Policy & Compliance

  • May 28, 2024

    Nursing Co. Strikes Deal To End EEOC Misgendering Probe

    A Washington nursing facility has reached a deal with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to settle a charge from a worker who said the business sat idle while co-workers repeatedly and intentionally referred to them by the wrong pronouns.

  • May 28, 2024

    Edwards Urges Full Fed. Circ. To Limit FDA Safe Harbor

    Edwards Lifesciences has petitioned the full Federal Circuit to narrow its interpretation of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration safe harbor that essentially allows patent infringement during drug development, arguing that if Congress wanted the statute to be interpreted broadly, "it would have said exactly that."

  • May 28, 2024

    Anesthesia 'Rollup' Decision May Hurry PE Regulator Suits

    A recent Texas court ruling in a Federal Trade Commission case focused on an anesthesiology practice's alleged "rollup" strategy could spur regulators to move faster against private equity owners of healthcare businesses.

  • May 28, 2024

    'Creative' Suits Aim To End Secret Arbitration At Ariz. Facilities

    Arizona's top law enforcement official is pursuing an unusual series of legal challenges that aim to strike down confidential arbitration agreements at long-term care facilities and shine a light on allegations of elder abuse or neglect.

  • May 23, 2024

    RFK Jr.'s Anti-Vax Suit Against Wash. AG Tossed

    A Washington federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on behalf of NBA legend John Stockton trying to shield doctors who make anti-vaccine statements, ruling claims that a medical board probe has chilled speech are speculative.

  • May 23, 2024

    NJ Justices Toss Direct Appeals Over Hospital Contract Bid

    The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an independent state-owned teaching hospital's conduct cannot be challenged directly in the state's intermediate appellate court because it isn't considered an administrative agency, affirming the dismissal of two protests over the hospital's selection of a pharmacy vendor.

  • May 23, 2024

    UBH Urges 9th Circ. To Take Up Petition In Health Claim Fight

    United Behavioral Health implored the Ninth Circuit to grant the insurance company's petition for appellate court intervention in a consolidated action alleging mismanagement of mental health and substance use disorder treatment claims, arguing a California federal court clearly erred by allowing further pleadings on a denial of benefits claim.

  • May 23, 2024

    Ambulance Co. Owner Accused Of $1M Pandemic Loan Fraud

    The owner of a California ambulance company who was charged last year with tax evasion and filing false returns has been further accused of fraudulently securing $1 million from federal pandemic relief loan programs, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • May 23, 2024

    Cancer Society Strategist Starts 'New Adventure' With Venable

    Venable LLP has hired the former strategic director for the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network as a senior policy adviser for its legislative and government affairs practice group and its health policy team.

  • May 22, 2024

    Wash. Health System Wants $230M Worker Class Win Axed

    A Washington hospital system is seeking to derail a nearly $230 million judgement in favor of workers in a class wage case, contending the plaintiffs' key expert who testified at a state court trial recommended that jurors calculate damages based on a flawed equation that didn't account for differences in pay classifications.

  • May 22, 2024

    NC Panel Revives Retention Claim In Faulty Back Surgery Suit

    A North Carolina appeals court has revived a family's negligent retention claim against a clinic over a doctor who was ousted from the profession for unnecessary and faulty surgeries, finding the claim does not fall under the state's four-year statute of repose for medical malpractice claims.

  • May 22, 2024

    Anti-Abortion Activist Gets Two Years For DC Clinic Blockade

    An anti-abortion activist convicted of invading and blockading a Washington, D.C., reproductive health clinic was sentenced to two years of incarceration Wednesday, becoming the ninth defendant to get prison time in the D.C. federal court case.

  • May 21, 2024

    FTC Noncompete Ban Raises Stakes For Nonprofit Hospitals

    The Federal Trade Commission seems eager to apply its employee noncompete ban to healthcare, with a key target in mind: nonprofit healthcare providers that, in the agency's view, act more like for-profit businesses.

  • May 21, 2024

    Judge Shopping Row, Henrietta Lacks And SC Abortion Clock

    BigLaw lawyers get deeper into sanction spat, a case over profits from harvested cancer cells, and a Texas Supreme Court decision in a Fen-Phen malpractice suit. Law360 Healthcare Authority looks at those and other developments from the week in healthcare litigation.

  • May 21, 2024

    DC Circ. Says Drugmakers Can Limit Pharmacy Discounts

    The D.C. Circuit held Tuesday that a federal drug discount program does not bar manufacturers from restricting deliveries of discounted drugs to contract pharmacies, rejecting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' expansive interpretation of the 340B drug pricing program.

  • May 21, 2024

    Mich. Judge Doubts Abortion Laws Pass Constitutional Muster

    A Michigan state judge on Tuesday was skeptical state regulators could impose a waiting period and other requirements on people seeking abortions without violating a state constitutional amendment enshrining the right to abortion.

  • May 21, 2024

    NY High Court Upholds State Abortion Coverage Mandate

    New York's highest court on Tuesday upheld a state law requiring employee health plans to cover medically necessary abortions, finding a 2021 U.S. Supreme Court decision didn't change the state court's determination that an exemption process in the law was constitutional.

  • May 21, 2024

    Counties Not 'Persons' In Texas Opioid MDL Appeal

    A Texas appeals panel found Tuesday that counties are not considered "persons" under the state's common law and therefore are not subject to the Texas Medical Liability Act's requirement that they serve expert reports to pharmacy defendants in the state's opioid multidistrict litigation.

  • May 21, 2024

    Custom Drug Makers Stay On DOJ Radar In Fla. Fraud Case

    Federal law enforcement's stake in a recent whistleblower lawsuit focused on expensive skin creams shows the agency's focus on pharmacies providing custom medications — long recognized as a lucrative avenue for Medicare fraudsters — hasn't waned.

  • May 21, 2024

    Experts Skeptical Of Federal Plan To Address Drug Shortages

    A recent federal proposal meant to ease drug shortages by giving hospitals a incentive to stockpile medications may do more harm than good in the effort to ensure drugs are consistently available.

  • May 21, 2024

    Ga. Says Feds Shouldn't Prevail In Medicaid Expansion Suit

    Georgia urged a federal judge on Monday not to rule in favor of the Biden administration in its suit attempting to keep its Medicaid program for low-income residents running until 2028, arguing the government has "no authority" to make it apply for a program extension when "illegal acts" delayed the program's launch.

  • May 21, 2024

    Baker Donelson Lands Health Law Pair From Nelson Mullins

    Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC has added to its health law group and data protection, privacy and cybersecurity team two attorneys who previously worked at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP.

  • May 21, 2024

    Strategic Hiring Was The New Normal For BigLaw In 2023

    The 400 largest law firms by headcount in the U.S. grew more slowly in 2023 than in the previous two years, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP surpassed the 3,000-attorney threshold, according to the latest Law360 ranking.

  • May 21, 2024

    The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms

    The legal market expanded more tentatively in 2023 than in previous years amid a slowdown in demand for legal services, especially in transactions, an area that has been sluggish but is expected to quicken in the near future.

  • May 21, 2024

    Paul Hastings' FDA Chair Departs For Arnold & Porter

    The chair of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration practice at Paul Hastings LLP has left for Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP just a few months after joining Paul Hastings, the firm said Tuesday.

Expert Analysis

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • ESG Around The World: South Korea

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    Numerous ESG trends have materialized in South Korea in the past three years, with impacts ranging from greenwashing prevention and carbon neutrality measures to workplace harassment and board diversity initiatives, say Chang Wook Min and Hyun Chan Jung at Jipyong.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • A Look At Healthcare Timelines Set By Biden's AI Order

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    President Joe Biden's artificial intelligence executive order establishes standards for using AI in the healthcare industry, including a number of staggered deadlines that should help coordinate a more unified federal approach to AI governance, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • A Look At Successful Bid Protests In FY 2023

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    Attorneys at Sheppard Mullin look beyond the statistics in the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s recent annual report on bid protests, sharing their insights about nine categories of sustained protests, gained from reading every fiscal year 2023 decision in which the protester had a positive result.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • FDA's Lab-Developed Test Rule May Bring Historic Challenges

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    If finalized, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's proposed rule for regulating laboratory-developed tests will provoke some of the most interesting legal challenges that the agency has faced in decades, with outcomes that will likely reverberate across the agency's product centers, says Stacy Amin at MoFo.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • AI Use May Trigger False Claims Act's Public Disclosure Bar

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    The likely use of publicly available artificial intelligence tools to detect government fraud by combing through large data sets will raise complex questions about a False Claims Act provision that prohibits the filing of claims based on previously disclosed information, say Nick Peterson and Spencer Brooks at Wiley Rein.

  • Beware Privacy Risks In Training AI Models With Health Data

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    Because data used to train artificial intelligence models may be protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or other regulations, users of these models should conduct proper diligence to avoid costly compliance failures, say Neha Matta and Barbara Bennett at Frost Brown.

  • Unpacking GAO's FY 2023 Bid Protest Report

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    The U.S. Government Accountability Office's recent bid protest report reflects an increase in sustained protests, illustrating that disappointed offerors may see little reason to refrain from seeking corrective action — but there is more to the story, say Aron Beezley and Patrick Quigley at Bradley Arant.

  • White House AI Order Balances Innovation And Regulation

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    President Joe Biden’s recently issued executive order on artificial intelligence lays out a sprawling list of directives aimed at establishing standards for safety, security and privacy protection, and may help strike the balance between the freedom to innovate and the need to impose regulation in this rapidly evolving space, say Kristen Logan and Martin Zoltick at Rothwell Figg.