Massachusetts

  • February 15, 2024

    1st Circ. Says Atty's Absence No Reason To Toss RICO Case

    The First Circuit has said a Boston federal judge's decision to dismiss a civil racketeering lawsuit after the plaintiff's counsel missed a hearing was an unwarranted rush to the "draconian sanction," which should be reserved for more extreme misconduct.

  • February 14, 2024

    Biden's OECD Pick Vows To Warren He'll Avoid Crypto Policy

    A former New York congressman who's been nominated to serve as the U.S. ambassador to a global economic development body has said he'll forgo working on crypto-oriented policy if he's confirmed to the job after Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D.-Mass, expressed concern over his work with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

  • February 14, 2024

    Defunct Nuke Plant Mishandled Asbestos, Mass. AG Says

    Asbestos-containing demolition debris from the decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts was repeatedly mishandled, including being transported in open-top dumpsters to an unapproved metal recycling facility, the state's attorney general alleged Wednesday in a civil complaint against the plant's current owner.

  • February 14, 2024

    Breach Of Contract Claims Trimmed In $30M GameStop Suit

    A Delaware federal court dropped some allegations related to the breach of contract claims against GameStop in a $30 million fee dispute, saying the plaintiff, Boston Consulting Group, has not pled a viable claim in some instances despite having three chances to do so.

  • February 14, 2024

    Biotech Nabs $200M Via Private Placement, Starts CEO Search

    Public gene therapy company enGene Holdings Inc. announced Wednesday that it will sell 20 million of its common shares, raising an anticipated private placement of around $200 million, to fund the development of its lead compound EG-70.

  • February 14, 2024

    Mass. Court Doubts Northeastern Vowed To Keep Land Public

    Massachusetts Appeals Court justices appeared Wednesday to question a claim by the town of Nahant and a group of residents that Northeastern University had implicitly dedicated oceanfront land it acquired in the 1960s as a wildlife preserve and park by allowing public access for decades.

  • February 14, 2024

    Ex-Atty Can't Delay Prison Amid Pot Bribe Appeal, Judge Says

    A Boston federal judge on Wednesday shot down a former Massachusetts attorney's request to put off his 24-month prison sentence while appealing his conviction for bribing a local police chief to boost his client's retail cannabis application.

  • February 13, 2024

    House GOP Passes Measure To Impeach DHS Secretary

    The U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday in favor of impeaching Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, over claims of "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" and "breach of public trust" for his management of the southern border, after a failed attempt last week.

  • February 13, 2024

    Trans Inmate Wins Move To Women's Prison After 6-Year Saga

    An incarcerated person with gender dysphoria will be moved to a women's prison and is on track to receive gender-affirming care after a Massachusetts federal judge found that her rights had been violated, ending a six-year wait for a ruling in a case that had stalled on the docket.

  • February 13, 2024

    Mass. Attys Welcome New Guardrails On Trial Time Limits

    Massachusetts attorneys largely welcomed a recent decision by the state's high court blessing time limits in certain situations in civil trials, citing the ruling's helpful guidance and limitations that will likely make ticking clocks less common in state courts than their federal counterparts.

  • February 13, 2024

    Ex-Atty Appealing Pot Bribe Conviction Says Prison Can Wait

    A former Massachusetts attorney convicted over an alleged cannabis licensing quid pro quo told a Boston federal judge Tuesday that multiple close-call legal issues warrant a delay of his 24-month prison sentence until the First Circuit decides his forthcoming appeal.

  • February 13, 2024

    Carl Icahn Sets Sights On JetBlue, Scooping 10% Share

    Activist investor Carl Icahn has revealed in a securities filing that he has amassed a nearly 10% stake in JetBlue Airways, a disclosure that sent the airline's stock price soaring more than 20% on Tuesday. 

  • February 13, 2024

    Ex-DraftKings Exec's Attys Seek $310K For Court Pingpong

    Lawyers for a former DraftKings Inc. executive who recently defected to rival Fanatics are seeking more than $310,000 in attorney fees, arguing the amount is reasonable and would cover their work for two "objectively unreasonable" removals of the case to federal court by DraftKings, behavior they called "disturbing litigation conduct."

  • February 12, 2024

    State Street Inks $4.3M Deal To Resolve ERISA Claims

    State Street Corp. has agreed to pay $4.3 million to resolve proposed class claims that the bank managed its 401(k) plan for its own benefit rather than for workers in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, plan participants told a Massachusetts federal court on Monday.

  • February 12, 2024

    Harvard Not Liable For Alleged Morgue Body Part Sales

    A Massachusetts judge ruled Monday that a state law makes Harvard University immune from a dozen lawsuits seeking to hold it liable after a former medical school morgue manager was criminally charged with stealing and selling body parts. 

  • February 12, 2024

    Schools' $104M Aid-Fixing Deal OK'd, Vanderbilt Deal Coming

    An Illinois federal judge on Monday granted initial approval to a $104.5 million deal with Yale, Emory, Brown, Columbia and Duke in a proposed antitrust class action claiming that 17 universities conspired to limit student aid, with another settlement from Vanderbilt expected to hit the docket in the coming weeks.

  • February 12, 2024

    Ex-Melick & Porter Partner Says Colleague Forced Him Out

    A former Melick & Porter LLP partner claimed in a Massachusetts state court lawsuit that he was pushed out of the firm by another partner who undermined him and stole clients.

  • February 12, 2024

    Hogan Lovells Builds Out Corp. Group With 2 Partners

    Hogan Lovells announced Monday it has bolstered its corporate and finance group with the hiring of new partners in New York and Boston.

  • February 09, 2024

    Mass. Lobstermen Say Feds Used Bad Data To Close Waters

    Lobster fishermen in Massachusetts filed suit Friday challenging the latest move by the federal government to close a swath of ocean to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales, saying officials relied on faulty doomsday assumptions about the risk to the species.

  • February 09, 2024

    Amazon Cut Delivery Co. To Punish Complaints, Suit Says

    Amazon mischaracterized the employment of a package delivery servicer and severed the team's contract after its leader complained about alleged sexual harassment, violating Massachusetts employment law, the team leader told a state court Friday.

  • February 09, 2024

    1st Circ. Wipes Out German's $3M Penalty In SEC Fraud Case

    The First Circuit on Friday ruled that a German citizen does not have to pay back $3.3 million in allegedly laundered funds sought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, reversing a lower court's order and finding that American courts have no basis for sanctioning the foreign national.

  • February 09, 2024

    Former Pharma Exec Faces Criminal Contempt For Fake Name

    A former leader of now-defunct BioChemics Inc. who admitted to using a false name for six years while allegedly flouting an order not to work in any aspect of the securities field is facing a criminal contempt charge and possible jail time, a Massachusetts federal judge said Friday.

  • February 09, 2024

    Healthcare-Focused SPAC Hits The Market After $160M IPO

    Blank-check company Helix Acquisition Corp. II hit the public markets on Friday following its upsized initial public offering, which raised $160 million by offering 16 million shares at a price of $10 apiece.

  • February 09, 2024

    Audacy Floats Two Ch. 11 Sales That Could Net Debtor $21.6M

    Bankrupt radio station operator Audacy Inc. wants to sell two pieces of real estate near Boston for as much as $21.6 million to raise funds for its estate in Chapter 11, asking a Texas judge to approve the deals so that it can close on them by early March.

  • February 09, 2024

    23andMe Led To Late Father And $28M Verdict, Woman Says

    A Massachusetts woman's successful quest to learn her father's identity through the ancestry-tracking company 23andMe took a surprising turn when she later learned her new flesh-and-blood relatives left her out of her father's wrongful death suit that resulted in a $28 million jury verdict, according to a state court lawsuit.

Expert Analysis

  • Perspectives

    More States Should Join Effort To Close Legal Services Gap

    Author Photo

    Colorado is the most recent state to allow other types of legal providers, not just attorneys, to offer specific services in certain circumstances — and more states should rethink the century-old assumptions that shape our current regulatory rules, say Natalie Anne Knowlton and Janet Drobinske at the University of Denver.

  • Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

    Author Photo

    Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

  • 10 Legal Subject Matters Popping Up In AI Litigation

    Author Photo

    The past five years have brought judicial opinions addressing artificial intelligence in many different legal areas, so a study of existing case law is an important first step for in-house counsel addressing how to advise on the uncertainty driving many of the AI legal disputes, says Mark Davies at Orrick.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

    Author Photo

    Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

  • Upcoming High Court ADA Cases May Signal Return To Basics

    Author Photo

    Recent cases, including Acheson Hotels v. Laufer, which will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in October, raise a fundamental question of whether Americans with Disabilities Act litigation has spiraled out of control without any real corresponding benefits to the intended beneficiaries: individuals with true disabilities, says Norman Dupont at Ring Bender.

  • 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
    Author Photo

    Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • FTC's 'Made in USA' Enforcement Goes Beyond Labeling Rule

    Author Photo

    The Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement action against a group of businesses for falsely claiming that clothing was made domestically demonstrates that even where the agency's "Made in USA" labeling rule is not violated, other kinds of improper claims about products' origins can get companies in trouble, say Wrede Smith and Kali Yallourakis at McGuireWoods.

  • Opinion

    3 Ways Justices' Disclosure Defenses Miss The Ethical Point

    Author Photo

    The rule-bound interpretation of financial disclosures preferred by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — demonstrated in their respective statements defending their failure to disclose gifts from billionaires — show that they do not understand the ethical aspects of the public's concern, says Jim Moliterno at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.

  • Series

    In A 'Barbie' World: Questions On Kid Brands In Gambling Ads

    Author Photo

    A recent "Barbie" film marketing partnership with a casino raised some eyebrows as the iconic children's toy brand was being used to promote gambling in possible contravention of advertisement regulations for adult activities, but the campaign's particularities signal that the shtick may comport with responsible ad principles after all, says Abbey Block at Ifrah Law.

  • Cannabis Plain Packaging Rules: Examples And Opportunities

    Author Photo

    States that have legalized adult-use cannabis in recent years have adopted stringent requirements for product packaging and labeling in an effort to protect minors, and these rules may provide a vehicle for compromise between proponents and opponents of legalization, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • What Courts' Deference Preference Can Mean For Sentencing

    Author Photo

    The Fifth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Vargas decision deepens the split among federal appeals courts on the level of deference afforded to commentary in the U.S. sentencing guidelines — an issue that has major real-life ramifications for defendants, and is likely bound for the U.S. Supreme Court, say Jennifer Freel and Michael Murtha at Jackson Walker.

  • Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention

    Author Photo

    As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.

  • Opinion

    3 Principles Should Guide MTC's Digital Products Tax Work

    Author Photo

    As the Multistate Tax Commission's project to harmonize sales tax on digital products moves forward, three key principles will help the commission's work group arrive at unambiguous definitions and help states avoid unintended costs, say Charles Kearns and Jeffrey Friedman at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • How High Court Is Assessing Tribal Law Questions

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's four rulings on tribal issues from this term show that Justice Neil Gorsuch's extensive experience in federal Native American law brings helpful experience to the court but does not necessarily guarantee favorable outcomes for tribal interests, say attorneys at Dorsey & Whitney.

  • In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development

    Author Photo

    As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Massachusetts archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!