5th Circ. Rules No-Show Attys Not Reason To Ax $79M Payout

By Morgan Conley

The Fifth Circuit won't let a Taiwanese shipping magnate escape a $79 million judgment, ruling that the failure of his then-attorneys from Robins Kaplan LLP to appear at a hearing in Texas federal court to defend him wasn't extraordinary enough to warrant lifting the judgment.

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Calif. Law School Professor Retires Amid Capitol Riot Fallout

By Justin Wise

John Eastman, a Chapman University law professor and attorney who has represented President Donald Trump, is retiring from his faculty position amid fallout within the university over his appearance at a Washington, D.C., rally that preceded a deadly riot in the U.S. Capitol.

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Texas Courts Order Sensitive Docs Filed Offline After Breach

By Ben Kochman

The Eastern and Northern Districts of Texas have ordered parties to file only physical copies of certain "highly sensitive" documents in the wake of a sprawling, suspected Russia-backed data breach that compromised the federal courts case management system.

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11th Circ. Doubts Coal Co. Can Ditch $23M Kinder Morgan Suit

By Rosie Manins

Eleventh Circuit judges scoffed Wednesday at a coal company's argument it couldn't foresee that environmental regulation might hinder its ability to deliver product to a Kinder Morgan facility, suggesting the energy infrastructure giant may collect on a $23.4 million award.

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Ex-FBI Atty Avoids Prison After Altering Russia Probe Email

By Khorri Atkinson

A D.C. federal judge on Friday sentenced ex-FBI assistant general counsel Kevin Clinesmith to 12 months of probation for altering an email the agency used to obtain court authorization to surveil former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page in the lead-up to the Mueller probe.

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'I'm Not A Cat,' Atty Assures Judge Amid Zoom Filter Mishap

By Morgan Conley

A Texas attorney went viral Tuesday after he logged into a Zoom state court hearing unknowingly sporting a cat filter as he geared up to represent Presidio County in civil forfeiture proceedings, then assured the judge he was ready to carry on despite his feline facade.

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Legal Industry Still Largely White And Male, ABA Survey Says

By Marco Poggio

White men still occupy most law firm leadership roles and are more likely to move up the ladder than women, minorities and people with disabilities, according to a survey published Tuesday by the American Bar Association.

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These Firms Steered The Most Cases In The Last 3 Years

By Xiumei Dong

Attorneys have fielded hundreds of thousands of civil lawsuits in federal district courts over the past three years, according to Lex Machina's Law Firms Activity Report released Thursday. Here, Law360 Pulse digs into which law firms racked up the most litigation work.

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Duane Morris Trial Vet Remembered As A 'Wunderkind'

By Rachel Rippetoe

Retired Duane Morris legal malpractice and trial partner Jim Krieg, remembered as a "true lawyer's lawyer" with a wicked sense of humor and wit, has died at age 70, the firm confirmed Tuesday.

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CPSC Must Redo Rule Banning Chemicals From Kids' Toys

By Mike Curley

The Fifth Circuit has sent a rule banning the use of certain plastic-softening chemicals from children's toys back to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, ruling that it didn't give the public enough time to comment when it changed its justification for the final rule.

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TikTok $1.1M Settlement Over Kids' Data Denied Final OK

By Kevin Penton

TikTok and a class of parents and children who claimed that the short-form video app collected and shared personally identifiable information about minors without parental consent did not receive final approval for a proposed $1.1 million settlement after the judge found that new deadlines in the case were not publicized.

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Pa. Protesters Charged With Gluing Judges' Office Doors Shut

By Matthew Santoni

Two Pittsburgh residents were charged Tuesday with gluing the doors shut at three Pennsylvania judges' offices after failing to get enough people to stage planned demonstrations against evictions, the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office said.

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George Floyd's Girlfriend Describes Addiction At Chauvin Trial

By Cara Bayles

During the fourth day in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis Police officer charged with George Floyd's murder, jurors heard from Courteney Ross, Floyd's girlfriend of three years. Her testimony ranged from their favorite date spots to their shared struggles with opioid addiction.

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Ex-Howard & Howard Atty Tapped As Mich. Bankruptcy Judge

By Kevin Penton

The Sixth Circuit has appointed a bankruptcy litigator previously with Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC as a judge with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

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Inventor Group Defends Albright After Fed. Circ. Rebuke

By J. Edward Moreno

Inventor group US Inventor has chimed in on a contentious case in which the Federal Circuit criticized U.S. District Judge Alan Albright for taking too long to rule on transfer motions, opposing a group of law professors' bid to make the decision rebuking the judge precedential.

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Delaware Unveils Effort To Make Its Judiciary More Diverse

By Rose Krebs

Delaware's chief justice announced Monday that the state's judiciary is launching an initiative aimed at tackling an issue the First State has long struggled with: building more diversity in its bar and on its bench.

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What Newsom's Revised Budget Would Mean For Calif. Courts

By Rachel Rippetoe

California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a revised budget last week that would allocate more than $1 billion in additional funds to the judicial branch.

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Justices Say Tribal Police Can Detain Non-Indians

By Andrew Westney and Diamond Naga Siu

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a Ninth Circuit decision limiting tribal police authority on public highways within reservation boundaries, saying the need to protect public safety requires that tribal police be able to detain non-Indian suspects.

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Girardi Firm Trustee Can Hire Atty To Chase Wife's Assets

By Lauren Berg

Girardi Keese's bankruptcy trustee can hire a social media-savvy lawyer who has criticized the law firm founder's estranged wife, reality television star Erika Girardi, to investigate whether she has assets belonging to the defunct practice, a California federal judge ruled from the bench Tuesday.

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Justices Won't Hear Dispute Over Atty Fees In Patent Cases

By Tiffany Hu

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a question on courts' allegedly "inconsistent and contradictory" discretion over attorney fees in a patent case involving lost luggage technology.

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Ex-BigLaw Atty Says SEC Fails To Prove Securities Fraud

By Al Barbarino

An ex-BigLaw attorney-turned-hedge fund pro who was sentenced last month to six months in prison for bankruptcy fraud wants a New York district court to toss a parallel civil suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, arguing that the agency failed to state a securities fraud claim.

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High Court Says FHFA Director Must Be Removable

By Jon Hill

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the tenure protection given to the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency is unconstitutional, clearing the way for the Biden administration to sack the agency's Trump-appointed chief.

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Why Willkie, Longford Want Their $50M Funding Deal Public

By Steven Lerner

The $50 million litigation funding agreement between Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Longford Capital Management LP is a market milestone in the acceptance of third-party financing among lawyers and clients alike. Here, leaders from Willkie and Longford tell Law360 Pulse why they made the deal public.

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Video Tech Glitches, Masked Jurors Spark 'Inevitable' Appeals

By Jack Karp

Technical hiccups in videoconferencing, masked jury selection and off-screen witness coaching are some of the pandemic-related issues cropping up in a growing number of appeals attorneys call inevitable.

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Dead Atty's Common Law Widow Can't Dispute Remains Move

By Kevin Penton

A Texas appellate court has determined that a woman who identified herself as the common law wife of a deceased Lone Star State attorney did not have standing to challenge the moving of his remains to Louisiana.

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Judiciary Seeks $1.54B For Renovations, Better Security

By Ryan Boysen

The U.S. federal court system has asked Congress for $1.54 billion to beef up security, renovate aging courthouses and overhaul inadequate IT systems, as lawmakers contemplate a massive, multitrillion-dollar infrastructure bill.

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Conn. District Removes Mask Mandates, With Conditions

By Sameer Rao

Noting the state's relative success in promoting COVID-19 vaccination, Connecticut's U.S. District Court on Monday issued a new order that officially opens federal courthouses to more people.

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Ex-SFO Official Contradicts Colleague On ENRC Fraud Inquiry

By Christopher Crosby

A former SFO official testified on Tuesday that he had not instructed a subordinate to handle a fraud inquiry into Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. as a civil matter, contradicting a claim by an ex-investigator that the agency had earmarked the probe for settlement. 

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Do Virtual Courts Have A Harmful Effect On Litigant Empathy?

By Adrian Cruz

Courthouses and other legal bodies have had to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic in a similar fashion to many other institutions, by substituting most, if not all of their in-house proceedings with virtual ones typically done over Zoom. But do these virtual courts have a hidden side effect that puts litigants at a disadvantage?

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Analysis

The 6 Biggest Moments From ENRC's Fraud Trial

By Christopher Crosby and Richard Crump

Eurasian Natural Resources Corp.'s abuse trial against the Serious Fraud Office and Dechert LLP has produced explosive moments from the witness stand. As the case heads toward closing arguments, Law360 looks at the lies, leaks and drunken boasts in its roundup of the biggest moments from the two-month trial.

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Cryptic US Crypto Rules Seen Pushing 'Good Actors' Abroad

By Michele Gorman

The U.S. needs a clear cryptocurrency framework for "good actors" who want to run their businesses with clarity, or risk continuing to lose companies moving abroad where regulations in this space are more apparent, a group of panelists said Thursday during the American Bar Association's annual meeting.

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Judge Cancels Avenatti's Defamation Suit Against Fox News

By Jack Karp

Fox News shook off a defamation lawsuit from embattled high-profile attorney Michael Avenatti Friday, with a Delaware federal judge saying news outlets can't be held liable for minor mistakes they make while reporting on public figures.

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Do Diversity Reviews Actually Advance Progress?

By Cara Bayles

In recent years, corporate clients have been asking firms more and more for internal demographic data, in an effort to hold BigLaw to its diversity goals. But can client pressure and data gathering actually produce results?

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Del. Justices Say Gellert Scali Must Face Malpractice Claim

By Rose Krebs

The Delaware Supreme Court ruled Monday that Gellert Scali Busenkell & Brown LLC can't escape a legal malpractice claim lodged by a homebuilder that contends it suffered damages due to the firm's negligent representation amid loan restructuring disputes with a bank.

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Supreme Court Evacuated Over Truck Bomb Threat

By Ryan Boysen

The U.S. Supreme Court and other government buildings in Washington, D.C., were evacuated on Thursday afternoon when a man parked a truck near the U.S. Capitol and told police it was filled with explosives, before surrendering hours later after a tense standoff.

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Powell, Wood Among Attys Sanctioned Over Election Suit

By Hailey Konnath

Sidney Powell and L. Lin Wood were among nine lawyers hit with sanctions Wednesday for their November lawsuit challenging the results of the 2020 election, litigation that a Michigan federal judge slammed as a "historic and profound abuse of the judicial process."

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Ex-NFL Team GC Accused Wilkinson Of 'Trickery'

By Rachel Scharf

Court filings unsealed Wednesday revealed that a suit by the Washington Football Team's former general counsel against litigator Beth Wilkinson accused her of lying to glean details about a confidential settlement during her probe into accusations of sexual harassment in the team's front office.

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Ex-Cooley Atty Sentenced To 7½ Years For UK Fraud

By Richard Crump

A former Cooley attorney was sentenced to 7½ years in prison at a London court on Friday for "systematically defrauding" the U.S. law firm and an intergovernmental agency out of more than £640,000 ($886,000).

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These Firms Have The Most Women In Equity Partnerships

By Jacqueline Bell

Many law firms are seeing only modest progress as they seek to close the gender gap in their top ranks. But these firms are working to shake up that reality and forging a path to progress.

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Newman, Fed. Circ. Spar Over Judge's Call For Mediation

By Dani Kass

U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman and the Federal Circuit Judicial Council said Friday that they're open to letting a mediator review the judge's claims that an investigation into her competency violates her constitutional rights, but the two sides are at odds about how to handle an injunction bid.

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Arnold & Porter Adds SDNY Prosecutor To Litigation Group

By Emily Johnson

Arnold & Porter has boosted its complex litigation practice with the addition of a former Manhattan federal prosecutor who's working in private practice for his first time, the firm announced Monday.

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Calif. Judge Loses GOP Support In Bid For 9th Circ. Seat

By Jack Karp

A Ninth Circuit nominee who joined a California federal court with bipartisan support just last year has lost the backing of Republicans upset over a pair of her rulings amid a contentious confirmation fight for the higher-profile appellate post.

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Ark. Defeats Challenge To Judicial Election System

By Andrew Strickler

An Arkansas federal judge on Tuesday denied a voter challenge to the state's methods for electing appellate judges.

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Ex-Conn. Rep. Sentenced To Prison For 2017 Election Scheme

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut federal judge has sentenced former state representative and political consultant Victor Cuevas to eight months in prison, slightly less time than prosecutors sought after his guilty plea for conspiring to defraud a New Haven probate judge candidate.

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Judge Tosses $1B REIT Merger Suit After 7-Year Wait

By Jessica Corso

Retail landlord Excel Trust Inc. has finally escaped a shareholder suit tied to Blackstone Property Partners LP's $1 billion purchase of the company in 2015, but only after an investor complained to the Maryland Supreme Court that the judge overseeing the case took seven years to deliver the ruling.

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Philly Atty Who 'Threw It All Away' Gets Prison For Tax Fraud

By George Woolston

A Philadelphia-based personal injury attorney was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in federal prison for not paying income tax on more than $8 million in revenue he earned and for failing to pay almost $60,000 in payroll taxes.

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Analysis

NC Suit Addresses Strain Between Free Speech, Judiciary

By Hayley Fowler

A liberal North Carolina Supreme Court justice's decision to sue the Republican-led state Judicial Standards Commission over free speech concerns is a rare move, but one that squarely addresses mounting tension over the First Amendment's role in the judiciary, experts say.

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Cozen O'Connor, Morningstar Atty Team Up On AG Matters

By Kevin Penton

Cozen O'Connor and Morningstar Law Group have planned to work together to serve clients in need of legal assistance related to state attorneys general, the firms said Tuesday.

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Retired Justice Breyer Discusses The Importance Of Listening

By Katie Buehler

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said Thursday that the most important lesson he learned during his years working on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee with former Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy was to always listen to others, even if you don't agree with them.

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Eastman Witness Can't Identify Underage Voters, Error Rates

By Gina Kim

Under cross-examination Friday by a California State Bar attorney in John Eastman's disbarment trial, 2020 election skeptic Garland Favorito repeatedly came up short defending his report alleging widespread voter fraud in Georgia, conceding he didn't perform any analysis on his claims of 2,000 underage voters or hand recount error rates. 

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Judge Tells Sides To Simmer Down In NC Justice's Speech Suit

By Travis Bland

A North Carolina federal judge scolded state Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls and the state Judicial Standards Commission for "inflammatory" comments they have made as part of Justice Earls' lawsuit alleging the commission is stifling her right to free speech.

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Judges, Attys Must Pay Special Attention To Implicit Bias

By Jack Karp

While everyone has implicit bias, judges, lawyers and court staff can be particularly susceptible to unconscious prejudices, and their biases can have a greater impact on the people they encounter, according to a webinar held Monday.

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Witness Logistics Delay Ex-Cognizant Execs' Bribery Trial

By George Woolston

A New Jersey federal judge agreed Wednesday to delay the trial of two former Cognizant executives to give the government time to determine if a key witness will testify, despite objections from defense counsel who lamented discovery concessions and the energy spent in preparing for an early October start date.

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Senate Dems Slam Billionaire's Atty In Thomas Gift Probe

By Courtney Bublé

Senate Democrats on Friday sharply criticized a lawyer for billionaire David Sokol, who reportedly provided U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas with gifts and perks that the justice did not disclose, specifically chiding the attorney's invoking of comments from Justice Samuel Alito as a justification to not respond to their oversight requests.

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Former Texas Atty Pleads Guilty To Bilking Clients

By Rachel Rippetoe

A former San Antonio lawyer who had surrendered his law license and filed for bankruptcy after being accused of mishandling client funds in a "Ponzi-type scheme" has pled guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in Texas federal court.

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How Church's Ch. 11 Bid Could Shut Out Abuse Victims

By Rachel Rippetoe

Anticipating a flood of lawsuits from a new state law ending the statute of limitations on child sex abuse claims, the Archdiocese of Baltimore took refuge in bankruptcy court last month to shield itself from liability as it tries to ensure its solvency. It’s a strategy that dioceses around the country are using more frequently in what some attorneys say is a bid to escape the tort system.

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5th Circ. Backs Judge's Decision Not To Recuse In BP Oil Spill

By James Mills

A Fifth Circuit panel on Friday affirmed that a Louisiana judge's decision not to recuse himself from liability suits regarding the 2010 BP oil spill — because he was a former partner at Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann LLC when it represented a manufacturer connected to the spill — was justified, calling any error "harmless."

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Ex-Trump Atty Jenna Ellis Pleads Guilty In Ga. Election Case

By Kelcey Caulder

Jenna Ellis, a lawyer affiliated with former President Donald Trump's 2020 election campaign, pled guilty Tuesday in the Georgia election interference case, becoming the fourth defendant to take a deal instead of going to trial.

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9th Circ Rejects Ex-NS8 Legal Chief's Fraud Coverage Bid

By Abraham Gross

The ex-chief legal officer of defunct tech company NS8 Inc. is not entitled to coverage for underlying litigation alleging he breached his fiduciary duty by failing to report fraud by the ex-CEO., the Ninth Circuit affirmed Tuesday.

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​​​​​​​Dentist Hired Hit Men To Kill Florida Law Professor, Jury Told

By David Minsky

A dentist in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, paid two men to kill his sister's ex-husband, a Florida law school professor who was locked in a bitter custody dispute and seen as a "big problem" because he wouldn't relocate back to South Florida with his children, a state prosecutor told a jury Thursday.

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Santos Pleads Not Guilty To New Charges, Gets Trial Date

By Katherine Smith

U.S. Rep. George Santos pled not guilty to a 10-count superseding indictment charging him with lying to election officials and stealing campaign contributors' personal identity and financial information during a court appearance Friday where a New York federal judge set a September 2024 trial date.

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Analysis

Mass. Attys Fret As Top Court Weighs Trial Time Limits

By Chris Villani

Massachusetts' top appellate court is slated to hear oral arguments Friday over whether trial judges can limit how much time lawyers have to make their case to juries, setting off alarms in the plaintiffs bar.

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Club Urges 2nd Circ. To Affirm Sanctions In Harassment Case

By Emily Sawicki

A New York social club is urging the Second Circuit to affirm a sanctions order against former counsel for a onetime employee who sued the club on sexual harassment claims but whose "continuous pattern of egregious misrepresentations and other misconduct," as the club called it, sank the case.

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Interview

Ex-Calif. Top Judge On Facing & Fighting Sexism In The Law

By Hannah Albarazi

Recently retired California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye broke through barriers on her rise to the top of the Golden State's judiciary, but as a law student she endured a haunting experience that would shape her legal career.

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Ex-Fla. Atty Seeks Lenient Sentence In NFL Fraud Case

By Ryan Boysen

Disbarred Florida attorney Timothy Howard is asking for mercy after pleading guilty to masterminding a bizarre scheme that stole millions from litigation funders and retired NFL players, saying the fact that he himself has "lost everything" in the fallout means he should receive "significantly" less prison time than the 14 to 17 years federal prosecutors are seeking.

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Analysis

Sen. Cruz: There's A 'Deliberative' Process For Judicial Noms

By Courtney Bublé

Texas, the second-most populous state in the country, has the most judicial vacancies of any state, but filling those empty seats won't be easy given the veto power the state's two Republican senators have over district court nominees picked by President Joe Biden.

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US High Court Takes Up Expert-Witness Rule In Drug Case

By Cara Salvatore

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to review an expert-testimony rule concerning opinions on defendants' state of mind, taking up a drug transportation conviction handed down after a government expert said couriers generally know about their cargo.

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Avenatti Jury Pushed To 'Rat Out' Holdout Juror, Atty Says

By Pete Brush

The trial judge who presided over disbarred lawyer Michael Avenatti's conviction for pilfering money from his then-client, porn star Stormy Daniels, improperly prodded jurors to "rat out" a holdout who didn't want to convict, Avenatti's lawyer told the Second Circuit Friday.

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Up Next At High Court: Court Notices, Fees & No Fly List

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court returns Monday to kick off a new calendar year by hearing arguments over the proper way to notify migrants of immigration court removal procedures, the constitutionality of state legislature-mandated general impact fees and whether prosecutors can present substitute expert witnesses at criminal trials.

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Girardi '​​​​​​​Exaggerating His Symptoms,' Unsealed Order Says

By Lauren Berg

A Los Angeles federal judge concluded that disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi is "exaggerating his symptoms" to back a claim that he has dementia, finding that he is competent to face trial on charges that he stole millions of dollars from his clients, according to an order unsealed Friday.

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Trump Should Reveal Atty Advice In Docs Case, Feds Say

By David Minsky

The Special Counsel's Office urged a Florida federal court to force former President Donald Trump to reveal advice he received from his attorneys about retaining classified records if he plans to cite that as a defense in his upcoming criminal trial, in which he's accused of illegally keeping said documents after leaving office in 2021.

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Senate Confirms Biden's 1st Texas District Judge

By Courtney Buble

The U.S. Senate voted 83-14 on Tuesday to confirm U.S. Magistrate Judge John Kazen of the Southern District of Texas to serve as a district judge on the bench, approving President Joe Biden's first appointee to a district judgeship in the state.

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Analysis

Wary Justices Have Many Off-Ramps In Trump Ballot Dispute

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court took on an influential role, however unwanted, in the 2024 election when it agreed to review former President Donald Trump's disqualification from Colorado's primary ballot, but the court's decision to conduct a broad review of the ruling created several off-ramps that would allow the justices to avoid answering some of the stickiest questions over Trump's ability to hold office.

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Feds Ask High Court To Block 'Ghost Gun' Exemption

By Mike Curley

The federal government is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and block an injunction exempting two companies that sell so-called ghost guns, which lack serial numbers, from a rule classifying the kits as firearms, saying the Fifth Circuit's current ruling creates a loophole that will result in a "flood" of untraceable weapons in the country.

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Feds Seek Over 5 Years For NYC Atty In $18.8M Ponzi Scheme

By Andrea Keckley

Federal prosecutors are seeking 5¼ to 6½ years in prison for a New York City attorney who admitted to running an $18.8 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded real estate investors, in addition to separately laundering funds from an expansive insurance fraud scheme.

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Fla. Judge Drops Bid To Avoid Depo In Rival's Ethics Case

By Jack Karp

A Florida state appellate judge told the state's highest court Tuesday he will comply with a disciplinary panel's order for him to sit for a deposition in an ethics case against a former campaign rival.

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Roberts, Thomas Don't Use Marshals For Travel Security

By Katie Buehler

Newly released U.S. Marshals Service reports show U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas have not used the agency's security services in recent years, a decision that a watchdog says shields their off-hours travels from public scrutiny.

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Calif. Judges Get Guidance On When To Report Atty Misconduct

By Emily Sawicki

California judges need not always report attorney misconduct to the state bar, according to the latest opinion issued by the California Supreme Court's ethics watchdog on Thursday, advising when judges are compelled to report attorney misdeeds.

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Feds' Crypto Focus Is No Longer On 'Whack-A-Mole' Cases

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Department of Justice is no longer playing "whack-a-mole" in its crypto cases, and instead is taking on large-scale actors in the hopes of encouraging industrywide compliance, veteran crypto-focused prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office said Friday.

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Colo. Judge Rejects Trump's Atty Fee Bid In Ballot DQ Suit

By Thy Vo

A Colorado state judge has denied former President Donald Trump's bid for over $165,000 in attorney fees in a lawsuit seeking to bar him from the ballot in the upcoming presidential election, with the judge finding one of the dropped claims was not frivolous.

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Coats Rose Atty Fired Over Threatening Letter To Judge

By Britain Eakin

The Texas law firm Coats Rose PC terminated one of its attorneys believed to have sent intimidating messages on firm letterhead to an immigration judge running for a judgeship in the 151st Civil District Court of Harris County, the firm confirmed to Law360 on Wednesday.

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Justices Lean On Both Sides In ATF Bump Stock Rule Case

By Y. Peter Kang

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday considered whether bump stocks can be considered machine guns under an Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rule banning the devices, knocking holes in opposing interpretations of the National Firearms Act's definition of a machine gun.

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Murdaugh Prosecutor To Join Capitol Police On March 11

By Courtney Bublé

Johnny James, who was part of the team that successfully prosecuted former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh for murder, will start March 11 as a federal prosecutor in California with the U.S. Capitol Police and a U.S. attorney's office as part of the federal government's efforts to address the increasing number of threats around the country to members of Congress.

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ADI Can't Recoup Full Quinn Emanuel Bill In IP Theft Case

By Brian Dowling

A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday compared Analog Devices Inc.'s pricey hiring of a Quinn Emanuel attorney to monitor its former engineer's trade secrets trial in person to paying "a brain surgeon to pop a pimple" in an order denying restitution for those costs.

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Dickinson Wright Adds Ex-Assistant US Atty In Silicon Valley

By James Mills

Dickinson Wright PLLC is expanding its white collar team, announcing Tuesday it is bringing in a former assistant U.S. attorney as a member of its Silicon Valley office in Mountain View, California.

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Judge Orders Probe Into NY Atty's Secret Courtroom Meeting

By Marco Poggio

A New York court will look into whether a secret meeting last year between the local attorney representing a man charged with murder and the law clerk for the judge trying his case amounted to an ethical violation and possibly infringed the man's constitutional right to a fair trial, attorneys told Law360 Friday.

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Atty For Alex Jones' Infowars Gets OK To Bow Out Of Case

By Alex Wittenberg

A Texas bankruptcy judge on Monday approved a request by the lead attorney for Alex Jones' media company to step away from work on its Chapter 11 case following disputes with the debtor's chief restructuring officer, who the lawyer said withheld pay in retaliation for the conflict.

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Trump Floats Quasi-Advice Of Counsel Defense For NY Trial

By Lauren Berg

Donald Trump's attorneys told a New York judge they will argue that he lacked intent to commit the felonies alleged in his hush money case because the former president knew he had attorneys involved in the payoffs to women during his 2016 election campaign, but that it's not quite an advice-of-counsel defense.

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Florida Inmate Indicted For Threatening To Kill Federal Judge

By Lynn LaRowe

An inmate serving time in a Florida state prison for violent crimes has been indicted for allegedly sending letters on three dates last year that threatened to kill a U.S. district judge, prosecutors announced this week.

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Trump's Mystery Docket: Inside NY's Secretive Filing System

By Frank G. Runyeon

The first criminal indictment of a former American president may have arrived in 21st century New York, but it landed in a court system stuck in the past — where the official record is a disorganized and incomplete mass of paper with no accounting of what's inside.

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Feature

Trump Election Case Gives Young Ga. Judge 'A World Stage'

By Kelcey Caulder

As Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee prepares for perhaps the highest profile case he will ever see, legal experts and former state justices told Law360 that the young jurist has the ethics and temperament to not let the politically charged Donald Trump prosecution derail a promising legal career.

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Success Unlikely For Menendez As Independent, Analyst Says

By Carla Baranauckas

Although embattled Sen. Robert Menendez, under indictment on federal corruption charges, announced he will not run in New Jersey's Democratic primary but may seek reelection as an independent, the effort is likely to be fruitless, a Garden State political analyst said Friday.

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Trump Hit With Gag Order In NY Criminal Trial After Threats

By Frank G. Runyeon

The New York judge overseeing Donald Trump's hush money case on Tuesday imposed a limited gag order on the former president, barring him from speaking publicly about jurors or witnesses and limiting what he can say about any attorneys in the case, prosecutors, court staff or their families.

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Man Gets 14 Months For Threatening To Kill Justice Roberts

By Katie Buehler

A Florida man who admitted to calling U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts' chambers and leaving a voicemail in which he twice threatened to kill the justice has been sentenced to 14 months in federal prison. 

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High Court Sides With Texas Landowners In Takings Dispute

By Andrew McIntyre

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in favor of landowners in a dispute with Texas, finding the owners can pursue their takings claim pursuant to state law but leaving open a larger Fifth Amendment takings question.

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High Court Allows Trump's Gov't Cuts And Restructuring

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled the Trump administration can move forward with its plans for large-scale layoffs and reorganizations at various federal departments and agencies, lifting a California federal judge's order that had paused the efforts while a legal challenge continues.

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Sens. Float Bill To Protect Against AI Data Piracy

By Adam Lidgett

Federal lawmakers said Monday that they are floating a measure that would give creators the right to sue companies that use their work to train artificial intelligence models without their permission, a move that comes amid concerns over AI and intellectual property.

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New Jersey US Atty Faces Authority Challenge In Drug Case

By Carla Baranauckas

A New Jersey man facing federal drug and firearms charges is mounting what appears to be the first formal legal challenge to Alina Habba's continued role as acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, arguing that her appointment is unlawful and undermines the legitimacy of his prosecution.

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NY Law Mandating Judicial Fine Declared Unconstitutional

By Madison Arnold

A New York state appeals court has declared unconstitutional a statute that mandates a judge forfeit $1,000 to a plaintiff if the judge refuses to issue a writ of habeas corpus.

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5 Best Practices For Firms Designing DEI Programs

Nikki Lewis Simon, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Greenberg Traurig, discusses best practices — and some pitfalls to avoid — for law firms looking to build programs aimed at driving inclusion in the workplace.

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