Since its enactment in 1984, the scope of the "safe harbor" provision of the patent code has been in flux. The provision is intended to exempt from infringement certain acts related to the development of drugs and medical devices that are subject to FDA regulatory approval, to enable competitors to immediately enter the market upon patent expiration. However, the contours and boundaries of the safe harbor have been a consistent source of controversy in the courts.
Helping a firm's marketing and sales team to perform at its peak is part of the role of an effective firm leader. There are two key areas where firm leadership may play an important role.
Congress enacted the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to allow employees to take necessary leave from their jobs for their own or a family member's serious health condition. Congress's intent was to help employees to "balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families, to promote the stability and economic security of families, and to promote national interest in preserving family integrity ' in a manner that accommodates the legitimate interests of employers." 29 U.S.C. ' 2601.
A recent decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court addressed the enforceability of a provision commonly found in vendor program agreements ' that a transaction presented by the vendor to the lessor/financier is valid and enforceable.
The best training programs produce desired behavior change in lawyers. If they were not comfortable with asking for new work before, now they are. If they never created a business development plan and followed it, now most of them will.
This article suggests a framework for ensuring compliance with the majority (albeit not all) of the applicable state laws and avoiding the financial, legal and reputational damage that can occur when SSNs are improperly collected, used or disclosed.
At the Oscars in March, Best Actress winner Frances McDormand made “inclusion rider” go viral. But Kalpana Kotagal, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll had already worked for months to write the language for such provisions. Kotagal was developing legal language for contract provisions that Hollywood's elite could use to require studios and other partners to employ diverse workers on set.
The law firm office cannot remain unchanged, as if frozen in time set to some date prior to the onset of pandemic, when the terms and meaning have all changed. In fact, the office must now provide benefits or an experience the lawyers and staff cannot get at home.
The legal implications of branding generally arise initially for companies during the process of selecting a company name and any initial product or service names. For drug development companies, however, careful consideration should also be paid to the implications of branding a clinical trial.
'Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel is a continuation of the discussion of client expectations and the disconnect that often occurs. And although the outside attorneys should be pursuing how inside-counsel actually think, inside counsel should make an effort to impart this information without waiting to be asked.
