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Appellate

  • September 16, 2025

    'It's Confidential': Judiciary Chair Mum On Court System Strife

    The federal judiciary's leaders heard sharp criticism at a private meeting Tuesday regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's increasing willingness to block lower court decisions, according to remarks released publicly, and one of those leaders subsequently deflected requests for details during an official briefing.

  • September 16, 2025

    Miami Shipping Co. Asks Justices To Eye Cuba Seizure Suits

    A Miami-based global shipper has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review an Eleventh Circuit decision reviving litigation in which the former owner of land near a Cuban port accused the company of "trafficking" in seized property, saying it wants clarity on the parameters of Helms-Burton Act suits.

  • September 16, 2025

    Military Contractor Tells Justices To Nix Army Vet's Injury Suit

    Fluor Corp. has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to toss a suit seeking to hold the defense contractor liable for a military veteran's injuries sustained in a 2016 suicide bombing in Afghanistan, saying federal law preempts the state-based injury claims.

  • September 16, 2025

    DOJ Fights Court Order To Reinstate NCUA Board Members

    The Trump administration has told the D.C. Circuit that the president had the right to remove two National Credit Union Administration board members at will, and that a lower court was wrong to reinstate them and read extra job protections into the law.

  • September 16, 2025

    NC Justices Hear Clash Over Property Compensation Suits

    Landowners' cases challenging their payouts for seized property threaten to upend North Carolina's jurisprudence, bury it in litigation and overly inflate damages owed if lower courts' rulings are left undisturbed, the state's Supreme Court was told Tuesday.

  • September 16, 2025

    High Court Urged To Leave $120M Iraq Immunity Ruling Intact

    The Trump administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court to turn away a Pennsylvania defense contractor's petition seeking clarity on the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act's commercial activity exception, arguing that a D.C. Circuit decision finding a lack of jurisdiction in the case is correct.

  • September 16, 2025

    2nd Circ. Revives Suit Over Buddhist Group's Water Pollution

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday revived an environmental group's Clean Water Act enforcement suit accusing a New York Buddhist center of contaminating nearby waterways with wastewater containing fecal coliform bacteria.

  • September 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Payment Plan For Poor Drug Dealer

    A Ninth Circuit panel has found that an Idaho federal court was within the law to require both an immediate payment and a payment plan over time for a fine and an assessment totaling $1,100 against an indigent drug dealer.

  • September 16, 2025

    Patent Owner Wants Fed. Circ. Revival Of Salesforce Suit

    A consulting company is asking the Federal Circuit to undo a Nevada federal judge's dismissal of its suit accusing Salesforce of infringing patents for database software reprogramming, calling the decision "improper and unjustified."

  • September 16, 2025

    Merck Says Vaccine Case 'Poor Vehicle' For Antitrust Review

    Merck & Co. told the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a bid from physicians looking to revive antitrust claims over submissions the pharmaceutical giant made to federal regulators concerning its mumps vaccine, arguing that the case is "an exceptionally poor vehicle" for review.

  • September 16, 2025

    NC Tells 4th Circ. New E-Cig Regs Fit With Federal Law

    The state of North Carolina is asking the Fourth Circuit to shut down a bid by vaping interests to block a new law giving state tax officials the ability to fine companies for selling vapes not authorized by federal regulators, saying the authority to do so is preserved by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

  • September 16, 2025

    Roundup User Fights Uphill To Revive Cancer Suit At 9th Circ.

    A Ninth Circuit judge expressed doubts Tuesday that a lower court erred in tossing a personal-injury plaintiff's claims that Monsanto's Roundup likely caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma, saying during a hearing the trial judge had a "great deal of discretion" to decide whether a general-causation expert's opinion was based on "junk science."

  • September 16, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Look At USAA's Nixed $223M Patent Verdicts

    The full Federal Circuit declined Tuesday to scrutinize panel decisions that wiped out a pair of patent infringement verdicts against PNC Bank that totaled nearly $223 million, rejecting United Services Automobile Association's arguments that the appeals court wrongly invalidated its mobile check deposit patents.

  • September 16, 2025

    7th Circ. Judge Questions NCAA's Duty In Harassment Suit

    A Seventh Circuit judge seemed skeptical Tuesday that a district court incorrectly tossed University of San Francisco baseball players' sexual harassment suit at the pleading stage, saying the students seem to be seeking a "fishing expedition" for evidence to support their claims.

  • September 16, 2025

    Goldman, Morgan Stanley Beat Archegos Suit At 2nd Circ.

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit accusing Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley of profiting off insider knowledge that the investment firm Archegos Capital Management was about to collapse, ruling that the companies had no duty to withhold from trading on the information.

  • September 16, 2025

    Bitcoin Fog Operator Fights Conviction Over Venue, Evidence

    The alleged operator of the Bitcoin Fog crypto mixer is urging the D.C. Circuit to overturn his conviction, claiming federal prosecutors failed to tie him to a crime in the district and relied on circumstantial forensic evidence to link him to money launderers' use of the anonymizing service.

  • September 16, 2025

    Ga. Justices Weigh Appropriate Sanction For Immigration Atty

    The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday considered whether an immigration attorney charged with abandoning multiple clients over a period of years should be suspended for up to a year or disbarred.

  • September 16, 2025

    Ex-Officials Say Harvard Visa Ban Will Hurt US Security

    Twenty-one former senior national security officials urged the First Circuit on Monday to uphold an injunction letting Harvard enroll international students on F-1 visas, saying the administration's attempt to bar the university from doing so is retaliatory and will drive foreign talent away.

  • September 16, 2025

    Bakery Drivers Are Exempt From Arbitration, 2nd Circ. Told

    Two Connecticut delivery drivers asked the Second Circuit on Tuesday to reverse an order sending their employment misclassification lawsuit to arbitration, arguing the Federal Arbitration Act doesn't apply to workers engaged in interstate commerce and cuts through contracts that purportedly cast them as independent contractors.

  • September 16, 2025

    Biz Groups Ask 9th Circ. To Block Calif. Climate Rules

    A coalition of business groups asked the Ninth Circuit to halt two new California climate regulations requiring large companies to publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks, while they appeal a lower court's refusal to preliminarily block the rules that they say violate their First Amendment rights.

  • September 16, 2025

    4th Circ. Revives RICO Claims On Amazon Project Kickbacks

    The Fourth Circuit in a published decision Tuesday revived racketeering and other claims from Amazon.com Inc. after two former employees, a real estate developer and an attorney operated a kickback scheme as the company spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a set of data center projects in northern Virginia.

  • September 16, 2025

    Judge Seeks Ga. Justices' Input On Bio-Lab Chemical Fire Suit

    A Georgia federal judge asked the state's Supreme Court for guidance on whether metro Atlanta residents can force a chemical plant to cover medical monitoring in the aftermath of a 2024 fire, writing that there's "considerable uncertainty" around whether such a remedy is permitted by Peach State law.

  • September 16, 2025

    FCC Tells 1st Circ. It Will Revamp Prison Phone Caps In Oct.

    The First Circuit has declined to hold off a court challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's recently adopted prison phone rate caps despite the agency saying it plans to rework the rules in October.

  • September 16, 2025

    7th Circ. Judge Wary Of Pilots' Bid To Amend Vax Bias Claims

    A Seventh Circuit judge on Tuesday pushed counsel for two United Airlines pilots to address how the lower court abused its "very broad" discretion in refusing to allow them to file a third amended complaint accusing the airline of religious discrimination, after they were placed on unpaid leave despite religious exemptions from the airline's COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

  • September 16, 2025

    DC Circ. Urged To Rehear EPA's HFC Market Allocation Case

    A Georgia refrigerants company is asking for another shot to challenge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's implementation of a 2020 law mandating an 85% reduction in hydrofluorocarbon consumption by 2036, requesting an en banc rehearing from the D.C. Circuit after a panel unanimously rejected its challenge last month.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Fed. Circ. In July: Instability In IPR Requirements

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    The Federal Circuit's decision in Shockwave v. Cardiovascular last month provided an important, albeit short-lived, clarification to the type of evidence that can be used in an inter partes review challenge, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • 9th Circ. Qualified Immunity Ruling May Limit Phone Searches

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    Though the Ninth Circuit affirmed police officers’ qualified immunity claims in Olson v. County of Grant earlier this year, it also established important Fourth Amendment precedent on the use of cellphone extractions that will apply more broadly in criminal investigations and prosecutions, say attorneys at The Norton Law Firm.

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