Policy & Compliance

Expert Analysis

• Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip

  

  After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

• 4 Things To Know About Indiana's Long-Term Care Reform Act

  

  Newly enacted changes to Indiana's long-term care landscape bring significant reform with respect to facility staffing and administrator licensing, likely creating a larger pool of viable administrators that will warrant updated policies and procedures from providers, say attorneys at Quarles & Brady.

• 5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving

  

  Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.

• What NIH's New Grant Guidance Means For Awardees

  

  New guidance from the National Institutes of Health tightens grant requirements for international subawards, necessarily increasing accountability of foreign subrecipients and increasing the importance of prime awardees' efforts to plan carefully and educate key personnel, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• Recent Bills Show Congress' Growing Maturity On Cannabis

  

  Though two recently introduced cannabis reform bills, the Prepare Act and the Small Business Tax Equity Act, are unlikely to pass in this Congress, they demonstrate a new level of focus and sophistication on the part of lawmakers as it relates to cannabis at the federal level, says Irina Dashevsky at Greenspoon Marder.

• Broader Implications Of High Court's Identity Theft Law Ruling

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dubin v. U.S., vacating a medical services biller’s aggravated identity theft conviction, endorses a restrained interpretive approach for practitioners dealing with ambiguous criminal statutes, and serves as a warning to prosecutors, say Gabrielle Friedman and Zachary Shemtob at Lankler Siffert.

• The Road Ahead For Rite Aid And Other Troubled Retailers

  

  With corporate bankruptcies at their highest levels since 2010, familiar large retailers, like Rite Aid, may need to take the inevitable plunge, with a few patterns in metrics and behaviors tipping off potential insolvency issues, says Talin Keshishian at BG Law.

• CFPB Reports Highlight Medical Financing And Billing Risks

  

  Two reports recently issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlight the bureau's continued attention to the medical financing industry, suggesting that medical financial companies and debt collectors should brace for a potential shift in enforcement efforts, say Christina Hennecken and CC Jiao at Goodwin.

• 3 Abortion Enforcement Takeaways 1 Year After Dobbs

  

  A year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, confusion continues to abound amid the quagmire of state-level enforcement risks, federal efforts to protect reproductive health care, and fights over geolocation data, say Elena Quattrone and Sarah Hall at Epstein Becker.

• Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention

  

  The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.

• Avoiding Antitrust Enforcement In Health Care Joint Ventures

  

  Considering the Federal Trade Commission's recent activity in challenging hospital combinations, health care companies must be mindful of antitrust considerations unique to the industry, and employ strategies to minimize enforcement risks, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• FCA Liability Lessons From HHS Psychotherapy Audit

  

  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recent finding of improper Medicare payments for psychotherapy services provided in 2020-2021 might inspire whistleblowers to pursue allegations under the federal False Claims Act, but there are reasons to be skeptical of converting these audit results into expansive FCA liability, say attorneys at Sidley.

• Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders

  

  As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.