Digital Commons Network^™

Nov. 2026 Government And Insurance Update - Sen. Jeff Irwin On Sb 105 And Advocacy, James Budd Mpp

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This article features an interview with Michigan State Senator Jeff Irwin discussing Senate Bill 105, the Virtual Credit Card Payments bill. SB 105 mandates that dental providers have access to at least one fee-free method of receiving insurance reimbursements, preventing double processing fee deductions by insurers. Senator Irwin explains the bipartisan effort behind the bill's success, the importance of protecting local dental practices from unfair financial burdens, and actionable advice for dentists to engage with lawmakers.

Nov. 2026 Dentistry And The Law - Practice Break-Ups/Ownership Of Patient Records, Daniel Schulte Jd

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This legal column addresses complex issues surrounding dental practice break-ups and the ownership of patient records. Author Daniel J. Schulte, JD, provides guidance on establishing clear employment, shareholder, and buy-sell agreements from the inception of a practice partnership. Proactive legal structuring ensures continuity of patient care, clarifies record ownership rights, and mitigates the risk of costly litigation during practice transitions.

Nov. 2026 Staff Matters - What Documents Should Every Dental Practice Collect And Maintain For Its Employees?, Jodi Schafer Sphr, Shrm-Scp

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This human resources column addresses onboarding compliance for dental practices. Author Jodi Schafer outlines essential employment documentation that practices must collect and maintain for new hires beyond Form I-9, including tax forms, payroll records, licensure verification, emergency contacts, and signed handbook acknowledgments, ensuring legal compliance and organized practice administration.

Nov. 2026 Mda Insurance - Could Your Practice Be Vulnerable To Embezzlement?, Reva Darling

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This feature highlights internal financial risks facing dental practices, noting that up to 70% of dentists may experience embezzlement during their careers. Citing high-profile Michigan fraud cases, author Reva Darling outlines critical behavioral warning signs of internal theft, such as resistance to duty cross-training or reluctance to take vacations. It introduces Prosperident’s free Embezzlement Risk Assessment Questionnaire for MDA members to evaluate vulnerabilities and establish robust internal controls.

Managing Collaboration Under Conservation Crisis: Trust, Risk, And Control In The Gulf Of Maine Fishery Management Network, Evelyn Roozee, Owen Temby, Dongkyu Kim, Antonia Sohns, Anthony Rocha Lima, Jasper R. De Vries, Gordon M. Hickey

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Transboundary fishery management and the intertwined conservation of critically endangered species represent significant governance challenges that require ongoing inter-organizational communication, collaboration, and collective action to achieve shared objectives. Previous research suggests that inter-organizational collaborative performance depends heavily on different dimensions of trust and complementary control mechanisms to mitigate the perceived risks of collaborating and enable the reciprocal sharing of resources and the coordination of activities. However, it is unclear how proposed relationships between trust, risk, and control are shaped by disruptions to established transboundary management networks. This study presents the results of survey research conducted in the Gulf of Maine …

Ai And Government Disinformation: Vaccine Disinformation, Caroline Mala Corbin

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ai Suffrage For Human Flourishing, Simon Goldstein, Guha Krishnamurthi, Peter N. Salib

Fordham Law Review

Should Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems have the vote? One approach to this question is to explore AI systems’ moral characteristics, asking whether they possess the qualities that entitle humans to equal political standing and, consequently, suffrage. Those are important questions. But they are very hard ones, resting on highly contestable premises about ethics, AI, and humanity.

We instead take a functionalist approach: On the current trajectory, AIs will soon be highly agentic and capable, while remaining difficult to align with human objectives. If so, law will be an essential tool for shaping such systems’ behavior to favor positive-sum cooperation with …

Against Constitutional Rights For Frontier Ai Companies In Government Contracts, Thomas H. Lee

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Nonhuman Speakers And The Constitution, Helen Norton

Fordham Law Review

Long-standing free speech law sometimes does—and sometimes does not—turn on speakers’ human character. This Essay explores how these doctrinal threads might shape the constitutional doctrine applied to generative artificial intelligence’s (AI) speech outputs if we assume that a human speaker cannot be identified as the creator of those words and images—and that those words and images are nevertheless considered “speech” for First Amendment purposes.

For example, First Amendment doctrine sometimes requires proof of a speaker’s culpable mental state before that speaker can be held liable for what would otherwise be unprotected speech. These requirements seek to prevent the chilling of …

Digital Gaze And Constitutional Democracy At 250, Catherine Powell

Fordham Law Review

The panopticon of digital surveillance undermines identity formation and realization of our authentic selves. This Essay offers a new insight by conceptualizing alienation from genuine selfhood as a form of “double consciousness.” W.E.B. Du Bois formulated the notion of double consciousness—the dual awareness inherent in negotiating between a self-defined identity and an externally imposed one. Just as Du Bois speaks of “double consciousness” for African Americans, the ever-present digital gaze to which we are now all subject—regardless of our race—creates a similar duality. I call this duality “online double consciousness,” which is compounded for people of color and other historically …

Clickwrap Accountability, Alicia Solow-Niederman

Fordham Law Review

Picture a public‑facing generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot on a government website that can answer questions about benefits eligibility. Systems like these expose a sociotechnical-legal divide: They route around the standard due process framework because there has been no formal government determination, yet they induce reliance from users, above and beyond past rounds of automated legal guidance. Moreover, if there is an error, current doctrine on government errors and equitable estoppel makes relief unlikely.

This Essay focuses on government deployment of public‑facing generative AI chatbots and critically assesses the front‑end power dynamics that determine who is filtered out of government …

Algorithmic Models And The Freedom Of Speech, Alexander Tsesis

Fordham Law Review

Intentionality and reason are intrinsic features of the human mind that large language models (LLMs) entirely lack. Although LLMs generate natural-language sentences through algorithmic processes, autonomously produced machine speech lacks the consciousness of human speakers. This intrinsic distinction between natural persons and artificial machines is consequential to whether LLM-generated outputs are covered by the First Amendment. Scholars who equate the constitutional value of human speech with algorithmic outputs tend to emphasize the informational value of those outputs to audiences while giving insufficient attention to the absence of machine consciousness. The conscious underpinnings of thought and their relation to constitutional protections …

Joinder’S Diversity Asymmetry, Jason J. Jarvis

Fordham Law Review

In federal diversity cases, plaintiffs are barred from joining nondiverse supplemental parties or claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(b). Defendants, however, can expand the case without the same restriction. Section 1367(b) codified the U.S. Supreme Court’s concern in Owen Equipment & Erection Co. v. Kroger: Plaintiffs might so prefer federal court that they would “sneak” nondiverse parties in by hiding them until after diversity jurisdiction is established, only then springing them on unsuspecting courts and defendants. This Article challenges the justification for that asymmetry in three ways.

First, it explores the history of the asymmetry, starting with how joinder …

Controlling Shareholder Primacy, Naveen Thomas

Fordham Law Review

In just eight months, Delaware’s legislature upended over fifty years of corporate law. Its courts had long upheld shareholder primacy, treating shareholders equally in proportion to their ownership. But after several controversial decisions reinforced this principle, sudden amendments to the corporate code shifted the law toward a distinct paradigm: controller primacy.

While motivated by legitimate concerns, the legislation went too far, threatening to fundamentally realign corporate power and purpose. Contrary to shareholder primacy, the new regime disproportionately prioritizes controlling shareholders above all others. It authorizes contracts that cede the board’s managerial authority to controllers, insulates their self-dealing from shareholder approval …

Royal Canin And The Jurisdiction It Left Behind: The Class Action Fairness Act, Nicole Brosnan

Fordham Law Review

Royal Canin U.S.A., Inc. v. Wullschleger created waves in the federal litigation world by setting forth a new rule, declaring that a plaintiff’s amendment of a complaint following removal is capable of destroying federal jurisdiction. Prior to this case, courts generally followed the “time-of-filing rule” by which federal jurisdiction attached at the time of removal. The U.S. Supreme Court was clear that this rule applies to federal claim jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331, but the Court remained generally silent on its application to jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act.

This Note explores this lack of clarity and proposes …

From The “Wild West” To Fair Play: How Conferences Can Bring Stability And Equal Opportunity To Nil In Collegiate Athletics, Sofia M. Giamartino

Fordham Law Review

The past twenty years have witnessed a steady dismantling of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) restrictions on college athletes’ labor rights. As athletes celebrated small victories, both in the courtroom and in state legislatures, the NCAA continued its attempts to restrict benefits granted to its athletes in the name of “amateurism.” Certain restrictions ended on June 30, 2021, with the NCAA continuing to prohibit direct pay and pay from collectives.

With its hand forced, the NCAA abandoned its Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) restrictions, opening the door to long unavailable opportunities for college athletes. These opportunities particularly benefited underrepresented …

Climate Change Under Customary International Law: Must The United States Protect The Climate System?, Daniel Rees

Fordham Law Review

On July 23, 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its “Advisory Opinion on Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change,” concluding that “the full gamut of international law applies to climate change.” Beyond treaty-based duties, the ICJ recognized that customary international law imposes obligations on all states to protect the climate. The advisory opinion emerged from unprecedented participation by states and international organizations, reflecting a growing consensus that addressing climate change is a legal obligation. This Note explores the legal implications of recognizing a customary international law duty to protect the climate system. It posits that these …

Crossing The Toll Bridge: American Pipe And The Fate Of State Law Claims After Class Certification Denial In Federal Court, Alexander Schnur

Fordham Law Review

Rule 23(c)(1)(A) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) provides that, “At an early practicable time after a person sues . . . as a class representative, the court must determine by order whether to certify the action as a class action.” In American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the interplay of this FRCP 23(c)(1)(A) class certification decision and statutes of limitations, holding that the commencement of a putative class action suspends the statute of limitations for putative class members while class certification is pending. Over the last fifty years, the American …

Unlocking Affixes In The Esl Community College Classroom: The Language Of Law, Science, And Technology, Patricia George-Hunter Edd

Journal of English Learner Education

Since vocabulary plays a significant role in second language acquisition, expansive vocabulary targets should be set and pursued. This paper explores the results of introducing affixes to develop vocabulary and increase motivation for beginner to intermediate-level English language learners (ELLs) pursuing academic disciplines in law, science, and technology at a New York City community college. Participants included 23 ELLs with diverse linguistic, educational, and sociocultural backgrounds enrolled in an online synchronous Integrative Language Seminar (ILS) designed to develop all areas of English language proficiency. Pre‑, post‑, delayed tests, questionnaires, and post‑intervention interviews were conducted and analyzed to establish the language …

How Ai’S Data Centers Thirst For Water Will Leave The Rest Of Us Dry If Left Unregulated, Emma Sawko

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

The Flexibility Of The Rule Against Perpetuities As Applied To Mineral Top Leases, John W. Ponder

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

From Pore Space To Policy Space: The Costs, Benefits, And Constitutionality Of North Dakota’S Ccs Long-Term Liability Transfer Standard, Lainey Morrow

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Opening The Door: Copyrightability Of Interpreted Seismic Models After Gsi V. Tgs, David Logan

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Beyond Produced Water: Extending Cactus Water To Lithium And Other Oilfield Waste, Louis W. Krivanek Iv

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Beneath The Surface: Addressing The Ownership And Development Rights Of Geothermal Energy Resources Under Oklahoma Property Law, Kobe K. Gipson

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Aesthetic Considerations In Nuisance Claims Against Texas Wind Farms, Ellie Duggan

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Ownership Of Produced Water And The Path To Domestic Lithium And Critical Mineral Commercialization, Emily Davis

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

The Eleventh Circuit’S Narrow Interpretation Of Nepa In Alligator Alcatraz, Madison Crow

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Editor's Introduction & Front Pages, Louis W. Krivanek Iv

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Advanced Practice Provider-Physician Collaboration And Medical Staff Governance: A Framework For Patient Safety, Nicolas Testa, Kaysha Hervey, Cynthia Borum

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

The growth of advanced practice providers (APPs) is occurring in parallel with persistent and projected physician shortages. One important solution and increasingly visible response to these workforce challenges is the expanding role of APPs. Strong physician-APP partnerships can help distribute workload, improve access, and support sustainable practice with the delivery of safe, quality patient care. The future of clinical care will depend on effective APP-physician collaboration grounded in sound credentialing, clearly defined supervision and practice expectations, and robust medical staff monitoring programs. We describe the governance and oversight processes in a large health care system to assess and support APP …