Analysis

High Court's Guardrails Won't Ease Fight Over Trans Athletes

By Alex Lawson

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision permitting states to ban transgender athletes from girls' sports was written in simple terms, but attorneys tracking the issue see the ruling as a flashpoint for further litigation.

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Analysis

Plea Deals Get Scrutiny In 'Hunter,' But Justices Stay Cautious

By Brandon Lowrey

The shock for Mary Fan came almost immediately after she began her career as a federal prosecutor in Southern California in the mid-2000s.

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8th Circ. Keeps Missouri's 340B Contract Pharmacy Law Alive

By Mark Payne

The Eighth Circuit declined Wednesday to temporarily block a Missouri law that bars drugmakers from imposing restrictions on federally funded providers that contract with pharmacies to distribute discount drugs in the 340B drug discount program.

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3rd Circ. Says Hidden Bank Accounts Count As Tax Evasion

By Kat Lucero

The Third Circuit found a Pennsylvania insurance business owner guilty of two counts of tax evasion, affirming Wednesday a lower court jury's conclusion that he willfully concealed a bank account on 2016 tax forms while the IRS was pursuing collection action against him.

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Judiciary Dems Seek DOJ Replies Before Blanche Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

Ahead of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing for the permanent position, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding he provide answers to their outstanding oversight inquiries.

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Goldstein Calls Gov't's Attack On Text Messages 'Hypocrisy'

By Jared Foretek

Lawyers for convicted SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein have rejected prosecutors' claims that the famed U.S. Supreme Court lawyer may have deleted messages between himself and his poker backers, calling the government "hypocritical" after it had previously argued that Goldstein could authenticate the messages if he took the stand at trial.

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Chen Says Herridge Must Name Source Even Under Her Test

By Jared Foretek

A woman claiming that an FBI agent smeared her by leaking confidential records to then-Fox News journalist Catherine Herridge told the U.S. Supreme Court not to halt Herridge's contempt finding and $800-per-day fine any longer, saying that even under Herridge's preferred test, she would still have to identify her source.

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Medical Marijuana Cos. Seek To Back DOJ In DC Circ.

By Sam Reisman

Two medical marijuana companies are seeking to intervene in a pending legal challenge to a U.S. Department of Justice final rule loosening federal restrictions on state-sanctioned medical cannabis, saying they would be harmed by the rule's rescission.

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White House Recordkeeping Suit Paused While Gov't Appeals

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A D.C. federal judge has paused a suit accusing the Trump administration of skirting White House recordkeeping rules while the government appeals the preliminary injunction granted last month.

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Tatneft Fights 'Indefinite' Stay In $173M Ukraine Award Case

By Caroline Simson

One of Russia's largest oil companies pressed the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday to unpause litigation aimed at enforcing a confirmed $173 million arbitral award against Ukraine, saying that the proceedings have now been on hold for more than four years without any indication of when they might resume.

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Split Fed. Circ. Backs Block On Generic Of Otsuka Neuro Drug

By Theresa Schliep

A split Federal Circuit panel on Wednesday supported a lower court's temporary block on Hetero Labs from selling a generic version of Otsuka's neurological disorder drug, even as it disagreed with the decision to waive Otsuka's requirement to post a bond while the case proceeds.

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Fed. Circ. OKs Rejection Of 'Mon Ami' Dog Treat TMs

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive a bid to register "Mon Ami" as trademarks for dog treats, agreeing with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's finding that the marks were too similar to an earlier mark.

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Analysis

3 Federal Circuit Clashes To Watch In July

By Ryan Davis

A patent owner's effort to undo a Texas jury verdict clearing Samsung of infringing a wireless patent and an appeal of a ruling that Dartmouth College and a supplement maker owe $9 million for filing an "unreasonable" vitamin patent suit are among the cases the Federal Circuit will hear this month.

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3rd Circ. Tests FERC's Attention To Public Input In Hydro Case

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A Third Circuit panel Wednesday dug into whether the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission really listened to the concerns of residents of York County, Pennsylvania, about its initial approval of a hydroelectric project they claimed could lead to ecological and property damage.

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3rd Circ. Backs Sentence Bump For Gun's 1 Marred Serial No.

By Elizabeth Daley

A Third Circuit panel upheld a Pennsylvania man's sentence for possessing a firearm as a felon on Wednesday, finding that an enhancement applied since his pistol had one serial number defaced.

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3rd Circ. Nixes Life Term In Fatal Drug Sale Case

By Elizabeth Daley

The Third Circuit vacated a life sentence issued to a man convicted of selling drugs that ultimately killed the buyer, ruling Wednesday that while his conviction was valid, the lower court improperly considered prior state law drug convictions in fashioning the sentence.

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5th Circ. Shields Apple From Sharing IP Docs With Xiaomi

By Lauren Berg

Apple Inc. and Blackberry Corp. do not have to share their patent licensing agreements beyond outside counsel for a Chinese rival involved in overseas litigation, the Fifth Circuit ruled, saying it was "premature" for a lower court to determine that German law and Indian law require the disclosure to in-house counsel.

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5th Circ. Says Vape Co. Deserves Jury Trial For $19K HHS Fine

By Mike Curley

A split Fifth Circuit panel has thrown out a $19,192 civil penalty against a Texas vape seller issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, saying the company is entitled to a jury trial under the Seventh Amendment and recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

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6th Circ. Affirms Mich. Airport PFAS Suit Belongs In State Court

By Jonathan Capriel

The international airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has failed at its second attempt to push into federal court Michigan's lawsuit over forever plastic pollution, allegedly caused by firefighting foam the airport used, after the Sixth Circuit ruled that the airport already tried identical arguments in the previous appeal.

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6th Circ. Backs Smucker In Salmonella Coverage Dispute

By Hope Patti

An alleged salmonella outbreak that potentially tainted peanut butter produced by J.M. Smucker Co. is a single occurrence under its commercial general liability policies, the Sixth Circuit affirmed Wednesday, saying Smucker's peanut butter production did not constitute 225 separate occurrences that are each subject to a $250,000 retainer.

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7th Circ. Backs Fraud Conviction Over WhatsApp Evidence

By Celeste Bott

The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the wire fraud and money laundering conviction of a man who challenged the admission of incriminating WhatsApp messages between him and an uncharged co-conspirator into evidence, saying the government's use of his own pretrial discovery disclosures to authenticate the messages didn't violate his constitutional right to testify.

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7th Circ. Questions Contempt On Hytera Radio Redesign

By Lauraann Wood

A Seventh Circuit panel seemed unsure Wednesday that a district court correctly found Motorola Solutions Inc. entitled to a cut of Hytera Communications Corp. Ltd.'s sales of redesigned mobile radios under a 2022 royalty order entered after a jury found Hytera liable for trade secret theft.

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California Court Trims State Charges In Pelosi Hammer Attack

By Parker Quinlan

A split California appeals court has ruled that the man who attacked Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, correctly obtained dismissal of several charges from his state court indictment.

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Texas Panel Says Family Can't Sue Doctors Over Birth Injuries

By Jonathan Capriel

A woman who suffered life-threatening complications following a cesarean section saw her medical malpractice lawsuit end Tuesday, after a Texas appellate court said her expert witness could not show that her two doctors caused the injuries.

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Conn. Justices Allow Death Damages Input After $8.5M Verdict

By Brian Steele

The Connecticut Supreme Court will allow the Connecticut Defense Lawyers Association and the American Medical Association to weigh in on whether legally distinct damages are available for losing the ability to enjoy life's activities and for death itself as the justices consider an $8.5 million verdict against a knee surgeon's medical practice.

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Panel Upholds Dentist's Conviction In Law Professor's Murder

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida appeals court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of a periodontist found guilty in the murder-for-hire of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel, finding that the lower court did not err when it denied the defendant's request to move the trial from Tallahassee.

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Fla. Panel Backs Permit Holders' Win In Miami Dock Suit

By David Minsky

A Florida appellate panel on Wednesday upheld a lower court win for two residents who took out a permit to build a dock at their Miami residence, finding that the dock didn't unreasonably obstruct a neighbor's view of the waterway. 

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Doc Asks To Seek Defamation Punitive Damages Against CNN

By Carolina Bolado

A doctor has asked the Florida Supreme Court to lift a stay on his petition to seek punitive damages against CNN over a 2015 story about pediatric surgery mortality rates, citing the high court's recent decision that lowered the evidentiary bar to add punitive damages claims.

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Pa. Court's Verizon Tower Approval Comes With New Test

By Matthew Santoni

A Pennsylvania appellate court Wednesday set new standards for wireless providers like Verizon to seek local zoning variances, upholding approval of a Lehigh County cell tower while throwing out old Federal Communications Commission guidance on interpreting the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

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NJ Cops Can Accept Warrantless Location Info From Feds

By Nadia Dreid

A New Jersey appeals court has said it won't overturn the gun trafficking conviction of a man who was arrested in part due to cellphone location data that was acquired by federal law enforcement in Ohio, which didn't require a warrant to get the information.

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NC Panel Revives Constitutional Fight Over Vendor Ordinance

By Hayley Fowler

The ability of local governments to regulate street vendors does not prevent a merchant in the Outer Banks from mounting a constitutional challenge against a city ordinance that restricted her ability to run a pop-up artists market, the North Carolina Court of Appeals said in an opinion switched Tuesday from unpublished to published.

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NC Panel Says Worker Shooting Suit Belongs In Commission

By Mike Curley

A North Carolina appellate panel on Wednesday sent a widower's suit over the shooting death of his wife by a coworker to the state's Industrial Commission, saying that new evidence produced after a previous appeal shows that the shooting was work-related and therefore falls under the state's Workers' Compensation Act.

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Ga. Justices Pass On Co.'s Challenge To Workers' RICO Suit

By Kelcey Caulder

The Georgia Supreme Court has declined to hear a construction company's challenge to an appellate ruling that revived a lawsuit from two former human resources directors who claimed they were fired for raising concerns about fraudulent work authorization records.

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Michigan Launches New, Simplified Court Forms

By Susan Smiley

For the first time since 1979, the Michigan State Court Administrative Office is rolling out new, simplified court forms meant to increase access to justice.

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Wash. Atty Loses Bid For Jury In Dispute Over Bar Sanctions

By Emily Sawicki

A Washington lawyer sanctioned and disciplined for bringing a "frivolous" election suit in 2021 against then-Gov. Jay Inslee has lost her bid to have her ethics charges heard by a jury, with a state appeals panel finding no error in a trial court's ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to take on the disciplinary matter.

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4 Big Colorado Rulings So Far In 2026

By Zach Dupont

Insurance law took center stage in Colorado's appellate courts during the first half of 2026, but civil rights litigation produced its own notable mark on the landscape. Here, Law360 breaks down four major rulings in Colorado courts from the first half of 2026.

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'Do Your Part,' Mass. Judge Chides Read Case Attys Post-Leak

By Cara Salvatore

A Massachusetts judge on Wednesday lectured counsel in the high-profile civil case against Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman acquitted of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend, to honor their ethical obligations after sensitive information leaked on social media.

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The Case For Using Final-Offer Damages Forms In IP Suits

Recent Federal Circuit decisions, such as Ollnova v. Ecobee, that scrutinize verdict forms in patent infringement disputes potentially render the final-offer damages selection procedure more attractive, though it should not be seen as a replacement for patent damages doctrine, says Brandon Theiss at Addy Hart.

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Tariff Refunds May Reshape Loan Covenant Calculations

Tariff refunds issued after the U.S. Supreme Court's Learning Resources decision may complicate borrowers' covenant calculations depending on accounting treatment, the timing of recognition, customer reimbursement obligations and credit agreement language, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

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Attorney Mental Health Is An Ethical Obligation In The AI Era

As attorneys cope with the increasing unpredictability that artificial intelligence and constant policy changes have created, particularly in practice areas where they carry the emotional weight of clients’ most consequential life events, otherwise soft discussions about self-care are a matter of professional competence, says attorney Jack Jrada.

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Legal Sector Jobs Spike With Work 'Churning Right Along'

By Aebra Coe

The legal sector added 5,100 jobs in June, the largest increase the industry has seen in more than two years, according to preliminary, seasonally adjusted data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, the Asian Law Caucus and the Democracy Defenders Fund lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump's bid to limit birthright citizenship.

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Feds Seek Up To 21 Months For Ex-Judge On ICE Obstruction

By Elizabeth Daley

A former Wisconsin judge who was convicted of obstructing ICE officers' courthouse arrest of a man facing misdemeanor charges by pointing him to a side door should spend up to 21 months in prison, the government said in a sentencing memo, recommending she be made an example.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week 

By Sue Reisinger

Amid the changes coming for general counsel, the policies and enforcement priorities of federal regulators may fluctuate more rapidly after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this week that could dramatically remake independent government agencies. And the EEOC rescinded affirmative action documents that have guided employers for decades.

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Georgia Atty Can't Revive Defamation Suit Over Ethics Case

By Emily Johnson

The Georgia Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a Georgia attorney's defamation suit against two people involved in an unsuccessful disciplinary action against her, saying her rambling appeal failed to prove that the trial court erred in dismissing her claims.

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When Does A Firm's 'Breakup' Fee-Split Contract Go Too Far?

By Rachel Rippetoe

It looked like a win for plaintiffs' firms when the Kentucky Supreme Court recently upheld a firm's 75% claim on fees from cases an attorney took with him when he launched his own practice, but the narrow ruling may leave room for lawyers to challenge similar agreements as penalties for leaving their firms.

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Judges To Tour Rust Belt To Build Trust In Courts

By James Boyle

Days after the Fourth of July celebration of America's 250th birthday, a group of current and retired judges will lead a four-day bus tour through three states to promote one of the bedrock principles of the country's independence: the rule of law.

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Analysis

Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review

By Jack Karp

The U.S. Supreme Court's stark ideological divisions were on full display this term, particularly as it issued long-awaited rulings in the last few days of June. Here, Law360 dives into the numbers behind this court term.

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Mass Tort Titan Paul J. Napoli Dies

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Paul J. Napoli, an influential plaintiffs attorney who worked on some of the nation's highest-profile mass tort matters in recent decades, died on Tuesday at the age of 58.

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Skadden Adds Mass Torts Litigator As Partner In Chicago

By Christine DeRosa

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP has grown its mass torts litigation offerings in Chicago with the addition of a Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP attorney, the firm said.

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'Embarrassed' Conn. Atty Details ChatGPT Briefing Errors

By Aaron Keller

With a sanctions hearing on the horizon, a Connecticut attorney has told the state's highest court he is "extremely embarrassed" by artificial intelligence errors in briefs filed in two recently decided cases, explaining he used ChatGPT to edit his research without knowing it could make "unprompted changes to the content."

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Del. Magistrate Orders JPMorgan To Advance Javice Fees

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court ruled Thursday that JPMorgan Chase & Co. must advance millions more in disputed legal fees to cover the appeal of the convicted founder of college financial aid startup Frank, concluding the bank failed to meet Delaware's demanding standard for withholding advancement by showing the billing requests reflected "clear abuse."

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Ex-DOJ Fraud Section Chief Joins Fried Frank

By Nadia Dreid

Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP has added a veteran litigator from the U.S. Department of Justice who also brings more than a decade of experience representing financial institutions in white collar, enforcement and complex litigation spaces.

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Reed Smith Adds Ex-Norton Rose Partner, RE Atty In Munich

By Nate Beck

Reed Smith LLP has bolstered its private equity practice with the hire of a former Norton Rose Fulbright group leader in Munich.

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McCarter Atty Knew 'Magic Words' For $20M Deals, Court Told

By Brian Steele

If a onetime McCarter & English LLP partner had raised a single red flag about a Long Island town's legally flimsy agreement to repay $20 million worth of a businessman's loans, the ill-fated deals never would have gone forward, a Connecticut court heard Thursday.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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