When parties cannot agree on the meaning of word or phrase in a contract and decide to litigate the dispute, courts have many long-followed rules for interpreting the correct (winning) meaning of the disputed terms. These rules have always assumed one or both of the parties (or their lawyers) was the drafter of the contract.
Memory and Compute in Everyday Practice
For years, I kept too much in my head: deadlines, facts, half-finished ideas. It slowed my thinking. Recently I started treating project management as a drive and AI as a processor. The split is simple and it is starting to work.
The drive is where the work lives when I am not doing it. For
Renewable Natural Gas as Data Center Power
With the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in computing applications booming, the need for computing power capable of supporting those applications has exploded, fueling an unprecedented surge in data center development. Those data centers require enormous amounts of power, primarily because of the many graphics processing units (GPUs) they use and the cooling systems those
Elsa’s Impact: Navigating Compliance in an Era of AI-Enhanced FDA Oversight
On June 2, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the deployment of its own artificial intelligence system, “Elsa.” The large language model-powered system was scheduled for full-scale implementation across the agency by June 30, 2025. Initially piloted for FDA scientific reviewers, Elsa is intended to streamline internal processes and increase operational
Small Firms, Big Ideas; Reflections from the 2025 Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference
Earlier this month, I had the privilege of making my annual trip to Wisconsin Dells to attend the 2025 Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference. As with each year of the conference, it was a reminder that, even as attorneys characterize themselves with independence (solo and small firm attorneys especially so), community is essential.
Another Shameless Plug – Calling All Life Sciences In-House Counsel: Wrap Up Your 2025 CLE Requirements with Us
If you’re an in-house counsel working in the pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, or digital health space (and still looking to complete CLE hours before year-end) we invite you to join Reed Smith’s annual Virtual Life Sciences CLE Week, taking place November 3–7, 2025.
This week-long event will feature a series of live webinars on the
Patent Practitioners are Unsettled Regarding Seemingly-Settled Section 101 Jurisprudence
Patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 should be a straightforward threshold question: any “new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter” is eligible for protection. Yet over time, this once-clear principle has become anything but.
Although the statute itself has remained unchanged for two centuries, its interpretation has evolved dramatically through judicial
What to Watch: Human Cell and Tissue Product Regulation
Since the year began, we have attempted to divine the new administration’s approach to regulating human cell and tissue products (“HCT/Ps”).[1] What we have found is a collection of seemingly contradictory signals, keeping us guessing as to whether we will see an increase or decrease in HCT/P regulation – either by written regulation or
Shameless Plug – Reed Smith’s Virtual Life Sciences CLE Week
To all in-house counsel working in the pharmaceutical, medical device, biotech, and digital health industries: if you’re looking to complete a few final CLE hours before the end of 2025, we invite you to attend Reed Smith’s annual Virtual Life Sciences CLE Week, taking place from November 3 through November 7, 2025.
This week-long event
Food safety group names Top 40 under 40 honorees for 2025
The Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness, a program of the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Stop Foodborne Illness, proudly announces its annual list of 40 Under 40 Food Safety Professionals, Class of 2025.
This group represents innovative minds dedicated to advancing food safety and protecting public health worldwide. The up-and-coming professionals demonstrate exceptional leadership, groundbreaking