Appellate

  • June 06, 2025

    9th Circ. Mulls If Seagate Win Could Spur Antitrust Suits

    A Ninth Circuit judge on a panel doubted Seagate Technology's request to reverse NHK Spring's partial win in an antitrust fight over hard drive components, observing Friday that Seagate's position may broaden antitrust liability and asking "how does this not open up the floodgates for a new plaintiffs' cottage industry?"

  • June 06, 2025

    Full 11th Circ. Asked To Rethink Workplace Attack Case

    An employee has asked the en banc Eleventh Circuit to rethink its ruling that wholesale restaurant supply store McLane Foodservice Inc. is not liable for injuries suffered by an employee who was set on fire at work by a former partner, arguing it took too narrow a view on foreseeability.

  • June 06, 2025

    Wash. Panel Grills Ambulance Co. On Crash Immunity Defense

    Washington appellate judges expressed skepticism on Friday regarding an ambulance company's stance that qualified immunity shielded it from a patient estate's $2.3 million jury verdict over a mid-transport crash, while also casting doubt on the family's contention that the defendant had forfeited its appeal rights.

  • June 06, 2025

    'Low-Hanging Fruit' In Devas Resolved, But Questions Remain

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Thursday rejecting the Ninth Circuit's outlier interpretation of a jurisdictional question in a $1.3 billion arbitral award enforcement case came as no surprise to arbitration experts, who say they will nevertheless continue closely watching the case to see how outstanding issues are resolved.

  • June 06, 2025

    6th Circ. Sends GM Emissions Fraud Claims Back To Michigan

    The Sixth Circuit on Friday partly revived drivers' claims alleging General Motors deceptively marketed Chevrolet Cruze vehicles as clean vehicles when they were actually outfitted with emissions-cheating software, punting a question of preemption back to Michigan federal court.

  • June 06, 2025

    Texas Justices Ax Multiplaintiff 'Jurisdictional Loophole'

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday closed a "gaping jurisdictional loophole" that allowed defendants to challenge jurisdiction in just about any case involving multiple plaintiffs, saying the mere presence of multiple plaintiffs is not enough to invoke appellate review.

  • June 06, 2025

    Texas AG Says Trans Care Investigation Is Lawful

    The Texas Attorney General's Office told the state's Supreme Court that a lower court went too far by blocking an investigation into an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization that allegedly had knowledge about outside parties performing gender-affirming care on minors, saying the court undermined the AG's investigative authority.

  • June 06, 2025

    NJ Court Blocks LTC Insurer's Bid For Triple-Digit Rate Hike

    A New Jersey state appeals court on Friday backed the state's Department of Banking and Insurance in denying a long-term care insurer's request to increase its policy rates, agreeing that the proposed triple-digit rate increase on aging policyholders was excessive.

  • June 06, 2025

    Iraq Says $120M Pier Award Enforcement Must Be Thrown Out

    Iraq has filed an appellate brief urging the D.C. Circuit to overturn a lower court ruling giving a Cypriot construction firm permission to enforce a nearly $120 million arbitral award it won in a dispute over a major port project.

  • June 06, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Weighs Purview Over Acorda's $17M Arbitral Award

    A Federal Circuit panel on Friday wrestled with its authority to consider arbitration appeals dealing with patent law, with at least one judge appearing skeptical that it could consider Acorda Therapeutics Inc.'s bid to increase a $16.6 million award in a fight with Alkermes PLC over a multiple sclerosis drug.

  • June 06, 2025

    Justices Skip Investment Adviser's Appeal Of $32M SEC Win

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declined to hear a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's disgorgement powers, turning away an appeal brought by an investment adviser who was ordered to pay $32 million after a lower court found that he and his firm defrauded clients.

  • June 06, 2025

    NJ Panel Revives Contract Row Between Pot Co., Landlord

    A New Jersey state appeals court on Friday revived a Paterson property owner's suit against a would-be dispensary and its principals alleging they broke a deal to share profits from the dispensary, finding that the trial court wrongly conflated the contract's requirement for local approval with a cannabis license.

  • June 06, 2025

    Argentina Tells DC Circ. $391M Award OK Must Be Nixed

    Argentina has asked the D.C. Circuit to overturn a lower court decision ordering it to pay a $391 million arbitral award issued following a 15-year-old dispute over the renationalization of the country's state-owned airline.

  • June 06, 2025

    8th Circ. Rejects Farm Leasing Co.'s Switch To Amortization

    The Eighth Circuit denied an Arkansas farm leasing company's action to amortize federal subsidy-eligible land to reduce its tax liability, affirming Friday that the company was not authorized to make such accounting changes without approval from the Internal Revenue Service.

  • June 06, 2025

    Stewart Says PTAB Should 'Never' Cancel IP As A Sanction

    The acting director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office revived Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics LLC patent claims on Thursday that her predecessor had invalidated to punish Longhorn for misconduct.

  • June 06, 2025

    NY Tribe Urges Supreme Court To Overturn Eel Fishing Ruling

    A Long Island tribe is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to undo a Second Circuit ruling that rejected its challenge to New York's regulations on eel fishing harvests, arguing that if the decision is held, it would set a precedent allowing district courts to give up their gatekeeping roles on expert testimony.

  • June 06, 2025

    Free Speech Shields Rehab From Permit Suit, Court Says

    A Connecticut drug treatment facility does not have to face claims, including unfair trade practices, lodged by a prospective competitor amid a contentious permit battle, a state appellate panel ruled Friday, finding that the state's anti-SLAPP statute is fatal to the case.

  • June 06, 2025

    Split DC Circ. Says IAF CEO Can Stay In Role

    A split D.C. Circuit panel refused to block the reinstatement of the head of a federal agency that invests in Latin America and the Caribbean, concluding that the Trump administration's firing of the official was "likely invalid."

  • June 06, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Boost Interest Rate For Worker's FMLA Win

    The Ninth Circuit declined to upend an order applying the federal rate instead of a higher Washington state rate when calculating prejudgment interest that a federal jury awarded to a worker in his lawsuit accusing a manufacturer of firing him for taking leave, saying his federal claim guided his litigation strategy.

  • June 06, 2025

    4th Circ. Denies Bid To Inflate $300K Insurance Payout

    Selective Insurance Company of South Carolina doesn't have to increase its payout to a couple involved in a car wreck, the Fourth Circuit has ruled, finding that North Carolina law doesn't provide that the couple's many insurance policies can be stacked.

  • June 06, 2025

    DOGE Can Access Social Security Data For Now, Justices Say

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Friday that the Department of Government Efficiency could obtain unlimited access to Social Security Administration data on millions of Americans while a legal dispute over privacy concerns plays out.

  • June 06, 2025

    New York Says It Won't Rescind Native American Mascot Ban

    The New York State Education Department said it won't rescind a ban on the use of Indigenous mascots and names in public schools despite a threat from the Trump administration to pull its federal funding, telling the U.S. Department of Education instead that it's willing to broaden the regulation's reach.

  • June 06, 2025

    Truck Drivers Urge 9th Circ. To Reverse OT Exemption Ruling

    Truck drivers said a California federal court focused on the wrong shipper when it ruled that they were overtime-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, urging the Ninth Circuit to flip the decision granting a win to a food distributor.

  • June 06, 2025

    Calif. Bar Hires Investigator To Review Exam Snafu

    The State Bar of California's board of trustees voted to approve a $185,000 contract with a nonprofit to review "exam scoring irregularities and testing accommodations" from its fraught February 2025 bar exam.

  • June 06, 2025

    Trump Seeks High Court's OK On Education Dept. Job Cuts

    The Trump administration has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a Massachusetts federal judge's order halting massive job cuts at the U.S. Department of Education, arguing that the judge's finding that almost 1,400 employees must be reinstated to ensure the department's continued operation "has no basis in reality."

Expert Analysis

  • Alien Enemies Act Case Could Reshape Executive Power

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    President Donald Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals raises fundamental questions about statutory interpretation, executive power and constitutional structure, which now lay on the U.S. Supreme Court's doorstep, says Mauni Jalali at Quinn Emanuel.

  • An Update On IPR Issue Preclusion In District Court Litigation

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    Two recent Federal Circuit rulings have resolved a district court split regarding issue preclusion based on Patent Trial and Appeal Board outcomes, potentially counseling petitioners in favor of challenging not only all the claims of an asserted patent, but also related patents that have not yet been raised in district court, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw

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    The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Reaffirms Listing Elements Separately Is Key

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    The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Regeneron v. Mylan reaffirms a critical principle in patent law: When a claim lists elements separately, the clear implication is that they are distinct elements, say attorneys at Taft.

  • Nev. Fraud Ruling Raises Stakes For Proxy Battles

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    Though a Nevada federal court’s recent U.S. v. Boruchowitz decision involved unusual facts, the court's ruling that board members can be defrauded of their seat through misrepresentations increases fraud risks in more typical circumstances involving board elections, especially proxy fights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield

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    Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • NLRB Firing May Need Justices' Input On Removal Power

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    President Donald Trump's unprecedented removal of National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox spurred a lawsuit that is sure to be closely watched, as it may cause the U.S. Supreme Court to reexamine a 1935 precedent that has limited the president's removal powers, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind

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    As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.

  • Risks Of Today's Proffer Agreements May Outweigh Benefits

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    Modern-day proffer agreements offer fewer protections to individuals as U.S. attorney's offices take different approaches to information-sharing, so counsel must consider pushing for provisions in such agreements that bar the prosecuting office from sharing information with nonparty government agencies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • SDNY Sentencing Ruling Is Boon For White Collar Defendants

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    Defense attorneys should consider how to maximize the impact of a New York federal court’s recent groundbreaking ruling in U.S. v. Tavberidze, which held that a sentencing guidelines provision unconstitutionally penalizes the right to a jury trial, says Sarah Sulkowski at Gelber & Santillo.

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence

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    As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.

  • What Del. Corporate Law Rework Means For Founder-Led Cos.

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    Although the amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law have proven somewhat divisive, they will provide greater clarity and predictability in the rules that apply to founder-led companies navigating transactions concerning controlling stockholders and responding to books-and-records requests, say attorneys at Munger Tolles.

  • Patent Drafting Pointers From Fed. Circ. COVID Test Ruling

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in DNA Genotek v. Spectrum Solutions provides several best practice pointers for drafting and prosecuting patent applications, highlighting how nuances in wording can potentially limit the scope of claims or otherwise affect claim constructions, says Irah Donner at Manatt.

  • Series

    Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

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    Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

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