Appellate

  • June 26, 2025

    Court Allows NASCAR To Subpoena Nonparty Financial Docs

    A North Carolina federal judge will allow NASCAR to subpoena the financial records of 12 chartered racing teams to defend itself in a lawsuit that accuses the organization of antitrust violations, but left safeguards in place.

  • June 26, 2025

    4th Circ. Clears Cab Guard Seller In Trucker's Death Suit

    The Fourth Circuit won't revive a suit by the brother of a deceased truck driver alleging a cab guard intended to protect the truck's driver from its cargo failed, leading to his death, finding there is only speculative evidence that the defendant distributor ever had or sold the guard in question.

  • June 26, 2025

    Justices Expand Reach Of First Step Act In Resentencings

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that defendants can benefit from lighter sentences under the First Step Act if they were sentenced prior to the 2018 criminal justice reform law but later resentenced after their original sentences were tossed.

  • June 26, 2025

    Justices Say DHS Orders Final In Withholding-Removal Cases

    The U.S. Supreme Court held Thursday that the 30-day statutory deadline for challenging deportation orders in withholding of removal cases starts when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review order, not when Board of Immigration Appeals proceedings conclude.

  • June 26, 2025

    Justices Allow Texas Death Row Inmate's DNA Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday said a Texas death row inmate can sue state officials in federal court to try to obtain post-conviction DNA testing, a decision that could open the door to broader challenges to how Texas provides access to forensic evidence after conviction.

  • June 26, 2025

    Justices Say SC Medicaid Patient Can't Sue To Pick Provider

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a patient can't challenge South Carolina's decision to kick Planned Parenthood from the state Medicaid program because it includes abortions among its services.

  • June 25, 2025

    TCPA Litigants Brace For 'Seismic Shift' After Deference Blow

    The U.S. Supreme Court's backing of broad judicial review for the crush of regulatory orders interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act is poised to turn the litigation landscape on its head, as key statutory determinations that have long been viewed as settled matters are suddenly ripe for scrutiny. 

  • June 25, 2025

    Ill. Appeals Court Won't Undo Biometric Privacy Class Cert.

    An Illinois state appeals court has refused to disturb a lower court's order certifying a class of employees suing over time clocks that scanned and used their biometric information, ruling that the common claim in the case presents a question that "is suitable for, if not demanding of, class-wide resolution."

  • June 25, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Keeps Qualcomm, Apple IP Suit In Texas

    The Federal Circuit rejected a petition from Qualcomm and Apple challenging U.S. District Judge Alan Albright's refusal to transfer patent litigation against the two tech giants from Texas to California, saying the companies hadn't met the "demanding standard" to show a "clear abuse" of discretion by the judge.

  • June 25, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Revive Honduran's Bid To Cancel Removal

    The Fourth Circuit rejected a Honduran national's claim that the Executive Office of Immigration Review's unlawfully delayed granting his application for cancellation of removal, saying no binding policy requires the agency to act within a certain time frame. 

  • June 25, 2025

    Full Fed. Circ. Won't Review ITC Marketing Decision

    The full Federal Circuit on Wednesday rejected the U.S. International Trade Commission's call to reconsider a panel's holding that sales, marketing and similar expenditures can satisfy domestic industry requirements.

  • June 25, 2025

    11th Circ. Backs Conviction In Bank Reporting Evasion Case

    The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday upheld the conviction of a man accused of trying to prevent regulators from learning about his large withdrawals from Wells Fargo accounts, rejecting his claims that prosecutors charged him with one offense but tried him for another.

  • June 25, 2025

    Ga. High Court Allows Reviews Of Non-Capital Murder Cases

    The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that it will retain the authority to exclusively hear appeals of non-death penalty murder cases, bypassing a need for the lower Georgia State Court of Appeals to weigh in.

  • June 25, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Affirms Dismissal Of Navy Lab Contract Claims

    A company tapped to build a Naval Surface Warfare Center lab in Maryland failed to show that a contract appeals board erred when it dismissed two of the company's claims stemming from the $11 million project, a Federal Circuit panel ruled Wednesday.

  • June 25, 2025

    2nd Circ. Blocks Reed Smith Doc Turnover Order In Eletson Row

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday granted Reed Smith LLP's emergency motion to stay a Manhattan federal judge's order to turn over client files amid a conflict over the legitimate ownership of international shipping company Eletson, which is in a dispute with competitor Levona.

  • June 25, 2025

    10th Circ. Urged To Revive Post-Jarkesy FDIC Challenge

    A Kansas bank has urged the Tenth Circuit to revive its suit claiming the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. violated the bank's right to a jury trial through an enforcement proceeding before an agency-appointed judge, arguing federal courts must be able to hear such constitutional claims.

  • June 25, 2025

    State Gets Second Chance Despite Delays, Pa. Court Rules

    A trial court erred in dismissing a criminal case against a man who was accused of illegally possessing firearms due to excessive delays, the Pennsylvania Superior Court said, finding that lapsed time was not entirely attributable to the commonwealth and should therefore not prevent prosecution.

  • June 25, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs HP Unit's Alice Win In California

    The Federal Circuit refused to revive a lawsuit accusing HP unit Polycom of infringing a multimedia communication patent, backing a California federal judge's finding that the patent wasn't valid to begin with.

  • June 25, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Inventor's Patent Suit Against Google

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday denied a bid to revive a patent infringement case from a man who says Google's products use aspects of his threat-detection technology.

  • June 25, 2025

    Company Can Be Sued For Drunk Worker's Crash, Panel Says

    A Florida appeals court on Wednesday revived a suit accusing a construction company's employee of negligently causing an auto collision while drunk, saying it can be held liable despite the worker's contractual obligation not to drink and drive in the company car.

  • June 25, 2025

    CVS Fights Ruling In Del. Rejecting Coverage For Opioid Suits

    An attorney for CVS Health Corp. told Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday that a lower court cited inapplicable precedent to dismiss the pharmacy chain's suit seeking coverage for medical provider claims against it arising from the opioid epidemic.

  • June 25, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs EPA's Firing Of 'Disruptive' Whistleblower

    The Federal Circuit upheld a decision finding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would've fired a federal employee even if she wasn't whistleblowing on its failure to submit affirmative employment plans, ruling Wednesday that while there was significant motive to retaliate, there's also evidence the employee was "disrespectful, disruptive and discourteous" toward colleagues.

  • June 25, 2025

    Trade Court Cannot Stop Trump's Tariffs, Gov't Tells Fed. Circ.

    The U.S. Court of International Trade hamstrung President Donald Trump in ongoing global trade negotiations when it blocked emergency tariffs he had imposed and deemed them unlawful, the government told the Federal Circuit on Tuesday, urging it to reverse the lower court's ruling.

  • June 25, 2025

    3rd Circ. Upholds $3.2M Atty Fee In Wawa Breach Suit

    The Third Circuit on Wednesday upheld a $3.2 million fee award for Berger Montague and Fine Kaplan & Black in the settlement for consumers affected by a 2019 Wawa data breach, ruling Wednesday that the district court judge correctly found no improper "side deals" or collusion at class members' expense.

  • June 25, 2025

    3rd Circ. Pick Emil Bove Says He's 'Not Anybody's Henchman'

    Emil Bove, nominee for the Third Circuit, who previously served as President Donald Trump's criminal attorney and was a top acting official at the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this year, where he took various controversial actions, made his case on Wednesday for judicial confirmation.

Expert Analysis

  • An Update On IPR Issue Preclusion In District Court Litigation

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    Two recent Federal Circuit rulings have resolved a district court split regarding issue preclusion based on Patent Trial and Appeal Board outcomes, potentially counseling petitioners in favor of challenging not only all the claims of an asserted patent, but also related patents that have not yet been raised in district court, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw

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    The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Reaffirms Listing Elements Separately Is Key

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    The Federal Circuit's decision last month in Regeneron v. Mylan reaffirms a critical principle in patent law: When a claim lists elements separately, the clear implication is that they are distinct elements, say attorneys at Taft.

  • Nev. Fraud Ruling Raises Stakes For Proxy Battles

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    Though a Nevada federal court’s recent U.S. v. Boruchowitz decision involved unusual facts, the court's ruling that board members can be defrauded of their seat through misrepresentations increases fraud risks in more typical circumstances involving board elections, especially proxy fights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield

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    Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • NLRB Firing May Need Justices' Input On Removal Power

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    President Donald Trump's unprecedented removal of National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox spurred a lawsuit that is sure to be closely watched, as it may cause the U.S. Supreme Court to reexamine a 1935 precedent that has limited the president's removal powers, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind

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    As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.

  • Risks Of Today's Proffer Agreements May Outweigh Benefits

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    Modern-day proffer agreements offer fewer protections to individuals as U.S. attorney's offices take different approaches to information-sharing, so counsel must consider pushing for provisions in such agreements that bar the prosecuting office from sharing information with nonparty government agencies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • SDNY Sentencing Ruling Is Boon For White Collar Defendants

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    Defense attorneys should consider how to maximize the impact of a New York federal court’s recent groundbreaking ruling in U.S. v. Tavberidze, which held that a sentencing guidelines provision unconstitutionally penalizes the right to a jury trial, says Sarah Sulkowski at Gelber & Santillo.

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence

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    As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.

  • What Del. Corporate Law Rework Means For Founder-Led Cos.

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    Although the amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law have proven somewhat divisive, they will provide greater clarity and predictability in the rules that apply to founder-led companies navigating transactions concerning controlling stockholders and responding to books-and-records requests, say attorneys at Munger Tolles.

  • Patent Drafting Pointers From Fed. Circ. COVID Test Ruling

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in DNA Genotek v. Spectrum Solutions provides several best practice pointers for drafting and prosecuting patent applications, highlighting how nuances in wording can potentially limit the scope of claims or otherwise affect claim constructions, says Irah Donner at Manatt.

  • Series

    Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

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    Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

  • How Justices Rule On Straight Bias May Shift Worker Suits

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    Following oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, in which a heterosexual woman sued her employer for sexual orientation discrimination, the forthcoming decision may create a perfect storm for employers amid recent attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, say attorneys at Proskauer.

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