Illinois

  • August 06, 2026

    Nexstar Execs Can't Be On Tegna Board, Judge Clarifies

    A California federal judge clarified Thursday that Nexstar executives and other affiliated personnel cannot serve as Tegna directors under a temporary injunction blocking the broadcast giants' $6.2 billion merger, while admonishing the companies for not disclosing the appointment of three Nexstar officials to Tegna's board.

  • August 06, 2026

    Mead Preemption Bid Fails Before 1st Baby Formula MDL Trial

    An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday said Mead Johnson & Co. must face the first bellwether trial next week in multidistrict litigation over baby formula that allegedly was defective and harmed premature babies, rejecting the company's argument that the recent U.S. Supreme Court Monsanto decision blocks the plaintiff's claims.

  • August 06, 2026

    Judge Says Comcast's Fight For Viamedia Docs Is Over

    Comcast isn't going to get any more information out of Viamedia about what one of its board members, a key witness, stands to gain if Viamedia comes out on top in litigation between the companies after an Illinois federal magistrate said Thursday that she was done discussing the matter and that this was "the end."

  • August 06, 2026

    Ore. Judge Says DOD Wind Project Blockage Was Unlawful

    An Oregon federal judge on Thursday halted the U.S. Department of Defense's freeze of wind projects, finding renewable energy groups and environmental nonprofits are likely to succeed in showing the agency violated deadlines for reviewing the projects' impact on military readiness.

  • August 06, 2026

    7th Circ. Backs Outcome Health Execs' $1B Fraud Convictions

    The Seventh Circuit on Thursday upheld the convictions of two Outcome Health executives for lying about the company's capabilities and value in a $1 billion fraud, rejecting their argument that an overzealous pretrial freeze on millions in assets violated their constitutional right to hire the defense attorneys of their choice.

  • August 06, 2026

    Ex-Girardi Atty Gets Probation For Keeping Silent On Theft

    A former Girardi Keese attorney was sentenced to one day time-served and two years of probation Thursday for staying quiet and failing to report disgraced plaintiff's attorney Tom Girardi's theft of millions of settlement dollars owed to Lion Air Flight 620 plane crash victims.

  • August 06, 2026

    Judge Sets Feb. Trial In States' Generics Price-Fixing Suit

    A Connecticut federal judge has set a February trial date on claims from dozens of state attorneys general that generic-drug makers conspired to artificially inflate the prices of generic topical drugs.

  • August 06, 2026

    New ABA Chief Seeks To 'Streamline' Org., Defend Democracy

    The American Bar Association's new president, Barbara J. Howard, will focus on twin goals of defending democracy against expected unprecedented attacks associated with this year's midterm elections, while also reorganizing the association to run more efficiently, as she kicks off her one-year term this month.

  • August 06, 2026

    Agri Stats Deals Close Out Pork Trial

    A Minnesota federal judge on Thursday canceled the looming pork price-fixing trial after the last remaining defendant, Agri Stats, inked settlements in principle with the last remaining plaintiffs.

  • August 06, 2026

    Simpson Thacher Lands In Chicago With 5-Atty Kirkland Team

    A five-person team of Kirkland & Ellis LLP attorneys are moving their practices to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP to help the firm launch an office in Chicago.

  • August 06, 2026

    Akin Brings On 2 Mayer Brown Energy Attys In Chicago

    Two former Mayer Brown LLP energy and infrastructure attorneys have moved to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP's fast-growing Chicago office, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • August 06, 2026

    John Deere Says Severance Program Isn't ERISA Plan

    John Deere has moved in Illinois federal court to dismiss former employees' claims that its severance program is governed by federal retirement law, arguing that the program's one-time lump sum payments require no ongoing administration. 

  • August 06, 2026

    2025 Patent Litigation: A Year In Review

    The number of patent infringement lawsuits soared in 2025 as patent owners saw their fortunes change at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, where petitioners filed significantly fewer America Invents Act challenges. Meanwhile, most patent infringement suits were brought in the Eastern District of Texas, which had considerably more filings than the Western District.

  • August 05, 2026

    UN Worker Died In 'Needless' Boeing Crash, Ill. Jury Hears

    Boeing should pay substantial damages to the family of a former United Nations engineer who had a "magnetism" that spread light and comfort to others before he died in a "needless" and preventable plane crash aboard Ethiopian Air Flight ET302, Illinois federal jurors heard Wednesday.

  • August 05, 2026

    Posh Vape Cos. To Pay $20M, Stop Selling In Illinois

    The companies behind Posh, a well-known disposable vape brand, have agreed to pay Illinois $20 million and to halt sales of the e-cigarettes in the state, ending a lawsuit that accused them of marketing unapproved nicotine to minors, with a Chicago judge signing off on the consent decree.

  • August 05, 2026

    Ill. Feds Fight Contempt Proceedings In ICE Protest Case

    Federal prosecutors urged an Illinois federal judge Tuesday to reject further hearings and a special prosecutor over grand jury misconduct in a dismissed case against anti-ICE activists, arguing that the dismissal of the charges, the payout of their attorney fees, "substantial" internal reforms and a pending ethics probe render criminal contempt proceedings unnecessary.

  • August 05, 2026

    DC Gun Ban Suit Paused For High Court Look At Ill. Case

    A D.C. federal judge has stayed the Trump administration's challenge to the city's prohibition on silencers and AR-15s, ordering the case to remain on ice until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a similar challenge to semiautomatic bans in Illinois and Connecticut.

  • August 04, 2026

    New Patent Suits Surge As PTAB Challenges Get Tougher

    More patent suits were filed in 2025 than in any year in the past decade, according to a new report, an increase attorneys said is likely tied to new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office policies that have made it harder to challenge patents.

  • August 04, 2026

    These Firms Are Landing The Most Patent Litigation Work

    Rabicoff Law and Ramey LLP have maintained their roles as top patent suit filers, while Fish & Richardson PC and Gillam & Smith LP have remained leaders on defense teams, according to Lex Machina's annual patent litigation report.

  • August 04, 2026

    AGs Can't Yet Get Discovery Into Live Nation's DOJ Deal

    A New York federal judge on Tuesday rejected a request by some state attorneys general for discovery into the Justice Department's antitrust settlement reached midtrial with Live Nation, ruling that the scope of the request is "unclear" but the AGs can try again with "narrow and targeted requests."

  • August 04, 2026

    States Warn SEC Against 'Unlawful' Climate Rule Withdrawal

    A coalition of Democratic attorneys general are warning the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its plan to discard a corporate climate disclosure regulation is "unlawful," adding their voices to a chorus of state and local pension funds urging the agency to abandon the planned regulatory withdrawal.

  • August 04, 2026

    Ace Hardware Seeks To Escape Price-Fixing Suit

    Ace Hardware urged an Illinois federal court to toss a proposed class action accusing the retail cooperative of helping its member stores conspire to fix prices, saying the case attacks services the stores need to compete against Home Depot and others.

  • August 04, 2026

    States Sue Trump Admin Over Aid Recipients' Data Disclosure

    New York, Illinois and 20 other states sued the Trump administration Monday to block a new policy that would authorize the disclosure of sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers and immigration status, of their residents receiving temporary financial assistance.

  • August 04, 2026

    Udio Can't Shake Off Copyright Suit, But Gets It Moved To NY

    Artificial intelligence music platform Udio has lost its bid to dismiss a proposed class action from a group of songwriters accusing it of copyright infringement, but will now face the claims in New York instead of Chicago.

  • August 04, 2026

    35 AGs Urge Congress Not To Delay Hemp Ban Rollout

    A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general is urging Congress not to approve language in a pending continuing resolution that would delay the implementation of a ban on virtually all intoxicating hemp products for one month.

Expert Analysis

  • 6th Circ. Ruling Broadest So Far In Wave Of Habeas Decisions

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    The Sixth Circuit’s recent opinion in Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft provides the most developed structural reasoning among rulings in a widening circuit split over mandatory detention after undocumented entry into the U.S., and supplies immigration practitioners a template for due process arguments in favor of habeas relief, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: An MDL Realignment

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    With seven multidistrict litigation proceedings initiated so far this year, a review of venue locations suggests a shift away from the East Coast, a seeming reversal of last year's swing in that direction, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

  • How The High Court Expanded Freight Broker Liability

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II that freight brokers may be liable for selecting unsafe motor carriers, the key question will be whether brokers used reasonable care in selecting a given motor carrier, with the concurring opinion offering some clues as to what reasonable care might look like, says Marc Blubaugh at Benesch.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: May Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four recent rulings from cases involving allegations of Title VII violations, the Employment Retirement Income Security Act, prison dental care violations and overcharging for PACER access.

  • Series

    NY Times Word Puzzles Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Every morning I let The New York Times humble me with word games, which offer a chance to recalibrate my brain before the day's chaos arrives and remind me that a solution — whether to a puzzle or employment law issue — almost always exists once I find the right angle, says Amy Epstein Gluck at Pierson Ferdinand.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lesson: Diagnose Before Arguing

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    Law school often skips over explicitly teaching students how to determine what kind of problem a case presents before they commit to a particular doctrinal path, which risks building arguments that are internally coherent but externally misaligned, says Melanie Oxhorn at Kobre & Kim.

  • Becoming The Biz-Savvy GC That Portfolio Companies Need

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    Candidates for general counsel roles at private equity-backed portfolio companies should prioritize proving their sector-specific experience, commercial judgment and ease with uncertainty — and attorneys hoping to be candidates in five to 10 years should start working on those skills now, says Dimitri Mastrocola at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

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    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

  • A Framework For Habeas Relief After 5th Circ. Bond Ruling

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    Following the Fifth Circuit’s recent Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi decision foreclosing statutory bond for detained nonimmigrants not deemed admitted to the U.S., lawyers should adopt a framework that requests habeas relief pursuant to the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • Nexstar Offers A Cautionary Tale On State-Level Deal Scrutiny

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    State-enforcement challenges to the $6.2 billion Nexstar-Tegna merger remind legal practitioners that federal approval isn't always sufficient to deliver certainty on closing, integration and timetable assumptions, says Brett Story at Britehorn Securities.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • Operational AI Washing: A New Securities Class Action

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    In rising claims of operational AI washing — plaintiffs alleging that artificial intelligence was invoked to explain corporate business decisions in ways that may obscure underlying financial distress — earnings calls, restructuring disclosures and board-level communications will serve as key defense evidence, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • Where The Preemption Fight Over Prediction Markets Stands

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    While the Third Circuit's recent ruling in Kalshi v. Flaherty remains a significant win for the federal government in its quest to regulate prediction markets, the Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Circuits appear more skeptical, indicating that this fight is likely headed for the Supreme Court, says Johnny ElHachem at Holland & Knight.

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