Appellate

  • October 20, 2025

    5th Circ. Affirms Fraud Conviction Of Failed Bank's Ex-CEO

    A Fifth Circuit panel upheld the conviction of former First NBC Bank CEO Ashton J. Ryan Jr., who was sentenced to 14 years in prison and ordered to pay $215 million in restitution after a jury found him guilty of bank fraud and conspiracy related to the collapse of the Louisiana bank.

  • October 20, 2025

    DOT's Immigrant Truck Driver Rule Gets DC Circ. Challenge

    Workers and unions on Monday petitioned the D.C. Circuit to review a new U.S. Department of Transportation rule that blocks certain immigrants from holding commercial driver's licenses despite having authorization to work in the U.S.

  • October 20, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Revived Chevron In PTAB Appeal, Justices Told

    The Federal Circuit has revived Chevron deference in "all but name," by relying on U.S. Patent and Trademark Office policy to answer a key question about what qualifies as prior art, a law professor has told the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • October 20, 2025

    Split Mich. Panel Orders Probe Into Black Juror's Removal

    A divided Michigan state appeals court has granted a hearing to a man convicted of child sexual abuse to determine if a prospective juror was removed because of his race.

  • October 20, 2025

    Biotech Co. Asks SEC For Emergency Delisting Pause

    Chinese biotechnology company Shineco Inc. has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an emergency stay of Nasdaq's suspension and delisting of its securities, arguing it will likely succeed in its pending appeal to the stock exchange.

  • October 20, 2025

    Del. Supreme Court Upholds Keynetics Trust Dissolution

    The Delaware Supreme Court on Monday upheld a Chancery Court order dissolving the Keynetics Shareholder Trust and sanctioning its chairman, ruling that the lower court acted within its discretion when it imposed penalties for repeated violations of stock transfer restrictions tied to the stock of Idaho tech firm Keynetics Inc.

  • October 20, 2025

    Funds Rip Boeing's 4th Circ. Bid To Decertify Max Fraud Class

    Institutional investors have told the Fourth Circuit that they've sufficiently laid out their damages theories to advance certified class claims alleging Boeing kept its stock price trading at inflated levels by repeatedly misrepresenting the safety of its 737 Max fleet after two crashes and a door-plug blowout.

  • October 20, 2025

    Proposed PTAB Rules Bolster SAP's Fight, Fed. Circ. Told

    SAP America Inc. told the Federal Circuit on Friday that its challenge to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's stance on Fintiv-based discretionary denials is bolstered by newly proposed USPTO rules, which the company says prove that "mandamus relief is urgently needed to protect important public interests."

  • October 20, 2025

    Exxon Fights 2nd Circ.'s Atty Fees Ruling In NYC Climate Case

    Exxon, BP, Shell and the American Petroleum Institute are asking the Second Circuit for en banc review of a panel's decision to award attorney fees to New York City, which is suing them for deceptive practices around climate change.

  • October 20, 2025

    Emergency Tariffs Unlawfully Unprecedented, Justices Told

    The International Emergency Economic Powers Act has never been used until President Donald Trump to impose tariffs, and nowhere does the law provide that explicit authority, a dozen states, several small businesses and a pair of Illinois toymakers told the U.S. Supreme Court Monday.

  • October 20, 2025

    Youths Appeal Dismissal Of Challenge To Trump Energy Orders

    A group of youths filed a notice of appeal with the Ninth Circuit on Monday, seeking to overturn a Montana federal judge's dismissal of their lawsuit aimed at undoing President Donald Trump's energy-related emergency orders.

  • October 20, 2025

    10th Circ. Nixes Internet Restrictions In Child Porn Case

    The Tenth Circuit has ruled that a lifetime internet restriction imposed as part of a man's sentence for child pornography and exploitation charges should be reversed, finding that there was not sufficient legal basis to uphold the restriction.

  • October 20, 2025

    21 AGs Back Planned Parenthood In Funding Freeze Fight

    A coalition of attorneys general from 21 Democrat-led states chimed in on Monday in support of Planned Parenthood's case challenging the Trump administration's push to cut off Medicaid reimbursements to its centers and affiliates, saying more than a million people could lose healthcare access if the First Circuit doesn't halt the move.     

  • October 20, 2025

    9th Circ. Nixes Class' Appeal For Reverse Mortgage Loan Suit

    The Ninth Circuit tossed an appeal and a related rehearing bid for a proposed class action that accused a company of running an unlawful reverse mortgage loan scheme, ruling that the proposed class of homeowners has agreed with the company to voluntarily drop their appeal.

  • October 20, 2025

    NJ Panel Skeptical That Vacation Time Is Paid Sick Leave

    A New Jersey appellate panel on Monday questioned a concrete supplier's assertion that it complied with the state's Earned Sick Leave Law even without differentiating between workers' vacation time and paid sick leave.

  • October 20, 2025

    3rd Circ. Suspects Process 'Circumvention' In US Atty Role

    The Third Circuit on Monday seemed inclined to back a district court's finding that the U.S. Department of Justice's designation of President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer as New Jersey's top federal prosecutor violated federal law, with one jurist suggesting the appointment raised "serious constitutional implications."

  • October 20, 2025

    Tire-Maker Can't Thwart Asbestos Suits, NC Justices Are Told

    More than a dozen plaintiffs locked in a long-running battle for workers' compensation tied to alleged asbestos exposure at a Continental Tire factory are urging North Carolina's top court to let stand a lower appeals court decision reviving their cases.

  • October 20, 2025

    Pa. AG To Continue Grid Fight After PUC Bows Out

    Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday sought to continue the appeal of a Third Circuit decision invalidating the state Public Utilities Commission's denial of a permit for a transmission project after the agency's chairman said he feared the appeal's outcome could weaken state authority.

  • October 20, 2025

    Seminary Settles Sex Bias Suit With Ex-Ministry Director

    A Pittsburgh Presbyterian seminary has agreed to settle a former interim director's suit claiming she was fired out of gender bias and for raising complaints that the seminary pushed a racially discriminatory background check policy, according to federal court filings.

  • October 20, 2025

    Red States Back Alaska In High Court Fishing Regs Dispute

    Twenty Republican-led states and leaders of the Arizona Legislature are backing Alaska in its U.S. Supreme Court bid to undo a Ninth Circuit order that barred it from opening part of the Kuskokwim River to all fishers, telling the justices that there are detrimental consequences flowing from the appellate court's decision.

  • October 20, 2025

    Mich. Equine Law Shields Ford Museum In Carriage Crash

    A Michigan appellate panel said in a published opinion that the Henry Ford museum is immune from a woman's negligence suit over a horse-drawn carriage accident, determining riding in a horse-drawn carriage falls under a state law shielding sponsors of equine activity from liability.

  • October 20, 2025

    NJ Panel Tosses Challenge To Jersey City Plaza Renovation

    A New Jersey appellate court rejected an appeal for a suit that challenged the renovation of a Jersey City plaza, ruling that the appeal is moot because the renovation project is finished and the plaintiffs don't want to get rid of the renovations.

  • October 20, 2025

    Guam Fund Seeks OK To Appeal Loss Of Military Leave Suit

    A retirement fund for Guam government employees asked a Guam federal judge to let it appeal an order finding the fund and the U.S. territory liable for shortchanging pension contributions for employees who take paid leave while serving in the military.

  • October 20, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    This past week, the Delaware Chancery Court and Supreme Court handled a crowded corporate docket, weighing blockbuster merger appeals, shareholder settlement objections, fights over control involving an NBA franchise and a high-profile appeal from Elon Musk involving a massive payday from Tesla.

  • October 20, 2025

    High Court Skips Male Ex-School Administrator's Bias Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to review a suit brought by a former private school administrator who said the Seventh Circuit ignored evidence that school leadership preferred women when it refused to revive his suit claiming he was pushed out in favor of a female employee.

Expert Analysis

  • Mass. Ruling May Pave New Avenue To Target Subpoenas

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    A Massachusetts federal court’s recent decision to quash a subpoena seeking information on gender-affirming care at Boston Children’s Hospital is a significant departure from courts' deferential approach to subpoena enforcement, and may open a new pathway for practitioners challenging investigative tools in the future, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Where 4th And 9th Circ. Diverge On Trade Secret Timing

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    Recent Fourth and Ninth Circuit decisions have revealed a deepening circuit split over when plaintiffs must specifically define their alleged trade secrets, turning the early stages of trade secret litigation into a key battleground and elevating the importance of forum selection, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • What Justices' Bowe Ruling Could Mean For Federal Prisoners

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    Bowe v. U.S. — set for oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 14 — presents the high court with two consequential questions about the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act's successive-petition regime that will be immediately relevant to federal postconviction practice, says attorney Elizabeth Franklin-Best.

  • Why Justices Seem Inclined To Curtail Del. Affidavit Statute

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    After recent oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in Berk v. Choy — asking whether Delaware's affidavit-of-merit statute applies in federal diversity actions, or whether the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure displace the state requirement — it appears the court is poised to simplify the standard approach, says Eric Weitz of The Weitz Law Firm.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 3 Tips On Finding The Right Job

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    After 23 years as a state and federal prosecutor, when I contemplated moving to a law firm, practicing solo or going in-house, I found there's a critical first step — deep self-reflection on what you truly want to do and where your strengths lie, says Rachael Jones at McKool Smith.

  • Justices May Decide Whether Restitution Is A Punishment

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    Forthcoming oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in Ellingburg v. U.S. will focus on whether criminal restitution qualifies as criminal punishment under the U.S. Constitution — a key question as restitution has expanded in reach and severity, while providing little meaningful compensation for victims, says Lula Hagos at George Washington University Law School.

  • Series

    Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Painting trains me to see both the fine detail and the whole composition at once, enabling me to identify friction points while keeping sight of a client's bigger vision, but the most significant lesson I've brought to my legal work has been the value of originality, says Jana Gouchev at Gouchev Law.

  • What's At Stake At High Court For Presidential Removal Power

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    Two pending U.S. Supreme Court cases —Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook — raise fundamental questions about the constitutional separation of powers, threaten the 90-year-old precedent of Humphrey's Executor v. U.S. and will determine the president's authority to control independent federal agencies, says Kolya Glick at Arnold & Porter.

  • Courts Are Still Grappling With McDonnell, 9 Years Later

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    The Seventh and D.C. Circuits’ recent decisions in U.S. v. Weiss and U.S. v. Paitsel, respectively, demonstrate that courts are still struggling to apply the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2016 ruling in McDonnell v. U.S., which narrowed the scope of “official acts” in federal bribery cases, say attorneys at Quinn Emanuel.

  • Calif. Justices Usher In Stricter Era For Wage Law Ignorance

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    In Iloff v. LaPaille, the California Supreme Court determined that neither an employer's ignorance of wage obligations nor a worker agreeing to an unconventional arrangement is sufficient to establish good faith, demonstrating that the era of casual wage arrangements without legal vetting is over, says Brandy Alonzo-Mayland at Michelman & Robinson.

  • Protecting Sensitive Court Filings After Recent Cyber Breach

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    In the wake of a recent cyberattack on federal courts' Case Management/Electronic Case Files system, civil litigants should consider seeking enhanced protections for sensitive materials filed under seal to mitigate the risk of unauthorized exposure, say attorneys at Redgrave.

  • Means-Plus-Function Terms In Software Claims May Be Risky

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    Though the Federal Circuit recently reversed a decision rejecting a set of means-plus-function software claims as lacking sufficient structure, practitioners who proceed under this holding may run into indefiniteness problems if they do not consider other Federal Circuit holdings related to the definiteness requirement, says Jeffrey Danley at Seed IP Law Group.

  • Wash. Ruling Raises Pay Transparency Litigation Risk

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    Washington Supreme Court’s recent decision in Branson v. Washington Fine Wine and Spirits, affirming applicants standing to sue regardless of their intent in applying, broadens state employers' already broad exposure — even when compared to other states with pay transparency laws, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Why Feds' Criminal Vehicle Tampering Theory Falls Short

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    In recent years, federal regulators have advanced a novel theory that reprogramming a vehicle's onboard diagnostics system is a crime under the Clean Air Act — but a case now pending in the Ninth Circuit shows that the government's position is questionable for a host of reasons, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • High Court Right-To-Counsel Case Could Have Seismic Impact

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next week in Villarreal v. Texas about whether prohibiting testimony discussions between defendants and their counsel during an overnight recess violates the Sixth Amendment, and the eventual decision could impose a barrier in the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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