Analysis

The Plaintiffs Atty Now 5-0 At Supreme Court With No Dissents

By Jeff Overley

It's true that Jennifer Bennett is undefeated at the U.S. Supreme Court, but it's also an understatement. Bennett's five wins, including two recent ones, were all unanimous decisions. They showed that the plaintiffs bar can still persuade a conservative supermajority. And they turned the tide after a spree of decisions keeping workers and consumers out of court.

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Ex-Judge Says 4th Circ. Ruling Undercuts Obstruction Charge

By Nate Beck

A former Wisconsin state judge who directed a defendant away from her courtroom to evade immigration agents told a federal court Wednesday that a recent Fourth Circuit ruling overturning a Salvadoran man's obstruction conviction in a separate case should erode the basis for her own conviction.

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9th Circ. Suspends 2 Attys For 6 Months Over AI Hallucinations

By Rae Ann Varona

The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday temporarily suspended two California immigration attorneys from practicing before the appellate court for filing briefs in a deportation relief case containing artificial intelligence-generated hallucinations, finding no excuse for their "extraordinary confession" of not vetting citations used by unlicensed brief writers.

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Colo. Firm Accused Of Giving Bad Immigration Filing Advice

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado personal injury law firm gave faulty legal advice to two clients regarding the filing of their immigration documents and caused them to lose their ability to lawfully work in the United States, the former clients alleged in Colorado state court.

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DHS' Mullin Tells Sens. Ábrego García Can Go To Costa Rica

By Jared Foretek

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told U.S. senators on Tuesday that his agency would "be happy to send" Kilmar Ábrego García to Costa Rica, and attorneys for the once-wrongfully deported Salvadoran national are now using the comment in court.

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6th Circ. Probes $450K Award In Farmworker Trafficking Case

By Melanie Dorsey

A Sixth Circuit panel on Wednesday examined whether a $450,000 punitive damages award in a farmworker trafficking case can stand when the jury awarded only economic damages, and whether a trial judge properly handled an unusual incident involving a spectator whose presence allegedly affected a plaintiff's testimony.

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Denver Man Says Anti-ICE Projection Led To Illegal Citation

By Zach Dupont

A man detained at a Denver protest for displaying anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement messages on the Colorado Supreme Court building said law enforcement violated his rights by citing him under an unrelated "commercial-advertising regulation," according to a complaint filed in Colorado state court Monday.

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Judge Questions Terms Of Student Loan Forgiveness Change

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge considering whether to block a new Trump administration rule that could kick millions of public sector and nonprofit employees out of a student loan forgiveness program repeatedly pressed a government lawyer Wednesday on the precise criteria the U.S. Department of Education would use to decide who is no longer eligible.

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Silencer Registration Rules Are Constitutional, 9th Circ. Says

By Ben Adlin

The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a Brazilian man's convictions in Washington state for having multiple guns, ammunition and an unregistered silencer, rejecting his argument that silencers are protected "arms" under the Second Amendment.

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BIA Panel Says Special Status Doesn't Permit Release On Bond

By Ganesh Setty

A Salvadoran national previously designated as an unaccompanied alien child upon arriving in the U.S. without authorization and who later obtained special immigrant juvenile status is still subject to mandatory detention during removal proceedings, the Board of Immigration Appeals has ruled.

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5 Things Associates Must Ask About Their Firm's Merger Plan

The associates who navigate law firm mergers best ask the right questions early, such as inquiring about partners' plans, to assess how the merger could affect their workflow and career path, says Jackie Bokser-LeFebvre at Major Lindsey.

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BigLaw Insider Trading Defendants Have Big-Name Legal Help

By Chris Villani

An insider trading case involving nonpublic information prosecutors say was stolen from some of the largest law firms in the U.S. has ensnared more than two dozen defendants, many of whom have turned to lawyers with notable clients including Donald Trump, Harvey Weinstein and Luigi Mangione.

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Hueston Hennigan Follows Milbank's Lead In Associate Pay

By Tracey Read

The race to match Milbank LLP's attorney pay hikes is officially on, with trial firm Hueston Hennigan the latest to announce it will increase associate pay by $10,000 to $20,000 annually.

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Goldstein Cites Addiction To Avoid Time, DOJ Seeks 8 Years

By Jared Foretek

Federal prosecutors recommended a 97-month prison sentence for convicted SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein, telling a Maryland federal court he has bilked the government out of more than $9.5 million in unpaid taxes. Goldstein, meanwhile, asked for a suspended sentence and supervised release, citing a "severe and longstanding gambling addiction."

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Rocade Capital Buys LFG To Create Combined $2B Lit Funder

By Ryan Boysen

Rocade Capital LLC has acquired fellow litigation funder Law Finance Group LLC, creating a combined platform that has deployed more than $2.3 billion and specializes in $10 million to $50 million deals, including post-judgment financing, portfolio deals and lending to plaintiff's firms.

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Court Reporter Shortage A 'Crisis,' Calif. Supreme Court Told

By Bonnie Eslinger

Two legal nonprofits urged the California Supreme Court to issue an order entitling low-income civil litigants to electronic recording if a live court reporter is not available, saying at a hearing Wednesday that a court reporter shortage in the Golden State has created a "crisis."

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Tenn. Firm Sanctioned For AI Misuse In Baker Donelson Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A Tennessee federal judge has sanctioned a Memphis, Tennessee, law firm over its misuse of artificial intelligence amid a malpractice suit against Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC, ordering the regional firm to reimburse costs associated with the matter and report the misconduct to the state's disciplinary counsel.

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Feature

'Read The Cases': Conn. Judge Offers AI Advice To Attys

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut federal judge told a gathering of attorneys Tuesday that his law clerks are not allowed to use generative artificial intelligence for any purpose involving legal research, his interns are barred from using it at all, and lawyers must be careful when relying on the material that the tools produce.

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Atty Can't Shake $120M Verdict In RICO, Defamation Dispute

By Carolina Bolado

An Alabama federal judge refused to disturb a $120 million verdict against a former Conrad & Scherer LLP managing partner, ruling there was enough evidence at trial for a jury to find the attorney liable on Drummond Co.'s racketeering and defamation claims.

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Graham Pushes Federal Tort Path After DOJ Drops $1.8B Fund

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Department of Justice seemed, at least briefly, to support a Republican senator's alternative solution to the "anti-weaponization" $1.8 billion fund that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday the department is abandoning.

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DOJ Sets New Healthcare Fraud Convictions Record

By Phillip Bantz

The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday announced that its Health Care Fraud Unit secured six jury trial convictions across the country in less than three weeks, with the cases involving more than $1.1 billion in fraud losses.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Dardarian Ho's Linda Dardarian

By Lynn LaRowe

Despite being on the other side of a disability rights case that will cost his municipality at least $150 million, Kevin McLaughlin, city attorney for Oakland, California, believes that if more lawyers were like Linda Dardarian, there would be far less lamenting about civility in the legal profession.

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