For the first time, the Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a non-U.S. issuer with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Baker & McKenzie's Douglas Tween, who represented Swiss company Panalpina, says this could "dramatically expand the SEC's jurisdiction."

While lawyers for Merck and Upsher-Smith wait to find out whether the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a crucial challenge over a so-called pay-for-delay deal involving the potassium supplement K-Dur, other pharma companies have been busy trying to convince judges to put their own cases on ice. Mostly, they've succeeded.