Appellate

  • May 09, 2025

    Souter's Clerks Remember Him As Humble, Kind And Caring

    Former clerks of retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter are heartbroken over the death of a man many of them remember more for his conscientiousness, humility, kindness and disdain for the spotlight than for his undeniable brilliance as a jurist.

  • May 09, 2025

    Group Urges Justices To Uphold Protections For Venezuelans

    The National TPS Alliance urged the U.S. Supreme Court to let be a nationwide injunction blocking the Trump administration from repealing temporary protected status for Venezuelans, saying U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's vacatur contravened the TPS statute.

  • May 09, 2025

    Hold My Gavel: Epic NC Top Court Seat Battle Broke Ground

    North Carolina had already cemented itself as the nationwide leader in judicial election result recounts by the time an appellate judge squared off against a state Supreme Court incumbent last year, but experts suspect the epic legal battle that followed the vote may have set another record.

  • May 09, 2025

    Off The Bench: Latest NIL Deal Fix, More WWE Court Troubles

    In this week's Off The Bench, the NCAA tries again to get its multibillion-dollar compensation settlement approved, two sets of accusers draw Vince McMahon's history of misconduct at the WWE into their complaints, and the men's tennis tour was ordered to stop threatening players over joining an antitrust suit.

  • May 09, 2025

    Hiker And 'Raconteur': Atty Recalls 50-Year Bond With Souter

    Behind a towering legal legacy was a man who loved to hike mountains, could recall details of things he read decades ago and was always there for those he cared about, a New Hampshire attorney said as he reflected on a lifelong friendship with U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

  • May 09, 2025

    Ex-DOJ Attorney Joins Appellate Firm In New DC Office

    A former U.S. Supreme Court clerk with years of government appellate experience has left the U.S. Department of Justice to work for San Francisco-based appellate boutique Complex Appellate Litigation Group LLP in its new Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced this week.

  • May 09, 2025

    Split Texas High Court Nixes Barratry Claims Against Attys

    A split Texas Supreme Court said Friday that anti-solicitation claims fail against Texas lawyers who allegedly used "case runners" to pursue car accident clients in Arkansas and Louisiana because the conduct occurred outside the Lone Star State.

  • May 09, 2025

    A Look At David Souter's Most Significant Opinions

    The retired Justice David Souter defied simple definition, viewed as a staunch conservative until he co-wrote an opinion upholding abortion rights in 1992. He did not hew to partisan lines, but reshaped the civil litigation landscape and took an unexpected stand in an extraordinarily close presidential election.

  • May 09, 2025

    Insurers Urge 1st Circ. To Undo Oil Co. Coverage Ruling

    Insurers for a heating oil company asked the First Circuit to reverse a decision forcing them to defend the company and several executives in a class action alleging damage caused by fuel containing elevated levels of biodiesel, saying the company's "purposeful business choices" do not constitute an occurrence.

  • May 09, 2025

    NJ Panel Nixes Debt Adjustment Law's Limited Atty Exemption

    The New Jersey state appeals court on Friday ruled that provisions of a state law exposing attorneys representing clients in debt adjustment proceedings to possible civil penalties or criminal charges is unconstitutional and "impermissibly vague."

  • May 09, 2025

    Interior Dept. Says $2.8M Drilling Royalty Order Is Lawful

    The U.S. Department of the Interior said that a lower court correctly affirmed a $2.8 million drilling royalty order issued to Devon Energy Corp., telling the Tenth Circuit that there's no merit to the company's arguments that the order is flawed.

  • May 09, 2025

    Tufts Student Wins Bail As Judge Cites Free-Speech Concerns

    A Vermont federal judge on Friday ordered the immediate release of a Tufts University doctoral student taken into custody outside her home in March by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying Rümeysa Öztürk had raised "very substantial claims of due process and First Amendment violations" by the government.

  • May 09, 2025

    Justice Souter Was An Unexpected Force Of Moderation

    Justice David Souter, who saw the high court as a moderating force apart from the messiness of politics, subverted the expectations of liberals and conservatives alike during his 19 years on the bench.

  • May 09, 2025

    Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter Dies At 85

    Retired Justice David H. Souter, who served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1990 to 2009, has died at 85, the court announced Friday. 

  • May 08, 2025

    5th Circ. Wipes Out Southwest Attys' Religious Training Order

    The Fifth Circuit on Thursday held that a lower court overstepped by ordering several in-house Southwest Airlines attorneys to undergo "religious liberty training" following a flight attendant's win in a wrongful termination suit, finding that the training wouldn't benefit the flight attendant or persuade Southwest to comply with an earlier order.

  • May 08, 2025

    Law360's Guide To Trump's Judicial Picks

    During his first term, Trump got 234 lifetime judges confirmed. Here Law360 looks at the vacancies, appointments and confirmations of the federal judiciary as Trump attempts to further shape the courts.

  • May 08, 2025

    11th Circ. Told Fla. Voter 'Wet Ink Signature' Rule Isn't Legal

    Multiple nonprofit organizations urged the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday to reinstate their challenge to Florida's rule requiring a "wet ink signature" on voter registration applications, saying the rule violates federal law and isn't useful in determining who's eligible to cast a ballot.

  • May 08, 2025

    DC Circ. To Decide If Zero Is Less Than 40 In DCA Slot Fight

    The D.C. Circuit wasn't convinced by the U.S. Department of Transportation's arguments Thursday morning as it worked to convince the panel that the agency hadn't wrongfully excluded Frontier Airlines from new slot exemptions at one of Washington, D.C.'s main airports.

  • May 08, 2025

    PTAB Adds To Apple's Victories Invalidating Geolocation IP

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has invalidated claims of three geolocation patents challenged by Apple, less than a week after the Federal Circuit found the same patents didn't meet eligibility requirements.

  • May 08, 2025

    Atturo Tire Again Presses High Court To Take Up $10M IP Fight

    Atturo Tire Corp. has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to ignore Japanese tire giant Toyo Tire Corp.'s argument that the justices should not review the Federal Circuit's upending of a $10 million award against Toyo for interfering with Atturo's business through patent settlements with other companies.

  • May 08, 2025

    Feds Urge High Court Not To Take Jury-Right Case

    The government has asked the U.S. Supreme Court not to take up the case of a social media influencer who was denied a jury trial for a misdemeanor, arguing precedent and tradition show that "crimes" meriting a jury are distinct from petty offenses.

  • May 08, 2025

    Panel Says Colo. Hospitals Need Notice Of Retaliation Claims

    A Colorado appeals court on Thursday sided with a Denver health system in a precedential ruling, finding healthcare workers who sue public hospitals under a state anti-retaliation statute must warn hospitals about their claims.

  • May 08, 2025

    Ruling Over Expired Bard Patent Causes Split, Justices Told

    Atrium Medical has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit ruling that revived a $53 million breach of contract lawsuit against it by C.R. Bard, saying the appeals court "takes a dramatically different approach" from other circuits on royalty payments.

  • May 08, 2025

    Oppenheimer Slips Suits Over Fraudster's $110M Ponzi Scheme

    A cohort of investors who said they were victims of a $110 million Ponzi scheme run by a former Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. adviser can't hold the investment firm liable for their losses, the Georgia Court of Appeals has said, ruling their losses were "at best, an indirect result" of the firm's alleged efforts to cover up the scheme.

  • May 08, 2025

    Solicitor General Urges Justices To Let Immigrant Parole End

    Solicitor General D. John Sauer on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to halt a Boston federal judge's order blocking the Trump administration from ending the parole status of nearly half a million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Expert Analysis

  • Algorithm Price-Fixing Ruling May Lower Antitrust Claims Bar

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    A Washington federal court's refusal to dismiss Duffy v. Yardi Systems, an antitrust case over rent prices allegedly inflated by revenue management software, creates an apparent split in the lower courts over how to assess such claims, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What Insurers Should Know About AI Use In Litigation

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    As the use of artificial intelligence in litigation evolves, insurers should note standing court orders, instances of judges utilizing AI to determine policy definitions and the application of evidentiary standards to expert evidence that incorporates AI, says Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty.

  • Series

    Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • UK Lawyers Can Access Broad US Discovery To Win Cases

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    Given its breadth, U.S. discovery can be a powerful tool in litigation in the U.K. and other jurisdictions outside the U.S., and a survey of recent cases indicates that discovery requests made in the U.S. are likely to be granted — with many applications even proceeding without contest, say lawyers at Miller & Chevalier.

  • 7 Employment Contracts Issues Facing DOL Scrutiny

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    A growing trend of U.S. Department of Labor enforcement against employment practices that limit workers' rights and avoid legal responsibility shines a light on seven unique contractual provisions that violate federal labor laws, and face agressive litigation from the labor solicitor, says Thomas Starks at Freeman Mathis.

  • Ruling Shows High Court Willing To Limit Immigration Review

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Bouarfa v. Mayorkas is the latest demonstration of the court’s readiness to limit judicial review in the immigration space, a notable break from other recent decisions that expanded judicial review of agency decisions in other areas, says Mark Fleming at WilmerHale.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

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    Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • Managing Litigation Side-Switching During 2nd Trump Admin

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    Now that the new presidential administration is in place, the government will likely switch positions in a number of pending cases, and stakeholders should employ strategies to protect their interests, say attorneys at Covington.

  • High Court Unlikely To Expand FSIA In Holocaust Asset Fight

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    Not surprisingly for a court where the majority are strict textualists, the U.S. Supreme Court justices appear poised to rule in favor of Hungary in Republic of Hungary v. Simon, reaffirming the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act as a narrow exception to jurisdiction, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

  • The Fed. Circ. In 2024: 5 Major Rulings To Know

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    In 2024, the Federal Circuit provided a number of important clarifications to distinct areas of patent law – including design patent obviousness, expert testimony admissions and patent term adjustments – all of which are poised to have an influence going forward, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

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    Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.

  • Mass Arbitration Procedures After Faulty Live Nation Ruling

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    Despite the Ninth Circuit's flawed reasoning in Heckman v. Live Nation, the exceptional allegations of collusive conduct shouldn't be read to restrict arbitration providers that have adopted good faith procedures to ensure that consumer mass arbitrations can be efficiently resolved on the merits, says Collin Vierra at Eimer Stahl.

  • Lessons From Two New Year's Eve Uptier Exchange Decisions

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    On the last day of 2024, two different courts issued important decisions relating to non-pro rata uptier exchanges — and while they differ, both rulings highlight that transactions effected in reliance on undefined terms in debt agreements come with increased risk, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Public Corruption Enforcement In 2024 Has Clues For 2025

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    If 2024 activity is any indication, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely continue to rein in expansive prosecutorial theories of fraud in the year to come, but it’s harder to predict what the new administration will mean for public corruption prosecutions in 2025, says Cathy Fleming at Offit Kurman.

  • Issues To Watch In 2025's ERISA Litigation Landscape

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    Whether 2024’s uptick in new Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases will continue this year will likely depend on federal courts’ resolution of several issues, including those related to excessive fees, defined contribution plan forfeitures, and pleading standards for ERISA-prohibited transaction claims, say attorneys at Groom Law.

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