“Pfizer, other drugmakers ask court to bar ex-prosecutor from price-fixing lawsuits” —

• “A former government antitrust enforcer who oversaw price-fixing cases for U.S. states against major generic drugmakers should be barred from working on similar matters at his private law firm, a group of pharmaceutical companies told a federal judge on Wednesday [9/10].”
• In filings in federal court in Philadelphia, Pfizer, Teva, Mylan and several other drugmakers said that the lawyer, Joseph Nielsen, a former assistant Connecticut state attorney general, and his law firm should be disqualified from representing insurers Molina and Humana in ongoing antitrust litigation.”
• “The companies claimed that Nielsen, who had worked for Connecticut for nearly 20 years until July, acquired confidential information while overseeing drug-price litigation for the state against dozens of drug manufacturers.”
• “The Lowey firm told the defendants that Nielsen would not share confidential information gained from past settlement negotiations and that there were no restrictions on his representation of Molina and Humana, the drugmakers said in their court filings.”
• “Nielsen’s participation in the lawsuit runs afoul of rules restricting the work of government lawyers who enter private practice, the drugmakers alleged. ‘He undoubtedly has unique insight into how defendants assess the merits, value the claims, approach settlement negotiations, and is able or unable to satisfy any judgment or settlement demand,’ according to the drugmakers. ‘He cannot unlearn any of that.'”
• “Nielsen began representing Molina and Humana in July as a newly-named partner at Lowey. The firm markets its work for major insurers seeking damages for alleged overcharges for prescription drugs.”
• “The push to disqualify Nielsen and his firm comes after Humana’s lawsuit was selected last week by U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe in Philadelphia as a bellwether case to test claims against the drugmakers, and was set for trial in September 2026.”

“Fla. Judge’s DQ Not Required Over Prior Sheriff’s Office Work” —

• “A Florida state judge who previously worked for a sheriff’s office is not required to disqualify themself from a criminal case in which sheriff’s deputies are witnesses, according to an opinion published by the Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee.”
• “The committee responded to a judge asking if their previous role as chief legal counsel for a sheriff’s department called for disqualification in a case they were presiding over in which sheriff’s deputies are appearing as investigative witnesses. In an opinion from Sept. 12 titled JEAC Opinion 2025-15, the committee found the judge did not.”
• “In that role, they represented the sheriff in civil matters such as asset forfeitures, risk protection orders, public records disputes, small claims matters, civil liability matters, and policy and procedure advisement. Additionally, the judge was primarily involved in the administrative operations of the sheriff’s office rather than as a witness or investigator in active criminal investigations.”
• “‘The inquiring judge’s role was not to represent deputy sheriffs in their individual capacity, but rather the sheriff in his official capacity when the sheriff was a party to a civil case or controversy,’ the opinion said.”
• “Judges in Florida must disqualify themselves under the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct if their impartiality might reasonably be questioned, according to the opinion.”
• “The committee referenced another opinion from 2021 on a similar subject matter. That opinion, named 2021-18, considered whether a judge served as a lawyer on a matter before the court and not simply the nature of the judge’s previous employment.”
• “‘But that does not appear to be the case in the current question for this committee,’ it said.”
• “The committee added that disclosure of the judge’s previous role when the sheriff’s office is an investigating entity and not a litigant is also unnecessary.”