Order Blocking Redistricting 'Too Late In The Day,' Texas Says

By Spencer Brewer

Texas told the nation's high court that an order blocking the state's redistricting efforts came "too late in the day," telling the court Tuesday that the legal principle barring courts from meddling with election rules too close to election day bars the order at hand.

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Texas Court Asks How Far IRS Deal With Churches Would Go

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge on Tuesday prodded multiple churches and Christian advocacy groups that are trying to use a proposed deal with the IRS to endorse political candidates, questioning whether churches that are not part of the deal would assert similar rights.

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Texas Woman Says Business Group CEO Assaulted Her

By Mike Curley

The founder of a Texas business advocacy group is suing the state's largest business association and its CEO, saying he maneuvered his way to head her group and used his leverage to try to coerce her into a sexual relationship, then assaulted her.

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Oil Giants Sued Over Climate-Linked Rise In Insurance Costs

By Ben Adlin

The fossil fuel industry spent decades pushing a coordinated disinformation campaign to conceal its central role in climate change, saddling homeowners with a multibillion-dollar increase in insurance costs as disasters grew more frequent and severe, according to a proposed class action filed Tuesday in Washington federal court.

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Cruz Says Biden DOT Pressured Airports To House Migrants

By Britain Eakin

A new report spearheaded by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, concluded that the Biden administration pressured several airports to house migrants and let poorly vetted migrants board domestic flights, despite security risks associated with doing so.

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Chartwell Adds Insurance Pro From Texas In-House Role

By Lynn LaRowe

Chartwell Law Offices LLP has fortified its national insurance defense practice with a partner in Dallas who came aboard from an in-house position at Tokio Marine Group.

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Katten Adds Private Credit Pro From Winston & Strawn

By Rose Krebs

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP has added a former Winston & Strawn LLP attorney to bolster its private credit practice and capacity to advise clients about various types of financing.

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Brief

Texas Court OKs $46M Deal In GPB Capital Fraud Case

By Sydney Price

A Texas federal court granted final approval of a deal requiring several auditors of GPB Capital to pay $46 million to end claims about their alleged role in a $1.8 billion fraud scheme at the private equity fund.

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Texas Law Firm, Atty Reach Tentative Deal In Age Bias Suit

By Rose Krebs

An attorney who sued a Houston-based law firm alleging she was fired in retaliation for having complained about age discrimination has reached "a tentative agreement" to resolve the matter, according to a filing in Illinois federal court.

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Atty Error Led To $400K Death Settlement, Insurer Tells Court

By Hope Patti

An insurer for several companies managing a South Carolina apartment complex was forced to settle a wrongful death suit after an attorney failed to meet filing deadlines and defaulted, it told a federal court, saying the attorney is on the hook for the $400,000 settlement and legal fees.

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More Info Sought As Search For Missing Atty Comes Up Short

By Emily Johnson

Georgia authorities have suspended their nearly two-week daily search and rescue efforts for Charles M. Hosch, co-founder of Dallas boutique Hosch & Morris PLLC, who was last seen on a hike on the Appalachian Trail on Veterans Day, but vowed to follow up on any information that could help them find Hosch.

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DOL Seeks To End 5th Circ. Fiduciary Rule Battle

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor asked the Fifth Circuit to dismiss two appeals defending a package of Biden-era investment advice regulations that had expanded the definition of a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which two Texas courts had blocked in 2024.

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Solar Energy Co. PosiGen Hits Ch. 11 After Loan Breach Suit

By Emlyn Cameron

Solar energy company PosiGen has entered into bankruptcy in Texas lugging at least $100 million in debt roughly a month after it was sued in a case alleging a breach of loan agreements.

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New Complaint Says Ex-Execs Turned Steward Into 'Zombie'

By Rick Archer

Bankrupt hospital operator Steward Health has filed hundreds of millions in new claims in Texas bankruptcy court against its former CEO and other executives, including allegations that they orchestrated a sale-leaseback deal that rendered the business an insolvent "zombie."

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Samsung Wants Units Dropped From Netlist IP Suit In Texas

By Elliot Weld

Samsung has asked a Texas federal court to dismiss two U.S.-based units from a patent infringement case filed by Netlist Inc., saying neither one is incorporated or has headquarters in the state of Texas.

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$255K In Fees To Google For 'Frivolous' Ramey Case Upheld

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a California judge's decision that a client of embattled intellectual property firm Ramey LLP must pay nearly $255,000 in fees and sanctions for bringing a "frivolous" patent suit against Google, finding the award to be "entirely proper."

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Sheppard Mullin Adds Jackson Walker PE Pro In Dallas

By Christine DeRosa

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP has grown its private equity offerings in the Lone Star State with the addition of a Jackson Walker LLP partner.

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Considerations When Invoking The Common-Interest Privilege

To successfully leverage the common-interest doctrine in a multiparty transaction or complex litigation, practitioners should be able to demonstrate that the parties intended for it to apply, that an underlying privilege like attorney-client has attached, and guard against disclosures that could waive privilege and defeat its purpose, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

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Bonus Spotlight

Magic Circle Firms Enchant Associates With Top-Tier Bonuses

By Tracey Read

U.S. associates at Linklaters LLP and Clifford Chance LLP have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, as the Magic Circle firms Wednesday became the latest to match the BigLaw standard for this year's associate bonuses.

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Analysis

After Big Win For 2 Trump Foes, A Third Faces 'Tougher Job'

By Phillip Bantz

The recent dismissal of federal criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey does little to help President Donald Trump's ex-national security adviser John Bolton, whose defense in a classified-materials case presents a thornier set of legal and factual issues, experts say.

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Roundup

Up Next At High Court: ISP Liability & State Subpoena Suits

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will return Monday for the first week of its December oral argument session, during which the justices will consider whether internet service providers can be held liable for contributing to their customers' infringing activity online and whether the subjects of state subpoenas are required to first challenge them in state court. 

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Interview

For Covington's Adrian Perry, Music Is A Family Affair

By Theresa Schliep

Despite having a famous rock star dad, Covington & Burling LLP partner Adrian J. Perry wasn't all that interested in being a musician as a young child, but he knew as early as 6 years old that he wanted to be a lawyer.

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Analysis

Calif. Privacy Agency Gaining Steam Ahead Of 5th Anniversary

By Allison Grande

California's data privacy regulator has taken several notable steps in recent months, including handing down its first penalty upward of $1 million dollars and finalizing long-awaited rules on topics such as cybersecurity audits and technologies that use artificial intelligence, and the groundbreaking agency shows no signs of slowing down as its fifth anniversary approaches. 

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Split 6th Circ. Shields Baker Donelson, Not City Councilman

By Matt Perez

In a published opinion, the Sixth Circuit has found that Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC is shielded by qualified immunity as outside counsel for the city of Nashville in litigation over the law firm's firing of a city election commission chair and member of the firm.

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Foley & Lardner Hit With Malpractice Suit Over Chancery Loss

By Rose Krebs

Foley & Lardner LLP has been sued in Delaware Superior Court by three officers of a now-defunct food recycling company who say the firm was negligent when representing them in a Chancery Court case that led to a $1.6 million judgment against them and another officer.

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DOJ Asks Court If It Can Release Epstein Files Under New Law

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking a New York federal court's permission to publicly release the files related to the investigation of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, clarifying Wednesday that it wants to release search warrant results, travel and financial records, police reports, and other materials.

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Keesal Young Poaching Suit Against Stradley Ronon Trimmed

By Madison Arnold

A California state judge cleared Keesal Young & Logan to pursue most of its lawsuit alleging Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young crossed the line when it recruited 10 former Keesal Young attorneys, finding that claims such as inducing breach of contract could move forward, in part, because of conversations among the attorneys.

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DOJ Says Ex-Employees Can't Challenge Firings In Fed. Court

By Rose Krebs

The government says a D.C. federal court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate a lawsuit filed by a former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and two other ex-Department of Justice employees, alleging they were unlawfully fired.

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Hub Hires: Todd & Weld, Freshfields, Shipman

By Julie Manganis

It was a busy November in Boston's legal community as another firm expanded into the market, and a longtime judge traded his gavel for the ability to address his growing concerns about the Trump administration.

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