Appellate

  • April 06, 2026

    1st Circ. Suggests It May Resurrect AdTech Wiretap Case

    A panel of the First Circuit appeared receptive Monday to reinstating federal wiretap claims leveled against a Massachusetts healthcare system over its use of online tracking tools, despite arguments that such a ruling could cripple the industry amid an influx of similar cases nationwide.

  • April 06, 2026

    Full Fed. Circ. Urged To Course Correct On Design Patent Test

    The full Federal Circuit needs to return design patent infringement to a similarities-focused test, rather than one looking at differences between designs, massage device-maker Range of Motion Products LLC said in a bid to revive its suit against Armaid Co.

  • April 06, 2026

    Justices Urged To Curb Post-Mallory Forum Shopping

    Rail industry and legal advocates contend the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 Mallory ruling unleashed a wave of forum-shopping by plaintiffs lawyers using states' business-registration laws to sue out-of-state companies, and the justices must intervene and stop litigants from unconstitutionally interfering with interstate commerce.

  • April 06, 2026

    Atty Convicted Of Staging Truck Crashes Seeks New Trial

    A disbarred New Orleans attorney has asked a federal judge in Louisiana for a new insurance fraud trial, arguing a suite of issues from her federal trial last month caused her to receive what she described in a filing as a "miscarriage of justice."

  • April 06, 2026

    Mich. Justices Agree To Hear Inmate's Self-Defense Argument

    An inmate convicted of assaulting a prison guard could get a chance for a new trial, as the Michian Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments in the case alleging a lower court discounted evidence that shows the guard threatened the inmate prior to the attack.

  • April 06, 2026

    Apple Wants App Store Ruling Paused For High Court Appeal

    Apple Inc. urged the Ninth Circuit Friday to pause a panel decision in Epic Games Inc.'s favor while it petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling, which largely affirmed an injunction barring the company from charging developers "prohibitive" commissions on iPhone app purchases made outside its payment systems.

  • April 06, 2026

    8th Circ. Won't Revive Salvadoran Woman's Asylum Case

    An Eighth Circuit panel said the Board of Immigration Appeals reasonably rejected an El Salvador woman's claim that an immigration judge showed bias and unfairly denied her asylum bid, because she failed to support the assertion.

  • April 06, 2026

    Mich. Justices To Weigh Beach Profit Immunity Dispute

    The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered oral argument on whether the city of South Haven is shielded by governmental immunity in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a Lake Michigan drowning, putting before the justices a dispute over when municipal activity may expose a city to tort liability for injuries on public property. 

  • April 06, 2026

    Mass. Justices Hint Insurer Owes Defense In Doc's Discipline

    An allegation that a Massachusetts doctor prescribed addictive medications to manipulate a patient into a sexual relationship could be enough to trigger a malpractice insurer's duty to defend him in a disciplinary proceeding launched years later over other alleged misconduct, justices on the state's highest court hinted Monday.

  • April 06, 2026

    8th Circ. Lifts Block On Iowa Law Restricting Gender Lessons

    The Eighth Circuit reversed an order Monday that blocked an Iowa law preventing educators from teaching K-6 students about gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom, ruling the lower court's concerns about free speech restrictions rested on a "flawed analysis" of the statute's text.

  • April 06, 2026

    3rd Circ. Backs Kalshi In Prediction Markets Battle With NJ

    A split Third Circuit panel on Monday backed a lower court's order blocking New Jersey from enforcing a sports gambling ban on trading platform KalshiEx, with the dissenting judge calling Kalshi's actions a "performative sleight" meant to hide that its products are sports gambling.

  • April 06, 2026

    Ex-EEOC Leaders Back BigLaw Firms In Trump EO Appeal

    A group of former U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission officials are backing four BigLaw firms in the Trump administration's consolidated D.C. Circuit appeal seeking to revive executive orders targeting the firms, arguing the president's directives contradict how Congress meant for the EEOC to operate.

  • April 06, 2026

    Fed Circ. Says ITC Rightly Denied Boat AC Import Ban

    The Federal Circuit said Monday that the U.S. International Trade Commission correctly declined to issue an import ban on boat air conditioners at the request of a Swedish manufacturer.

  • April 06, 2026

    Ute Tribe To Appeal Split-Estate Lands Ruling To 10th Circ.

    The Ute Indian Tribe says it will appeal a Utah federal court's determination that split estate lands within the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation are not Indian Country, by arguing the same issue the Tenth Circuit resolved in its favor more than four decades ago.

  • April 06, 2026

    High Court Passes On Challenge To Illinois Transit Gun Ban

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied plaintiffs' request to consider whether they had the right to bear arms on public Illinois transit, leaving a Seventh Circuit decision denying them this right intact.

  • April 06, 2026

    FERC Unlawfully Revived Pipeline Project, DC Circ. Told

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission flouted the Natural Gas Act and National Environmental Policy Act when it reauthorized a previously abandoned pipeline upgrade project in the Northeast, environmental and homeowner groups have told the D.C. Circuit.

  • April 06, 2026

    Can State Courts Tame The 'Wild West' Of Judicial Security?

    As threats against local judges continue to ramp up, protection and incident tracking varies not only from state to state but county to county, making it difficult to draw the national judicial security landscape. Now, lawmakers are looking to use federal resources to even out disparities.

  • April 06, 2026

    Nude Security Cam Appeal Befuddles Mass. High Court

    Justices of Massachusetts' highest court seemed inclined Monday to uphold a Martha's Vineyard resident's conviction for secretly recording a sexual encounter on a home security camera, but questioned whether sending a still image to only the victim could support a second conviction for "dissemination."  

  • April 06, 2026

    Top Court Paves Way To Wipe Out Pol's Bribery Conviction

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated an appeals court's decision to uphold the conviction of a pardoned former Cincinnati council member for bribery and attempted extortion, effectively greenlighting federal prosecutors' motion to toss the case.

  • April 06, 2026

    Justices Clear Path For DOJ To Dismiss Bannon's Conviction

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated an appeals court's order upholding Steve Bannon's conviction over his nonresponse to a congressional subpoena investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, clearing the way for the Justice Department to dismiss his indictment.

  • April 06, 2026

    Justices Want Feds' Views On Ruby Tuesday Benefits Dispute

    The U.S. Supreme Court asked for the federal government Monday to weigh in on a dispute from ex-managers at restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday alleging Regions Bank lost them $35 million in retirement plan benefits that were liquidated in bankruptcy.

  • April 06, 2026

    Amazon, AlmondNet Drop Appeal Of $136M Patent Verdict

    Amazon and online advertising firm AlmondNet jointly moved to drop their respective appeals of a $136 million judgment won by the latter after a jury found Amazon infringed patents covering online ad space auctions.

  • April 06, 2026

    Justices Remand State Secrets Dispute In FBI Spying Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sent back to the lower court a long-running putative class action over the FBI's alleged surveillance of Muslims in Southern California, a dispute the federal government has argued threatens to undermine vital protections for state secrets. 

  • April 06, 2026

    Justices To Mull Courts' Authority To Hear Vets' Benefits Suits

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a U.S. Army veteran's suit challenging the limit on disability benefits available to him as someone convicted of a felony and sentenced to a lengthy prison term, after the Eleventh Circuit dismissed his claims.

  • April 06, 2026

    Justices Vacate Grande ISP Case After Cox Copyright Ruling

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday directed the Fifth Circuit to reconsider a copyright verdict against Grande Communications Networks, vacating the lower court's ruling and sending the case back for further review following the justices' decision last month sparing another internet service provider from liability for its customers' music piracy.

Expert Analysis

  • What A Court Doc Audit Reveals About Erroneous Filings

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    My audit of 1,522 court documents from last month found that over 95% contained at least one verifiable error, with fewer than 1% showing clear indicators of artificial intelligence use — highlighting above all else that lawyers may want to focus most on strengthening their review processes, says Elliott Ash at ETH Zurich.

  • Exploring When Fraud Asset Freezes Limit Right To Pick Atty

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    The defendant’s claim in the Seventh Circuit’s pending U.S. v. Shah case that the government restrained his assets until he couldn’t afford his chosen counsel presents a useful case study in how criminal forfeiture procedure interacts with U.S. Supreme Court rulings on Sixth Amendment rights and appealing complex fraud convictions, says Elisha Kobre at Sheppard.

  • How Justices' GEO Ruling Resets Gov't Contractor Litigation

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent GEO Group v. Menocal decision, holding that government contractors cannot immediately exit cases via interlocutory appeals, may increase litigation costs, strengthen plaintiffs' leverage in settlement negotiations and dampen the government's ability to attract bids on high-risk or sensitive projects, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Appellate Strategy Lessons From Pa. Excess Coverage Ruling

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    In FedEx v. National Union Fire Insurance, a Pennsylvania state court recently set forth a clear holding that policyholders may recover postjudgment interest under excess liability insurance policies only when the policy language expressly allows, offering important takeaways for planning appeals, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Defense Counsel Options Widen As No-Bill Rate Increases

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    Citizens impaneled on grand juries in politically motivated cases who are reasserting their role as a critical check on state power could provide criminal defense attorneys an opportunity to pursue seldom-used preindictment strategies, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • How Cos. Can Prepare For 'Made In America' Ad Scrutiny

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    The Trump administration's executive order to combat fraudulent "Made in America" claims in consumer-facing advertising, along with actions by the Federal Trade Commission, suggest a potential increased focus on consumer protection and pricing-related matters, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Similar-Looking Designs May Not Always Prove Infringement

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Range of Motion Products v. Armaid is a reminder that even a strikingly similar design might not be found to infringe upon a patented design once design features driven by functionality are filtered out from consideration, say attorneys at BCLP.

  • Series

    Mich. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    Michigan's financial services sector saw several significant developments in 2026's first quarter, including the state Department of Insurance and Financial Services' issuance of a bulletin on the use of artificial intelligence and the Michigan House's introduction of a bill based on the Model Money Transmission Modernization Act, say attorneys at Dykema.

  • Pension Case Offers Entertainment Work Exception Insights

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    A recent Ninth Circuit decision clarified that any amount of entertainment work can satisfy the entertainment industry exception under the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act, reinforcing that statutory language, rather than evolving business models, dictates withdrawal liability outcomes, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Justices' Ruling Stresses Quick Action Against Absconders

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent holding in Rico v. U.S. that a supervised release term is not automatically extended when a defendant absconds, probation officers and prosecutors risk being unable to address later violations if they don't act promptly to secure warrants, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Justices May Hesitate To Limit Courts' Arbitration Review

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    Based on Monday's argument in Jules v. Andre Balazs, the U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to preserve federal jurisdiction over arbitral award enforcement stemming from actions originated in federal court, a holding that would markedly limit the court's 2022 Walters v. Badgerow decision, says Ashwini Jayaratnam at DarrowEverett.

  • Series

    Ultramarathons Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Completing a 100-mile ultramarathon was tougher, more humbling and more rewarding than I ever imagined, and the experience highlighted how long-distance running has sharpened my ability to adapt to the evolving nature of antitrust law and strengthened my resolve to handle demanding, unforeseen challenges, says Dan Oakes at Axinn.

  • State FARA Laws Pose Unique Constitutional Challenges

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    Several states have recently enacted foreign agent registration and disclosure regimes that were modeled after the Foreign Agents Registration Act, but these state laws raise several constitutional questions, including concerns about preemption, speech and petition, and vagueness, says Alexandra Langton at Covington.

  • Series

    Pa. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    The first quarter of 2026 brought several consequential developments for Pennsylvania financial institutions, including the state banking department's first assessment overhaul in 10 years, a bill prohibiting interchange fees on card transaction sales taxes and a federal appeals court's upholding of a $52 million enforcement action, say attorneys at Gross McGinley.

  • Determining When Engineered Biologics May Be Patentable

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    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Regenxbio v. Sarepta, concluding that engineered cells with DNA from different organisms are not patent-ineligible natural phenomena, raises questions surrounding what framework courts will use to evaluate the patent eligibility of engineered biologics moving forward, says Robert Frederickson at Goodwin.

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