Appellate

  • July 03, 2025

    High Court To Hear Street Preacher's First Amendment Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a challenge to an ordinance in Brandon, Mississippi, that redirects demonstrations to a designated protest area, teeing up an examination of whether case law prevents someone who has been convicted from bringing a civil rights suit.

  • July 03, 2025

    4th Circ. Dismisses Naval Academy Admissions Appeal

    The Fourth Circuit has tossed an appeal challenging the U.S. Naval Academy's consideration of race in its admissions, deeming it to be moot after a Trump administration executive order spurred the academy to change its policy.

  • July 03, 2025

    Spectrum, Border, Injunction Changes Included In Mega Bill

    The House voted 218-214, almost along party lines, on Thursday on the reconciliation budget package, which includes a range of policy provisions on nationwide injunctions, spectrum and immigration and now goes to President Donald Trump's desk ahead of the decided Fourth of July deadline.

  • July 03, 2025

    Biggest Decisions Of Mich. Supreme Court So Far This Year

    The Michigan Supreme Court so far this year has handed down a number of decisions marking important changes to criminal law, including reshaping how late adolescents are sentenced for serious crimes and declaring that the smell of marijuana alone cannot justify a warrantless vehicle search.

  • July 03, 2025

    High Court Passes On Mont. Abortion, Parental Consent Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Thursday to hear a case focused on parental consent and abortion in Montana, as two conservative justices said the decision shouldn't be seen as a rejection by the justices of the parental-rights question itself.

  • July 03, 2025

    What Judges Might Ponder In Judicial Safety Law Challenge

    A Third Circuit panel set to examine the constitutionality of a judicial safety law born out of the murder of a New Jersey federal judge's son is tasked with what experts are viewing as a lesser-of-two-evils choice: chilling free speech or chilling public service.

  • July 03, 2025

    Mich. Justices Turn Down Challenge To Med Mal Damage Cap

    Michigan's highest court won't weigh in on the constitutionality of the state's caps on medical malpractice awards, rejecting a federal district court's certified question Thursday.

  • July 03, 2025

    What To Watch In Mass. Courts In The Second Half Of 2025

    Massachusetts courts should be busy through the second half of 2025, with litigation against the Trump administration playing a starring role at both the state and federal level. Here are some of the key cases and issues that attorneys are monitoring.

  • July 03, 2025

    7th Circ. Backs Firing Of Counselor Over Anti-Trans Speech

    The Seventh Circuit upheld the Milwaukee public school district's win over a former counselor's suit claiming she was unlawfully fired for speaking at an anti-trans rally, saying the district reasonably concluded that her expletive-laden public remarks didn't mesh with her professional responsibilities.

  • July 03, 2025

    The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court

    The number of law firms juggling three or more arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this past term nearly doubled from the number of firms that could make that claim last term.

  • July 03, 2025

    Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review

    The U.S. Supreme Court once again waited until the term's closing weeks — and even hours — to issue some of its most anticipated and divided decisions.

  • July 03, 2025

    5th Circ. Won't Revive Singer's TM Claims Against Bandmates

    The Fifth Circuit has declined to revive a case between the former members of the R&B group Jade, saying the Lanham Act claims brought by one member aren't supported when they are against co-owners of a trademark.

  • July 03, 2025

    The Biggest Rulings From Mass. High Court So Far In 2025

    Massachusetts' top court has tackled a controversial housing initiative, the thorny issue of qualified immunity for public employees and even a high-profile murder case in the first six months of 2025.

  • July 03, 2025

    Justices To Probe NJ Transit Cases Over Sovereign Immunity

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to consider whether New Jersey Transit Corp. is entitled to sovereign immunity from private lawsuits, taking an opportunity to smooth out conflicting state court rulings concerning the scope of the public transportation operator's liability for accidents.

  • July 03, 2025

    Justices Clarify Question Underlying Withdrawal Liability Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court clarified the question presented in a case it recently agreed to take up over the methodology for calculating businesses' liability for pulling out of multiemployer pension plans.

  • July 03, 2025

    Supreme Court Takes Up Transgender Sports Bans

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear challenges to West Virginia and Idaho laws barring transgender athletes from competing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity, putting yet more anti-trans legislation to the test after upholding Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors this term. 

  • July 02, 2025

    NCAA, NASCAR Antitrust Challenges Permeate 2025's 1st Half

    The first half of 2025 saw the dispute between NASCAR and two of its teams become supercharged and a judge give final approval to the disputed settlement for the NCAA name, image and likeness antitrust litigation.

  • July 02, 2025

    The Biggest Patent Rulings Of 2025: A Midyear Report

    A ruling by the full Federal Circuit invited greater scrutiny of patent damages testimony, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's acting director established new criteria for rejecting patent challenges. Here's a look at the top patent decisions from the first half of 2025.

  • July 02, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds Sutter Health's Win In Doc's Kickback Suit

    The Ninth Circuit refused to revive a gastroenterologist's constitutional challenge against Sutter Health alleging the nonprofit paid kickbacks to its physicians to refer low-income patients to other hospitals, ruling Wednesday the appellant lacks evidence of purported kickbacks and doesn't address how the alleged injury to those patients harmed him. 

  • July 02, 2025

    Charter Company On The Hook For Bruce Willis Flight Mishap

    A Texas appeals court panel on Wednesday mostly kept intact a decision finding a private jet company tasked with transporting Bruce Willis on the hook for repairs after the plane had problems starting, saying that contract language made the company responsible for repairs.

  • July 02, 2025

    Trump Asks Justices To Pause CPSC Members' Reinstatement

    The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to stay a Maryland federal court's ruling that the president's removal of three U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission members was unlawful, while the commissioners argue they should be allowed to continue serving through the government's appeal.

  • July 02, 2025

    Pa. Court Rejects Concealed Carry Constitutional Challenge

    In yet another decision clarifying the state's gun laws, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that although a 19-year-old convicted of having a firearm in his car illegally couldn't obtain a concealed carry license due to his age, state licensing requirements did not violate his Second Amendment rights.

  • July 02, 2025

    Vax Maker Ends Appeal After Stewart Halts Patent Ax Sanction

    After the acting director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last month undid her predecessor's decision canceling all the claims of five Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics LLC patents as a sanction for misconduct, the company dropped its appeal in the case Wednesday.

  • July 02, 2025

    11th Circ. Won't Revive Disney Workers' COVID Vax Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit refused to revive a discrimination suit by former Disney employees over the company's COVID-19 vaccine mandate and augmented protocols requiring unvaccinated workers to socially distance and wear masks, ruling Wednesday the appellants never made religious objections to those protocols and never sought religious-based accommodations. 

  • July 02, 2025

    2nd Circ. Affirms NY Court Can't Nix Swiss Arbitration Loss

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday affirmed that an arbitral award issued by a Swiss tribunal to a Singapore company in a dispute over a medical imaging joint venture cannot be vacated in New York, concluding in a published opinion that the court lacks the power to do so.

Expert Analysis

  • High Court Order On Board Firings Is Cold Comfort For Fed

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Trump v. Wilcox order, upholding the firings of two independent agency board members during appeal, raises concerns about the future of removal protections for Federal Reserve System members, and thus the broader politicization of U.S. monetary policy, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Supporting A Trial Team

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    While students often practice as lead trial attorneys in law school, such an opportunity likely won’t arise until a few years into practice, so junior associates should focus on honing skills that are essential to supporting a trial team, including organization, adaptability and humility, says Lucy Zelina at Tucker Ellis.

  • Google Damages Ruling May Spur Income Approach Usage

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in EcoFactor v. Google may affect the extent to which damages experts apply the market approach in patent infringement matters, and income approach techniques may assume greater importance, says Erin Crockett at Charles River Associates.

  • Opinion

    Address Nationwide Injunction Issues With Random Venues

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    Many of the qualms about individual district court judges' authority to issue nationwide injunctions could be solved with a simple legislative solution: handling multiple complaints about the same agency action filed in different district courts by assigning a venue via random selection, says Harvey Reiter at Stinson.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Attorney To BigLaw

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    When I transitioned to private practice after government service — most recently as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia — I learned there are more similarities between the two jobs than many realize, with both disciplines requiring resourcefulness, zealous advocacy and foresight, says Zach Terwilliger at V&E.

  • 11th Circ. Ruling Warns Parties To Follow Arbitral Rules

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in Merritt Island Woodwerx v. Space Coast is important for companies utilizing arbitration clauses because it clearly demonstrates the court's intent to hold noncompliant parties responsible in federal court — regardless of subsequent efforts to cure, says Ed Mullins at Reed Smith.

  • 2nd Circ. Limits VPPA Liability, But Caveats Remain

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    The Second Circuit's narrowed scope of the Video Privacy Protection Act in Solomon v. Flipps Media, in which the court adopted the ordinary person standard, will help shield businesses from VPPA liability, but the decision hardly provides a free pass to streamers and digital media companies utilizing website pixels, say attorneys at Frankfurt Kurnit.

  • The Ins And Outs Of Consensual Judicial References

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    As parties consider the possibility of judicial reference to resolve complex disputes, it is critical to understand how the process works, why it's gaining traction, and why carefully crafted agreements make all the difference, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • SpaceX Labor Suit May Bring Cosmic Jurisdictional Shifts

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    The National Mediation Board's upcoming decision about whether SpaceX falls under the purview of the National Labor Relations Act or the Railway Labor Act could establish how jurisdictional boundaries are determined for employers that toe the line, with tangible consequences for decades to come, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Opinion

    The BigLaw Settlements Are About Risk, Not Profit

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    The nine Am Law 100 firms that settled with the Trump administration likely did so because of the personal risk faced by equity partners in today's billion‑dollar national practices, enabled by an ethics rule primed for modernization, says Adam Forest at Scale.

  • Opinion

    Courts Must Revitalize Robust Claim Construction

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    Two Federal Circuit decisions from earlier this year illustrate the rarity of robust claim construction and the underused reverse doctrine of equivalents — a dual problem that prevents courts from clearly delineating and correctly cabining the scope of rights conferred by patent claims, say attorneys at Klarquist Sparkman.

  • State Tort Claims May Help Deter Bribes During FCPA Pause

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    As the U.S. pauses Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, companies that lose business due to competitors' bribery should consider using state tortious interference suits to expose corruption, deter illegal practices and obtain compensation for commercial losses, says Jason Manning at Levy Firestone.

  • 2nd Circ. Arb. Ruling May Give Foreign Insurers An Edge

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    The Second Circuit's decision this month in Lloyds of London v. 3131 Veterans Blvd that international arbitration agreements take primacy over state anti-arbitration insurance laws opens a division between domestic and foreign insurers that could affect the surplus lines market, says attorney Rosanne Felicello.

  • Buyer Beware Of Restrictive Covenants In Delaware

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    Based on recent Delaware Chancery Court opinions rejecting restricted covenants contained in agreements in the sale-of-business context, businesses need to craft narrowly tailored restrictions that have legitimate interests, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • Series

    Brazilian Jiujitsu Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Competing in Brazilian jiujitsu – often against opponents who are much larger and younger than me – has allowed me to develop a handful of useful skills that foster the resilience and adaptability necessary for a successful legal career, says Tina Dorr of Barnes & Thornburg.

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