Appellate

  • March 26, 2026

    9th Circ. Reinstates Critical Habitat Designations For Seals

    The Ninth Circuit has reinstated critical habitat designations for two Arctic seal species, finding that federal wildlife officials were in line with the Endangered Species Act and were not required to consider foreign conservation efforts or habitats when establishing the regions.

  • March 26, 2026

    Unified Patents Keeps Win Over Email Filtering IP At Fed. Circ.

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday said it won't restore claims in an email filtering patent challenged by Unified Patents, backing a Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision that earlier inventions rendered the claims invalid.

  • March 26, 2026

    2nd Circ. Reopens Mortgage-Backed Securities ERISA Suit

    The Second Circuit on Thursday revived a federal benefits lawsuit against Wells Fargo and Ocwen accusing the companies of mishandling home loans tied to a union pension fund's investments, overturning a lower court ruling that handed the bank and loan servicing companies a pretrial win in the proposed class action.

  • March 26, 2026

    Shutts & Bowen Must Face DQ Bid In Fla. Real Estate Dispute

    A Florida state appeals court on Wednesday revived a bid to disqualify Shutts & Bowen LLP from representing a member of a real estate business in a dispute with his fellow owners, saying a trial court improperly barred certain testimony before rejecting the disqualification motion.

  • March 26, 2026

    Watchdog Suit Seeking NJ AG Ethics Training Docs Revived

    A New Jersey appellate panel on Thursday revived a government watchdog's suit over the state attorney general's office's denial of its public records request for attorney ethics training materials, ruling the trial court should have conducted an in camera review of the requested documents before dismissing the complaint.

  • March 26, 2026

    9th Circ. Upholds Medtronic Win In Spinal Cord Device Suit

    A Washington man cannot sue medical device maker Medtronic USA Inc. on allegations it sold him a spinal cord implant that malfunctioned causing greater pain, the Ninth Circuit ruled, saying he lacked expert witnesses to support his negligence claims.

  • March 26, 2026

    Ex-Deloitte Workers Can't Undo Charge Revival, 4th Circ. Says

    The full Fourth Circuit has declined to reconsider its late February decision to revive most of the charges against two ex-Deloitte workers accused of stealing the company's trade secrets, after the workers insisted the unfavorable ruling bucked circuit and U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • March 26, 2026

    Creek Justices Order New Update On Freedmen Citizenship

    The Muscogee (Creek) Supreme Court has ordered a second status report on how the tribe's citizenship board and principal chief are complying with a decision to give citizenship to descendants of those once enslaved by the Indigenous nation.

  • March 26, 2026

    11th Circ. Affirms Slashing Tax Breaks For Conservation Gifts

    Two partnerships that claimed tens of millions of dollars in tax deductions for protecting 530 acres in Georgia from development grossly overvalued their contributions and rightfully drew penalties from the Internal Revenue Service, the Eleventh Circuit said in affirming a U.S. Tax Court decision.

  • March 26, 2026

    Worker Who Scored High Court Win Can't Get Atty Fees Yet

    An Ohio federal judge refused to award $466,000 in attorney fees to a straight woman who persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to revive her bias suit, saying that while she won her appeal she still hasn't technically won the case.

  • March 26, 2026

    NC Justices Asked To Review 'Sealed Container' Defense

    A man suing a retailer and distributor over injuries he sustained when a counterfeit lithium-ion battery exploded is asking the North Carolina Supreme Court to take up the case, saying the appeals court wrongly held that the sealed container defense blocked his claims.

  • March 25, 2026

    Split Del. High Court Affirms Paramount Merger Docs Ruling

    In a split decision, the Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed with a lower court's finding that news articles containing anonymous sourcing were reliable enough to support investors' demands for records pertaining to Paramount Global's merger with Skydance Media.

  • March 25, 2026

    PTAB Was Never '100% Discretionary,' Rep. Issa Tells Squires

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires is exceeding the authority Congress intended to grant him in the America Invents Act for discretionarily denying patent challenges, the U.S. House of Representatives' intellectual property leader said Wednesday.

  • March 25, 2026

    9th Circ. Upholds Violent Crime Definition In Ore. Law

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday held that convictions under Oregon's attempted assault statute constitute violent crimes under federal sentencing guidelines, upholding a gun-possession sentence for a felon with multiple convictions.

  • March 25, 2026

    11th Circ. Largely Backs Atlanta's Win In Cop's Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit largely backed several wins by the city of Atlanta in a race bias and whistleblower suit from a former police lieutenant, ruling Wednesday that his retaliation claim "does not present a close call, or even a close call about whether there is a close call."

  • March 25, 2026

    9th Circ. Affirms Pelosi Attacker's Conviction, 30-Year Bid

    The Ninth Circuit Wednesday affirmed the conviction and 30-year prison sentence for a man who attempted to kidnap former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and assaulted her husband, holding in a published opinion that a California federal court properly resentenced him after failing to let him directly address the judge before sentencing.

  • March 25, 2026

    Nexstar Says No Harm On The Horizon From $6.2B Tegna Deal

    Nexstar and Tegna have come out swinging against a "last-minute, unfounded" attempt by eight states to block the companies from continuing to co-mingle their businesses following their $6.2 billion television station merger after receiving the go-ahead from the Federal Communications Commission.

  • March 25, 2026

    Justices' Music Piracy Ruling Could Reverberate Beyond ISPs

    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that Cox Communications is not liable for its customers' music piracy circumscribes the theories copyright owners may pursue for secondary infringement — limits that attorneys say will extend beyond internet service providers and influence litigation involving e-commerce platforms and artificial intelligence.

  • March 25, 2026

    10th Circ. Panel Skeptical Of Oklahoma Immigration Law

    A Tenth Circuit panel appeared skeptical during oral arguments Wednesday of Oklahoma's arguments that federal law doesn't preempt a state law that attempts to make it a crime for unauthorized immigrants to live in the state.

  • March 25, 2026

    Wash. Panel Revives Prison Drug Swab Suit

    A Washington state appeals court has partially revived a lawsuit brought by incarcerated people who claim their constitutional rights were violated by prison officials who used tests known to produce false positives to enforce a random drug testing policy inside state prisons.

  • March 25, 2026

    3rd Circ. Probes Free Speech Impact Of NJ Telemedicine Law

    A Third Circuit panel on Wednesday examined whether New Jersey can bar out-of-state doctors from consulting with Garden State patients via phone or video without a state license, pressing both sides on where to draw the line between protected speech and the regulated practice of medicine.

  • March 25, 2026

    Co.'s Dual Citizenship Doesn't Kill Jurisdiction, 4th Circ. Told

    A medical supply company urged the Fourth Circuit on Wednesday to revive its suit against a U.K. company over COVID-19 test kits, arguing the Chinese citizenship of one of its members doesn't destroy a North Carolina federal judge's ability to hear the case.

  • March 25, 2026

    Woman Deserves Relief From Tax Prep Fraud, Justices Told

    Two taxpayer groups and a tax counsel association urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a woman's appeal over liabilities triggered by a fraudulent preparer, arguing the Third Circuit decision in the case misread the fraud exception in the tax assessment statute.

  • March 25, 2026

    4th Circ. Says Md. Justices, Gov. Not To Blame For Debt Writs

    A split Fourth Circuit panel has ruled that three military families cannot blame Maryland's supreme court justices or governor after state court clerks recognized allegedly defective out-of-state judgments and issued garnishment writs freezing their bank accounts.

  • March 25, 2026

    Ulta Seeks Quick Appeal To Challenge Wash. Antispam Statute

    Beauty retailer Ulta asked a Washington federal judge this week for permission to immediately appeal a February ruling that upheld the validity of a state law barring commercial emails with false or misleading subject lines, a move that could have sweeping implications for dozens of pending lawsuits brought under the statute.

Expert Analysis

  • Malpractice Claim Assignability Continues To Divide Courts

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    Recent decisions from courts across the country demonstrate how different jurisdictions balance competing policy interests in determining whether legal malpractice claims can be assigned, providing a framework to identify when and how to challenge any attempted assignment, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin & Lodgen.

  • Tips For Financial Advisers Facing TRO From Former Firm

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    The Eighth Circuit's recent decision in Choreo v. Lors, overturning a lower court's sweeping injunction after financial advisers moved to a new firm, gives advisers new strategies to fight restraining orders from their old firms, such as focusing on whether the alleged irreparable harm is calculable, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Closure Highlights Labor Law Stakes

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    The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's recently announced closure, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied relief from an injunction mandating that the newspaper restore terms from its previous collective bargaining agreement, illustrates that prematurely declaring an impasse and implementing unilateral changes carries risk, says Sunshine Fellows at Freeman Mathis.

  • Unpacking Dormant Commerce Clause Cannabis Circuit Split

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    Federal courts have reached differing conclusions as to whether state-legal cannabis is subject to the dormant commerce clause, with four opinions across three circuit courts in the last year demonstrating the continued salience of the dormant commerce clause debate to the nation's cannabis industry, regulators and policymakers, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Texas AG Wields Consumer Protection Law Against Tech Cos.

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    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has targeted technology companies using the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a broadly worded statute that gives the attorney general wide latitude to pursue claims beyond traditional consumer protection, creating unique litigation risks, say attorneys at Yetter Coleman.

  • Emerging Themes In Nevada High Court Civil Litigation

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    The Nevada Supreme Court issued a series of significant civil rulings in 2025 that reflect recurring themes: a restrained approach to personal jurisdiction, heightened expectations of professionalism, close scrutiny of trial conduct, and a willingness to enforce contractual provisions that other jurisdictions might reject, says Michael Lowry at Wilson Elser.

  • What To Know As Courts Rethink McDonnell-Douglas

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    Although the U.S. Supreme Court declined the latest opportunity to address the viability of the McDonnell-Douglas burden-shifting framework used in employment discrimination and retaliation claims, two justices and courts around the country are increasingly seeking to abandon it, which could potentially lead to more trials and higher litigation budgets, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • A Primer On Law Enforcement Self-Defense Doctrine

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    In the wake of several shootings by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, misconceptions persist about what the laws governing police use of force actually permit, and it’s essential for legal practitioners to understand the contours of the underlying constitutional doctrine, says Markus Funk at White & Case.

  • Series

    Teaching Logic Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Teaching middle and high school students the skills to untangle complicated arguments and identify faulty reasoning has made me reacquaint myself with the defined structure of thought, reminding me why logic should remain foundational in the practice of law, says Tom Barrow at Woods Rogers.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Resilience

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    Resilience is a skill acquired through daily practices that focus on learning from missteps, recovering quickly without internalizing defeat and moving forward with intention, says Nicholas Meza at Quarles & Brady.

  • How Specificity, Self-Dealing Are Shaping ERISA Litigation

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    Several recent cases, including the U.S. Supreme Court's forthcoming ruling in Anderson v. Intel, illustrate the competing forces shaping excessive fee litigation, with plaintiffs seeking flexibility, courts demanding specificity, fiduciaries facing increased scrutiny for conflicts of interest, and self-dealing amplifying exposure, says James Beall at Willig Williams.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Terminations Galore

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    Three recent decisions from the Federal Circuit and the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals provide valuable insights about sticking to a contract's plain language, navigating breach of contract claims, and jurisdictional limits on reinstatement of a canceled contract, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Opinion

    Minn. Can Still Bring State Charges In Absence Of Fed Action

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    After two fatal shootings by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota's role isn't waiting to see if the federal government brings criminal charges, but independently weighing state homicide charges and allowing the judiciary to decide whether the subject conduct falls within the narrow protections of supremacy clause immunity, says Sheila Tendy at Tendy Law.

  • State Of Insurance: Q4 Notes From Illinois

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    In 2025's last quarter, Illinois’ appellate courts weighed in on overlapping homeowners coverages for water-related damages, contractual suit limitation provisions in uninsured motorist policies, and protections for genetic health information in life insurance underwriting, while the Department of Insurance sought nationwide homeowners' insurance data from State Farm, says Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey.

  • How 2 Tech Statutes Are Being Applied To Agentic AI

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    The application of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the California Invasion of Privacy Act to agentic artificial intelligence is still developing, but recent case law, like Amazon's lawsuit against Perplexity in California federal court, provides some initial guidance for companies developing or deploying these technologies, say attorneys at Weil.

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