Fire Forced Search Of Murder Suspect's Home, NJ Justices Told

By George Woolston

Prosecutors urged the New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday to reverse a lower court's suppression of evidence in the case of a Garden State man accused of killing his brother and his brother's family, arguing that an ongoing fire at the home where the evidence was recovered justified the warrantless seizure.

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NJ Justices Unsure Charity Immunity Applies To Clinic

By Carla Baranauckas

New Jersey Supreme Court justices appeared open on Monday to reviving a community health clinic patient's injury suit, questioning whether the organization's archived web pages and general claims of patient education qualified it for protection under the state's Charitable Immunity Act.

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NJ Bar Group Starts As 'Independent Voice' for LGBTQ+ Attys

By Jake Maher

A new LGBTQ+ affinity bar association for New Jersey — Q Law — has launched, seeking to create a community for LGBTQ+ lawyers and carry on a history of legal advocacy for gay rights in the Garden State.

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Doc Says No Duty To Preserve Emails Years Before Talc Suit

By Mike Curley

A doctor being sued by a Johnson & Johnson unit over an article linking mesothelioma with talc products is pushing back on the company's bid to sanction him for deleting his emails, saying he had no duty to preserve emails three and four years before the suit was filed.

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Harvard Prof Says Novo's Influence Didn't Boost Prescriptions

By Ben Adlin

A Harvard Medical School professor defended Novo Nordisk on Monday against allegations that it defrauded Washington state's Medicaid system by inducing doctors to overprescribe its hemophilia medication NovoSeven, testifying that his analysis showed the drugmaker's relationships with influential doctors didn't appear to increase prescriptions.

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SafeSport Says Coach's Claims Fail After His Arbitration Win

By Elaine Briseño

U.S. Gymnastics officials have asked a New Jersey federal court to toss the lawsuit brought by a coach who was temporarily suspended over abuse allegations, arguing he lacks standing to bring his case in court since he was reinstated following arbitration and there is no relief to provide.

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Analysis

'Frankly, They're Irrelevant:' ABA Ratings In Trump's 2nd Term

By Courtney Bublé

The American Bar Association, long considered the gold standard for rating judicial nominees, no longer gets to interview them as Trump officials claim the group's "not qualified" rating for some nominees during Trump's first term shows it is a biased and "leftist" organization. Ironically though, ABA ratings for President Donald Trump's second-term picks are mostly positive so far.

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Feature

The Lone Ranger Facing A BigLaw Powerhouse At High Court

By Jeff Overley

It might seem curious for a solo practitioner to decline offers of professional assistance in his first U.S. Supreme Court case. It might seem risky to go it alone against a BigLaw team led by an appellate icon. But a legal lone ranger arguing Tuesday at the high court is feeling confident, and he does have a friend proofreading briefs, just to be safe.

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3rd Circ. Weighs Arbitration Of Union Withdrawal Liability Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Third Circuit on Monday seemed inclined to reopen a dispute between two companies and a union over an $800,000 pension withdrawal bill, with judges questioning whether the parties must first arbitrate disputes about the timeliness of liability notices from the union.

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3rd Circ. Says FBI, US Attorneys Fumbled FOIA Requests

By Elizabeth Daley

The Third Circuit partially revived a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit lodged by a man convicted of mortgage fraud on Monday, agreeing that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Executive Office for United States Attorneys lacked justification for failing to give him certain information he asked for.

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New Loan Forgiveness Rule Targets Trump Critics, States Say

By Julie Manganis

Two lawsuits filed Monday, one by a coalition of states and the other by a group of cities, unions and advocacy organizations, are challenging a new Trump administration rule imposing "intentionally vague" and allegedly illegal restrictions on student loan forgiveness for public employees intended to stifle dissent.

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Landlords Fight States' Objection To RealPage Settlements

By Isaac Monterose

A group of landlords urged a Tennessee federal court to reject arguments lodged by several attorneys general who criticized $141.8 million worth of proposed antitrust settlements that aim to resolve multidistrict litigation accusing the landlords of using property management software company RealPage Inc.'s technology for rent price fixing.

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Brief

NJ Catholic Diocese, Priests Drop Suit Over Visa Rule Change

By George Woolston

A New Jersey Catholic diocese and five of its priests dropped their lawsuit alleging a U.S. Department of State regulation unlawfully deprioritized visa availability for foreign religious workers, according to a dismissal notice filed Monday.

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DOJ's UnitedHealth Settlement Highlights New Remedies Tack

The use of divestitures and Hart-Scott-Rodino Act compliance in the recent U.S. Department of Justice settlement with UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys underscores the DOJ Antitrust Division's willingness to utilize merger remedies under the second Trump administration, say attorneys at Buchanan Ingersoll.

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When Atty Ethics Violations Give Rise To Causes Of Action

Though the Model Rules of Professional Conduct make clear that a violation of the rules does not automatically create a cause of action, attorneys should beware of a few scenarios in which they could face lawsuits for ethical lapses, says Brian Faughnan at Faughnan Law.

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Goodwin Requiring 4 Days In Office, But Removes Tracker

By Anna Sanders

Goodwin Procter LLP will stop using certain technology to monitor in-office attendance while joining a growing list of BigLaw firms requiring U.S. attorneys to work in person at least four days a week, according to a memo obtained by Law360 Pulse.  

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ABA Changes DEI Scholarship Requirement Amid Lawsuit

By Emily Sawicki

A law school scholarship once meant for a "member of an underrepresented racial and/or ethnic minority" is now open to applicants who "have demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion," according to a change broadcast by an organization suing the American Bar Association over the scholarship's "categorical exclusion" of whites.

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Cannabis Cos. Allege Hinckley Allen Malpractice Cost $25M

By Adrian Cruz

A group of cannabis companies have claimed that Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP's alleged malpractice stemming from the purported decision to prioritize the personal interests of a manager in a 2017 investor suit ended up costing them over $25 million in damages.

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Feds Defend Cases Against James Comey, Letitia James

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday took a swing at bids by former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James to get their indictments thrown out, telling a federal judge the appointment of interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan was valid.

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Analysis

2 Doctrines Likely To Direct Justices' Review Of Trump Tariffs

By Dylan Moroses

When the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments Wednesday over whether President Donald Trump can impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, it will likely test two doctrines the justices have recently considered: the major questions and nondelegation doctrines.

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Judge Reminds Gov't To Follow Media Rules In James Case

By Jared Foretek

A Virginia federal judge has reminded the parties in the government's alleged bank fraud case against New York Attorney General Letitia James not to publicly discuss grand jury proceedings after U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan texted with a reporter about the case in October.

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OpenAI Sets Policy Against Legal, Medical Advice

By Y. Peter Kang

OpenAI has updated its user policy across its artificial intelligence platforms, including ChatGPT, saying its products can't be used by individuals to provide any legal or medical advice.

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DOJ Taps Hall Render Atty As UnitedHealth Merger Monitor

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice asked a Maryland federal judge Monday to appoint a Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman PC shareholder as compliance monitor as part of the settlement allowing UnitedHealth Group's merger with Amedisys.

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Brief

DC Public Defender Funding To Halt Because Of Shutdown

By Courtney Bublé

Funding for public defender services in Washington, D.C., is about to run out as the government shutdown drags on, according to a recent letter from members of the D.C. Courts Joint Committee on Judicial Administration.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz and Jeff Montgomery

From billion-dollar pharma feuds to shifting equity deadlines, Delaware's courts saw another week of battles over mergers, fiduciary duty and judicial limits.

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Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of October

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires over the past month included high-profile appointments at Starbucks, Hertz and Fannie Mae. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from October.

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