DROPLETS
Health care providers, life sciences companies and Philadelphia-area investors face heightened multi-agency fraud enforcement scrutiny after DOJ expanded its regional strike force.
On August 4, 2026, DOJ launched its Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force in Philadelphia, pairing the National Fraud Enforcement Division with the Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney’s Office, and announced initial charges against 19 defendants tied to $4 million in alleged Medicare and Medicaid fraud. The initiative uses integrated prosecutorial resources and advanced data analytics to identify fraud across all health care sectors, not just home care, and coordinates with state, federal and administrative agencies to pursue parallel civil, criminal and administrative actions. Affected organizations should immediately review high-risk billing practices, referral arrangements, and compliance protocols, and update disclosure decision-making processes to mitigate enforcement risk.
Employers subject to NLRB jurisdiction must monitor upcoming Board decisions, as the new 3-1 Republican majority is set to overturn key Biden-era precedents that expanded employer liability for workplace rules, settlement terms, and unfair labor practice remedies.
On August 7, the U.S. Senate confirmed Trump nominee James Macy to the National Labor Relations Board, creating a 3-1 Republican majority that ends the prior split that declined to overturn Biden-era pro-labor precedents. The new majority is expected to revisit high-profile Biden-era rulings including Thryv, Inc. (expanded unfair labor practice remedies), Stericycle, Inc. (heightened scrutiny of neutral workplace handbook rules), and McLaren Macomb (restrictions on confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in employee settlement agreements). Employers should monitor upcoming Board decisions, review existing workplace policies and standard settlement terms for alignment with current precedent, and assess risk tolerance before rolling out new labor relations strategies, as core black-letter NLRB rules will remain intact even as case precedent shifts.
Defense counsel for public companies facing securities class actions must adapt strategies to leverage the Supreme Court’s Goldman Sachs ruling, which creates a new pathway to defeat class certification.
The Supreme Court’s Goldman Sachs v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System decision established a new class certification defense for defendants in securities class actions. Under the ruling, if the nature, subject matter, or content of alleged corrective disclosures does not align with the earlier alleged misstatements, plaintiffs cannot prove class-wide reliance, failing the predominance requirement for class certification. A successful challenge under this framework eliminates class action status and drastically reduces potential damages exposure. Defense counsel should proactively assess the alignment between alleged misrepresentations and all subsequent corrective disclosures early in litigation to evaluate class certification risk and build supporting factual records.
Foreign investors and acquirers of U.S. targets face a 26% declaration-to-notice conversion rate and continued non-notified scrutiny, requiring sharper pre-filing risk assessment despite stable headline metrics.
CFIUS reviewed 347 filings in 2025 (207 notices, 140 declarations), a 7% increase over 2024, against a backdrop of surging global M&A ($3.13–$4.8 trillion) and a 49.5% jump in inbound FDI. The declaration clearance rate fell to ~66% (from ~78% in 2024), while requests to convert to full written notices climbed to ~26%—the highest in three years—meaning filers using the short-form path risk restarting the review clock. Mitigation was required in 15 transactions, with 234 agreements under active monitoring; new tools include the Known Investor Program, a pre-filing consultation function, and a July 2026 Risk Matrix flagging eight elevated-risk categories. No civil penalties were publicly announced, but two presidential actions—one enforcing divestment of Jupiter Systems via court-appointed receiver, another greenlighting the Nippon Steel/U.S. Steel deal—signal continued willingness to deploy hard remedies. Non-notified reviews remained active at 90 initiations. Deal teams should weigh declaration versus notice strategy, prepare for sector-specific scrutiny, and audit historical transac
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Defense counsel for public companies facing securities class actions must adapt strategies to leverage the Supreme Court’s Goldman Sachs ruling, which creates a new pathway to defeat class certification.
The Supreme Court’s Goldman Sachs v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System decision established a new class certification defense for defendants in securities class actions. Under the ruling, if the nature, subject matter, or content of alleged corrective disclosures does not align with the earlier alleged misstatements, plaintiffs cannot prove class-wide reliance, failing the predominance requirement for class certification. A successful challenge under this framework eliminates class action status and drastically reduces potential damages exposure. Defense counsel should proactively assess the alignment between alleged misrepresentations and all subsequent corrective disclosures early in litigation to evaluate class certification risk and build supporting factual records.
Employers subject to NLRB jurisdiction must monitor upcoming Board decisions, as the new 3-1 Republican majority is set to overturn key Biden-era precedents that expanded employer liability for workplace rules, settlement terms, and unfair labor practice remedies.
On August 7, the U.S. Senate confirmed Trump nominee James Macy to the National Labor Relations Board, creating a 3-1 Republican majority that ends the prior split that declined to overturn Biden-era pro-labor precedents. The new majority is expected to revisit high-profile Biden-era rulings including Thryv, Inc. (expanded unfair labor practice remedies), Stericycle, Inc. (heightened scrutiny of neutral workplace handbook rules), and McLaren Macomb (restrictions on confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in employee settlement agreements). Employers should monitor upcoming Board decisions, review existing workplace policies and standard settlement terms for alignment with current precedent, and assess risk tolerance before rolling out new labor relations strategies, as core black-letter NLRB rules will remain intact even as case precedent shifts.
Health care providers, life sciences companies and Philadelphia-area investors face heightened multi-agency fraud enforcement scrutiny after DOJ expanded its regional strike force.
On August 4, 2026, DOJ launched its Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force in Philadelphia, pairing the National Fraud Enforcement Division with the Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney’s Office, and announced initial charges against 19 defendants tied to $4 million in alleged Medicare and Medicaid fraud. The initiative uses integrated prosecutorial resources and advanced data analytics to identify fraud across all health care sectors, not just home care, and coordinates with state, federal and administrative agencies to pursue parallel civil, criminal and administrative actions. Affected organizations should immediately review high-risk billing practices, referral arrangements, and compliance protocols, and update disclosure decision-making processes to mitigate enforcement risk.
Foreign investors and acquirers of U.S. targets face a 26% declaration-to-notice conversion rate and continued non-notified scrutiny, requiring sharper pre-filing risk assessment despite stable headline metrics.
CFIUS reviewed 347 filings in 2025 (207 notices, 140 declarations), a 7% increase over 2024, against a backdrop of surging global M&A ($3.13–$4.8 trillion) and a 49.5% jump in inbound FDI. The declaration clearance rate fell to ~66% (from ~78% in 2024), while requests to convert to full written notices climbed to ~26%—the highest in three years—meaning filers using the short-form path risk restarting the review clock. Mitigation was required in 15 transactions, with 234 agreements under active monitoring; new tools include the Known Investor Program, a pre-filing consultation function, and a July 2026 Risk Matrix flagging eight elevated-risk categories. No civil penalties were publicly announced, but two presidential actions—one enforcing divestment of Jupiter Systems via court-appointed receiver, another greenlighting the Nippon Steel/U.S. Steel deal—signal continued willingness to deploy hard remedies. Non-notified reviews remained active at 90 initiations. Deal teams should weigh declaration versus notice strategy, prepare for sector-specific scrutiny, and audit historical transac
…
Defense counsel for public companies facing securities class actions must adapt strategies to leverage the Supreme Court’s Goldman Sachs ruling, which creates a new pathway to defeat class certification.
The Supreme Court’s Goldman Sachs v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System decision established a new class certification defense for defendants in securities class actions. Under the ruling, if the nature, subject matter, or content of alleged corrective disclosures does not align with the earlier alleged misstatements, plaintiffs cannot prove class-wide reliance, failing the predominance requirement for class certification. A successful challenge under this framework eliminates class action status and drastically reduces potential damages exposure. Defense counsel should proactively assess the alignment between alleged misrepresentations and all subsequent corrective disclosures early in litigation to evaluate class certification risk and build supporting factual records.
Grade 3 — worth a glance, not the full analysis.
- Core functions of oil and gas commodity trading explained
In-house counsel for energy and commodity-focused firms must understand core oil and gas trading mechanics to advise on supply chain risk, market disruption response, and trading compliance.