Meta Must Face Mass. AG's Instagram Addiction Suit

By Chris Villani

Meta Platforms Inc. will have to face a suit brought by the Massachusetts attorney general claiming the company is illegally hooking kids on Instagram, the state's top court ruled Friday.

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Judge Presses DOJ On Immigrant Bond Denials After Report

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday said she was "concerned" by a published report suggesting that immigration judges are being instructed to deny all bond requests regardless of merit, after she and other judges ordered that detainees be given hearings.

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Ed. Dept. Urges Judge Not To Broaden Admissions Data Block

By Carolyn Muyskens

The Trump administration is urging a Massachusetts federal judge not to expand his order blocking the U.S. Department of Education's collection of detailed college admissions data for several states' public institutions to cover additional schools, including private colleges.

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Judge Refuses To Halt Decision In South Sudan TPS Fight

By Ganesh Setty

A Massachusetts federal judge denied the Trump administration a stay as it appeals her decision postponing its revocation of deportation protections for South Sudanese nationals, saying a database it now invokes doesn't alter her conclusion of a likely pretextual revocation.

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Battery Recycler Files Ch. 11 With $143M+ Debt

By Emily Lever

Massachusetts-based battery recycler Ascend Elements has filed for Chapter 11 in Texas with upward of $143 million in debt, saying it is hard up on cash at its early stage of development and needs to reorganize to meet its long-term goals.

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Interior Says National Parks Signage Suit Is A Political Dispute

By Crystal Owens

The U.S. Department of the Interior is asking a federal court to deny conservation groups' bid to block an order instructing U.S. National Park Service staff to remove signs containing information about slavery, Indigenous nations and climate change, saying their challenge is an "invitation to the political thicket."

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Roundup

Real Estate Recap: Q1 Dealmakers, Tariff Creep In Contracts

By Real Estate Authority Staff

Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including the law firms that led real estate and hospitality deals in the first quarter, and examples of how tariffs are showing up in real estate contracts one year on.

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Boston Beer Hit With $175.5M Verdict In Aluminum Can Case

By Hailey Konnath

An Illinois federal jury has returned a $175.5 million verdict against a Boston Beer affiliate in a case alleging that the company didn't purchase the agreed-upon amount of beverage cans from Ardagh Metal Packaging USA Corp., according to a disclosure filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Opinion

Judicial Restraint Anchors Constitutional Order

Contrasting opinions in two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings — Trump v. CASA and Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections — demonstrate how the judiciary’s constitutionally entrusted role can easily be preserved or disrupted, and invite renewed attention to the enduring importance of judicial restraint, says Ninth Circuit Judge J. Clifford Wallace.

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DLA Piper Defeats Fired Associate's Claims Of Pregnancy Bias

By Pete Brush

A federal jury in Manhattan declined to award damages Monday to a former associate who says DLA Piper unlawfully fired her after she announced she was pregnant, absolving the BigLaw firm hours after tense closing arguments.

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Q&A

Former Pardon Atty Says Trump's Clemency Grants Hurt DOJ

By Phillip Bantz

Former U.S. Department of Justice pardon attorney Liz Oyer spoke recently with Law360 about how the pardon process has changed, the impact the shift might have on the DOJ and how the system could be reformed.

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DOJ Urges DC Circ. To Revive Trump EOs Targeting Firms

By Alison Knezevich

The D.C. Circuit should individually review each section of President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting four law firms, allowing certain portions to stand if others are blocked, the U.S. Department of Justice argued in a new filing urging the court to revive the measures.

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Analysis

The Justices Had Their Say On Immunity. Is A DC Jury Next?

By Chris Villani

The limits of presidential immunity are once again set to be tested after a D.C. federal judge ruled President Donald Trump must face civil claims over the Jan. 6, 2021, riots, clearing the way for trial and potentially another high-stakes appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Meta Pulls Some Attys' Social Media Addiction Ads

By Rachel Rippetoe

After losing a bellwether trial last month in one of a slew of cases from plaintiffs who claim to have been harmed by social media, Meta has begun removing ads from attorneys seeking clients with similar claims.

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Brief

EEOC To Produce Law Firm DEI Letter Records By May 15

By Kelcey Caulder

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a federal court Monday that it would give two law professors documents related to 20 letters the agency sent to law firms over their purported diversity, equity and inclusion practices by May 15.

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Morgan & Morgan Sued Over Firing Amid Nevada Expansion

By Emily Sawicki

Personal injury titan Morgan & Morgan is facing allegations from a former firm attorney in California state court alleging the Golden State lawyer was pressured to file suits in neighboring Nevada despite having an inactive law license and no experience practicing there, and was then harassed and wrongfully fired over the filings.

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Atty Says Ogletree Can't Litigate Against Her In 2 Similar Cases

By Adrian Cruz

A Georgia attorney said Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC should be disqualified from serving as defense counsel in a discrimination suit she's working on while simultaneously litigating against her on behalf of her ex-employer in a similar matter.

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NJ Man Who Sought To DQ US Atty Leadership To Plead Guilty

By Gina Kim

A criminal defendant who joined a pending bid to disqualify assistant U.S. attorneys overseeing the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey and escalated a constitutional challenge to its leadership structure told a federal judge Saturday he plans to plead guilty in his drug case. 

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket this past week featured a mix of high-stakes settlements, fast-moving deal litigation, governance disputes and a notable post-trial ruling involving fraud-tainted loans.

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