Benefits

  • September 18, 2026

    Disney Plan Must Cover Trans Child's Mental Health Treatment

    Disney's benefits plan must reimburse an employee for her transgender child's medical care at a residential treatment facility for major depressive disorder, suicidal ideations and instances of self-harm, after a California federal judge ruled such care was necessary, "appropriate, and not feasible at a lower level of care."

  • September 18, 2026

    Excavation Co. Off The Hook For Fund Payment, Judge Says

    A Chicago-area excavation company has dodged an obligation to pay about $182,000 to an International Union of Operating Engineers local's scholarship fund, with an Illinois federal judge ruling Friday that a 2023 arbitration award can't be enforced against the company.

  • September 18, 2026

    Dems Seek Probe Of Suspect Comments On DOL Proposal

    A trio of Democratic lawmakers urged the federal government to open a probe into reports that a U.S. Department of Labor proposal to expand retirement plans' access to alternative investments was flooded with fake comments, asserting the allegations raise questions about whether the public comment process has been corrupted.

  • September 18, 2026

    Fla. Panel Upholds $1.19M Auto Crash Verdict Against Insurer

    A Florida state appellate court on Friday issued a split opinion upholding a $1.19 million noneconomic damages verdict for a woman injured by an uninsured motorist, but reversed a $230,000 award for future medical expenses after finding most of that amount was based on speculation. 

  • September 18, 2026

    6th Circ. Undoes Ky. State Court Remand Of PBM Fight

    The Sixth Circuit on Friday ruled that Kentucky's lawsuit accusing pharmacy benefit managers of conspiring with drug manufacturers to increase the prescription opioid supply belongs in federal court, given the appellate court's precedential ruling from January reversing remand of another state's dispute against PBMs.

  • September 17, 2026

    Opioid MDL Judge Fears 'Chaos' If PBMs Derail 100s Of Suits

    The federal judge steering multidistrict opioid litigation is lacing into major pharmacy benefit managers for asking the Sixth Circuit to abruptly reverse a key ruling, denouncing their "spurious insinuations" about his motives and warning of disarray if they successfully break up the MDL's consolidated suits.

  • September 17, 2026

    Doximity Hit With Investor's Suit Over Ad Strategy Claims

    Medical professional networking platform operator Doximity Inc. was hit with a shareholder's proposed class action accusing it of concealing it was losing market share to its competitors and that its website did not rely on the "deep engagement" advertising strategy it had previously touted.

  • September 17, 2026

    Ore. Judge Denies HHS' Attempt To Amend Gender Care Order

    An Oregon federal judge on Thursday rejected the Trump administration's bid to narrow an earlier order that voided a policy declaration central to the government's crackdown on gender-affirming care for minors.

  • September 17, 2026

    Inovalon Investors Reach $44M Deal Over $7.3B Take-Private

    Inovalon Holdings Inc. investors have agreed to a $44 million settlement to end their Delaware Chancery Court suit challenging the healthcare data company's $7.3 billion take-private sale to a Nordic Capital-led consortium, resolving claims that stockholders were misled about conflicts involving the deal's financial advisers.

  • September 17, 2026

    7th Circ. Backs Concrete Co. In $23M Pension Exit Fight

    The Seventh Circuit turned down a multiemployer pension fund's bid to reinstate a $23 million withdrawal liability bill against a concrete company, splitting Thursday with two other appellate courts on interpreting how an employer's prior partial withdrawal applies to a future complete exit.

  • September 17, 2026

    Judge Nixes Workers' Bid To Halt IRS Withholding Rules

    A Texas federal judge dismissed two workers' claims that the Internal Revenue Service's income tax withholding regulations resulted in employers overdeducting taxes from their employees' paychecks, finding that federal law bars the workers' bid to prevent tax collection.

  • September 17, 2026

    Fla. Auto Dealer Resolves Suit Alleging 401(k) Mismanagement

    An operator of car dealerships in Florida and Georgia agreed to settle a proposed class action alleging that 401(k) plan participants lost a significant chunk of their retirement savings when the company switched recordkeepers, according to a federal court filing.

  • September 16, 2026

    Express Scripts Seeks To Exit AIDS Group's Drug Rate Suit

    Express Scripts called on a Washington federal judge to toss a lawsuit accusing it of using its market power to bully the AIDS Healthcare Foundation into accepting lower reimbursement rates for life-saving drugs, contending Tuesday that the case rehashes allegations a Missouri federal court has already rejected twice.

  • September 16, 2026

    1st Circ. Seems Torn Over Health Plan Surcharge For Smokers

    A First Circuit panel appeared divided Wednesday over whether a casino company is required to refund tobacco use fees after smokers on the company's health plan complete a tobacco cessation program.

  • September 16, 2026

    4th Circ. Doubts Standing In $9B Lockheed Pension Fight

    The Fourth Circuit appeared open Wednesday to shutting down retirees' challenge to a $9 billion Lockheed Martin pension risk transfer, with judges voicing doubt about a Maryland judge's holding that ex-Lockheed workers had the standing needed to keep their case in court.

  • September 16, 2026

    JB Hunt Reaches Deal To End Tobacco Fee Class Action

    Trucking company J.B. Hunt has struck a deal to settle a proposed class action alleging workers who used tobacco were wrongly charged $15 per week more for healthcare, parties told an Arkansas federal court in a joint filing on Wednesday.

  • September 16, 2026

    11th Circ. Asked To Overturn $184K ACA Employer Penalty

    A commercial laundry services company asked the Eleventh Circuit to reverse a Florida federal court's ruling that upheld a $184,000 payment to the IRS under the Affordable Care Act's employer shared responsibility provisions, saying it didn't receive notice of the penalty soon enough to lodge an effective appeal.

  • September 16, 2026

    Liberty Mutual Escapes Suit Over Forfeited 401(k) Funds

    Liberty Mutual dodged a proposed class action alleging it unlawfully used forfeited 401(k) funds to benefit itself rather than covering expenses paid by plan participants, with a California federal judge finding the plan's terms required the money to be used to offset future employer contributions.

  • September 15, 2026

    Ogletree Continues West Coast Hires With Jackson Lewis Atty

    Labor and employment law firm Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC has landed a seasoned litigator from Jackson Lewis P.C. with extensive experience in ERISA and employment law matters, the firm announced Monday.

  • September 15, 2026

    Express Scripts Accused Of Shorting Independent Pharmacies

    A dozen independent Arkansas pharmacies on Tuesday hauled Express Scripts into Missouri state court, accusing the pharmacy benefit management giant of continuously shorting them on prescription reimbursements despite Arkansas' efforts to combat underpayments.

  • September 15, 2026

    Dems Block Crypto Bill Over Ethics Concerns

    The Senate on Tuesday failed to clear a procedural hurdle for the Clarity Act, which was primed to be the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for digital asset markets, as Democrats said the ethics guardrails were not strong enough.

  • September 15, 2026

    Mich. AG Says PBMs Put Opioid Profits Before Patient Safety

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has asked a federal court not to dismiss the state's lawsuit accusing pharmacy benefit managers including Express Scripts and Optum of abetting the opioid epidemic, arguing the PBMs are not passive administrators, but profit-driven architects of the crisis.

  • September 15, 2026

    Texas Justices Push Old Republic On $4M Lien After Explosion

    Texas Supreme Court justices on Tuesday questioned whether Old Republic Insurance Co. had the right to collect $4 million on a subrogation lien from workers who were injured in a plywood mill explosion, suggesting that the statute at hand didn't seem to support the insurer's argument.

  • September 15, 2026

    Burger King Owner Inks $18M Deal In Suit Over $1B Buyout

    Burger King and Popeyes owner Restaurant Brands International Inc. has reached an $18.2 million deal with shareholders who say they were "materially uninformed" about the true value of the company's 2024 $1 billion buyout of fast food franchisee Carrols Restaurant Group Inc.

  • September 15, 2026

    Workers Want Investment Bank Pay Suit To Go On

    An investment-banking enterprise and two managing directors are asking a Texas federal judge to resolve factual questions about workers' exempt status too early in the case, the employees argued, pushing the judge to keep their wage suit alive.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Bass Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Landing a trophy striped bass and closing a big deal both require cultivating the patience to finesse — not force — your way to desired outcomes, changing course when your old approach isn’t working and learning from the ones that got away, says Jon Ruiss at Alston & Bird.

  • Roundup

    The Most Talked-About Supreme Court Decisions Of 2026

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    This term, 11 U.S. Supreme Court decisions quickly became hot topics among Law360's guest writers.

  • Series

    Choral Singing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Singing in the New York City Bar Chorus — a hobby partly inspired by the late U.S. District Judge Richard Owen, who infused my clerkship year with opera music — has improved my legal career by refining my abilities to listen, exude confidence and develop emotional intelligence, says Bonnie Baker at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Attorney Mental Health Is An Ethical Obligation In The AI Era

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    As attorneys cope with the increasing unpredictability that artificial intelligence and constant policy changes have created, particularly in practice areas where they carry the emotional weight of clients’ most consequential life events, otherwise soft discussions about self-care are a matter of professional competence, says attorney Jack Jrada.

  • Series

    Power To The Paralegals: Burnout As A Structural Problem

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    Law firm leadership can best retain their paralegals not by encouraging self-care, but by seeking top-down structural solutions for the quiet proliferation of responsibilities and the vicarious exposure to client trauma that particularly drive burnout in this vital role, says Erika Sneeringer at Brockstedt Mandalas.

  • Takeaways From 1st Del. Ruling Applying Moelis Amendments

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    Delaware corporations should carefully review contractual arrangements and governance documents following the Court of Chancery's recent enforcement of a non-Delaware forum selection clause in a CEO's employment agreement under 2024 amendments to the state's General Corporation Law, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Ill. Law Firm MSO Bill Clashes With Court Power, Ethics Rules

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    An Illinois bill prohibiting law firms from certain business arrangements with management service organizations, sent to the governor for signature last week, encroaches upon the courts' constitutional powers and goes beyond the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct in regulating investment in law-related services, says Matthew O’Hara at Smith Gambrell.

  • Opinion

    State Courts Must Be Gatekeepers Of Expert Testimony

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    Based on my experience in the state judiciary, emulating federal courts' role as gatekeepers of expert witness testimony would help state court judges maintain the appearance of impartiality and assist juries, thus enhancing the overall confidence people have in their justice system, says Lorie Gildea at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Capitalizing On Increased Retail Access To Alternative Assets

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    The recent extension of co-investment relief to open-end funds represents the latest regulatory action aimed at providing retail investors with meaningful private market opportunities — a trend that means alternative asset managers should develop and deploy a retail strategy to capture this emerging capital source, say attorneys at Willkie.

  • Series

    Moshing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Entering a mosh pit is much like entering the practice of law — it is difficult, you have to know both the written and unwritten rules, and conduct yourself according to the expectations of each community, says Christopher Deubert at Constangy Brooks.

  • New Timeline For Benefits Cases May Increase FCA Litigation

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    Recent reforms designed to speed enforcers’ intervention decisions in False Claims Act suits involving state-administered benefits will likely encourage more qui tam relators to litigate cases without the government’s imprimatur, and increase defendants’ discovery burdens, defense costs and business disruptions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Why Highly Specialized Experts May Risk Exclusion At Trial

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    Expert witnesses with highly specific areas of focus may be vulnerable to exclusion in court, making it important for attorneys to check how potential witnesses' qualifications can be bolstered by their publications and other professional activities, say Evan Weisberg and Christopher Cunio at Hunton, and Kevin Cahill at FTI Consulting.

  • Drawing A Line Between Settlement Pressure And Extortion

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    U.S. v. Luo, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, may force courts to address anew when settlement negotiations become criminal extortion, particularly in the age of easily fabricated digital evidence, says attorney Denis Kiely.

  • Recent Cases Clarify When Risk Disclosures Trigger Liability

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    Several recent decisions highlight circumstances where risk disclosures can constitute actionable misrepresentations, providing clarity on how the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act's safe harbor and the common-law bespeaks caution doctrine apply to risk disclosures, and how publicly traded companies can guard against such claims, say attorneys at Katten.

  • Series

    Founding An Autism Academy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Starting a nonprofit autism school with no building, no funding model and no guarantee that families would trust us taught me the importance of mission, patience and purpose — lessons that sharpened my practice and showed how meaningful work outside the office can make lawyers better, says Phillip Russell at Ogletree Deakins.

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