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Appellate

  • May 22, 2025

    Justices Allow Trump To Fire NLRB, MSPB Members, For Now

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled two fired members of the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board cannot return to work while they challenge President Donald Trump's authority to fire them without cause, handing the president a win in his crusade against a 90-year-old precedent limiting his power to fire employees at independent agencies.

  • May 22, 2025

    3rd Circ. Wary Standing Exists In Business School Fraud Suit

    The Third Circuit on Thursday appeared skeptical that a former Rutgers University student could bring a proposed class action alleging the university inflated its full-time MBA program's rankings, questioning how he could have been injured if he wasn't enrolled in the program.

  • May 22, 2025

    Pa. House Rep Asks 3rd Circ. For Immunity In Robocall Suit

    Counsel for a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives told the Third Circuit on Thursday that a federal judge was wrong to conclude the lawmaker was not immune from a Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuit over recorded phone messages he sent to constituents.

  • May 22, 2025

    Ga. Attys Win Fight Over Lien Fees In Personal Injury Suit

    The Georgia Court of Appeals has upheld a nearly $500,000 attorney's lien order requiring a man to pay his former legal team attorney fees, finding Thursday that the attorneys had reasonable cause to withdraw from guiding him in a personal injury suit against Whole Foods after he rejected a $2 million settlement offer and the attorney-client relationship "deteriorated."

  • May 22, 2025

    Michigan Seeks 6th Circ. Rehearing In Enbridge Pipeline Row

    Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has asked the full Sixth Circuit to find she is protected by sovereign immunity from an Enbridge Energy lawsuit to halt her efforts to shut down an oil and natural gas pipeline.

  • May 22, 2025

    BigLaw Firms Insist Trump Deals Are Legal, Don't Alter Values

    Nine BigLaw firms including Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP have written to members of Congress defending controversial agreements they made with the Trump administration to avoid executive orders targeting the firms, according to letters obtained by Law360 on Thursday.

  • May 22, 2025

    Ill. Justices Say Wholesalers Had Notice In Cilantro Dispute

    A cilantro distributor should be able to pursue contribution claims against two wholesalers that allegedly sold tainted cilantro responsible for an E. coli outbreak, as the wholesalers' participation in litigation over the product gave them actual notice of the issues, the Illinois Supreme Court determined on Thursday.

  • May 22, 2025

    5th Circ. Denies Challenge To La. Oversight Of Carbon Wells

    A Fifth Circuit panel said several environmental groups failed to show any imminent injuries stemming from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision to approve Louisiana's plan to oversee carbon sequestration wells, and dismissed their challenge for lack of standing.

  • May 22, 2025

    Split NJ High Court OKs Atty Keyword Search With Disclaimer

    A split New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday that attorneys in the state may buy the search results for other attorneys' names as keywords as long as they inform prospective clients about the practice in a decision resolving a years-long ethics dispute.

  • May 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Ex-Intel Worker's ERISA Suit Short On Specifics

    The Ninth Circuit declined Thursday to reinstate a former Intel worker's suit claiming the company pushed employees' retirement savings into hedge and private equity funds that performed worse than traditional assets, ruling he failed to show that any investment vehicles with similar risk-mitigation strategies pulled better returns.

  • May 22, 2025

    2nd Circ. Won't Revive Court Interpreters' Pay Bias Suit

    The Second Circuit on Thursday declined to reinstate a lawsuit from New York court interpreters alleging they are paid less than their federal counterparts because they are foreign born, saying the workers failed to show the state's court system acted with discriminatory intent.

  • May 22, 2025

    Mass. Justices Say Worker's Raise Doesn't Doom Bias Claim

    Massachusetts' top court on Thursday found that an employer may still face a discrimination claim for an alleged retaliatory action for union activity, even if the move left the worker with a pay bump.

  • May 22, 2025

    High Court Declines To Narrow Reach Of Federal Fraud Law

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday held that using deceptive means to induce a business transaction may still be a crime even if the defendant doesn't seek to cause economic loss, a departure from earlier decisions that have narrowed the scope of federal fraud statutes.

  • May 22, 2025

    Split Supreme Court Blocks 1st Religious Charter School

    A deadlocked U.S. Supreme Court left in place Thursday an Oklahoma state court ruling barring the launch of the nation's first religious charter school, leaving open questions about the constitutionality of excluding religious groups from participating in publicly funded charter school programs.

  • May 21, 2025

    OCC 'Erred Across The Board,' Ex-Wells Fargo Exec Says

    A former Wells Fargo risk officer has asked the Eighth Circuit to vacate steep sanctions that a top U.S. regulator imposed over her alleged role in the bank's fake accounts scandal, arguing she has been unfairly scapegoated and unconstitutionally prosecuted.

  • May 21, 2025

    Fox Accuses Smartmatic Of Destroying 'Critical' Evidence

    Fox News on Wednesday called for Smartmatic to be sanctioned, claiming that nearly two-dozen executives and other employees at the voting tech company destroyed "critical" evidence related to the company's defamation case against the television network, an accusation that comes a week after Smartmatic said Fox deleted relevant texts.

  • May 21, 2025

    Judge Prolongs Pause On Trump's HUD, DOT Grant DEI Limits

    A Washington federal judge Wednesday extended a block on federal grant conditions limiting homelessness aid and transportation funding to recipients who align with the Trump administration's policies against diversity and inclusion programming, as nearly two dozen localities joined New York, San Francisco and others challenging the terms.

  • May 21, 2025

    Calif. Justices Weigh Strict Arbitration Fee Law's Validity

    Counsel for a food supply company urged the California Supreme Court on Wednesday to find the Federal Arbitration Act preempts a state statute automatically waiving arbitration rights for a party that doesn't timely pay arbitration fees, saying the law is so draconian that even an earthquake wouldn't excuse late payment.

  • May 21, 2025

    'DIY' Rape Kit Ban Challenge Seems To Leave 9th Circ. Split

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared divided Wednesday over a company's appeal in its case challenging Washington state's ban on self-administered DNA collection kits for sexual assault survivors, with one judge remarking the product "doesn't do a whole heck of a lot" if the evidence isn't admissible in court.  

  • May 21, 2025

    FTC Urges 8th Circ. Not To Pause In-House PBM Case

    The Eighth Circuit should once again say no to a request to pause the Federal Trade Commission's in-house case accusing three pharmacy benefit managers of hiking up the price of insulin to line their own pockets, the agency has told the appellate court.

  • May 21, 2025

    The Status Of Biden-Era Immigration Suits: A Roundup

    Following the presidential transition, the U.S. Department of Justice moved to dismiss suits brought by the Biden administration challenging state immigration enforcement measures in Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma, leaving the status of those cases up in the air.

  • May 21, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Revive Khashoggi Widow's Surveillance Suit

    The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday said a Virginia federal judge properly tossed a lawsuit from the widow of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi alleging NSO Group Technologies' spyware contributed to her husband's assassination, saying she hasn't shown the cyber-intelligence firm's alleged conduct was directed at the Commonwealth.

  • May 21, 2025

    9th Circ. Judge Asks If Apple's Watch Updates 'Ice Out' Rivals

    Two Ninth Circuit judges appeared skeptical Wednesday of Apple Inc.'s arguments against reviving an antitrust suit brought by medical monitoring startup AliveCor Inc. after Apple blocked third-party access to medical data on the Apple Watch, with one judge asking rhetorically whether a "marginal" improvement by Apple could actually be a way to "ice out" competition.

  • May 21, 2025

    Ga. Judge Tells Ethics Panel No Harm Meant In Family Cases

    An Atlanta trial judge facing allegations that she intervened on behalf of her uncle in a legal proceeding and had a woman locked in a cell during her parents' divorce hearing took the stand Wednesday before Georgia's judicial watchdog, saying she would have done things differently in hindsight.

  • May 21, 2025

    AbbVie Gets Victory In Allergan Shareholder Suit Upheld

    An Illinois state appellate panel said Wednesday that a trial court properly dismissed a shareholder class action against biopharmaceutical company AbbVie Inc. that accused the drugmaker of issuing unregistered shares to investors after acquiring Irish pharmaceutical company Allergan.

Expert Analysis

  • Notable Q1 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    The first quarter of 2025 was filled with the refinement of old theories in the property and casualty space, including in vehicle valuation, time to seek appraisal and materials depreciation, says Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling May Aid Consistent Interpretation Of ADA

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    In Tudor v. Whitehall Central School District, the Second Circuit joined the majority of circuits by holding that an employee's ability to perform their job without an accommodation does not disqualify them from receiving one, marking a notable step toward uniform application of the Americans with Disabilities Act nationwide, says Michelle Grant at Wilson Elser.

  • EPA's Proposed GHG Reform Could Hinder Climate Regulation

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    The Trump administration will reconsider the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's landmark 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding, which could leave the U.S. federal government with no statutory authority whatsoever to regulate climate change or greenhouse gas emissions, says David Smith at Manatt.

  • Perspectives

    Power To The Paralegals: The Value Of Unified State Licensing

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    Texas' proposal to become the latest state to license paraprofessional providers of limited legal services could help firms expand their reach and improve access to justice, but consumers, attorneys and allied legal professionals would benefit even more if similar programs across the country become more uniform, says Michael Houlberg at the University of Denver.

  • Fed. Circ. In March: Forfeiting Claim Construction On Appeal

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    The Federal Circuit's decision in Wash World v. Belanger last month confirms the importance of fair notice to the district court when determining forfeiture of an argument on appeal in the context of patent claim construction, allowing appellants to better gauge the appropriate framing of arguments that may be presented, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • 1st Circ. Ruling May Slow SEC Retail Investment Advice Cases

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    The First Circuit's recent ruling, finding the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not substantiate its $93.3 million fine against a retail investment adviser, may raise the threshold on materiality findings in these cases and add a speed bump resulting in fewer such actions, say attorneys at Weil.

  • 10 Soft Skills Every GC Should Master

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    As businesses face shifting regulatory and technological uncertainty, general counsel will need to strengthen certain soft skills to succeed, from admitting when they make a mistake to maintaining a healthy dose of dispassion, says Douglas Brown at Manatt.

  • 6 Criteria Can Help Assess Executive Branch Actions

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    With new executive policy changes announced seemingly every day, several questions can help courts, policymakers and businesses determine whether such actions are proper, effective and in keeping with our democratic norms, say Marc Levin and Khalil Cumberbatch at the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • Fed Circ.'s PTAB Ruling Highlights Obsolete Rationale

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in In re: Riggs shines a new light on its 2015 decision in Dynamic Drinkware v. National Graphics, and raises questions about why the claim support requirement established by Dynamic Drinkware exists at all, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.

  • Traversing The Shifting Sands Of ESG Reporting Compliance

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    Multinational corporations have increasingly found themselves between a rock and a hard place attempting to comply with EU and California ESG requirements while not running afoul of expanding U.S. anti-ESG regimes, but focusing on what is material to shareholder value and establishing strong governance can help, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future

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    Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.

  • Tracking The Evolution In Litigation Finance

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    Despite continued innovation, litigation finance remains an immature market with borrowers recieving significantly different terms as lenders learn to value cases, which firms need a strong handle on to ensure lending terms do not overwhelm collateral value, says Robert Wilkins at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • Addressing Antitrust Scrutiny Over AI-Powered Pricing Tools

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    Amid multiple recent civil complaints alleging antitrust violations by providers and users of algorithmic pricing tools, such as RealPage and Yardi, digital-era measures should feature prominently in corporate compliance programs, including documentation of pro-competitive benefits and when to use disclosures, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    In Vape Case, Justices Must Focus On Agencies' Results

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    With the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. Wages and White Lion Investments having put off the question of whether agency decisions arrived at erroneously are always invalid, the court should give the results of agency actions more weight than the reasoning behind them when it revisits this case, says Jonathan Sheffield at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

  • Series

    Volunteer Firefighting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While practicing corporate law and firefighting may appear incongruous, the latter benefits my legal career by reminding me of the importance of humility, perspective and education, says Nicholas Passaro at Ford.

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