Litigation financing is on the rise in the United States and provides some claimants a valuable means for paying the costs of pursuing a legal claim. Lawyer involvement in litigation financing transactions raises many ethical issues for a lawyer such as competence, duty of loyalty, the potential waiver of privilege and interference by a third…

I.      Introduction The 2011 America Invents Act (“AIA”) introduced two new proceedings to challenge patent claims in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”): “inter partes review” (“IPR”) and “post grant review” (“PGR”).[1]  To challenge one or more patent claims in an IPR or PGR proceeding, the challenger must file a petition, which is reviewed…

The Senate recently passed “The America Invents Act” which, if completed, would be the first major overhaul to U.S. patent law in more than half a century. On March 8, 2011, the Senate overwhelmingly passed “The America Invents Act” with a bipartisan vote of 95-5.  If completed, this would be the first major overhaul to U.S. patent…