Senate Democrats Urge Chamber Not To Recriminalize Hemp

By Sam Reisman

A group of Democratic U.S. senators on Tuesday urged the chamber's leaders not to adopt language in an appropriations bill that would drastically redefine the definition of legal hemp and which they say could ruin the nationwide hemp industry.

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Feds Seek Toss Of DC Hemp Store's Home-Rule Challenge

By Sam Reisman

The United States government on Monday urged a federal judge to dismiss a challenge to federal policy restricting the nation's capital from regulating marijuana and hemp sales, saying the local retailer that brought the action lacked standing to sue.

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NC Tells 4th Circ. New E-Cig Regs Fit With Federal Law

By Mike Curley

The state of North Carolina is asking the Fourth Circuit to shut down a bid by vaping interests to block a new law giving state tax officials the ability to fine companies for selling vapes not authorized by federal regulators, saying the authority to do so is preserved by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

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NY Cannabis License At Center Of Suit Against Fla. Broker

By Sam Reisman

The entrepreneurs who secured one of the earliest New York cannabis retail licenses as part of a legal settlement with the state allege in a new California state lawsuit that a Florida cannabis franchise broker frustrated their effort to sell a share of the venture.

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Texas Judge Denies TRO To Stop City Raids On Hemp Shop

By Jonathan Capriel

A Texas city doesn't have to return $400,000 in cannabis products it took from a smoke shop during a raid that the retailers claim leaned on faulty THC testing and false information, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying it is inappropriate for him to intervene in an ongoing state court criminal case.

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Smoke Shop Owners Slam NY Tribe's Sanctions Request

By Jonathan Capriel

Retailers accused by the Cayuga Nation of running an unsanctioned cannabis shop on tribal land have pushed back on a bid seeking sanctions against them for failing to turn over daily cannabis sales records despite a New York federal court's order to do so, arguing "two wrongs don't make a right."

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Ruling On Labor Peace Law Marks Shift For Cannabis Cos.

Currently on appeal to the Ninth Circuit, an Oregon federal court’s novel decision in Casala v. Kotek, invalidating a state law that requires labor peace agreements as a condition of cannabis business licensure, marks the potential for compliance uncertainty for all cannabis employers in states with labor peace mandates, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

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7 Document Review Concepts New Attorneys Need To Know

For new associates joining firms this fall, stepping into the world of e-discovery can feel like learning a new language, but understanding a handful of fundamentals — from coding layouts to metadata — can help attorneys become fluent in document review, says Ann Motl at Bowman and Brooke.

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'It's Confidential': Judiciary Chair Mum On Court System Strife

By Jeff Overley

The federal judiciary's leaders heard sharp criticism at a private meeting Tuesday regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's increasing willingness to block lower court decisions, according to remarks released publicly, and one of those leaders subsequently deflected requests for details during an official briefing.

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Feature

For Cahill Atty, Rare Disease Pro Bono Work Is Personal

By Mark Payne

John MacGregor of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP didn't have any experience in healthcare law before taking on a pro bono client that supports people with a rare form of epilepsy. MacGregor's son is one of them.

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Willkie Taps PE Head To Co-Lead The Firm In 2027

By Andrea Keckley

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP announced Tuesday that the nearly decade-long head of its private equity practice will step up to co-lead the firm as its joint chairman at the start of 2027.

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Sotomayor Warns Civics Undereducation Leads To Bad Laws

By Kevin Penton

Those looking to change the nation's laws first need to understand how they work and why they are in place, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor told a packed auditorium at New York Law School on Tuesday.

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Analysis

The Patent Workforce Is Attracting Fewer Attys, More Agents

By Theresa Schliep

The pool of patent practitioners registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has undergone a dramatic shift over the past few decades, with the number of attorneys taking the bar exam decreasing at the same time more patent agents are entering the field.

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Acting US Atty Denies Prosecution Of Lawmaker Is 'Selective'

By Parker Quinlan

The U.S. Department of Justice has requested that assault charges not be dismissed against U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, pushing back on claims the government is selectively prosecuting her following a confrontation with federal agents in May at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark.

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Former Judge Aims To Escape Suit Over Secret Atty Romance

By Ryan Boysen

Former Bankruptcy Judge David R. Jones wants out of a lawsuit claiming his secret romance scandal infected the restructuring of life insurance bond seller GWG Holdings Inc., arguing that he's clearly protected by judicial immunity.

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Husch Blackwell Used 401(k) Cash To Pay Bills, Ex-Atty Says

By Grace Elletson

A former Husch Blackwell LLP attorney sued the firm in Missouri federal court Tuesday, claiming it violated federal benefits law by delaying sending employees' 401(k) contributions to their retirement plan so that the cash could be used to pay for the firm's operating expenses.

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GOP Spending Bill Seeks $58M For Supreme Court, Marshals

By Courtney Bublé

The House Republicans unveiled their short-term spending bill Tuesday, and it includes an extra $28 million for security for the U.S. Supreme Court justices.

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Insurer Hits Hall Booth With $10M Suit Over Botched Defense

By Emily Johnson

A former client of Hall Booth Smith PC and its attorney allege the law firm botched its legal representation in an underlying suit related to a death at an indoor shooting range and caused the insurer $10.6 million in financial harm, according to a legal malpractice suit lodged in Georgia state court.

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Trump Taps US Atty Nominees For NC, NH And Louisiana

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump has named U.S. attorney nominees for Louisiana, New Hampshire and North Carolina.

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Ga. Justices Won't Reinstate DA Willis To Trump Election Case

By Kelcey Caulder

The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review a lower court's ruling disqualifying Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the 2020 Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and his co-defendants.

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