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Appellate

  • September 17, 2025

    11th Circ. Judge Calls Ga. School Racism Defense 'Ridiculous'

    The Eleventh Circuit appeared unlikely Wednesday to let Georgia school officials escape accusations they violated a settlement requiring their district to hire more Black educators, with one judge slamming as "ridiculous" the notion they could plead ignorance over whether the agreement was binding on them.

  • September 17, 2025

    Charter Can't Dodge Cable Royalties In Texas, 5th Circ. Rules

    Charter Communications cannot avoid paying a 3% royalty for the use of cable permits in three Texas cities' rights of way, regardless of a change in state permitting law, the Fifth Circuit ruled Wednesday.

  • September 17, 2025

    Ex-Law Student's Bias Suit In Wrong Forum, 4th Circ. Told

    A Black former student at Washington University School of Law shouldn't be able to revive claims that she was suspended from campus and lost her scholarship after complaining about a professor's race bias because she filed the suit in the wrong state, the law school told the Fourth Circuit.

  • September 17, 2025

    Posting Standards Violates Copyright, ASTM Tells 3rd Circ.

    The American Society for Testing and Materials told a Third Circuit panel in Philadelphia on Wednesday that a Pennsylvania federal judge was wrong to find that another company's posting of its copyrighted technical standards online was a noninfringing fair use of the material.

  • September 17, 2025

    Chancery Approves $30M Match.com Spinoff Suit Settlement

    A Delaware vice chancellor approved a $30 million mediated settlement Wednesday to resolve a five-year dispute over the fairness of Match.com's 2019 reverse spinoff from Barry Diller-controlled IAC/Interactive, with stockholder attorneys taking home $6.9 million.

  • September 17, 2025

    2nd Circ. Won't Block Eletson Doc Transfer In Shipping Row

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday declined Reed Smith LLP's emergency request to block the turnover of client files created amid its representation of Greece-based shipping company Eletson Holdings prior to an October 2024 reorganization, but agreed to refer the stay motion to a three-judge panel for consideration.

  • September 17, 2025

    Texas Justices Don't Touch Block Of Local Pot Amnesty Law

    The Texas Supreme Court will not review an appellate panel's decision blocking the city of San Marcos from going forward with a voter-approved ordinance that limited local police from enforcing laws on low-level marijuana offenses.

  • September 17, 2025

    IRS-ICE Pact Allows For Mass Tax Data Swaps, DC Circ. Told

    An information sharing agreement between the IRS and immigration enforcement agencies allows for disclosure of confidential tax information on a mass scale, as evidenced by an IRS official's declaration in a taxpayer group's suit, immigration advocacy groups challenging the agreement told the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday.

  • September 17, 2025

    8th Circ. Axes Enhancement Over Tossed Gun As Speculative

    The Eighth Circuit on Wednesday vacated a nearly six-year sentence and dropped a reckless endangerment enhancement for a man in Iowa accused of discarding a loaded handgun while running from police.

  • September 17, 2025

    11th Circ. Seems Open To Reviving Mortality Table Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday seemed open to reviving a proposed class action from married energy company retirees who claim outdated life expectancy data caused them to lose out on benefits, with judges questioning the lower court's holding that actuarial assumptions don't have to be reasonable.

  • September 17, 2025

    4th Circ. Told Panel's Ruling In Bestwall Ch. 11 Dangerous

    A group of asbestos claimants has asked the full Fourth Circuit to reconsider a panel's ruling that Georgia-Pacific asbestos unit Bestwall could stay in Chapter 11 despite its parent being solvent, saying the opinion defies U.S. Supreme Court precedent and will enable debtors to abuse the system.

  • September 17, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs Rejection Of Sterling Silver Patent App

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday upheld the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's rejection of a bid for a patent on a silver alloy resistant to corrosion, backing the agency's finding that the application lacked enough written description.

  • September 17, 2025

    7th Circ. Pick Shrugs Off Conservative Group's Opposition

    During her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Rebecca Taibleson, a federal prosecutor in Wisconsin tapped for the Seventh Circuit, fended off opposition to her nomination from conservative groups, antipathy that the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee called a "new low" for the committee.

  • September 17, 2025

    3rd Circ. Panel Puzzled By Economics Of NCAA Eligibility

    The introduction of compensation for college athletes may have changed the economic effects of the NCAA's eligibility rules, but a Third Circuit panel wondered Wednesday whether enough analysis on the specific effects had been done to justify suspending one of those rules for a Rutgers University football player.

  • September 17, 2025

    Coaches Ask For Lower Court Redo On 'Sham' NFL Arbitration

    Arguing that a recent Second Circuit ruling supports their position that arbitration overseen by the NFL commissioner cannot be impartial, three former NFL coaches have asked the district court judge who sent part of their proposed racial discrimination class action to arbitration two years ago to again reconsider that decision.

  • September 17, 2025

    Split 3rd Circ. Says Cell Search Didn't Violate Suspect's Rights

    A split Third Circuit panel ruled Tuesday that a woman's protections against self-incrimination weren't violated when she allowed police officers to search her phone after requesting an attorney following her arrest for drug dealing, holding that evidence on the phone ultimately used against her was properly admitted because the search was voluntary.

  • September 17, 2025

    Del. High Court Probes Reviving Gellert Seitz Malpractice Case

    A Delaware justice took aim at an argument she seemed to suggest wasn't fleshed out enough in appellate filings as a homebuilder's attorney urged the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to undo Gellert Seitz Busenkell & Brown LLC's win in a legal malpractice case.

  • September 17, 2025

    Substitute Expert Testimony Is Hearsay, Mass. Justices Rule

    Trial prosecutors' use of a state crime lab supervisor to introduce results of drug tests performed by a former subordinate violated the Sixth Amendment's confrontation clause, the Massachusetts high court said Wednesday, in a decision with potentially far-reaching implications for the use of forensic evidence.

  • September 17, 2025

    NCDOT Dodges Liability In Fatal Snowstorm Accident

    The North Carolina Department of Transportation was freed Wednesday from having to contribute to wrongful death settlements of over $1.6 million after a North Carolina Court of Appeals panel found the department to be immune under the Emergency Management Act.

  • September 17, 2025

    Insurer Says Parkland Mass Shooting Was Multiple Occurrences

    Evanston Insurance Co. told the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday that a lower court erred when it said the term "occurrences" in an excess policy for the Broward Sheriff's Office was ambiguous and granted a win to the insured, which argued the 2018 mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, school was one occurrence, not several.

  • September 17, 2025

    Pot Entrepreneur Pushes 4th Circ. To Rehear Licensing Fight

    A California cannabis entrepreneur has asked the Fourth Circuit to rehear her case after a panel rejected her bid to upend Maryland's marijuana social equity licensing program, arguing that the appellate judges' ruling turned on multiple errors of law and fact.

  • September 17, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Revives Hard Disk Patent Suit Against Seagate

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday threw out a Pennsylvania federal jury's finding that computer hard drive manufacturer Seagate Technology did not infringe a patent on magnetic material used in computer hard disk drives, finding the lower court gave jurors an incorrect claim construction.

  • September 17, 2025

    Shipbuilders Ask Justices To Weigh 4th Circ. No-Poach Ruling

    Shipbuilders and designers accused of conspiring to suppress industry wages urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Fourth Circuit decision that revived a proposed class action against them, saying the allegedly untimely antitrust claims threaten ruinous damages.

  • September 17, 2025

    Venezuelan Bondholder Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Suit

    The holder of a $43.2 million judgment against Venezuela over defaulted bonds asked the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to revive its suit seeking to gain control of various Miami properties controlled by a wealthy businessman accused of bribing Venezuelan officials.

  • September 17, 2025

    Md. Hemp Cos. Plan To Challenge Cannabis Law At 4th Circ.

    A group of hemp companies challenging Maryland's cannabis policies told a federal judge Tuesday that they plan to appeal a pair of recent adverse rulings, citing in part a new federal appellate ruling that pot sellers are entitled to constitutional protections.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Teaching Trial Advocacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    Teaching trial advocacy skills to other lawyers makes us better litigators because it makes us question our default methods, connect to young attorneys with new perspectives and focus on the needs of the real people at the heart of every trial, say Reuben Guttman, Veronica Finkelstein and Joleen Youngers.

  • The Crucial Question Left Unanswered In EpicentRx Decision

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    The California Supreme Court recently issued its long-awaited decision in EpicentRx Inc. v. Superior Court, resolving a dispute regarding the enforceability of forum selection clauses, but the question remains whether private companies can trust that courts will continue to consistently enforce forum selection clauses in corporate charters, says John Yow at Yow PC.

  • 5 Key Steps To Prepare For Oral Arguments

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    Whether presenting oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court or a local county judge, effective preparation includes the same essential ingredients, from organizing arguments in blocks to maximizing the potential of mock exercises, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • Maryland High Court Ruling Clarifies Claim Assignment

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    In its recent opinion in Featherfall Restoration, the Maryland Supreme Court reemphasized a policyholder's ability to assign a claim despite the presence of general liability policy language requiring an insurer's written consent, nevertheless highlighting the importance of specific wording, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • Why EpicentRx Ruling Is A Major Win For Business Certainty

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    The California Supreme Court's recent decision in EpicentRx v. Superior Court removes a significant source of uncertainty that plagued commercial litigation in California by clarifying that forum selection clauses shouldn't be invalidated solely because the selected forum lacks the right to a jury trial, say attorneys at Clark Hill.

  • 9th Circ. Finding That NFTs Are Goods Will Change TM Law

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Yuga Labs v. Ripps establishes that NFTs have real, commercial value under U.S. federal trademark law, a new legal precedent that may significantly influence intellectual property enforcement and marketplace policies regarding digital assets going forward, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Texas AUSA To BigLaw

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    As I learned when I transitioned from an assistant U.S. attorney to a BigLaw partner, the move from government to private practice is not without its hurdles, but it offers immense potential for growth and the opportunity to use highly transferable skills developed in public service, says Jeffery Vaden at Bracewell.

  • Union Interference Lessons From 5th Circ. Apple Ruling

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent holding that Apple did not violate the National Labor Relations Act during a store's union organizing drive provides guidance on what constitutes coercive interrogation and clarifies how consistently enforced workplace policies may be applied to union literature, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • 3 Rulings Show Hurdles To Proving Market Manipulation Fraud

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    Three recent conviction reversals from New York federal courts highlight the challenges that prosecutors face in establishing fraud and market manipulation allegations, suggesting that courts are increasingly reluctant to find criminal liability when novel theories are advanced, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Drafting M&A Docs After Delaware Corp. Law Amendments

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    Attorneys at Greenberg Traurig discuss how the March and June amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law affect the drafting of corporate and M&A documents, including board resolutions, governing documents, and books and records demands.

  • Advice For 1st-Gen Lawyers Entering The Legal Profession

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    Nikki Hurtado at The Ferraro Law Firm tells her story of being a first-generation lawyer and how others who begin their professional journeys without the benefit of playbooks handed down by relatives can turn this disadvantage into their greatest strength.

  • High Court E-Cig Ruling Opens Door For FDA Challenges

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    There will likely be more challenges to marketing denial orders brought before the Fifth Circuit following the Supreme Court's recent ruling in U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., where litigants have generally had greater success, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • NY Ruling Eases Admission Of Medical Record Evidence

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    A New York appellate court’s recent ruling in Pillco v. 160 Dikeman clarifies the standard for evaluating accident-related entries from medical records, likely making it easier to admit these statements into evidence at trial, says Shawn Schatzle at Lewis Brisbois.

  • How 9th Circ. Customs Ruling Is Affecting FCA Litigation

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    The Ninth Circuit’s recent Island Industries decision holding that the U.S. Court of International Trade doesn’t have exclusive jurisdiction over whistleblower suits involving import duties has set the stage for the False Claims Act to be a key weapon on the customs enforcement battlefield, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling Gives Banks Shield From Terrorism Liability

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    A recent Second Circuit dismissal strengthens the position of international banks facing claims they indirectly helped terrorist organizations and provides clearer guidance on the boundaries of secondary liability, but doesn't provide absolute immunity, say attorneys at Freshfields.

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