Appellate

  • March 03, 2026

    4th Circ. Won't Revive Retired Miners' Health Fight

    The Fourth Circuit refused Tuesday to reopen a dispute over lifetime retirement health and life insurance benefits from a proposed class of retired coal miners, keeping in place a West Virginia federal court's judgment that broadly favored the company following a seven-day bench trial.

  • March 03, 2026

    Appellate Group Of The Year: Gibson Dunn

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP secured significant appellate rulings in its favor last year, including in U.S. Supreme Court cases dealing with the deadline to petition for judicial review of a removal order and whether a trademark plaintiff can recover profits from entities other than named defendants, earning the firm a spot among the 2025 Law360 Appellate Groups of the Year.

  • March 03, 2026

    3rd Circ. Upholds Dismissal Of $800K Union Pension Suit

    A split Third Circuit panel said Tuesday it won't revive allegations that two companies owe about $800,000 to a union pension fund, ruling that a New Jersey federal judge properly tossed the claim because the fund waited eight years to tell the companies they owed the money.

  • March 03, 2026

    NY Judicial Watchdog Says Complaints Break Record Again

    New York's judicial watchdog has reported a record number of new complaints filed against judges for the fourth year in a row in 2025.

  • March 03, 2026

    1st Circ. Won't Revive Boston's Opioid Claims Against PBMs

    Boston lost its bid to revive opioid crisis-related claims against two pharmacy benefit managers, as a First Circuit panel affirmed that the suit came years too late.

  • March 03, 2026

    DOJ Nixes Plan To Drop Law Firm EO Appeals In About-Face

    A day after informing the D.C. Circuit that it would no longer seek to defend the executive orders issued by President Donald Trump against four law firms, the U.S. Department of Justice reversed course Tuesday, requesting permission to withdraw its motion to voluntarily dismiss the appeals.

  • March 02, 2026

    High Court Blocks California's Gender Privacy Rule

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday reinstated a lower court order that barred California public schools from allowing transgender and gender-nonconforming students to use different names and pronouns at school without their parents' knowledge or consent while the order is appealed.

  • March 02, 2026

    Seattle Kraken Owners Beat Appeal Over Scrapped Deal

    A Washington state appeals court on Monday declined to revive a company's lawsuit accusing the Seattle Kraken NHL team's ownership and entertainment company Oak View Group of pulling out of a planned deal to develop a large "eatertainment" venue near Climate Pledge Arena.

  • March 02, 2026

    Justices Pass On Challenge To $600M Norfolk Southern Deal

    The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a push Monday to reconsider objections to a $600 million class settlement between Norfolk Southern Corp. and residents affected by the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment after the deal was upheld by the Sixth Circuit late last year.

  • March 02, 2026

    Dems Probe Trump 'Fixer' In Kirkland Pro Bono Deal

    Top Democratic legislators who are investigating the legality of pro bono agreements some BigLaw firms made with President Donald Trump demanded Monday that Kirkland & Ellis LLP provide information about the involvement of Boris Epshteyn, whom the lawmakers called Trump's "legal fixer and co-conspirator to overturn the 2020 presidential election."

  • March 02, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Malibu, Culver City Filed Air Traffic Suits Too Late

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday rejected challenges from Malibu and Culver City of the Federal Aviation Administration's flight pattern adjustments in Southern California, saying the municipalities waited too long to challenge the 2016 air traffic revisions.

  • March 02, 2026

    5th Circ. Presses McDermott Shareholders On Direct Claim

    A Fifth Circuit panel wanted to know why investors should get another shot at a direct class action alleging that McDermott International Inc. made misrepresentations about a $6 billion merger, asking Monday if the case before the court was "analogous" to a case alleging the company overpaid for the merger.

  • March 02, 2026

    Undisclosed Witnesses Can Be Excluded, Florida Panel Says

    A Florida state appeals court upheld $8.25 million in damages awarded to the estate of a biker killed in a DUI collision, although a full judge panel certified a conflict regarding late-filed witness testimony after ruling that lower courts aren't required to consider whether such evidence harms opposing parties. 

  • March 02, 2026

    Trucking Group Defends $21M Atty Fee Bid In RI Tolls Fight

    The commercial trucking industry's lead trade group has argued it's entitled to $21 million in attorney fees as it staunchly objected to a Rhode Island federal magistrate judge's recommendation that its request be slashed to $2.7 million in long-running litigation over the state's truck tolling program.

  • March 02, 2026

    4 Things That Likely Sealed Fate Of SCOTUSblog Founder

    When 12 "guilty" verdicts were read aloud by the jury in SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein's tax evasion and mortgage fraud trial last week, it was the culmination of a 16-day trial that took jurors deep into Goldstein's ultra high-stakes poker playing, his lavish lifestyle and his former law firm's accounting. Here, Law360 looks at four key pieces of evidence that likely moved jurors to their decision.

  • March 02, 2026

    Worker's Heart Issues Can't Save Vax Bias Suit, 5th Circ. Says

    The Fifth Circuit declined to revive a worker's bias suit claiming he was forced out of an oil and gas services company because his heart condition prevented him from complying with its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, ruling his case falls flat because his heart issues don't amount to a disability.

  • March 02, 2026

    Ex-Chipotle Worker Can't Rebut Roach Rationale In Firing Suit

    The Tenth Circuit on Monday refused to reopen a former Chipotle manager's lawsuit claiming he was fired because he was in his 50s, saying he couldn't overcome the fast casual restaurant chain's argument that he was let go because of a cockroach infestation.

  • March 02, 2026

    5th Circ. Judge Flags 'Pretty Extreme' Timing Of Barista Firing

    A Fifth Circuit judge said on Monday that the timing of Starbucks' firing of a California barista was "pretty extreme" and that management's words about benefits "do matter" as the court weighed the coffee giant's bid to overturn two unfavorable rulings by the National Labor Relations Board.

  • March 02, 2026

    3rd Circ. Unsure Criticism Of Prof's DEI Stance Is Defamation

    A Third Circuit panel on Monday questioned whether the retraction of a former University of Pittsburgh program director's article criticizing diversity, equity and inclusion was a purely academic debate the courts should avoid, or if statements that it "misrepresented" facts were enough to sustain defamation claims.

  • March 02, 2026

    Tech Co. Tells 3rd Circ. Plenty Alleged To Revive IP Suit

    A New Jersey software company urged the Third Circuit on Monday to revive its suit against a traffic technology company over the alleged unlicensed use of one of its products, arguing that there were enough facts in its complaint to survive a motion to dismiss.

  • March 02, 2026

    Supreme Court Seems To Favor Gun Rights For Pot User

    U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Monday of government arguments that barring marijuana users from owning guns is legal, pointing out that the government's chosen historical analog, laws disarming drunks, only applied to gun owners who were regularly dangerously intoxicated — qualities not necessarily present in modern cannabis users.

  • March 02, 2026

    Mass. Justices Weigh Handgun Age Law After Top Court Case

    Massachusetts' highest court on Monday considered whether a blanket prohibition on handgun possession by anyone under 21 is unconstitutional, in a case that reflects the ongoing fallout from a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sharply limited the circumstances under which a license to carry can be denied.

  • March 02, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Quickly Releases Mandate In Trump Tariff Case

    Businesses and states that successfully challenged President Donald Trump's global tariff regime can proceed with their efforts to seek refunds, as the Federal Circuit expedited the release of its mandate in the case to the U.S. Court of International Trade on Monday.

  • March 02, 2026

    7th Circ. Urged To Nix Wisconsin Homeowners' Tax Appeal

    A Wisconsin school district is asking the Seventh Circuit to reject an appeal by a group of homeowners that claims the Menominee Indian Tribe joined forces with it and other municipalities to increase their tax burden, arguing that the property owners' claims are not redressable in the federal court.

  • March 02, 2026

    1st Circ. Probes Regulatory Authority Of US Fishing Boards

    First Circuit judges quizzed a fishing industry group on Monday on the powers of federal regional councils for commercial fishing, as the group seeks to undo haddock fishing limits for the New England coast. 

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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