7th Circ. Hands Dead Packaging Worker's 401(k) To Ex-Wife

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Seventh Circuit awarded the 401(k) account balance of a dead Packaging Corp. of America worker to his ex-wife Monday, concluding that a lower court erred in determining she wasn't entitled to benefits based on a fax requesting a beneficiary designation change that he transmitted after a divorce.

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BBQ Co. Execs, Argent Settle $99M ESOP Fight With DOL

By Kellie Mejdrich

Two executives for a New York barbecue chain and the company's employee stock ownership plan trustee have agreed to settle a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Labor alleging that a $99 million stock purchase violated federal benefits law, according to a joint stipulation from the parties.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2026 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2026 editorial advisory boards.

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Teamsters Look To Ax Kraft Heinz's Challenge To Grievance

By Emily Brill

Kraft Heinz shouldn't be allowed to scuttle a benefits fight by arguing that it should have been routed through the company healthcare plan's dispute resolution process, a Teamsters local told a Delaware federal judge, saying the dispute can be resolved through the grievance and arbitration process.

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Panel Backs Pa. In Widow's 'Line Of Duty' Benefits Bid

By P.J. D'Annunzio

While a doctor's opinion that a firefighter's fatal cancer was likely caused by job-related hazards counted to entitle his widow to worker's compensation benefits, it fell short of the higher causation requirements for "line of duty death" benefits, a Pennsylvania appellate court said Monday.

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Traditional FCA Enforcement Surges Amid Shifting Priorities

The U.S. Department of Justice’s January report on False Claims Act enforcement in fiscal year 2025 reveals that while the administration signaled its intent to expand FCA enforcement into new areas such as tariffs, for now the greatest exposure remains in traditional areas like healthcare — in which the risk is growing, say attorneys at Debevoise.

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Series

The Biz Court Digest: Dispatches From Utah's Newest Court

While a robust body of law hasn't yet developed since the Utah Business and Chancery Court's founding in October 2024, the number of cases filed there has recently picked up, and its existence illustrates Utah's desire to be top of mind for businesses across the country, says Evan Strassberg at Michael Best.

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NYC Bar Opinion Warns Attys On Use Of AI Recording Tools

Attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and summarize conversations with clients should heed the New York City Bar Association’s recent opinion addressing the legal and ethical risks posed by such tools, and follow several best practices to avoid violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

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Paul Weiss Chair's Emails To Epstein Include Apollo Info

By Aebra Coe

Files released by the Department of Justice over the weekend belonging to the late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein show a yearslong relationship between Epstein and Paul Weiss chair Brad Karp, which included dinners, phone calls and meetings, as well as communication related to Paul Weiss client Apollo Global Management.

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Ex-Goldstein Employee Claims Accountants Made Mistakes

By Jared Foretek

Defense attorneys for SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein presented evidence Monday that his firm's tax accountants made serious mistakes in tax filings for Goldstein's wife, Amy Howe, in 2021.

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6th Circ. Clears Judge Boasberg In DOJ Ethics Complaint

By Courtney Bublé

The complaint the U.S. Department of Justice filed against Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia has been dismissed.

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Analysis

Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

By Jeff Overley

What happened to a GOP donor's $250,000 Swiss watch? Can cigarette warnings show jarring medical images? Will a circuit split of "far-reaching importance" for arbitration get even wider? That's a taste of the oral argument menu we'll help you digest in this preview of February's top appellate action.

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Fenwick Reaches Deal In FTX Crypto Scam Suit

By Madison Arnold

Fenwick & West LLP and victims of the infamous FTX Trading Ltd. cryptocurrency scam are working toward a settlement in a case over the firm's alleged role in the trading platform's collapse.

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Watchdog Renews Halligan Bar Complaint After Court Rulings

By Emily Sawicki

The nonprofit Campaign for Accountability on Monday once again launched a bar complaint against former interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan in Virginia, after the Virginia State Bar declined to pursue an ethics investigation against the attorney last year, calling it a matter for the courts to determine.

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Brief

Judiciary Open As Usual Until Thursday Despite Shutdown

By Courtney Bublé

The federal judiciary has enough funding to sustain normal operations until Thursday, following the partial government shutdown that started at midnight on Saturday.

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DOJ Defends NJ US Atty Office Funding Amid Scrutiny

By Matthew Santoni

Defending the three-person leadership structure of New Jersey's federal prosecution operations since the departure of Alina Habba, an administrator told a federal court that two of the attorneys running the office are paid through the office's budget and the third is funded through the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Matthew Perlman

U.S. enforcers reached three new merger settlements, while the Federal Trade Commission successfully blocked a $945 million heart valve deal and lodged an appeal for its case targeting Meta's past acquisitions.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jeff Montgomery

A pair of new high-dollar suits in Delaware's Court of Chancery showed last week that post-deal stock appraisal suits still have legs, despite some efforts to reduce potential from deal-price gains challenges. The week ended with Delaware's justices nipping $100 million from the attorney fees owed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk from $176.2 million to roughly $70.9 million, rejecting part of a Court of Chancery fee calculation.

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The Top In-House Hires Of January

By Sue Reisinger

Legal department hires over the first month of 2026 included high-profile appointments at SiriusXM, at a host of West Coast tech companies including Microsoft and Meta, and at Black & Decker. Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from January.

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