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Appellate

  • July 18, 2025

    Meet The New Georgia Supreme Court Justice

    The Georgia Supreme Court's incoming justice, Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Benjamin A. Land, touted his judicial restraint in a panel decision he authored that was later affirmed by the state's justices, while attorneys who've worked with him as a trial lawyer say he's "the most prepared lawyer in the courtroom."

  • July 18, 2025

    4th Circ. Backs $9M Classification Ruling Against Staffing Co.

    A split Fourth Circuit panel will not scrap a $9 million judgment against a medical staffing company that the U.S. Department of Labor won in a suit alleging the company misclassified more than 1,000 nurses.

  • July 18, 2025

    Trump Asks Supreme Court To Decline Early Tariff Challenge

    President Donald Trump's administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a request from Illinois-based toy makers to hear their challenge against the White House's global tariffs, arguing the justices should not "leapfrog" parallel proceedings in circuit courts.

  • July 18, 2025

    Judge Unsure Of Alternatives To Nationwide Birthright Ruling

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday wrestled with how the government would implement any alternatives to a nationwide block on President Donald Trump's order limiting birthright citizenship and what type of decision would comply with recent high court precedent.

  • July 18, 2025

    DC Circ. Backs Crowley In GSA Audit Powers Fight

    The General Services Administration lacked authority to audit bills Crowley Government Services Inc. submitted under a freight contract with U.S. Transportation Command since the company was not operating as a carrier, a split D.C. Circuit panel ruled Friday.

  • July 18, 2025

    Top 5 Energy Decisions Of 2025: A Midyear Report

    A game-changing U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could significantly narrow federal environmental reviews of energy projects punctuated a busy first half of 2025 for the industry in the courts. Here are several court decisions that stood out for energy attorneys in the first half of this year.

  • July 18, 2025

    2nd Circ. Shields Official From NRA's Free Speech Suit Again

    A Second Circuit panel has said National Rifle Association's First Amendment lawsuit cannot survive a motion to dismiss because the former New York official accused of pressuring financial institutions to cut ties with the organization has qualified immunity.

  • July 18, 2025

    9th Circ. Turns Away Wells Fargo's 'Sham' Hiring Appeal

    The Ninth Circuit has said it will not hear Wells Fargo's appeal of an investor lawsuit accusing the company of conducting "sham" job interviews to meet a diversity quota, allowing thousands of shareholders to move forward with their claims as a class.

  • July 17, 2025

    Fla. High Court Affirms Congressional Map In Voter Suit

    Florida's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the new congressional map for the northern part of the state that voter groups claimed is illegal and eliminated a majority Black voting district, saying in a split decision that the district demanded by the civic organizations is unconstitutional.

  • July 17, 2025

    9th Circ. Panel Appears Split On Trump Order Curbing Unions

    A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel appeared divided Thursday on a lower court's ruling that halted enforcement of President Donald Trump's executive order axing labor contracts covering agencies that have "national security" aims, with one judge expressing concern over the order's implications while two questioned if they can second-guess the president's determination.

  • July 17, 2025

    2nd Circ. Overturns Ex-HSBC Exec's 2017 Fraud Conviction

    The Second Circuit on Thursday overturned the conviction of a former HSBC executive accused of defrauding a Scottish oil and gas company in a $3.5 billion currency exchange deal, finding his jury was improperly instructed on a now-invalid "right-to-control" theory of fraud.

  • July 17, 2025

    Thrivent Challenges SEC Over FINRA Arbitration Rules

    Financial services giant Thrivent has filed a petition in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to force the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to review three rules adopted by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that give the agency exclusive jurisdiction over arbitration disputes between brokers and their customers.

  • July 17, 2025

    Dallas Can Fight AG To Keep Records, Appeals Court Says

    A Texas appeals court gave the city of Dallas another shot at keeping records of alleged housing discrimination away from the public, saying Thursday that the city challenged an order to release the records from the Texas attorney general in time to pursue its suit.

  • July 17, 2025

    Colo. Court Clarifies Virtual Hearing Rights For Defendants

    The Colorado Court of Appeals said Thursday that judges must provide criminal defendants with proper advisements before issuing sentences via the court's video interfacing service, Webex, but found a judge's error in the case at hand didn't cause any harm.

  • July 17, 2025

    7th Circ. Signs Off On Searches Tied To Convictions

    The Seventh Circuit has ruled that a warrant used to charge two men with cocaine trafficking and felony weapons crimes was valid and that a lower court was correct to allow the evidence turned up in the search to be presented at trial.

  • July 17, 2025

    7th Circ. Gives Man Second Shot To Argue Search Was Illegal

    A man who pled guilty to drug and weapons charges when an Illinois federal court refused to suppress evidence against him must get another shot at arguing that officers found the contraband during an illegal search, the Seventh Circuit ruled Thursday.

  • July 17, 2025

    11th Circ. Says Ex-Quest Diagnostics Worker's FCA Suit Fails

    The Eleventh Circuit declined to revive a former Quest Diagnostics Inc. compliance officer's False Claims Act suit against the lab testing company, ruling she had failed to allege a specific claim of medical billing fraud after some 15 years of litigation.

  • July 17, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Scraps $21M IP Win For 'Comfy' Sweatshirt Maker

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday overturned a more than $21 million judgment against Top Brand LLC for infringing Cozy Comfort Co.'s design patent and trademarks on its "The Comfy" sweatshirt featured on "Shark Tank," saying no reasonable jury could have found infringement.

  • July 17, 2025

    Uber Asks Ga. Justices To Reverse Sales Tax Ruling

    Georgia's highest court should review and reverse an appellate panel's decision that Uber was required to collect and remit millions in sales taxes on behalf of drivers and customers who used its app before the Wayfair decision, the ride-hailing company told the state's justices.

  • July 17, 2025

    Russia Claims Immunity In $34M Crimea Award Suit

    Russia is pressing the D.C. Circuit to overturn what it calls an "unprecedented" decision greenlighting litigation to enforce a more than $34 million arbitral award issued to Ukrainian gas companies that operated in Crimea, saying Wednesday that its sovereign immunity defense wasn't adequately weighed.

  • July 17, 2025

    Fla. High Court Revives UF Student's COVID-19 Suit

    The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday revived a University of Florida student's lawsuit over cancellation of on-campus services during the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling that sovereign immunity does not automatically block the student's breach-of-contract claims.

  • July 17, 2025

    FCC Asks 5th Circ. To Reinstate $57M AT&T Data Privacy Fine

    The Federal Communications Commission is asking for the full Fifth Circuit to take up an April panel decision finding the commission's in-house adjudications unconstitutional, arguing that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision "effectively abrogated" the precedent that the panel ruling for AT&T was partly predicated on.

  • July 17, 2025

    How A NJ Clergy Abuse Probe Will Reshape Defense Strategy

    The New Jersey Supreme Court has cleared the way for a grand jury to investigate clergy abuse claims, bringing forward a rarely used prosecution tool that experts say will have reverberations on the strategies taken by lawyers representing powerful individuals and institutions even beyond the Catholic Church.

  • July 17, 2025

    NC Justices Urged To Let Property Foreclose In Debt Fight

    A company on the cusp of wrapping up the foreclosure sale of a Cornelius, North Carolina, land tract that is planned to be part of a larger mixed-use development has implored the state Supreme Court not to temporarily stay the sale.

  • July 17, 2025

    6 Cases For Patent Attys To Watch In The Second Half Of 2025

    The Federal Circuit is considering major questions about when delays in prosecuting patents become bad faith and whether the acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director is legally allowed to apply new rules retroactively. Here's what you need to know about these cases and others that attorneys are keeping an eye on for the rest of the year.

Expert Analysis

  • Buyer Beware Of Restrictive Covenants In Delaware

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    Based on recent Delaware Chancery Court opinions rejecting restricted covenants contained in agreements in the sale-of-business context, businesses need to craft narrowly tailored restrictions that have legitimate interests, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • Series

    Brazilian Jiujitsu Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Competing in Brazilian jiujitsu – often against opponents who are much larger and younger than me – has allowed me to develop a handful of useful skills that foster the resilience and adaptability necessary for a successful legal career, says Tina Dorr of Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Fed. Circ. Offers Lesson On Gov't Data Rights In Contracts

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in FlightSafety v. Air Force serves as a warning for U.S. Department of Defense contractors attempting to mark their commercial technical data developed at private expense, say attorneys at Butzel Long.

  • Birthright Ruling Could Alter Consumer Financial Litigation

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming decision about the validity of the nationwide injunctions in the birthright citizenship cases, argued on May 15, could make it much harder for trade associations to obtain nationwide relief from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's enforcement of invalid regulations, says Alan Kaplinsky at Ballard Spahr.

  • Fed. Circ. In April: Introducing New Evidence During IPR

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    The Federal Circuit's decision in Sage Products v. Stewart last month upheld the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision to allow a petitioner to rely on case-dispositive evidence beyond prior art references, affording petitioners in inter partes review proceedings greater latitude in the timing of evidence presentation, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • 1st Circ. Ruling Widens Split Over Sentencing Enhancements

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    In U.S. v. Salvador-Gutierrez, the First Circuit recently switched sides in a circuit split by holding that certain sentencing enhancements apply only where the defendant used a minor in the commission of the crime, deepening a divide over the scope of role adjustments, says Sarah Sulkowski at Gelber & Santillo.

  • A Cautionary Fed. Circ. Tale On Design Patents

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    The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Floyd highlights a risk in design patent prosecution — attempting to claim priority to a utility application, says John Hemmer at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Power To The Paralegals: An Untapped Source For Biz Roles

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    Law firms looking to recruit legal business talent should consider turning to paralegals, who practice several key skills every day that prepare them to thrive in marketing and client development roles, says Vanessa Torres at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Google Case Amicus Briefs Reveal Patent Damage Fault Lines

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    The 21 amicus briefs filed before the en banc rehearing of EcoFactor v. Google offer opposing viewpoints on important patent damages issues that extend beyond the specific question the Federal Circuit eventually ruled on, helping practitioners anticipate and address likely objections to future damages opinions, say attorneys at Stout.

  • Using Federal Forum Provisions To Nix State Securities Cases

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    A California appeals court's recent decision in Bullock v. Rivian clarifies that underwriters may enforce federal forum provisions to escape state court Securities Act claims, marking progress in restoring such lawsuits to federal court and reducing the litigation costs arising from duplicative state court litigation, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • 30 Years Later: 2nd Circ.'s Road To Arbitral Preemption

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in Lloyds of London v. 3131 Veterans Blvd. overturns its own 1995 precedent and squares its position with decades of circuit court jurisprudence holding that international arbitration agreements must take primacy over state anti-arbitration insurance laws, say attorneys at Linklaters.

  • Series

    Playing Poker Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Poker is a master class in psychology, risk management and strategic thinking, and I’m a better attorney because it has taught me to read my opponents, adapt when I’m dealt the unexpected and stay patient until I'm ready to reveal my hand, says Casey Kingsley at McCreadyLaw.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Becoming A Firmwide MVP

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    Though lawyers don't have a neat metric like baseball players for measuring the value they contribute to their organizations, the sooner new attorneys learn skills frequently skipped in law school — like networking, marketing, client development and case evaluation — the more valuable, and less replaceable, they will be, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Clarifies Derivative Suit Representation Test

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Bigfoot Ventures v. Knighton clarifies the test used to assess the adequacy of a plaintiff's representation in a shareholder derivative action, and will likely prove useful to litigants by ensuring that courts can fully examine all relevant circumstances, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Patenting AI And Machine Learning In The Wake Of Recentive

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    Though the Federal Circuit's recent decision in Recentive Analytics v. Fox Corp. initially appears to doom patents related to artificial intelligence and machine learning, a closer look shows that strategies for successfully drafting and prosecuting such patents offer hope despite increased pushback from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, say attorneys at Banner Witcoff.

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