All Perspectives

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that Julia Zhu-Morelli has joined the firm’s Corporate & Securities practice in Los Angeles as a partner. Julia brings extensive experience representing US and Chinese companies in complex corporate and transactional matters.

A clear, well-written terms of use agreement is essential for e-commerce sellers and online service providers seeking to manage the risk of litigation through provisions such as arbitration clauses and class action waivers.

No need to bring a crib sheet, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Examinations just revealed (some of) this year’s test.

For the first time in 15 years, the World Bank Group (WBG) has updated their Integrity Compliance Guidelines.

On April 23, President Donald J. Trump issued Executive Order (EO) No. 14281 entitled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” which qualifies “disparate-impact liability” as “pernicious” and concludes that disparate-impact liability violates the US Constitution.

On December 4, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a memorandum to the Patent Examining Corps reinforcing its existing subject matter eligibility framework under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and calling renewed attention to a voluntary evidentiary tool, Subject Matter Eligibility Declarations (SMEDs) under 37 C.F.R. § 1.132.

The Fourth Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of a trade secret misappropriation claim under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) where the district court concluded that a company did not plausibly allege that it took reasonable measures to protect the secrecy of proprietary software.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that Partner Kay C. Georgi has been named “Lawyer of the Year” in Trade & Customs in the 2025 Lexology Index Awards.

A federal jury in Massachusetts ordered Beyond Meat, Inc. to pay $38.9 million to Sonate Corp. d/b/a Vegadelphia Foods for willful trademark infringement tied to slogans used in national advertising for meat-free products.

Massachusetts Federal District Judge Indira Talwani recently issued a decision in the case of Serebrennikov v. Proxet Group LLC, holding that an internationally based employee has standing to bring a claim under the Massachusetts Wage Act.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has withdrawn its proposed rule on standardized testing methods for detecting and identifying asbestos in talc-containing cosmetics, almost exactly one year after publication.

Foreign nationals from 19 countries and all asylum applicants and refugees are facing severe restrictions on their ability to enter, live, and work in the United States. Employers should take note since it impacts the ability of their employees to extend their work authorization and travel.

Prop 65 Counsel: What To Know

Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle’s ground-breaking decision in Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates LLC and Justice Clarence Thomas’ solo dissent in US ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources Inc. have revived what many had viewed as a settled constitutional question.

AFS Partner Tom Abendroth will co-present in a webinar for the American Bankers Association (ABA) 2025 Wealth Management and Trust Webinar Suite on December 4.

AFS Partner Lauren Wolven will speak at the 2025 Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section and Business & Corporations Section Seminar on December 4 in Bismarck, North Dakota.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that Real Estate Practice Leader Thomas R. Castiello has been selected by Connect CRE for Connect Media’s 2025 Lawyers in Real Estate Awards, representing the Washington, DC, Region.

A putative class action against Whoop, the wearable technology company, uses the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) July 2025 warning letter regarding its new blood pressure product feature as a litigation springboard. The case shows how misalignment with regulators’ expectations can quickly cascade from agency scrutiny to consumer litigation.

AFS Partner Kevin Matz, provides an overview of New York’s 2025 amendment to NYTL 954(a)(3) in NYSBA’s Trusts and Estates Law Section Journal.

Partner Hillary Stemple was featured in an article discussing a recent HHS Office of Civil Rights settlement resolving allegations related to the use of photos and other protected health information (PHI) in health care provider marketing materials without patient authorization in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule.

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) recently proposed broadly applicable labeling requirements for all products (including consumer products) that contain intentionally added per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — the first such requirements in the nation.

On November 21, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule announcing changes for Medicare payments for hospital outpatient services under the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS).

Partner J. Michael Showalter, an International Bar Association (IBA) Environmental, Health and Safety Law Committee officer, was quoted on circular economy and the “extended producer responsibility (EPR)” that manufacturers are expected to take on.

In a Law360 feature published ahead of the US Supreme Court’s oral argument in Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment, AI & Emerging Technologies Industry Group Co-Leader Danielle W. Bulger was quoted, discussing how the justices’ approach could reset how courts evaluate secondary copyright liability for internet service providers and other platforms. With a $1 billion verdict on the line, the anticipated decision is expected to influence how companies design and deploy products that enable large-scale online sharing.