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Firm Highlights
Publication
Employment Law Compliance for Start-Ups
Before you press "go" to launch your next business idea, as a founder and entrepreneur of a start-up company you should address an important (if uninspiring) step: employment law compliance. Complacency now can turn into an expensive distraction later, with the potential to create surprise liabilities and maybe even scuttle future deals. This alert flags core employment law issues every start-up should tackle now so they don't snowball later.
Onboarding Compliance Checklist
Before work can begin, employers must check an ever-growing number of compliance boxes:
Register to Do Business: Register your company in each state where you have employees (e.g., the local departments of tax, labor, state, etc.).
Workers' Compensation and Unemployment Insurance: Obtain both in each state where you have employees.
New Hire Reporting:...
Firm News
Firm Achieves Significant Lanham Act Win for Johnson & Johnson
On April 17, 2026, Patterson Belknap secured a significant victory for our clients, Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Biotech, Inc. (“J&J”), when the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied a preliminary injunction in a Lanham Act suit filed by Bayer HealthCare LLC (“Bayer”).
The dispute concerned a retrospective scientific study sponsored by J&J that compared the real-world efficacy of both companies’ prostate cancer medications, concluding that J&J’s ERLEADA was associated with a reduction in overall risk of death approximately 50% greater than Bayer’s NUBEQA. Bayer alleged that the study was methodologically flawed, and that J&J’s publication of the study results therefore constituted “false advertising.” The statements at issue included a presentation given by the study authors at a medical...
Blog Post
It’s All Relative: Judge Komitee Holds That an Infringing Sale Can Take Place at Multiple Times Both Before and After a Patent Issues
Judge Eric Komitee recently denied a motion to dismiss patent infringement claims accusing flood prevention products sold pursuant to a contract that was entered into before the patent issued but delivered and installed after issuance.
In 2013, plaintiff FloodBreak, LLC filed its patent application for a device that prevents flooding in subway systems. In 2016, while that application was pending, defendants T. Moriarty & Son, Inc. and James P. Moriarty, Jr. (collectively, “TMS”) contracted with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (“MTA”) to supply flood-mitigation devices for the New York City subway. After the patent issued in 2017, FloodBreak sued TMS’s supplier and obtained a stipulated judgment that its devices infringe. FloodBreak then filed suit against TMS alleging infringement by TMS’s offer...
Publication
Department of Labor Proposes New Safe Harbor for Fiduciary Investment Selection in Participant-Directed Retirement Plans
Introduction
On March 24, 2026, the Department of Labor (the “Department”) published proposed regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”) implementing Section 3(c) of President Trump's Executive Order 14330, titled "Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors" (the “Order”). The Proposed Regulations address the fiduciary duty of prudence under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") related to the selection of investment options for participant-directed individual account plans, including alternative investments as defined under the Order (“Alternative Investments”)[1].
The stated goal of the Proposed Regulations is to alleviate regulatory burdens and litigation risks that, in the Department's view, have interfered with the ability of American workers to achieve sufficiently competitive returns and meaningful asset diversification through their retirement accounts. The Department...
Blog Post
Bankruptcy Court Denies Motions to Convert Case and to Appoint an Examiner
A bankruptcy judge has ruled that a debtor can satisfy the Bankruptcy Code’s rehabilitation standard by selling its assets as a going concern and thereby avoid conversion from chapter 11 to chapter 7. In the same decision, the court denied a motion seeking the appointment of what the movants called an “examiner with expanded powers.” In re Deqser, LLC, Case No. 25-10687, 2026 Bankr. LEXIS 1004 (Bankr. D. Del. Apr. 22, 2026).
The debtors operated a laundry business that serviced hotels located in New York City. The business suffered a downturn following an electrical fire at its facility as well as problems with its software. The debtors filed chapter 11 in early 2025.
During their case, the debtors lost about $200,000 a...
Blog Post
SEC Enforcement Results for FY 2025: “Unique Period of Transition”
The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a press release on April 7, 2026, announcing the agency’s enforcement results for transitional period under the new presidential administration.[1]
Describing FY 2025 as “a unique period of transition,” the statement pointed to a pulse of enforcement actions initiated between October and December 2024 [2] under outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler, critiquing the activity as “unprecedented rush” and the focus as an “aggressive pursuit of novel legal theories.”[3]. Current SEC Chair Paul S. Atkins described the shift as having “redirected resources toward the types of misconduct that inflict the greatest harm—particularly fraud, market manipulation, and abuses of trust.”[4]
During FY 2025, the SEC brought 303 standalone enforcement actions, a combination of civil suits and administrative procedures that...
Publication
Fresenius Ruling May Shift Anti-Kickback Enforcement
When is it illegal to donate to a charity? According to the federal government, when you're a pharmaceutical manufacturer, and the charity helps Medicare patients afford your medicines. The government has argued that such donations may be illegal kickbacks.
Courts have largely agreed with this view, but a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Fresenius Medical Care Orange County LLC v. Bonta raises new doubts, suggesting that businesses have a First Amendment right to donate to certain charities — even when those donations are motivated by economic self-interest and have distortive economic effects.
To continue reading Jonah Knobler's article in Law360, click here.
Firm News
Firm Secures Appellate Victory on Behalf of Brita Products Company
On April 16, 2026, the firm secured an appellate victory on behalf of Brita Products Company ("Brita"), a unit of The Clorox Company, in a putative class action challenging the labeling of Brita's water filtration products. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court ruling dismissing the complaint, agreeing that the product labeling contained no misstatements and would not mislead a reasonable consumer.
Plaintiff originally sued Brita in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleging that certain representations on the products’ labels, such as “Cleaner, Great-Tasting Water,” implied that the filters fully remove all contaminants from tap water or reduce them to levels below lab detection limits. The district court granted Brita’s motion to dismiss...
Event
Jenny Longman to Speak at American Bar Association's 2026 May Tax Meeting
On Friday, May 8, Counsel Jenny Longman will speak on a panel at the American Bar Association's 2026 May Tax Meeting entitled "Entering the U.S. Tax System: Key Rules, Risks, and Planning Opportunities for High Net Worth Individuals." Ms. Longman will join Heather Fincher (Associate, Kostelanetz), Kirsten Burmester (Member, Caplin & Drysdale), Seth Entin (Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig), and John Fusco (Principal, EY) to share an overview of important U.S. federal income and transfer tax considerations for high-net-worth individuals and families seeking to immigrate to the U.S., along with practical strategies for evaluating existing structures, reducing risks of double taxation, and identifying planning opportunities while avoiding common pitfalls.
To learn more, please click here.
Event
Geoffrey Potter to Speak at National Association of Boards of Pharmacy 122nd Annual Meeting
On Wednesday, May 13, Partner Geoffrey Potter will present a program at the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy's 122nd Annual Meeting on the illegal importation of pharmaceuticals by alternative funding programs for employer-sponsored health plans. He will open a panel presentation titled "The Increasing Complexity of the Supply Chain: Shining a Light on Alternative Funding Programs and Prescription Drug Facilitators/Non-Dispensing 'Pharmacies.'" He will speak about how millions of insured workers and their families are forced to use dangerous and illegal misbranded medications paid for by their healthcare plans and what pharmacy boards can do to stop it.
To learn more, please click here.
Publication
Employment Law Compliance for Start-Ups
Before you press "go" to launch your next business idea, as a founder and entrepreneur of a start-up company you should address an important (if uninspiring) step: employment law compliance. Complacency now can turn into an expensive distraction later, with the potential to create surprise liabilities and maybe even scuttle future deals. This alert flags core employment law issues every start-up should tackle now so they don't snowball later.
Onboarding Compliance Checklist
Before work can begin, employers must check an ever-growing number of compliance boxes:
Register to Do Business: Register your company in each state where you have employees (e.g., the local departments of tax, labor, state, etc.).
Workers' Compensation and Unemployment Insurance: Obtain both in each state where you have employees.
New Hire Reporting:...
Firm News
Firm Achieves Significant Lanham Act Win for Johnson & Johnson
On April 17, 2026, Patterson Belknap secured a significant victory for our clients, Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Biotech, Inc. (“J&J”), when the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied a preliminary injunction in a Lanham Act suit filed by Bayer HealthCare LLC (“Bayer”).
The dispute concerned a retrospective scientific study sponsored by J&J that compared the real-world efficacy of both companies’ prostate cancer medications, concluding that J&J’s ERLEADA was associated with a reduction in overall risk of death approximately 50% greater than Bayer’s NUBEQA. Bayer alleged that the study was methodologically flawed, and that J&J’s publication of the study results therefore constituted “false advertising.” The statements at issue included a presentation given by the study authors at a medical...
Blog Post
It’s All Relative: Judge Komitee Holds That an Infringing Sale Can Take Place at Multiple Times Both Before and After a Patent Issues
Judge Eric Komitee recently denied a motion to dismiss patent infringement claims accusing flood prevention products sold pursuant to a contract that was entered into before the patent issued but delivered and installed after issuance.
In 2013, plaintiff FloodBreak, LLC filed its patent application for a device that prevents flooding in subway systems. In 2016, while that application was pending, defendants T. Moriarty & Son, Inc. and James P. Moriarty, Jr. (collectively, “TMS”) contracted with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (“MTA”) to supply flood-mitigation devices for the New York City subway. After the patent issued in 2017, FloodBreak sued TMS’s supplier and obtained a stipulated judgment that its devices infringe. FloodBreak then filed suit against TMS alleging infringement by TMS’s offer...
Publication
Department of Labor Proposes New Safe Harbor for Fiduciary Investment Selection in Participant-Directed Retirement Plans
Introduction
On March 24, 2026, the Department of Labor (the “Department”) published proposed regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”) implementing Section 3(c) of President Trump's Executive Order 14330, titled "Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors" (the “Order”). The Proposed Regulations address the fiduciary duty of prudence under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") related to the selection of investment options for participant-directed individual account plans, including alternative investments as defined under the Order (“Alternative Investments”)[1].
The stated goal of the Proposed Regulations is to alleviate regulatory burdens and litigation risks that, in the Department's view, have interfered with the ability of American workers to achieve sufficiently competitive returns and meaningful asset diversification through their retirement accounts. The Department...
Blog Post
Bankruptcy Court Denies Motions to Convert Case and to Appoint an Examiner
A bankruptcy judge has ruled that a debtor can satisfy the Bankruptcy Code’s rehabilitation standard by selling its assets as a going concern and thereby avoid conversion from chapter 11 to chapter 7. In the same decision, the court denied a motion seeking the appointment of what the movants called an “examiner with expanded powers.” In re Deqser, LLC, Case No. 25-10687, 2026 Bankr. LEXIS 1004 (Bankr. D. Del. Apr. 22, 2026).
The debtors operated a laundry business that serviced hotels located in New York City. The business suffered a downturn following an electrical fire at its facility as well as problems with its software. The debtors filed chapter 11 in early 2025.
During their case, the debtors lost about $200,000 a...
Blog Post
SEC Enforcement Results for FY 2025: “Unique Period of Transition”
The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a press release on April 7, 2026, announcing the agency’s enforcement results for transitional period under the new presidential administration.[1]
Describing FY 2025 as “a unique period of transition,” the statement pointed to a pulse of enforcement actions initiated between October and December 2024 [2] under outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler, critiquing the activity as “unprecedented rush” and the focus as an “aggressive pursuit of novel legal theories.”[3]. Current SEC Chair Paul S. Atkins described the shift as having “redirected resources toward the types of misconduct that inflict the greatest harm—particularly fraud, market manipulation, and abuses of trust.”[4]
During FY 2025, the SEC brought 303 standalone enforcement actions, a combination of civil suits and administrative procedures that...
