North Carolina

  • August 21, 2026

    Balancing The Scales: Diminished Capacity, Sentencing Rules

    The Michigan Supreme Court has overturned 25 years of state precedent by reviving the diminished capacity defense, and the justices in Pennsylvania said the Legislature is out of time to craft new sentencing guidelines for second-degree murder. Here, Law360 highlights access to justice stories arising from litigation, verdicts and judgments you may have missed.

  • August 21, 2026

    NC Co. Pushes Pretrial Appeal In Veterans' Fee Fight

    A North Carolina business that helps veterans apply for federal disability benefits wants to appeal a finding that it flouted the state's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act by charging fees without accreditation, arguing there's room for differences of opinion on major aspects of the ruling.

  • August 21, 2026

    Papa John's Wage Deal Is 'Collusive Fiction,' Judge Says

    A North Carolina federal judge rejected a proposed $225,000 settlement that would resolve delivery drivers' wage claims against a Papa John's franchisee, finding the deal was a "collusive fiction" that benefited the company and class counsel rather than the drivers, who would likely receive no more than $35,000.

  • August 21, 2026

    Hall Booth Fights Malpractice Discovery Amid Appeal

    Hall Booth Smith PC and two of its attorneys on Friday asked the North Carolina appeals court to pause a legal malpractice suit against it from the court-appointed receiver for two wrongfully convicted brothers awarded millions in an underlying suit, arguing their appeal challenging jurisdiction should be handled first.

  • August 21, 2026

    The Race Is On To Confirm Trump's Judges By Year-End

    President Donald Trump nominated 11 judges this past week, meaning 19 nominees are now in the pipeline. But how many can the Senate confirm before the end of the year, given that it will mostly be absent and consumed by the midterm election? 

  • August 21, 2026

    4th Circ. Leaves Bulk Of $22M Wells Fargo ADA Verdict Intact

    The Fourth Circuit ruled Friday that a $22 million jury verdict in favor of a former Wells Fargo employee who said he was terminated for seeking remote work was almost $2.9 million too high, telling the ex-worker to choose between a reduced award or a new trial.

  • August 20, 2026

    Vape Shop Says NC University Wants It Out Of Nextdoor Plaza

    A North Carolina-based vape shop sued High Point University in state court, accusing the private university of illegally trying to force it out of an adjacent shopping center by, among other things, having guards turn prospective customers identified as students away from the center's parking lot based on "campus rules."

  • August 20, 2026

    FTC Slams Amgen's Antitrust Shield Argument At 4th Circ.

    The Federal Trade Commission has urged the Fourth Circuit to reject Amgen's "sweeping" assertion that commercial agreements for acquiring the rights to patent applications are shielded from antitrust scrutiny, saying the company's position in an appeal related to blockbuster autoimmune drug Enbrel is a threat to longstanding understandings of antitrust law.

  • August 20, 2026

    Coal Co. Loses 4th Circ. Challenge To Black Lung Benefits

    The Fourth Circuit on Thursday upheld a Black Lung Benefits Act award to a former underground electrician, finding that an administrative law judge reasonably relied on two medical experts who linked his chronic lung problems to nearly 12 years of coal mine work.

  • August 20, 2026

    Asbestos Spinoff Bestwall Avoids Ch. 11 Trustee Takeover

    A bankruptcy judge in North Carolina won't appoint an independent trustee to take over the Chapter 11 case of Georgia-Pacific spinoff Bestwall, dealing a blow to a group of mesothelioma patients who argued a trustee might expedite the settlement process.

  • August 20, 2026

    Elevance Health Gets Final OK On $14.75M Nurse OT Deal

    A Virginia federal court granted final approval Thursday to a $14.75 million global settlement resolving five related suits against Elevance Health by nurses who accused the insurer of misclassifying them as exempt from overtime pay.

  • August 20, 2026

    NC Justices Asked To Limit Bar's Reach Over Former Judges

    A former state court judge has asked the North Carolina Supreme Court to review a Court of Appeals' ruling allowing the state bar to discipline ex-jurists, characterizing the decision as an "attack on an independent judiciary" and calling for the justices to resolve a question of statutory authority they left unanswered a decade ago.

  • August 19, 2026

    Pro-Business Foundation Backs J&J's Stelara Antitrust Win

    Insurer CareFirst's bid to revive an antitrust lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson over its acquisition of patents affecting competitors would throw cold water over drug company mergers, burden government regulators and strip the issue of intent out of antitrust enforcement, according to an amicus brief filed by the Washington Legal Foundation.

  • August 19, 2026

    Sinema Says Brief Signal Chat Can't Anchor NC Affair Suit

    A single exchange on the encrypted messaging app Signal became the focal point of former Arizona U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's testimony on Wednesday as she sought to convince a North Carolina federal judge that she cannot be hauled into court in the Tar Heel state over an affair — which she declined to characterize as a "passionate" romance — she had with her married security guard.

  • August 19, 2026

    Feds Hit With ESA Suit Over Green Floater Mussel Inaction

    An environmental group accused the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of failing to follow through with protections for a freshwater mussel known as the green floater three years after it proposed to list the mussel as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

  • August 19, 2026

    Feds Accuse Comey Of Trying To 'Shortcircuit' '86 47' Case

    Former FBI Director James Comey is seeking to end the case over an allegedly threatening photo of seashells he posted online before the government has had a chance to present the full context for its case, prosecutors argued this week.

  • August 19, 2026

    SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein Seeks Release During Appeal

    SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein on Tuesday asked to be released from federal custody while he appeals his 12 tax and mortgage fraud convictions and a six-year prison sentence, saying he is not a flight risk and it would be a "grave injustice" for him to begin a sentence he believes will eventually get axed.

  • August 19, 2026

    4th Circ. Ends Immigration Judges' Free Speech Suit

    The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday affirmed that a district court lacked authority to hear a suit from an immigration judges' union challenging a policy barring judges from speaking publicly about immigration without prior approval.

  • August 18, 2026

    Feds Seek Full 4th Circ. Review Of DEI Firings Row

    The federal government urged the Fourth Circuit to review a split panel's decision requiring the CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence to allow intelligence officers who were fired for their involvement with assignments related to DEI and accessibility to appeal their terminations.

  • August 18, 2026

    Charlotte Transit Lost Millions To Fare Evasion, Auditor Says

    The public transit system in Charlotte, North Carolina, lost millions of dollars on riders who don't pay for tickets and left $1.7 million in unspent safety dollars on the table, according to a state watchdog report penned in response to the fatal stabbing of a 23-year-old Ukrainian woman on the city's light rail system last year.

  • August 18, 2026

    4th Circ. Backs Block On ICE Actions At Houses Of Worship

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a district court injunction blocking a 2025 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy that loosened prior restrictions on immigration enforcement in houses of worship, finding it likely burdens the free exercise of religion.

  • August 18, 2026

    NC Doc Gets Prison For Opioid Recovery Prescription Scheme

    A federal judge has sentenced a North Carolina doctor to half a year in prison for letting administrative staff at a nonprofit where he worked as medical director use his credentials to prescribe the opioid use disorder medication buprenorphine to thousands of patients.

  • August 18, 2026

    Barnes & Thornburg Picks Up 12 K&L Gates Healthcare Attys

    Barnes & Thornburg LLP announced Tuesday that it has brought on a 12-lawyer healthcare team from K&L Gates, including that firm's two former practice group leaders.

  • August 18, 2026

    ABC Sues FCC To Stop License Renewal 'Retaliation'

    ABC sued the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, accusing the Trump administration of using the agency to threaten the Disney-owned network's licenses in a bid to stop it from broadcasting anything displeasing to the president.

  • August 17, 2026

    FCC Turns Down Bid To Revisit Campaign Ad Pricing Policy

    The Federal Communications Commission declined a petition asking it to reconsider guidance the agency put out earlier this year about political ads, saying the "central premise" of the request was "wrong many times over."

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Dispatches From Utah's Newest Court

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    While a robust body of law hasn't yet developed since the Utah Business and Chancery Court's founding in October 2024, the number of cases filed there has recently picked up, and its existence illustrates Utah's desire to be top of mind for businesses across the country, says Evan Strassberg at Michael Best.

  • 4 Quick Emotional Resets For Lawyers With Conflict Fatigue

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    Though the emotional wear and tear of legal work can trap attorneys in conflict fatigue — leaving them unable to shake off tense interactions or return to a calm baseline — simple therapeutic techniques for resetting the nervous system can help break the cycle, says Chantel Cohen at CWC Coaching & Therapy.

  • Series

    Playing Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    An instinct to turn pain into purpose meant frequent trips to the tennis court, where learning to move ahead one point at a time was a lesson that also applied to the steep learning curve of patent prosecution law, says Daniel Henry at Marshall Gerstein.

  • How FERC Is Shaping The Future Of Data Center Grid Use

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    Two recent orders from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission affecting the PJM Interconnection and Southwest Power Pool regions offer the first glimpse into how FERC will address the challenges of balancing resource adequacy, grid reliability and fair cost allocation for expansions to accommodate artificial intelligence-driven data centers, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Judicial Use Informs Guardrails

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    U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell at the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado discusses why having a sense of how generative AI tools behave, where they add value, where they introduce risk and how they are reshaping the practice of law is key for today's judges.

  • Key Sectors, Antitrust Risks In Pricing Algorithm Litigation

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    Algorithmic pricing lawsuits have proliferated in rental housing, hotels, health insurance and equipment rental industries, and companies should consider emerging risk factors when implementing business strategies this year, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 5 Tips From Ex-SEC Unit Chief

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    My move to private practice has reaffirmed my belief in the value of adaptability, collaboration and strategic thinking — qualities that are essential not only for successful client outcomes, but also for sustained professional satisfaction, says Dabney O’Riordan at Fried Frank.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Start A Law Firm

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    Launching and sustaining a law firm requires skills most law schools don't teach, but every lawyer should understand a few core principles that can make the leap calculated rather than reckless, says Sam Katz at Athlaw.

  • Regulatory Uncertainty Ahead For Organ Transplant System

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    Pending court cases against a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services final rule that introduced a competition-centric model for assessing organ procurement organizations' performance will significantly influence the path forward for such organizations and transplant hospitals, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Hosting Exchange Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Opening my home to foreign exchange students makes me a better lawyer not just because prioritizing visiting high schoolers forces me to hone my organization and time management skills but also because sharing the study-abroad experience with newcomers and locals reconnects me to my community, says Alison Lippa at Nicolaides Fink.

  • How A 1947 Tugboat Ruling May Shape Work Product In AI Era

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    Rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence test work-product principles first articulated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s nearly 80-year-old Hickman v. Taylor decision, as courts and ethics bodies confront whether disclosure of attorneys’ AI prompts and outputs would reveal their thought processes, say Larry Silver and Sasha Burton at Langsam Stevens.

  • Navigating Privilege Law Patchwork In Dual-Purpose Comms

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    Three years after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to resolve a circuit split in In re: Grand Jury, federal courts remain split as to when attorney-client privilege applies to dual-purpose legal and business communications, and understanding the fragmented landscape is essential for managing risks, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Insights From 2025's Flood Of Data Breach Litigation

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    Several coherent patterns emerged from 2025's data breach litigation activity, suggesting that judges have grown skilled at distinguishing between companies that were genuinely victimized by sophisticated criminal actors despite reasonable precautions, and those whose security practices invited exploitation, says Frederick Livingston at McDonald Baas.

  • Series

    Fly-Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Much like skilled attorneys, the best anglers prize preparation, presentation and patience while respecting their adversaries — both human and trout, says Rob Braverman at Braverman Greenspun.

  • 4 Ways GCs Can Manage Growing Service Of Process Volume

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    As automation and arbitration increase the volume of legal filings, in-house counsel must build scalable service of process systems that strengthen corporate governance and manage risk in real time, says Paul Mathews at Corporation Service Co.

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