Appellate

  • October 01, 2025

    Mich. Panel OKs Fine For Atty's Gender-Based Slur At Judge

    A Michigan appellate panel has affirmed a $7,500 fine for a lawyer who called a judge a vulgar term during a virtual hearing, rejecting the lawyer's defense that he thought he had closed out of the video call when he made the remark.

  • October 01, 2025

    DC Circ. Won't Rethink Return Of Head Of Copyright Office

    The D.C. Circuit said Wednesday that it won't rethink its decision to temporarily reinstate the head of the U.S. Copyright Office, who was fired by President Donald Trump as her lawsuit against the administration plays out in court.

  • October 01, 2025

    6th Circ. Axes NCAA Appeal After Waiver Keeps QB Playing

    The NCAA's appeal of the injunction that allowed Vanderbilt University's Diego Pavia to play football this season was dismissed Wednesday by a unanimous Sixth Circuit panel that raised several ongoing antitrust concerns about college sports.

  • October 01, 2025

    10th Circ. Says Sex Abuse Case Was Brought In Time

    The Tenth Circuit has ruled that because of ambiguity in federal sex abuse statutes, federal courts are required to look to case-specific facts to determine whether a statute of limitations applies in cases of abuse where the victim is under 18 years old.

  • October 01, 2025

    Justices Asked To Review Gun Ban For Marijuana Users

    A marijuana user has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case arguing that a federal law prohibiting drug users from owning guns runs afoul of the Second Amendment.

  • October 01, 2025

    Trans Athlete Fights To Halt High Court Review Of Idaho Ban

    Lindsay Hecox told the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday her case challenging an Idaho state law banning transgender athletes such as herself is now moot because she has dropped her litigation, providing "no basis" to proceed with a review, contrary to the state's arguments saying otherwise.

  • October 01, 2025

    States, Businesses Push Justices To Extend Tariff Arguments

    The dozen states, several small businesses and Illinois toymakers that challenged President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs filed a joint motion Wednesday requesting more time to better represent their different claims for oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in November.

  • October 01, 2025

    6th Circ. Reverses Immunity For Officers Who Injured Inmate

    A Sixth Circuit panel said a trial court was wrong to use qualified immunity to toss a Michigan prisoner's suit alleging his constitutional rights were violated when corrections officers slammed him to the ground and fractured his foot in two places.

  • October 01, 2025

    3rd Circ. Hints Forum Query Premature In $139M Award Row

    A Third Circuit panel wondered Wednesday whether a Delaware court asked the right question before it concluded that it lacked jurisdiction over a Chilean company's quest to rope an Italian contractor's U.S. assets into a bid to collect on a $139 million arbitration award.

  • October 01, 2025

    Muscogee Citizen Fights Okla. Tax Ruling In Supreme Court

    A member of the Muscogee Creek Nation is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an Oklahoma high court ruling that denied her tax-exempt status, arguing the dispute involves an important question of taxing jurisdiction in tribal lands that broke a long line of precedent.

  • October 01, 2025

    USPTO Lays Off Employees, Closes Rocky Mountain Office

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office laid off some employees Wednesday as part of a reduction-in-force that's affecting around 1% of the agency's workforce, making the move on the first day of the government shutdown, according to sources familiar with the plans.

  • October 01, 2025

    NJ Panel Skeptical Of Giving Benefits To Disciplined Ex-Judge

    New Jersey appellate judges appeared doubtful Wednesday about a bid for disability retirement benefits from a former state judge who was accused of harboring her then-fugitive boyfriend, was disciplined and was criminally charged but not convicted, questioning her assertion that the misconduct was unrelated to her judicial position.

  • October 01, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Rehear Consultancy's $5M SBA Loan Suit

    The Fourth Circuit declined to reconsider a global consultancy and risk management company's lawsuit against the U.S. Small Business Administration in which the consultant argued its $5 million loan was eligible for COVID-19 debt relief.

  • October 01, 2025

    Ex-School GC Beats Charge Of Violating Grand Jury Secrecy

    A split Florida state appellate panel on Wednesday called for tossing an indictment against a former school district general counsel for violating the secrecy of a grand jury related to a 2018 mass shooting, finding that the statewide grand jury that charged her did not have the authority to do so.

  • October 01, 2025

    Opt-Outs Lacked Clarity About $100M Verizon Deal, Panel Told

    A New Jersey trial court exceeded its authority by validating opt-outs from a $100 million class deal based on signatures transposed from retainer agreements that never mentioned the settlement, counsel for Verizon Wireless told a state appellate panel during oral arguments Wednesday.

  • October 01, 2025

    Ga. Law Firm Looks To Ax Bank's Malpractice Suit Over Fraud

    Stanley Esrey & Buckley LLP has urged a Georgia state appeals court to dismiss claims from a bank accusing it of legal malpractice and negligence, arguing that it did not cause the bank to lose more than $8 million through bogus loan transactions.

  • October 01, 2025

    Ill. AG Backs Workers In Amazon COVID Screenings Fight

    The Illinois attorney general backed two workers claiming Amazon owes them for the time they spent on COVID-19 screenings, arguing to the state's Supreme Court that Illinois wage law is more expansive than the Fair Labor Standards Act and includes no exception for preliminary and postliminary activities. 

  • October 01, 2025

    Atty Asks 3rd Circ. For New Trial In Malicious-Litigation Case

    A lawyer who lost her malicious-litigation lawsuit against three Blank Rome LLP attorneys and an aviation parts company has asked the Third Circuit to review a Pennsylvania federal judge's ruling that she was not entitled to a new trial.

  • October 01, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Sends Social Media Patent Fight Back To PTAB

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday partly revived Snap's challenge to substitute claims in a You Map patent covering a way of displaying social media posts on a map, finding that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board needs to take another run at the issue.

  • October 01, 2025

    Va. Prosecutor Indicting Comey Tapped For Full US Atty Role

    The interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, who is bringing charges against former FBI Director James Comey, has been tapped by President Donald Trump for the full-term role.

  • October 01, 2025

    4th Circ. Nixes Cannabis Entrepreneur's Rehearing Bid

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday rejected a California cannabis entrepreneur's request for an en banc rehearing of her case after a panel rejected her bid to upend Maryland's marijuana social equity licensing program.

  • October 01, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Rethink Dance Teachers' Use Of 'Inspire' Name

    The Fourth Circuit has rejected a North Carolina charter school's request to reconsider blocking two former teachers from using the name "Inspire" for their dance company, dealing the school another blow in its trademark infringement and false advertising suit.

  • October 01, 2025

    Mass. Court May Reluctantly Back DQ In Cannabis Feud

    A "frustrated" intermediate appellate court in Massachusetts appeared unlikely Wednesday to second-guess a lower court's disqualification of counsel in a dispute over control of a cannabis business, even as it questioned whether it would make any difference in the ultimate outcome.

  • October 01, 2025

    Ga. Panel Backs Doctors In Brothers' Suit Over Mom's Death

    A Georgia appeals panel has sided with a pair of doctors and their employers in a suit by brothers alleging a failure to quickly diagnose their mother before she was paralyzed, saying the trial court did not incorrectly instruct the jury on the definition or application of gross negligence.

  • October 01, 2025

    Pick For Del.'s 3rd Circ. Seat Advances Despite Few State Ties

    Jennifer L. Mascott, nominee for a Delaware seat on the Third Circuit, who is currently serving in the White House Counsel's Office and has come under scrutiny for her lack of ties to the state, had her nomination voted out of committee along party lines Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • How McKesson Ruling Will Inform Interpretations Of The TCPA

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    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, we can expect to see both plaintiffs and defendants utilizing the decision to revisit the Federal Communications Commission's past Telephone Consumer Protection Act interpretations and decisions they did not like, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

  • Justices Rethink Minimum Contacts For Foreign Entities

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    Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Devas v. Antrix and Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, suggest that federal statutes may confer personal jurisdiction over foreign entities that have little to no contact with the U.S. — a significant departure from traditional due process principles, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    High Court Must Overrule Outdated Patent Eligibility Doctrine

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    A certiorari petition should directly ask the U.S. Supreme Court to correct its 1972 patent decision in Gottschalk v. Benson, the critical point where patent eligibility law veered from the statutory text toward judicial policymaking, says Robert Greenspoon at Dunlap Bennett.

  • Examining TCPA Jurisprudence A Year After Loper Bright

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    One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, lower court decisions demonstrate that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act will continue to evolve as long-standing interpretations of the act are analyzed with a fresh lens, says Aaron Gallardo at Kilpatrick.

  • Gauging The Risky Business Of Business Risk Disclosures

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    With the recent rise of securities fraud actions based on external events — like a data breach or environmental disaster — that drive down stock prices, risk disclosures have become more of a sword for the plaintiffs bar than a shield for public companies, now the subject of a growing circuit split, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • How Justices' Ruling Limits Options To Challenge DHS Orders

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    In Riley v. Bondi, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a 30-day deadline for challenging deportation orders begins when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review order, opening the door for the government to effectively bar circuit court review in future similar cases, says Kevin Gregg at Kurzban Kurzban.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • Purdue Case Could Transform Patent Obviousness Analyses

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    If accepted for review by the U.S. Supreme Court, Purdue Pharma v. Accord Healthcare — concerning whether Purdue's abuse-deterrent opioid formulation patents were invalid as obvious — could significantly shift how courts weigh secondary considerations in patent obviousness analyses, say attorneys at Lathrop.

  • NM Cyber Ruling Will Spur Litigation As Coverage Remedy

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    In Kane v. Beazley, the New Mexico Court of Appeals recently found that a cyber liability provision insuring security breaches included coverage for funds transfer fraud, implicitly and incorrectly motivating policyholders to commence litigation to avoid contractual limitations on cyber coverages, say attorneys at Zelle.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • Texas' Cactus Ruling Clarifies 'Produced Water' Rules

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    The Texas Supreme Court's decision in Cactus Water Services v. COG Operating, holding that mineral interest lessees have the rights to water extracted alongside oil and gas, should benefit industry players by clarifying the rules — but it leaves important questions about royalties unresolved, say attorneys at Yetter Coleman.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • How Political Divisions Are Stalling Pa. Energy Development

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    Despite possessing the nation's second-largest natural gas reserves and a legacy of energy infrastructure, Pennsylvania faces a fragmented and politically charged path to developing the energy resources it will need in the future, thanks to legislative gridlock, divided public opinion and competing energy interests, says Andrew Levine at Stradley Ronon.

  • How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US

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    In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.

  • What High Court's Tenn. Trans Care Ruling Means Nationally

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, upholding a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, is fairly limited in scope and closely tailored to the specific language of Tennessee's law, but it may have implications for challenges to similar laws in other states, say attorneys at Hall Render.

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