Appellate

  • January 21, 2026

    Starbucks Settles COBRA Suit From Ex-Worker's Spouse

    Starbucks has agreed to settle a proposed class action from employee health plan participants and their beneficiaries alleging lapses in the coffee chain retailer's post-employment medical insurance notices, according to filings in Florida federal court.

  • January 21, 2026

    11th Circ. Urged To Deny Inclusion Of Everglades Center Docs

    The Trump administration and Florida's emergency management agency have urged the Eleventh Circuit to not supplement the appellate record with their communications on federal funding relating to the new immigration detention facility in the Everglades, arguing the documents are immaterial.

  • January 21, 2026

    Former SG Prelogar Joins Cooley Team On Trump EO Appeal

    Former Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar has joined the legal team representing Jenner & Block LLP in its fight with President Donald Trump's administration over his executive order targeting the BigLaw firm, according to a new court filing.

  • January 21, 2026

    Nonprofits, Not BigLaw, Lead Legal Challenges To Trump

    Public interest groups are handling a majority of the lawsuits filed against the second Trump administration, while most large firms remain on the sidelines, according to a review by Law360 of more than 400 lawsuits filed in the first year of Trump's second term.  

  • January 21, 2026

    EcoFactor Can't Restore Thermostat IP Claims At Fed. Circ.

    Smart home energy company EcoFactor on Wednesday failed to persuade the Federal Circuit to revive claims in one of its smart thermostat patents following a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that invalidated the claims.

  • January 21, 2026

    US Says Utah Tribe Lacks Injury Claim In $16M Clean Air Deal

    The federal government is asking the Tenth Circuit to deny the Ute Tribe's appeal to overturn a lower court's denial of its intervention to challenge a $16 million Clean Air Act consent decree, arguing that the Utah Indigenous nation can't identify any cognizable injury.

  • January 21, 2026

    Boar's Head Heir Seeks Chancery Ruling On Board Seat

    An heir to one of a major deli manufacturer's founders has asked the Delaware Chancery Court to step into a family governance dispute, arguing that the company improperly refused to recognize his election to the board despite a written stockholder consent he says was valid under Delaware law.

  • January 21, 2026

    Pa. Court Bars Manner Of Death Testimony In Murder Trial

    A man on trial for the second time for allegedly killing his wife in a staged ATV accident for $1.7 million in insurance money has won the right to preclude expert testimony on the manner of her death, Pennsylvania's highest court ruled Wednesday, reversing an appeals court decision.

  • January 21, 2026

    11th Circ. Upholds Order Forcing Law Firm To Turn Over Docs

    The Eleventh Circuit has denied a Florida law firm's bid to shield documents related to the recruitment of over 1,000 Peruvian plaintiffs in a lead exposure action, with the panel agreeing with a lower court judge that the firm had not demonstrated that the documents are protected by attorney-client privilege.

  • January 21, 2026

    Fla. Court Opts Not To Send Grand Jury Secrecy Case Higher

    A Florida appellate court on Wednesday declined the state's request to have the state Supreme Court review a question of whether a grand jury can indict a former school attorney for violating its own secrecy in connection to a 2018 mass shooting, saying the issue is not "of great public importance."

  • January 21, 2026

    Ga. Justices Find Willis Subpoena Moot After Testimony

    The Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would not require Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to testify before the Senate Special Committee on Investigations pursuant to a 2024 subpoena after she testified before the same committee in December.

  • January 21, 2026

    Insurer Loses Appeals Over $40M NC Drunken Driving Verdict

    A North Carolina appeals court on Wednesday rejected efforts by insurer Integon Indemnity Corp. to appeal decisions in a pair of cases stemming from a $40 million drunken driving verdict, saying the receivers suing for breach of contract were in the correct venue.

  • January 21, 2026

    Gibson Dunn Formalizes First Amendment Practice

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP announced Wednesday that it has formalized its First Amendment and free expression practice group under the leadership of three veteran litigators.

  • January 21, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Gives Apple New Shot At Axing Smart Mobile Patent

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday undid the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's finding that Apple failed to show a Smart Mobile wireless patent was invalid, saying the first claim was unpatentable and that the board needs to rethink the other challenged portions.

  • January 21, 2026

    Justices Wary Of Greenlighting Trump Bid To Fire Fed's Cook

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared reluctant to let President Donald Trump immediately oust Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook, with multiple justices expressing doubts about administration claims of broad presidential removal power over the central bank.

  • January 21, 2026

    4th Circ. Pauses DOJ Appeal Over Md. Judges' Habeas Order

    The Fourth Circuit paused a Trump administration appeal of a ruling that dismissed its challenge to a standing order Maryland federal judges issued to temporarily delay the removal of detained noncitizens who file habeas petitions.

  • January 21, 2026

    6th Circ. Sides With Univ. Of Kentucky In Title IX Dispute

    The University of Kentucky has prevailed in a closely watched Title IX class action after the Sixth Circuit found that the school correctly determined that the student body lacked the requisite skills to field three new women's varsity teams.

  • January 20, 2026

    LA Judge Faces Ethics Probe Over 'Bizarre' Comments

    California's judicial ethics watchdog announced Tuesday it is looking into misconduct allegations against a Los Angeles judge whose "extreme and bizarre" comments led a state appeals court to reverse a $10 million sexual harassment verdict.

  • January 20, 2026

    Trump Defends Birthright Citizenship Order At High Court

    President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold his executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship, arguing that the order doesn't run afoul of the 14th Amendment, which he said was intended for freed slaves and their children — not "children of temporarily present aliens or illegal aliens."

  • January 20, 2026

    Atty Missteps Warrant New Criminal Trial, Conn. Justices Say

    The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a robbery and assault conviction must be reversed after the defense lawyer failed to investigate an avenue of reasonable doubt impacting "pillars" of the prosecution's case.

  • January 20, 2026

    Trump Media Investor Says Insider Trading Trial Was Flawed

    A Florida trader sentenced to over two years in prison for insider trading on confidential plans to take President Donald Trump's media company behind Truth Social public urged the Second Circuit on Tuesday to reverse his conviction, saying the lower court wrongly excluded evidence at trial that backed his claims of acting in good faith.

  • January 20, 2026

    DC Circ. Doubts If EPA Had To Quantify Costs In PFAS Rule

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday seemed to favor the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's position that public comments were properly solicited before labeling two forever chemicals as hazardous substances, and expressed skepticism that the agency should have done a more rigorous analysis of clean-up costs for businesses.

  • January 20, 2026

    John Roberts Welcomes John Roberts To Supreme Court

    U.S. Supreme Court advocates have tips galore for staying calm at a debut argument, including diligent preparation, mindful breathing and treating the event as a conversation. But a Proskauer Rose LLP attorney benefited Tuesday from a distinctive development: the chief justice's introductory jest about the two of them not being related.

  • January 20, 2026

    Split 11th Circ. Upholds SEC's $1M Penny Stock Victory

    A divided Eleventh Circuit has upheld a nearly $1 million judgment that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission won in a penny stock fraud case, finding that the remedy is not time-barred and cannot be overturned based on a question similar to one facing the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • January 20, 2026

    Justices To Clarify What's Fair Game With 'Skinny Labels'

    A new U.S. Supreme Court patent case that will require the justices to spell out what generic-drug makers can say when marketing drugs with so-called skinny labels will shape whether and how those companies use the tactic of carving out patented uses from labels, attorneys say.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Know As Rulings Limit NLRB's Expanded Remedies

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    Two recent appellate decisions strongly rebuke the National Labor Relations Board's expansion of remedies beyond reinstatement and back pay under Thryv, which compensated employees for all direct or foreseeable pecuniary harms, signaling increased judicial skepticism toward the board's broadened remedial authority, says Shay Billington at CDF Labor.

  • Opinion

    Despite Deputy AG Remarks, DOJ Can't Sideline DC Bar

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    Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s recent suggestion that the D.C. Bar would be prevented from reviewing misconduct complaints about U.S. Department of Justice attorneys runs contrary to federal statutes, local rules and decades of case law, and sends the troubling message that federal prosecutors are subject to different rules, say attorneys at HWG.

  • Workers' Comp Ruling May Expand Ohio Employer Liability

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    The Ohio Supreme Court's recent decision in State ex rel. Berry v. Industrial Commission marks a shift in Ohio workers' compensation law by reducing judicial deference to the Industrial Commission's interpretations of the state's specific safety requirements and potentially expanding employer exposure, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • 10th Circ. Debtor Ruling May Expand Wire Fraud Law Scope

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    The Tenth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Baker decision, holding that federal fraud law can reach deceptive schemes designed to prevent a creditor from collecting on a debt, may represent an expansive new theory of wire fraud — even as the ruling reaffirmed the requirements of the interstate commerce element, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 8th Circ. Decision Shipwrecks IRS On Shoals Of Loper Bright

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    The Eighth Circuit’s recent decision invalidating transfer pricing regulations in 3M Co. v. Commissioner may be the most significant tax case implementing Loper Bright's rejection of agency deference as a judicial tool in statutory construction, says Edward Froelich at McDermott.

  • Rule Amendments Pave Path For A Privilege Claim 'Offensive'

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    Litigators should consider leveraging forthcoming amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which will require early negotiations of privilege-related discovery claims, by taking an offensive posture toward privilege logs at the outset of discovery, says David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law.

  • Series

    My Miniature Livestock Farm Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Raising miniature livestock on my farm, where I am fully present with the animals, is an almost meditative time that allows me to return to work invigorated, ready to juggle numerous responsibilities and motivated to tackle hard issues in new ways, says Ted Kobus at BakerHostetler.

  • Justices' Ruling Will Ease Foreign Arbitral Award Enforcement

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization suggests that U.S. courts can constitutionally decide whether to recognize and enforce foreign arbitral awards in accordance with U.S. treaty obligations, regardless of the award debtor's connections to the U.S., says David Cinotti at Pashman Stein.

  • Litigation Funding Could Create Ethics Issues For Attorneys

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    A litigation investor’s recent complaint claiming a New York mass torts lawyer effectively ran a Ponzi scheme illustrates how litigation funding arrangements can subject attorneys to legal ethics dilemmas and potential liability, so engagement letters must have very clear terms, says Matthew Feinberg at Goldberg Segalla.

  • How To Prepare If Justices Curb Gov't Contractor Immunity

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    Given the very real possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court will determine in GEO v. Menocal that government contractors do not have collateral immunity, contractors should prepare by building the costs of potential litigation, from discovery through trial, into their contracts and considering other pathways to interlocutory appeals, says Lisa Himes at Rogers Joseph.

  • What To Mull After 9th Circ. Ruling On NLRB Constitutionality

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    The Ninth Circuit recently rejected three constitutional attacks on the National Labor Relations Board in NLRB v. North Mountain Foothills Apartments, leaving open a debate about what remedies the NLRB can award employees and creating a circuit split that could foretell a U.S. Supreme Court resolution, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: November Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five recent rulings and identifies practice tips from cases involving claims related to oil and gas royalty payments, consumer fraud, life insurance, automobile insurance, and securities violations.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Dynamic Databases

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    Several recent federal court decisions illustrate how parties continue to grapple with the discovery of data in dynamic databases, so counsel involved in these disputes must consider how structured data should be produced consistent with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Comey Case Highlights Complex Speedy Trial Rights Calculus

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    Former FBI Director James Comey’s decision to waive his Speedy Trial Act rights in the false statement prosecution against him serves as a reminder that the benefits of invoking these rights are usually outweighed by the risks of inadequate preparation, but it can be an effective strategy in the right case, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.

  • Wash. Email Subject Line Ruling Puts Retailers On The Hook

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    The Washington state Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Old Navy, finding that a state law prohibits misleading email subject lines, has opened the door to nationwide copycat litigation, introducing potential exposure measured not in thousands, but in millions or even billions of dollars for retailers, say attorneys at Benesch.

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