Massachusetts

May 30, 2025
Hub Hires: Nelson Mullins, Cooley, Kirkland, Goodwin

May marked the end of the Celtics' title defense, but for firms looking to make moves, it was anything but the offseason. Nelson Mullins added a pair of Seyfarth Shaw litigators, Kirkland hired a new venture capital partner, and Cooley added an employment attorney and another who advises technology companies.
May 30, 2025
DHS Targets Sanctuary Cities In Noncompliance Notice

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has put hundreds of cities and counties in 35 states and the District of Columbia on notice for being what the department deems as unlawful safe havens for undocumented immigrants, advancing the Trump administration's April vow to target sanctuary cities.
May 30, 2025
Praying Or Parking? Religious Land Use Fights Head To Court

Local zoning and planning boards, usually unelected decision-making bodies, often operate with sweeping discretion that can provide cover for discrimination against religious communities. But backed by pro bono attorneys, religious groups are leaning on a 2000 federal law in their bid for court intervention.
May 30, 2025
Mass. Transportation Agencies Sued For $1.2M In Runoff Fees

Boston's Water and Sewer Commission is accusing the Massachusetts transportation and public transit agencies of failing to pay a new stormwater assessment that went into effect last year.
May 30, 2025
$2M Settlement Between Patriots, App Users Gets Approval

A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday gave preliminary approval to a settlement of more than $2 million between the New England Patriots and fans who claimed the NFL team's app collected and shared their personal information.
May 30, 2025
Trump Admin Says States Can't Fight Wind Permit Pause

The Trump administration said a Massachusetts federal judge should reject states' push to block a decision to pause permitting for wind energy projects, saying their claims amount to nothing more than a policy disagreement with no place in court.
May 30, 2025
Mass. Can't Delay Developer's Suit Over Brownfields Credit

Massachusetts tax officials who have taken more than two years to consider the appeal of a denied brownfields tax credit must hand over the administrative record in the case so that a developer can pursue a motion for judgment on the pleadings, a state court justice has ordered.
May 30, 2025
High Court Allows Feds To Revoke Immigrant Parole For Now

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Trump administration can revoke Biden-era temporary removal protections and work authorizations for more than half a million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, even as the sweeping policy change is being challenged in federal court.
May 29, 2025
Harvard Taps Paul Weiss High Court Litigator For Board

Kannon Shanmugam, a Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP partner and veteran U.S. Supreme Court litigator, has been selected to join the Harvard Corp. governing board, according to an announcement made Thursday.
May 29, 2025
Judge Orders Immigration Parole Programs To Resume

A Massachusetts federal judge ordered the Trump administration to resume processing applications for parole and benefits filed by noncitizens already in the U.S. under certain categorical parole programs, saying it's necessary to prevent irreparable harm.
May 29, 2025
JetBlue Fights American's NEA Suit, Pivots To United Deal

JetBlue has told a Texas federal judge that American Airlines' lawsuit seeking to recover $1 million in alleged unpaid payments related to their now-scrapped codeshare agreement covering New York and Boston is preempted by federal law and potentially conflicts with a Massachusetts federal judge's antitrust ruling.
May 29, 2025
Mass. Justices Revive Atty's Suit Against 'Spiteful' Colleagues

Massachusetts' highest court Thursday revived part of a lawsuit brought by a former appellate court staff attorney who said he was intentionally undermined by supervisors, finding that he had made a reasonable showing that two of the three original defendants had demonstrated actual malice toward him.
May 29, 2025
GAO Denies Protest Over DHS Technical Assistance Deal

A Virginia company protesting a blanket purchase agreement the U.S. Department of Homeland Security established for technical assistance for emergency response operations failed to show the agency did not appropriately consider its lower-cost proposal, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said.
May 29, 2025
Judge Keeps Block On Trump's Harvard Foreign Student Ban

A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday said she will issue a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from ending Harvard University's ability to accept international students, even as the government moved to withdraw its original notice of termination and called the case "moot."
May 28, 2025
16 States Sue Trump Admin Over Cuts To Science Grants

A coalition of 16 state attorneys general have sued the Trump administration in New York federal court on Wednesday to stop it from cutting millions of dollars in grant funds from the National Science Foundation for scientific research and programs aimed at enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM fields and environmental justice.
May 28, 2025
1st Circ. Revives Hedge Fund Priest's SEC Fee Bid

A Greek Orthodox priest and hedge fund founder who partially defeated an SEC suit at trial will have his request the agency pay his attorney fees reconsidered following a First Circuit ruling that a lower court should consider the gap between the SEC's requested relief and the relief it obtained.
May 28, 2025
Regeneron Urges Judge In FCA Kickback Suit To Set Trial Date

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Wednesday pressed a Massachusetts federal judge to ready a long-running False Claims Act suit for a jury and reject the government's second bid for a pretrial win under a different legal theory following a First Circuit setback.
May 28, 2025
Cannabis Cos. Eye High Court Review After 1st Circ. Decision

The First Circuit's decision upholding the dismissal of a splashy federal case challenging the national ban on marijuana was all but inevitable given the controlling case law on the issue, which can only be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court, legal experts and cannabis attorneys told Law360.
May 28, 2025
DOJ Tells Justices American Airlines Can't Renew JetBlue Pact

The federal government told the U.S. Supreme Court that the First Circuit correctly determined that American Airlines failed to prove at trial that its codeshare agreement with JetBlue in Boston and New York had procompetitive benefits, and the carrier's attempt to revive the alliance is moot anyway.
May 28, 2025
Vt. Judge To Order Release Of Harvard Researcher

A Vermont federal judge on Wednesday said a Harvard Medical School researcher and Russian national accused of smuggling frog embryos into the United States is entitled to release from immigration custody while she challenges her detention.
May 28, 2025
Groups Claim Mass. Offshore Wind Will Harm Views, Wildlife

Opponents of a permitted offshore wind project that would provide power to Massachusetts have sued in D.C. federal court, arguing turbines would bring problems for marine life and disrupt views on the historic islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.
May 28, 2025
Harvard To Give Slave Photos To Museum, Ending Legal Battle

Harvard University on Wednesday settled a suit over the ownership of photographs of enslaved people taken for a racist 1850 study, agreeing to transfer the images to a museum and to pay an undisclosed sum to a woman who says she is a descendant of the subjects.
May 27, 2025
1st Circ. Won't Revive Challenge To Federal Cannabis Ban

The First Circuit on Tuesday refused to resurrect a suit challenging the long-standing federal prohibition of cannabis, rejecting the argument that the circumstances underlying a U.S. Supreme Court decision on cannabis policy had changed so much in the last 20 years that the precedent was no longer relevant.
May 27, 2025
Bluebird Bio Beats Investor Suit Over FDA Cancer Warning

Massachusetts-based biotechnology company Bluebird Bio Inc. has beaten a shareholder suit accusing it of misleading investors about the likelihood of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision requiring a "black box warning" on one of its products due to the cancer risk it posed.
May 27, 2025
Immigrants Say Feds Can't Escape Challenge To TPS Vacaturs

Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants on Tuesday urged a Massachusetts federal judge to reject the Trump administration's push to scrap their lawsuit challenging its authority to undo temporary protected status extensions allowing them to live and work in the U.S.

Expert Analysis

Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: Nov. And Dec. Lessons

In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five federal court decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving takings clause violations, breach of contract with banks, life insurance policies, employment and automobile defects.
Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.
Series

Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.
5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
Predicting Where State AGs Will Direct Their Attention In 2025

In 2025, we expect state attorneys general will navigate a new presidential administration while continuing to further regulate and police financial services, artificial intelligence, junk fees and antitrust, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
FTC Privacy Enforcement Takeaways From 2024

In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission distinguished three prominent trends in its privacy-related enforcement actions: geolocation data protections, data minimization practices, and artificial intelligence use and marketing, say Cobun Zweifel-Keegan at IAPP and James Smith at Dechert.
Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.
Issues To Watch In 2025's ERISA Litigation Landscape

Whether 2024’s uptick in new Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases will continue this year will likely depend on federal courts’ resolution of several issues, including those related to excessive fees, defined contribution plan forfeitures, and pleading standards for ERISA-prohibited transaction claims, say attorneys at Groom Law.
Series

Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.
Looking Back At 2024's Noteworthy State AG Litigation

State attorneys general across the U.S. took bold steps in 2024 to address unlawful activities by corporations in several areas, including privacy and data security, financial transparency, children's internet safety, and other overall consumer protection claims, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
Opinion

A Federal Insurance Mandate For Private Aviation Is Overdue

A recent private plane crash in California that killed two people and injured 19 others spotlights the dangers of such occurrences — and serves as a reminder that because there is no federal requirement for general aviation pilots to carry insurance, the victims of these accidents are often unable to obtain fair compensation, says Timothy Loranger at Wisner Baum.
Opinion

No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.
Top 10 Noncompete Developments Of 2024

Following an eventful year in noncompete law at both state and federal levels, employers can no longer rely on a court's willingness to blue-pencil overbroad agreements and are proceeding at their own peril if they do not thoughtfully review and carefully enforce such agreements, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.
7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.