Massachusetts

  • August 07, 2024

    1st Circ. Backs Boston Prayer Policy With Political Warning

    The First Circuit rejected a satanic temple's challenge to the Boston City Council's practice of inviting local leaders to pray at its meetings, but warned that the practice could conceivably cross constitutional red lines if it became a vehicle to curry favor with voters.

  • August 07, 2024

    Morgan Stanley Loses Bid To Arbitrate Background Check Suit

    A Boston federal judge ruled Tuesday that Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC can't force arbitration in a proposed class action claiming the bank illegally used protected criminal history information to discriminate against job applicants.

  • August 06, 2024

    4 Takeaways From Landmark Google Search Ruling

    A landmark ruling in D.C. federal court Monday found that Google illegally maintains its search engine monopoly, and experts say the case could have broad implications for the company as well as the wider internet and shows how existing antitrust laws can apply to modern technology.

  • August 06, 2024

    1st Circ. Denies Removal Relief Over Bank Fraud Guilty Plea

    A Massachusetts resident facing deportation after pleading guilty to bank fraud couldn't convince the First Circuit to revive his efforts to stay in the country, after the circuit court ruled that the crime rendered him ineligible for removal relief.

  • August 06, 2024

    Robins Kaplan Appoints New Trial, IP Leaders

    National trial firm Robins Kaplan LLP has named a new co-head and head of its trial and IP practice groups, respectively, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • August 06, 2024

    Feds Say Marathon Bomber Can't Oust Judge Amid Retrial Bid

    Federal prosecutors said lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev misconstrued a local rule in seeking a different judge to consider his bid for a new sentencing trial.

  • August 06, 2024

    Harvard Can't Ax Claim It 'Failed' Jewish Students, Judge Says

    Harvard University will have to face a federal civil rights complaint alleging it turned a blind eye to antisemitic intimidation of Jewish students in the wake of Hamas' terror attack on Israel, a Boston federal judge said Tuesday.

  • August 06, 2024

    Ex-Army Contract Officer Gets 1 Year For GF's No-Show Job

    A former U.S. Department of Defense contracting officer has been sentenced to a year in prison for getting his girlfriend a high-paying, no-show job at a defense contractor, then taking multiple trips to Disney World and other vacation spots with her on taxpayers' dime.

  • August 05, 2024

    EBay Resists Calif. Damages In Mass. Stalking Case

    Married Massachusetts bloggers who were stalked and terrorized by eBay Inc. employees shouldn't be able to seek punitive damages available under California law while having Massachusetts law otherwise govern liability for their myriad civil claims, the e-commerce giant is arguing.

  • August 05, 2024

    Inari Agriculture Can't Sink Patent Case Over Corn Seed

    A legal fight between a DowDuPont spinoff and a Massachusetts plant breeding startup over the exporting of patent-protected corn seed will continue to grow in Delaware federal court, unimpeded by DuPont researchers' decision to publicly deposit their seeds. 

  • August 05, 2024

    Pegasystems Slams Appian's 'Animus' After $2B Verdict Axed

    Business software maker Pegasystems says rival Appian's "animus" is behind a series of what it says are irrelevant, premature and burdensome discovery requests, after a Virginia appeals court vacated a $2 billion trade secrets judgment against Pegasystems.

  • August 05, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Sunken treasure, rock band discord, a wrestling competition, and more news about Elon Musk — all in all, a colorful week in Delaware's Court of Chancery. The First State's famous court of equity also pushed forward on disputes involving a famous social media app, Delaware's largest hospital system, an artificial intelligence company and a budding commodity futures exchange.

  • August 05, 2024

    CooperSurgical Says Lab Hid Flawed IVF Product Tests

    Fertility technology company CooperSurgical Inc. has accused a Massachusetts testing lab of failing to follow proper procedures and misrepresenting the results of quality assurance testing on a product used in the in vitro fertilization process, leading to a recall.

  • August 05, 2024

    Google Abused Monopoly Over Search Market, Court Finds

    A D.C. federal judge ruled on Monday that Google is a monopolist in the general search market and has violated antitrust law by paying billions of dollars to make its search engine the default on devices made by Apple, Samsung and others.

  • August 05, 2024

    JetBlue, Spirit Scoff At Flyers' $34M Fee Bid Over Nixed Deal

    JetBlue and Spirit said air travelers who challenged their merger shouldn't get a cent of a late and exorbitant request for up to $34 million in attorney fees in a case where they simply "piggybacked" on the U.S. Department of Justice's successful effort to block the deal.

  • August 02, 2024

    Dems Launch Bill To Expand Zelle, Venmo Fraud Protections

    U.S. Senate and House Democrats on Friday proposed revisions to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act aimed at bolstering protections for consumers who fall victim to scams perpetrated by means such as mobile wallets, payment apps and wire transfers.

  • August 02, 2024

    Class Suit Over Changed Music Venue Changes Conn. Forums

    A proposed class of ticket buyers who claim to have been shortchanged when an organizer suddenly shortened a three-day Connecticut music festival and moved the event to a much smaller venue have refiled consumer protection, contract and negligence claims in state court Thursday after pulling a short-lived federal complaint.

  • August 02, 2024

    How Two Non-Bankruptcy Attys Won A Rare Ch. 7 Jury Trial

    A pair of Boston-based attorneys from Davis Malm scored a victory in a rare bankruptcy-related jury trial despite not being bankruptcy practitioners themselves, after a Delaware panel rejected a trustee's bid to recoup $44 million from a former grocery store magnate.

  • August 02, 2024

    Industry Backs Commonwealth's Appeal Of SEC's $93M Win

    The Financial Services Institute is calling on the First Circuit to overturn the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's $93 million victory against member firm Commonwealth Financial Network, arguing the lower court's disgorgement analysis undermines a U.S. Supreme Court decision and leaves other investment advisers fearing "outsized" enforcement actions.

  • August 02, 2024

    Iowa, ND Move For Win In NEPA Rule Fight

    States led by Iowa and North Dakota are asking a federal judge to scrap a Council on Environmental Quality rule they say threatens to turn the National Environmental Policy Act into an "action-forcing" process to advance the Biden administration's climate and environmental justice goals.

  • August 02, 2024

    Boston Marathon Bomber Wants Trial Judge Off Case

    Convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wants a different judge to handle his remanded motion to strike two jurors at his sentencing trial over potential bias, his lawyers told the court in a letter Friday.

  • August 02, 2024

    Patients Ink $1M Deal To Settle Pharmacy Data-Breach Claims

    A home-delivery pharmacy service struck by a data breach in 2021 has agreed to pay $1 million to settle a class action brought by plaintiffs whose personal information was compromised, according to a Friday filing.

  • August 02, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: Grants Pass, Population Data, CMBS Risk

    Catch up on the past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including city and state reactions to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on homeless encampments, a new proptech venture leveraging population data for investors and developers, and one BigLaw leader's view of which sectors are most sensitive to commercial mortgage-backed securities distress.

  • August 02, 2024

    Plumbing Co. Sales Reps Owed OT, 1st Circ. Affirms

    A group of more than 600 sales representatives at a Massachusetts-based plumbing and HVAC wholesaler are eligible for overtime pay, the First Circuit concluded on Thursday, affirming a lower court's finding on a Fair Labor Standards Act complaint brought by the government.

  • August 02, 2024

    FedEx Drivers Accept $166K Deal To Close Out OT Suit

    Two Massachusetts FedEx drivers claiming the logistics giant shorted them on overtime wages accepted an offer to end the litigation in their favor months before trial for $20,000 each, plus $126,000 in attorney fees. 

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

  • Debt Collector Compliance Takeaways From An FDCPA Appeal

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    A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau amicus brief last month in an ongoing First Circuit appeal focusing on an interpretation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act can serve as a reminder for debt collectors to understand how their technologies, like bankruptcy scrubs and letter logic, can prevent litigation, says Justin Bradley at Womble Bond.

  • SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

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    As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

  • Googling Prospective Jurors Is Usually A Fool's Errand

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    Though a Massachusetts federal court recently barred Google from Googling potential jurors in a patent infringement case, the company need not worry about missing evidence of bias, because internet research of jury pools usually doesn’t yield the most valuable information — voir dire and questionnaires do, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.

  • Skirting Anti-Kickback Causation Standard Amid Circuit Split

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    Amid the federal circuit court split over the causation standard applicable to False Claims Act cases involving Anti-Kickback Statute violations, which the First Circuit will soon consider in U.S. v. Regeneron, litigators aiming to circumvent the heightened standard should contemplate certain strategies, say Matthew Modafferi and Terence Park at Frier Levitt.

  • Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout

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    While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • Series

    Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.

  • The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift

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    As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.

  • 5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money

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    As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.

  • How Biotech Deals May Help Competition, Despite FTC View

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    The Federal Trade Commission's complaint against Sanofi's proposed partnership with Maze Therapeutics highlights increasing skepticism of so-called killer acquisitions, but a closer look reveals potentially legitimate reasons behind why entities might decide to delay or abandon the development of acquired products, say consultants at Analysis Group.

  • Series

    Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52

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    Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.

  • Workplace Speech Policies Limit Legal And PR Risks

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    As workers increasingly speak out on controversies like the 2024 elections and the Israel-Hamas war, companies should implement practical workplace expression policies and plans to protect their brands and mitigate the risk of violating federal and state anti-discrimination and free speech laws, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Employee Experience Strategy Can Boost Law Firm Success

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    Amid continuing business uncertainty, law firms should consider adopting a holistic employee experience strategy — prioritizing consistency, targeting signature moments and leveraging measurement tools — to maximize productivity and profitability, says Haley Revel at Calibrate Consulting.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: A Strong Year For MDLs

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    While the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation granted even fewer MDL petitions last year than in 2022, hitting a 21st-century low, a closer look at the record-setting number of total actions encompassed within current proceedings reveals that MDL practice is still quite robust, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

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