in enforcement actions, say attorneys at Moses Singer.

• Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

  

  Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

• What's Next For Adult-Use Marijuana In Ohio

  

  After Ohio voters defeated a proposal that would have made it harder to pass any citizen-initiated constitutional amendment, a state ballot measure to legalize adult-use marijuana has fairly good chances of passing — but advocates still face a long road ahead, say Perry Salzhauer and David Waxman at McGlinchey Stafford.

• Unpacking CMS' Latest Proposals For Telehealth Flexibilities

  

  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' calendar year 2024 proposed rule includes a number of important extensions to telehealth flexibilities, acknowledging the importance of these temporary policies, but permanent certainty will require further legislative action and agency rulemaking, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

• Congress Needs Better Health Care Fraud Data From DOD

  

  The U.S. Department of Defense does not collect enough data to prevent health care and service contractor fraud and waste, so Congress should enact benchmarks that the DOD must meet when gathering and reporting data, enabling lawmakers to make better-informed decisions about defense appropriations, says Jessica Lehman at Verizon.

• The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

  

  Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

• 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

• No Surprises Act Creates Payment Challenges For Providers

  

  Since the implementation of the No Surprises Act last year, flaws in the federal Independent Dispute Resolution process — particularly enforceability issues — have left providers struggling to get paid for out-of-network emergency services, say Carrie Douglas and Julia Kowalsky at Bracewell.