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Expert Analysis

• 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.

• Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

  

  My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

• Discretionary Denial Rulings May Spur Calls For PTAB Reform

  

  The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent decision in iRhythm Technologies v. Welch Allyn, denying inter partes review based on the patent owner's settled expectations that the patent would not be challenged, could motivate patent holders to seek Patent Trial and Appeal Board reform to preserve patent quality without burdening owners, say attorneys at Dechert.

• Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

  

  The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

• Focusing On Fluoride: From FDA To Class Action

  

  A class action filed two days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans to remove ingestible fluoride prescription drug products for children from the market may be the tip of the iceberg in terms of the connection between government pronouncements on safety and their immediate use as evidence in lawsuits, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.

• Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths

  

  Law schools don’t spend sufficient time dispelling certain myths that prevent young lawyers from exploring new business opportunities, but by dismissing these misguided beliefs, even an introverted first-year associate with a small network of contacts can find long-term success, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

• Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing

  

  Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

• 9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard

  

  District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

• Law School's Missed Lessons: Teaching Yourself Legal Tech

  

  New graduates often enter practice unfamiliar with even basic professional software, but budding lawyers can use on-the-job opportunities to both catch up on technological skills and explore the advanced legal and artificial intelligence tools that will open doors, says Alyssa Sones at Sheppard Mullin.

• How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication

  

  As discussed at a recent panel at Texas A&M, artificial intelligence will not erase the human element of adjudication in the next 10 to 20 years, but it will drive efficiencies that spur private arbiters to experiment, lead public courts to evolve and force attorneys to adapt, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.