California Justices OK Standards For Updated Bar Exam

By Christine DeRosa

The California Supreme Court on Thursday approved a proposed set of qualification standards for experts involved in developing California's bar exam in the wake of a botched administration of the exam in February.

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Instacart Will Pay $60M Over FTC's Deceptive Delivery Claims

By Lauren Berg

Instacart has agreed to pay $60 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission claims it deceptively advertised "free delivery" on customers' first orders while charging a service fee and for not clearly disclosing the terms of its subscription membership.

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Nonclass Attys' $75M Fee Request Too High, Anthropic Says

By Adam Lidgett

Anthropic says the $75 million in fees that nonclass counsel requested as part of the artificial intelligence company's $1.5 billion copyright settlement with authors is far too high, arguing there is "scant justification" for the request.

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LinkedIn Data Access Settlement Rejected In Antitrust Case

By Matthew Perlman

A California federal court refused to approve a settlement requiring LinkedIn to stop conditioning access to its data interface on rivals agreeing not to use the data for a competing professional social network, a deal that included no damages but up to $4 million in attorney fees.

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SF, Oakland Near Settlement In Airport Name Trademark Fight

By Dorothy Atkins

The Port of Oakland has cut a tentative deal with the city and county of San Francisco to resolve a trademark infringement suit over Oakland renaming its international airport to include "San Francisco Bay," according to a joint stipulation filed in California federal court Wednesday.

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$10B Verdict Hinges On Witness Order, Katyal Tells Panel

By Craig Clough

Milbank's Neal Katyal urged a California state appellate panel to grant a new trial to a man who lost an estimated $10 billion verdict when a jury found he violated an oral agreement with his brothers over a real estate empire, saying the witness order violated a civil procedure rule.

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Calif. AG, Bar Officials Fight Bid To Stop ABS Fee-Sharing Ban

By James Mills

Both the California attorney general and the California State Bar are opposing a California attorney's attempt to block a new law preventing fee-sharing with out-of-state law firms owned by nonlawyers set to go into effect on Jan. 1.

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UC Researchers Near Reinstating $7B In DOE Grants

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge said Thursday she's inclined to grant a preliminary injunction ordering the Trump administration to reinstate $7 billion in Department of Energy grants awarded to researchers, saying they were canceled with form letters similar to those she's previously found to violate the Administrative Procedure Act.

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Pennsylvania Says DOJ Not Authorized To Get Voter Data

By Matthew Santoni

Pennsylvania shouldn't have to give the U.S. Department of Justice its voters' driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers because that data is not necessary for enforcing the federal laws the DOJ cited in its demand, according to a brief seeking dismissal of the DOJ's lawsuit.

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Anti-Fluoride Win Merits $9.5M In Fees From EPA, Judge Told

By Bonnie Eslinger

Anti-fluoridation groups urged a California federal judge in a hearing Thursday to grant them $9.5 million in attorney fees for winning a 2024 decision that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "optimal" fluoride level for drinking water poses an unreasonable risk of lowering children's IQ. 

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IRS Guidance Discriminates Against Wind, Solar, Groups Say

By Asha Glover

Several groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and the city of San Francisco, asked a D.C. federal court Thursday to block the Internal Revenue Service from instituting new tax credit rules that they say illegally discriminate against wind and solar projects.

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9th Circ. Revives National Forest Road Injury Claim

By Jonathan Capriel

A timber worker who suffered injuries when his excavator slid off a Washington road under the control of the U.S. Forest Service will get the opportunity to take his claims to trial, the Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday, saying a jury needs to decide whether the worker's employer or the federal government was responsible for the road's upkeep.

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Monarch Overhyped 'Driver-Optional' Tractors, Ex-Dealer Says

By Ben Adlin

A Washington farm supply store sued California-based Monarch Tractor — which bills itself as the maker of "the world's first autonomous tractor" — in Seattle federal court Thursday, claiming the company's MK-V vehicles "did not perform as represented and were unable to operate in the autonomous manner represented."

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Analysis

Top Trade Secrets Decisions Of 2025

By Ivan Moreno

The Ninth Circuit clarified the rules of engagement in trade secrets disputes with guidance on when confidential information must be precisely detailed during litigation, and jurors delivered a $200 million verdict against Walmart over product freshness technology. Here are Law360's picks for the biggest trade secrets decisions of 2025.

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ITC Clears Toy Gun Imports, Will Review Smart Rings, Vapes

By Dani Kass

The U.S. International Trade Commission has had a busy week in intellectual property, determining a series of toy gun imports don't infringe Spin Master patents licensed to Hasbro, instituting reviews requested by companies including Ouraring, AbbVie and Juul, and receiving several new complaints.

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SF Must Reinstate Worker Fired For Violating COVID Vax Rule

By Gina Kim

A California federal judge ordered San Francisco to reinstate a 311 call center agent who was fired for violating a COVID-19 vaccination mandate after he sought an exemption based on his Muslim faith, ruling Thursday that the plaintiff has made a "prima facie case for religious discrimination."

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Brief

AT&T Worker Takes 401(k) Forfeiture Suit To 9th Circ.

By Jack McLoone

An AT&T worker has turned to the Ninth Circuit after a California federal judge spiked his proposed class action alleging that the telecom giant misspent employee 401(k) plan forfeitures. 

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Feds Urge Justices To Keep SEC Disgorgement Power Intact

By Katryna Perera

The Trump administration has joined the call for the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve a circuit split over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's disgorgement powers, urging the justices to find that alleged fraudsters should be required to give up illegal profits even if the government can't show investors lost money.

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Theta, CEO Accused Of Crypto Fraud In Whistleblower Suits

By Katryna Perera

Two whistleblower complaints have been filed against Sliver VR Technologies, its blockchain subsidiary Theta Labs Inc. and their CEO, alleging they ran pump-and-dump and other fraud schemes to artificially inflate the company's token prices.

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AI Energy Co. Stem Inc. Beats SPAC Merger Investor Suit

By Emilie Ruscoe

Artificial intelligence-driven energy storage company Stem Inc. and its brass no longer face investor claims of making misstatements ahead of a $1.35 billion merger with a blank check company after a judge found their latest complaint revisions didn't fix earlier issues.

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Vegas Sun Wants Justices To Revive Protective Pact

By Bryan Koenig

The Las Vegas Sun wants the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a Ninth Circuit decision that nixed an agreement protecting it from the Las Vegas Review-Journal's alleged plan to drive it out of business, arguing that the old pact with the more conservative paper was valid even without express government approval.

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Oakland Diocese To Continue Ch. 11 Plan Talks

By Rick Archer

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland and representatives of sexual abuse claimants told a California bankruptcy judge Thursday they are ready for another month of talks to try and reach an agreement on a Chapter 11 plan for the diocese.

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Reviewing 2025's Most Pertinent Wiretap Developments

2025 was a remarkable year in the world of web tracking wiretapping litigation, not only for the increased caseload but also because of numerous developing theories of liability, with disputes expected to continue unabated in 2026, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

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7 Strategies To Optimize Impact Of Direct Examination

Direct examination is a make-or-break opportunity to build a witness’s credibility, so attorneys should adopt a few tactics — from asking so-called trust-fall questions to preemptively addressing weaknesses — to drive impact and retention with the fact-finder, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

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Series

Nature Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Nature photography reminds me to focus on what is in front of me and to slow down to achieve success, and, in embracing the value of viewing situations through different lenses, offers skills transferable to the practice of law, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.

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$3.6B Hogan Lovells, Cadwalader Deal To Form Top 5 Firm

By Kevin Penton

Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft are planning to combine, creating what the firms say will be the world's fifth-largest firm by revenue, they announced Thursday.

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Fake Quotes In Pa. Patent Case Lead To Judicial Rebuke

By James Boyle

Two Barley Snyder attorneys have been directed to explain to a Pennsylvania federal judge how nonexistent quotes from cited cases appeared in a July filing, according to a recently published order that also denied a holiday light clip manufacturer's request for a temporary restraining order preventing a rival company from selling a similar product.

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Boies Schiller Must Face Fla. Fee Suit, Court Told

By Lynn LaRowe

In pushing back on a bid to toss a Florida state court lawsuit against Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and related defendants, a pharmaceutical mass tort law firm and other parties said the lawsuit outlines a clear breach of a nondisclosure agreement and interference with existing business relationships, making the complaint legally sufficient under Sunshine State law.

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Dems Offer Bill To Shine Light On High Court 'Shadow Docket'

By Ryan Boysen

Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to explain its "shadow docket" rulings, criticizing the high court for issuing "harmful, backwards decisions" that "impact millions of Americans' lives" but are often unaccompanied by a formal opinion.

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DC Circ. Told Transferred Ethics Suit Bolsters Newman's Case

By Adam Lidgett

Suspended Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman is contending that a decision in which an ethics complaint against a Fourth Circuit judge was transferred out of his home court bolsters her argument that her fellow circuit judges shouldn't have investigated her fitness to remain on the bench.

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Trump's Picks To Lead FDIC, CFTC Win Senate Approval

By Jon Hill

The U.S. Senate on Thursday signed off on two more of President Donald Trump's picks for top financial regulator jobs, confirming Travis Hill and Michael Selig as chairs of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, respectively.

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Senate Package Includes US Attorney, DC Judge Confirmations

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate confirmed 13 U.S. attorneys and three local judges for the District of Columbia as part of a nominations package confirmed 53-43 along party lines on Thursday.

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Chancery Sr. Magistrate Leaving Bench For Role As Neutral

By Rose Krebs

Delaware's Chancery Court will soon be losing its senior magistrate, as she is returning to private practice to serve as a professional neutral.

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