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Appellate

  • May 22, 2025

    Trip-And-Fall Jury Mistake Was Harmless, Panel Rules

    The Connecticut Appellate Court on Thursday upheld a trip-and-fall defendant's trial court win after the plaintiff claimed the jury had been given an incorrect draft copy of interrogatories that did not cover the full scope of the claims, finding that the error was "harmless."

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    We Must Allow Judges To Use Their Independent Judgment

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    As two recent cases show, the ability of judges to access their independent judgment crucially enables courts to exercise the discretion needed to reach the right outcome based on the unique facts within the law, says John Siffert at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons

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    In this month's review of class actions appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses three federal appellate court decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving antitrust allegations against coupon processing services, consumer fraud and class action settlements.

  • High Court Water Permit Ruling Lacks Specificity

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    The enforcement impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in San Francisco v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may not be significant, because while the ruling makes clear that certain water permit provisions must instruct permittees on how to achieve stated goals, it doesn’t clarify the level of necessary instruction, says Daniel Deeb at ArentFox Schiff.

  • The Central Issues Facing Fed. Circ. In Patent Damages Case

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    The en banc Federal Circuit's pending review of EcoFactor v. Google could reshape how expert damages opinions are argued, and could have ripple effects that limit jury awards, say attorneys at McAndrews Held.

  • Series

    Performing Stand-Up Comedy Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Whether I’m delivering a punchline on stage or a closing argument in court, balancing stand-up comedy performances and my legal career has demonstrated that the keys to success in both endeavors include reading the room, landing the right timing and making an impact, says attorney Rebecca Palmer.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From SEC To BigLaw

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    As I adjusted to the multifaceted workflow of a BigLaw firm after leaving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, working side by side with new colleagues on complex matters proved the fastest way to build a deep rapport and demonstrate my value, says Jennifer Lee at Jenner & Block.

  • How Fed. Circ. Ruling Complicates Patent Infringement Cases

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    The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Kroy IP Holdings v. Groupon may make defending patent infringement claims more challenging, time-consuming and expensive — but it has also complicated similar patent infringement proceedings involving the same patents and their appeals, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • The Revival Of Badie Arbitration Suits In Consumer Finance

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    Plaintiffs have recently revived a California appellate court's almost 30-year-old decision in Badie v. Bank of America to challenge arbitration requirements under the Federal Arbitration Act, raising issues banks and credit unions in particular should address when amending arbitration provisions, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Making The Case For Rest In The Legal Profession

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    For too long, a culture of overwork has plagued the legal profession, but research shows that attorneys need rest to perform optimally and sustainably, so legal organizations and individuals must implement strategies that allow for restoration, says Marissa Alert at MDA Wellness, Carol Ross-Burnett at CRB Global, and Denise Robinson at The Still Center.

  • 1st Circ. IMessage Ruling Illustrates Wire Fraud Circuit Split

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    The First Circuit’s recent decision that text messages exchanged wholly within Massachusetts but transmitted by the internet count as interstate commerce spotlights a split in how circuits interpret intrastate actions under the federal wire fraud statute, perhaps prompting U.S. Supreme Court review, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 4 Ways Women Attorneys Can Build A Legal Legacy

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    This Women’s History Month, women attorneys should consider what small, day-to-day actions they can take to help leave a lasting impact for future generations, even if it means mentoring one person or taking 10 minutes to make a plan, says Jackie Prester, a former shareholder at Baker Donelson.

  • Justices' Revival Ruling In Bias Suit Exceeds Procedural Issue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Waetzig v. Halliburton allowed the plaintiff in an age discrimination lawsuit to move to reopen his case after arbitration, but the seemingly straightforward decision on a procedural issue raises complex questions for employment law practitioners, says Christopher Sakauye at Dykema.

  • Cleanup Claim Characterization Key For Timeliness Inquiry

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    The Tenth Circuit's recent ruling in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. NL Industries, determining that ARCO's contribution claim was timely, highlights the importance of accurately characterizing a claim for recoupment of environmental cleanup costs as a cost-recovery action or contribution to avoid dismissal or recharacterization of the claim, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • A Judge's Pointers For Adding Spice To Dry Legal Writing

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    U.S. District Judge Fred Biery shares a few key lessons about how to go against the grain of the legal writing tradition by adding color to bland judicial opinions, such as by telling a human story and injecting literary devices where possible.

  • A Closer Look At Money Laundering Sentencing Issues

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    Federal money laundering cases are on the rise, often involving lengthy prison sentences for defendants who have little to no criminal history, but a closer look at the statistics and case law reveal some potentially valuable arguments that defense attorneys should keep in their arsenal, says Sarah Sulkowski at Gelber & Santillo.

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