Appellate

  • August 22, 2025

    High Court Told To Lift 'Coordinated' Party Spending Caps

    The Federal Election Commission and the Republican Party urged the U.S. Supreme Court to abolish limits on how much political parties can spend on campaigns in cooperation with candidates, saying there's no legitimate anti-corruption reason to cap party spending.

  • August 22, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Halts Land Swap With Idaho Tribes' Backing

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Friday upheld a lower court's decision to invalidate an Interior Department land transfer in Idaho for the expansion of a phosphogypsum plant, saying that a 1900 federal law limits the disposal of treaty-ceded lands.

  • August 22, 2025

    2nd Circ. Revives Some Rate-Rigging Claims Against Banks

    The Second Circuit on Friday partially revived claims that UBS AG and the Royal Bank of Scotland PLC manipulated a key interest rate for the lending of euros, allowing a pair of funds to press forward with claims that the banks' actions harmed U.S. investors trading derivatives tied to the rate.

  • August 22, 2025

    2nd Circ. Won't Block Conn.'s Sandy Hook Gun Restrictions

    The Second Circuit on Friday refused to temporarily block Connecticut's restrictions on AR-15-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, saying the National Association for Gun Rights and individual permit holders were unlikely to mount successful Second Amendment challenges to laws passed shortly after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

  • August 22, 2025

    Green Groups Lodge 5th Circ. Challenge Over La. LNG Permits

    Environmentalists have asked the Fifth Circuit to cancel air permits issued by Louisiana environmental regulators for a liquefied natural gas export terminal, saying the permits were unlawfully issued and will increase pollution for nearby communities.

  • August 22, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Keeps Verdict Intact In Pro Se IP Trial

    A truck mudflap entrepreneur who won a patent infringement trial representing himself failed to convince the Federal Circuit on Friday to rethink affirming a lower court's judgment against a rival company that he said would have been more favorable to him absent a "fraud" on the court. 

  • August 22, 2025

    Speedy Trial Violation Undoes Sex Assault Conviction In Colo.

    The Colorado Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed the conviction and 34-year-to-life sentence of a man found guilty of sexual assault on a child, pointing to a district court error in holding the trial one month outside of the speedy trial window and remanding the case for dismissal of all charges.

  • August 22, 2025

    NC Justices Affirm Dismissal Of Philip Morris Tax Challenge

    A North Carolina administrative court does not have the power to find a state tax law unconstitutional as applied, the state's highest court ruled Friday, upholding a loss for Philip Morris in a $300,000 franchise tax case.

  • August 22, 2025

    State Solicitors General Become A Trump Judge Pipeline

    Seven months into his presidency, more than a third of President Donald Trump's judicial nominees hailed from a pool not tapped nearly as much as his predecessors: state solicitors general.

  • August 22, 2025

    4th Circ. Rules Virginia Gov. Can Deny Felon Voting Rights

    A formerly incarcerated Virginia man convicted of attempted murder as a minor couldn't argue his constitutional rights had been violated by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who refused to allow him to vote, the Fourth Circuit said, finding the state's process of vesting reenfranchisement in its top executive was constitutional.

  • August 22, 2025

    7th Circ. Backs TSA's Cybersecurity Rules For Railroads

    The Seventh Circuit on Thursday rejected the challenge from a pair of railways to recent cybersecurity mandates from the Transportation Security Administration, saying the agency wasn't required to first take notice and comment and that it has "broad authority to identify cybersecurity threats and craft appropriate responses."

  • August 22, 2025

    Russian Urges 2nd Circ. To Scrap Superyacht Seizure Ruling

    Russian billionaire Eduard Khudainatov told the Second Circuit a New York federal judge authorized the U.S. government to sell off his seized superyacht without giving him a fair chance to fight assertions he was a "straw owner" for a sanctioned oligarch.

  • August 22, 2025

    Under Trump, White Collar Crypto Defense Gets New Playbook

    White collar lawyers are crafting new blueprints for crypto-related civil and criminal defense amid the Trump administration's embrace of the industry and the financial world’s growing acceptance of cryptocurrency as a legitimate asset.

  • August 22, 2025

    Trump Admin To Appeal Susman Godfrey Exec Order Ruling

    The Trump administration announced Friday its intention to appeal a June ruling that struck down as unconstitutional an executive order targeting Susman Godfrey LLP, after the court said the order was issued in retaliation for its representation of clients and causes the president opposes.

  • August 22, 2025

    Seton Hall Flags 'Dangerous Precedent' In NJ Venue Dispute

    Seton Hall University is urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to review a decision moving a whistleblower case from its former president from Essex to Hudson County, saying letting that action stand would set a "dangerous precedent" regarding case transfers.

  • August 22, 2025

    Judge Can't Become Public Defender After Not Practicing Law

    A California state appellate panel has ruled that a sitting superior court judge is ineligible to serve as public defender because he had not been a practicing attorney in the state's courts for the year before he sought the appointment.

  • August 22, 2025

    $785K Legal Malpractice Judgment Against Pa. Firm Upheld

    A debt collection agency did not provide enough evidence to show it deserved prejudgment interest on a $785,000 jury award it received from a malpractice suit against two former Hartman Valeriano Magovern & Lutz attorneys who allegedly botched a real estate transfer that cost the agency $1.4 million, according to a recent decision from the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

  • August 22, 2025

    Tribe Member Can't Discharge Tax Debt, 10th Circ. Affirms

    An Oklahoma federal court correctly affirmed a bankruptcy court's refusal to reopen a case brought by a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation who claimed his tax debt should have been discharged in bankruptcy, the Tenth Circuit said.

  • August 22, 2025

    1st Circ. Says Muralist Filed Copyright Case Too Late

    The First Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a copyright infringement lawsuit that a muralist had brought against the organizers of a Massachusetts state fair over promotional videos for the event that used her artwork without crediting her, finding that even though this was the third time she sued, a federal district court was right to declare her latest claims time-barred.

  • August 22, 2025

    DC Circ. Rejects NM Ranchers' Bird Protection Challenge

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday rejected New Mexico ranchers' challenge to the federal government's decision to preserve Endangered Species Act protections for a small, migratory songbird.

  • August 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Tosses Wash. City's Win In Military Leave Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel threw out a Washington federal judge's ruling that a City of Ocean Shores firefighter was not entitled to pay for military leave after the state's top court decided otherwise.

  • August 22, 2025

    Fla. Appeals Order To Wind Down Detention Center Operations

    A Florida official filed notice late Thursday that the state will appeal a federal judge's ruling ordering the government to begin winding down operations at the Everglades immigration detention center after finding the plaintiffs challenging it are likely to prevail on their environmental claims.

  • August 22, 2025

    DC Circ. Leaves Judge Newman's Suspension Intact

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday affirmed the dismissal of 98-year-old Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's lawsuit against her colleagues for barring her from hearing cases, holding that she failed to show that the statute that was used to suspend her is unconstitutional.

  • August 21, 2025

    9th Circ. Dissenters Rip Judge's 'Weaponization Of Sanctions'

    A half-dozen Ninth Circuit judges Thursday denounced six-figure sanctions against attorneys for prominent politicians challenging Arizona election procedures, accusing a lower court of "twisting and contorting" allegations in order to punish lawyers "based on the nature of the complaint and the clients that they represented."

  • August 21, 2025

    1st Circ. Rejects Flyers' $34M Fee Bid In JetBlue-Spirit Case

    Passengers who launched an antitrust challenge to the since-scrapped JetBlue-Spirit Airlines merger are not eligible to collect up to $34 million in legal fees, the First Circuit ruled Thursday, finding that because the deal was blocked in a parallel government case, the passengers are not actually the prevailing parties.

Expert Analysis

  • How McKesson Ruling Will Inform Interpretations Of The TCPA

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    Amid the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson, we can expect to see both plaintiffs and defendants utilizing the decision to revisit the Federal Communications Commission's past Telephone Consumer Protection Act interpretations and decisions they did not like, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

  • Justices Rethink Minimum Contacts For Foreign Entities

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    Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Devas v. Antrix and Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, suggest that federal statutes may confer personal jurisdiction over foreign entities that have little to no contact with the U.S. — a significant departure from traditional due process principles, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    High Court Must Overrule Outdated Patent Eligibility Doctrine

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    A certiorari petition should directly ask the U.S. Supreme Court to correct its 1972 patent decision in Gottschalk v. Benson, the critical point where patent eligibility law veered from the statutory text toward judicial policymaking, says Robert Greenspoon at Dunlap Bennett.

  • Examining TCPA Jurisprudence A Year After Loper Bright

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    One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, lower court decisions demonstrate that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act will continue to evolve as long-standing interpretations of the act are analyzed with a fresh lens, says Aaron Gallardo at Kilpatrick.

  • Gauging The Risky Business Of Business Risk Disclosures

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    With the recent rise of securities fraud actions based on external events — like a data breach or environmental disaster — that drive down stock prices, risk disclosures have become more of a sword for the plaintiffs bar than a shield for public companies, now the subject of a growing circuit split, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • How Justices' Ruling Limits Options To Challenge DHS Orders

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    In Riley v. Bondi, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a 30-day deadline for challenging deportation orders begins when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review order, opening the door for the government to effectively bar circuit court review in future similar cases, says Kevin Gregg at Kurzban Kurzban.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • Purdue Case Could Transform Patent Obviousness Analyses

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    If accepted for review by the U.S. Supreme Court, Purdue Pharma v. Accord Healthcare — concerning whether Purdue's abuse-deterrent opioid formulation patents were invalid as obvious — could significantly shift how courts weigh secondary considerations in patent obviousness analyses, say attorneys at Lathrop.

  • NM Cyber Ruling Will Spur Litigation As Coverage Remedy

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    In Kane v. Beazley, the New Mexico Court of Appeals recently found that a cyber liability provision insuring security breaches included coverage for funds transfer fraud, implicitly and incorrectly motivating policyholders to commence litigation to avoid contractual limitations on cyber coverages, say attorneys at Zelle.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • Texas' Cactus Ruling Clarifies 'Produced Water' Rules

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    The Texas Supreme Court's decision in Cactus Water Services v. COG Operating, holding that mineral interest lessees have the rights to water extracted alongside oil and gas, should benefit industry players by clarifying the rules — but it leaves important questions about royalties unresolved, say attorneys at Yetter Coleman.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • How Political Divisions Are Stalling Pa. Energy Development

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    Despite possessing the nation's second-largest natural gas reserves and a legacy of energy infrastructure, Pennsylvania faces a fragmented and politically charged path to developing the energy resources it will need in the future, thanks to legislative gridlock, divided public opinion and competing energy interests, says Andrew Levine at Stradley Ronon.

  • How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US

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    In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.

  • What High Court's Tenn. Trans Care Ruling Means Nationally

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, upholding a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, is fairly limited in scope and closely tailored to the specific language of Tennessee's law, but it may have implications for challenges to similar laws in other states, say attorneys at Hall Render.

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