Massachusetts

  • September 18, 2024

    Harvard Rips Morgue Theft Appeal's Immunity Claim

    Harvard University told Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court that litigation over the alleged theft and sale of cadaver body parts from its medical school's morgue relies on a "crabbed" reading of an immunity law related to anatomical gifts.

  • September 18, 2024

    Mass. Appeals Court Backs Pot Shop's Arbitration Agreement

    A Massachusetts medical marijuana dispensary can enforce an arbitration clause in its employment agreement even when it did not specify the rights a worker was waiving, an intermediate state appellate court has said.

  • September 18, 2024

    Thermo Fisher Late To Pay Departing Workers, Engineer Says

    Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and a subsidiary failed to promptly pay all final wages and unused vacation time to departing employees and must now cough up three times the amount of that compensation because of its violation of Massachusetts law, according to a proposed class action filed in state court.

  • September 18, 2024

    Massachusetts Powerhouse: Foley Hoag

    With some of the state's household-name clients under its belt and a former Massachusetts attorney general on its roster, Foley Hoag LLP is one of the state's premier law firms in a number of growing sectors.

  • September 18, 2024

    Netflix's 'Varsity Blues' Setback Puts Media On Watch

    Netflix Inc.'s failure to bring about dismissal of a defamation suit brought by a private equity executive tied to the "Varsity Blues" college admissions case is a warning to media companies when blurring the line between documentary and drama, experts told Law360.

  • September 18, 2024

    Biotech Co. Escapes Stock-Drop Suit Over COVID-19 Drug

    A Massachusetts biotech company won dismissal Wednesday from a proposed class action by investors who say their shares tanked in value after it allegedly came to light that executives had falsely touted an unproven prospective COVID-19 medicine.

  • September 18, 2024

    DraftKings Fired Engineer After Leave Request, Suit Says

    A former senior engineer for DraftKings Inc. says he was fired in retaliation for asking to take parental leave last year, according to a lawsuit filed in Massachusetts state court.

  • September 18, 2024

    British Packaging Co. To Buy US Conveyor Biz For $17M

    British packaging business Mpac Group PLC said Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire U.S.-based Boston Conveyor & Automation Inc. for $17 million in a cash-and-stock deal from its sole owner, Jim Laverdiere, expanding Mpac's footprint in North America.

  • September 17, 2024

    Ex-Manager of Dartmouth Student Paper Gets Prison For Theft

    A Vermont woman was sentenced Monday to 15 months in prison for stealing over $223,000 from Dartmouth College's student newspaper, where she had worked for nearly a decade as office manager.

  • September 17, 2024

    Univ. Can Expand Coastal Campus, Mass. Appeals Court Says

    A Massachusetts university has no obligation to preserve for public use 12 acres of land in a coastal town just north of Boston, the state's intermediate-level appeals court ruled.

  • September 17, 2024

    Mass. Contractor Owes $77K For Violating Davis-Bacon Act

    Five construction workers recovered $77,206 after they were stiffed of prevailing wages and fringe benefits on a Davis-Bacon Act project in Boston, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday.

  • September 17, 2024

    Massachusetts Powerhouse: Ropes & Gray

    Massachusetts stalwart Ropes & Gray LLP put another year in the books as the state's largest law firm, leading blockbuster transactions and advising some of the most powerful companies driving the booming health and life sciences industry.

  • September 17, 2024

    Conn. AG Balks At Avangrid's $2.55B Take-Private Deal

    Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Counsel Claire E. Coleman want the state's utility watchdog to probe a Spanish energy firm's $2.55 billion proposal to take a Constitution State-based utility private, citing fears about reduced regulatory oversight amid soaring electricity and gas prices.

  • September 16, 2024

    Insurers Bring Curtain Down On 'Cats' Tour Injury Dispute

    Two insurers agreed to settle a dispute in Massachusetts federal court over coverage for a touring production of "Cats" at a Rhode Island theater where an employee was severely injured by set equipment.

  • September 16, 2024

    Mass. Accounting Firm Hit With Data Breach Class Claims

    Accounting firm Katz Nannis + Solomon PC failed to safeguard sensitive client information and enabled a 2023 data breach, according to a proposed class action in Massachusetts federal court.

  • September 16, 2024

    Why A Tactic In The Youth Climate Change Battle Is Risky

    Young people suing the federal government for sweeping changes to climate policy are trying a new tactic, filing a mandamus petition in the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to get their case to trial. But some lawyers are worried the tactic may backfire, limiting the opportunity for others to use the courts to wage climate battles, experts told Law360. 

  • September 16, 2024

    Pall Corp. Shorts Workers By Rounding OT, Suit Says

    A proposed class action filed Sept. 12 alleges that biotech supplier Pall Corp. followed a time-rounding policy that systematically undercompensated employees, and accused the company of improperly deducting 30 minutes from employees' pay for meal breaks, even when employees took shorter breaks.

  • September 16, 2024

    DraftKings, FanDuel Sued Over Use Of MLB Player Images

    Sports betting giants including DraftKings and FanDuel have been using photographs of MLB players to promote sports betting offerings despite knowing they do not have such rights, a division of the Major League Baseball Players Association alleged in separate lawsuits filed Monday in Pennsylvania and New York.

  • September 16, 2024

    Massachusetts Powerhouse: WilmerHale

    WilmerHale, a firm with roots reaching back more than a century in Boston, made a return to Law360's Regional Powerhouses list for 2024 with a series of wins in the courtroom, where it convinced a judge to enforce an executive's noncompete clause, and in the boardroom, where it helped steer billions of dollars in deals for some of the state's biggest tech and finance firms.

  • September 16, 2024

    King & Spalding, Winston Rep Hospice Facilities Deal

    Healthcare investment banking firm Provident Healthcare Partners said Monday it assisted Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care in its sale of a handful of hospice and palliative care facilities, in a deal crafted by King & Spalding LLP and Winston & Strawn LLP.

  • September 13, 2024

    The 2024 Regional Powerhouses

    The law firms on Law360's list of 2024 Regional Powerhouses reflected the local peculiarities of their states while often representing clients in deals and cases that captured national attention.

  • September 13, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: Foreclosure Legal Fees, Climate Resilience

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including trends in legal fees from commercial mortgage foreclosures and insights into property resilience in areas affected by extreme weather events.

  • September 13, 2024

    16 State AGs Demand DOJ Probe Of Texas Voter Fraud Raids

    A group of 16 state attorneys general implored the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate recent raids by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office that were said to be connected to an election integrity investigation but reportedly targeted the Latino population, warning that Paxton risks "undermining the very elections he purports to want to protect."

  • September 13, 2024

    Trio Of BigLaw Mergers Expected To Drive More Deal Talks

    After months of a relatively steady pace of law firm mergers and acquisitions, the trio of proposed BigLaw tie-ups announced in recent days will likely spur more firms toward entertaining similar deal talks, experts say. Here, Law360 offers a snapshot of the proposed deals.

  • September 13, 2024

    2 Life Sciences Cos. Start Trading After Raising $540M Total

    Drug developers Bicara Therapeutics Inc. and Zenas BioPharma Inc. have debuted on the Nasdaq stock exchange in separate initial public offerings steered by a trio of law firms.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

  • Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent

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    Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Facts Differ But Same Rules Apply

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    Zachary Jacobson and Sarah Barney at Seyfarth examine two decisions illustrating that reliance on a technicality may not save an otherwise untimely appeal, and that enforcement of commercial terms and conditions under a federal supply schedule contract may be possible.

  • Series

    Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year

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    As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.

  • Series

    Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • CSA Case Could Shift Intrastate Commercial Cannabis

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    In Canna Provisions v. Merrick Garland, cannabis companies argue that the Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to intrastate commercial cannabis activity; the Massachusetts federal court's eventual decision will be important to the cannabis industry for several reasons, including that the threat of federal enforcement would disappear overnight, says Hilary Bricken at Husch Blackwell.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

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