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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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

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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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Meta Loses Bid To Overturn Verdict In Flo Privacy Class Action

By Allison Grande

A California federal judge has refused to disturb a jury verdict that found Meta Platforms Inc. liable for using an online tracking tool to unlawfully obtain sensitive health data that users entered into the Flo menstrual tracking app, finding that there was nothing to justify reversing this result.

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Fla. Sues Porn Sites For Violating Age-Verification Law

By Carolina Bolado

Florida's attorney general has sued several online pornography platforms in state court, claiming they are openly violating a state law that requires them to verify users' ages before allowing access.

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Okla. Tribe Sues Social Platforms Over Youth Mental Health

By Emily Field

The Chickasaw Nation on Monday became the latest Native American tribe to lodge claims against social media giants in California federal court, alleging that the platforms harm their youth who are already at risk of mental health problems and suicidal ideation.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Calif. Gov. Taps Consultancy Exec For Privacy Agency Board

By Allison Grande

A business executive and consultant with "extensive leadership experience" in data privacy and corporate governance has been picked to sit on the five-member board that governs the California Privacy Protection Agency, the regulator said Monday. 

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LITIGATION

Google And AI Co. Sued Over Teen Death, Sexual Content

By Zach Dupont

A chatbot maker with ties to Google was hit with three lawsuits in federal court Monday, two in Colorado and one in New York, by the families of minors who blame the companies for their children's suicide, suicide attempt and exposure to sexually explicit material.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

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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Transmission Security Has A Critical Role In Healthcare

In light of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights' continuing enforcement initiative focusing on businesses' accurate and thorough security risk assessments under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, covered entities should not neglect the importance of transmission security, says John Howard at Clark Hill.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Litigation Spending To Keep Growing As Biz Risks Run High

By Jack Karp

Companies are likely to increase their spending on litigation next year, some by over 10%, as legal disputes become more complex, more contentious and more high-stakes, according to a new report out Thursday.

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Ex-Calif. Judge Gets 35 Years For Shooting Wife To Death

By Gina Kim

Former California state court judge Jeffrey M. Ferguson lost his bid for a new trial Wednesday and was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison for shooting his wife to death at home in a drunken rage, with the presiding judge expressing sympathy for his "extraordinary" son who tried to save his mother's life.

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Feds Want 3 Years For Girardi Son-In-Law's Chicago Contempt

By Lauraann Wood

Tom Girardi's son-in-law should receive a three-year prison sentence for his admitted role in helping the once-celebrated plaintiffs' lawyer steal millions from Lion Air crash victims, federal prosecutors in Chicago argued Wednesday.

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7th Circ. Pick Shrugs Off Conservative Group's Opposition

By Courtney Bublé

During her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Rebecca Taibleson, a federal prosecutor in Wisconsin tapped for the Seventh Circuit, fended off opposition to her nomination from conservative groups, antipathy that the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee called a "new low" for the committee.

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House Votes To End DC Judicial Nominations Commission

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 218-211 along party lines on Wednesday to eliminate the commission that vets and picks potential judicial nominees for Washington, D.C.'s local courts.

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Retired Judges Speak Out On 'Threats' To Constitution

By Courtney Bublé

More than 40 retired federal judges appointed by presidents of both parties released an open letter Wednesday, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, saying they sought to underscore the importance of the rule of law at a time when the nation's ideals "are under historic strain."

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Del. Judge's US Atty Application Plan Draws Blanche's Ire

By Lauren Berg

Delaware's chief district judge, a Trump appointee, is seeking applications for the state's U.S. attorney position to prepare for an upcoming vacancy in the interim position, a move that drew the ire of Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday.

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Giuliani Must Pay Attys $1.4M After Missing Bills Claim Fails

By Adrian Cruz

A New York state judge has awarded nearly $1.4 million to Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP in its lawsuit accusing former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani of racking up unpaid legal bills for the firm's work in various criminal, civil and administrative matters.

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Criminal Restitution Fails Defendants, Victims, Report Says

By Brandon Lowrey

Federal criminal restitution often fails to benefit victims of crime and throws defendants into a "Sisyphean struggle" with debt, with $100 billion in outstanding restitution deemed uncollectable, according to a report released this week by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

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SEC Policy Shift Could Foreclose Some Investor Class Actions

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a policy statement Wednesday that allows the use of mandatory arbitration by new publicly traded companies as its chief seeks to "make IPOs great again," but Democrats warned the move could shut the door to shareholder class actions.

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Ex-Law Student's Bias Suit In Wrong Forum, 4th Circ. Told

By Patrick Hoff

A Black former student at Washington University School of Law shouldn't be able to revive claims that she was suspended from campus and lost her scholarship after complaining about a professor's race bias because she filed the suit in the wrong state, the law school told the Fourth Circuit.

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Trump Could Swing Fed With This 1 Weird Trick: Ex-Fed Gov.

By Jon Hill

A former top Federal Reserve official told Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday that if President Donald Trump succeeds in quickly ousting Fed Gov. Lisa Cook, it could unlock an obscure mechanism for his allies at the Fed to sway future interest-rate decisions.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Adamski Moroski

Advisors LLC

Bowman & Brooke

Cheronis & Parente

Clark Hill

Davidoff Hutcher

Dechert LLP

DiCello Levitt

Edelson PC

Fields Han

Gibson Dunn

Girardi & Keese

Green LLP

Jeffer Mangels

Kirkland & Ellis

Labaton Keller

Latham & Watkins

Law Office of Craig Leydecker

Law Offices of Ronald A. Marron

Lewis Rice

Lowey Dannenberg

McKool Smith

Quinn Emanuel

Robins Kaplan

Saul Ewing

Siri & Glimstad

Skadden Arps

Social Media Victims Law Center

Spector Roseman

Troutman

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

American Family Association

Apple Inc.

BST & Co. CPAs LLP

BTI Consulting Group Inc.

CME Group Inc.

Common Sense Media Inc.

Families Against Mandatory Minimums

Georgia State University

Google LLC

Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

Meta Platforms Inc.

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

OpenAI OpCo LLC

The District of Columbia Bar

TikTok Inc.

Todd Snyder

Twitter Inc.

United Parcel Service Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Privacy Protection Agency

California State Transportation Agency

Chickasaw Nation

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Executive Office of the President

Federal Election Commission

Federal Reserve System

Federal Trade Commission

Judicial Conference of the United States

New York Supreme Court, New York County

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Postal Service

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

White Mountain Apache Tribe