Business of Law

August 13, 2025
Should Judges Explain En Banc Votes? 6th Circ. Can't Agree

Two Sixth Circuit judges clashed Tuesday over appellate judges writing opinions to explain their votes on en banc petitions, as one longtime judge called the practice "offensive to our system of panel adjudication."
August 13, 2025
NJ US Atty Defends Status, Says She Is 'Validly Serving'

Acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba has hit back against criminal defendants who claim her contentious appointment violates the U.S. Constitution, saying everything is above board and a "lengthy period of acting service is not unusual."
August 13, 2025
NY Civil Rights Advocates Want ICE Holding Space Shut Down

The federal building in Lower Manhattan where the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained noncitizens in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions which immigrant rights advocates called "inhumane." (Marco Poggio | Law360)
August 13, 2025
Kelley Drye Hit With Class Action Over Client Data Leak

Poor security measures and inadequately trained employees at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP contributed to a data breach that exposed the personal information of clients earlier this year, according to a complaint filed in New York state court seeking to form a class action.
August 13, 2025
GSA Strikes Anthropic Deal For Access To Generative AI

The U.S. General Services Administration has made a deal with artificial intelligence developer Anthropic for the company to offer its generative AI tool Claude to all three branches of the federal government, including courts, at the cost of $1 for a year.
August 12, 2025
Split Calif. High Court Upholds Validity Of Arbitration Fee Rule

A California statute waiving arbitration rights for a party that does not timely pay arbitration fees is not preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act, a split California Supreme Court ruled, saying the state law doesn't disfavor arbitration and is meant to deter parties from employing "strategic nonpayment" of fees.
August 12, 2025
Loper Bright Neutered In 6th Circ., Tenn. Tells Supreme Court

There is "growing confusion among the circuits" regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of judicial deference to regulators, as evidenced by a Sixth Circuit ruling that negates much of the high court's Loper Bright ruling, Tennessee told the justices in a new petition.
August 12, 2025
Justices Urged To Maintain Limits On Calif. Immigration Stops

Immigration rights groups and individuals challenging recent federal immigration operations in Los Angeles urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to pause an order that temporarily prohibits the government from conducting indiscriminate immigration stops, saying the order bars only what is unlawful.
August 12, 2025
Insurer Obstructed $116M In Funding Claims, Court Told

A company that invested in a personal injury law firm's docket of cases alleges in a lawsuit removed to North Carolina federal court that its insurer "intentionally obstructed" its recovery of more than $116 million in coverage under policies insuring that investment.
August 12, 2025
Trump Nominates 5 To Mississippi, Alabama Federal Courts

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday five judicial nominees for federal courts in Mississippi and Alabama, one of whom Trump tried to put on the bench in his first term.
August 12, 2025
New ABA Leader Vows To 'Defend Liberty And Pursue Justice'

Wisconsin business attorney Michelle A. Behnke began her one-year term as president of the American Bar Association on Tuesday, saying the organization "must be ready to lead and focus on the mission of defending liberty and pursuing justice every day." 
August 12, 2025
Deal Unveiled In Schnader Harrison ERISA Case After Delays

Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP will pay $675,000 to settle a proposed ERISA class action from a former nonequity partner who claimed the firm improperly used her and others' retirement contributions to prop itself up as it faced financial trouble, according to a motion filed Tuesday in Pennsylvania federal court.
August 12, 2025
Md. Judges Say DOJ Habeas Suit Wreaks 'Havoc' On Judiciary

The Maryland federal bench again moved to throw out the Trump administration's "disruptive affront" challenging a standing order that temporarily paused the removal of noncitizen detainees who filed habeas petitions, arguing Monday that the executive branch's suit fails to state a claim and "wreaks unprecedented havoc on the Judiciary."
August 12, 2025
Atty Apologizes For Citation Error In IP Dispute

A New York attorney who became one of many accused of using generative artificial intelligence for a brief after a federal judge found citations to nonexistent cases apologized Tuesday for a mistake in a more recent brief flagged for a false citation.
August 12, 2025
Ex-Judges, DAs Blast DOJ Suit Over ICE Courthouse Arrests

New York district attorneys, legal aid groups, law professors and retired judges have expressed support for a state law that blocks federal immigration officials from making arrests near courthouses, calling it essential to a functioning justice system and urging the dismissal of a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit challenging the law.
August 12, 2025
DOJ Demurs On Lawsuit Seeking Emil Bove Docs

The U.S. Department of Justice is contesting a watchdog's lawsuit seeking to obtain public records requests on now-Third Circuit Judge Emil Bove, who was formerly President Donald Trump's criminal attorney and a top DOJ official.
August 12, 2025
ABA Delegates Remove Diversity Requirements For Board

The American Bar Association's policymaking body approved changes to its Constitution on Tuesday to no longer require Board of Governors seats for women, members of the LGBTQ community and racial minorities.
August 11, 2025
'Flipping NJ' Developer Fights Charges, Citing Habba's Role

A New Jersey real estate developer and influencer, who is accused of running a Ponzi-like investment fraud scheme and laundering drug money, on Monday became the latest defendant to seek dismissal of his indictment over what he says was the illegal appointment of Alina Habba as acting U.S. attorney for the Garden State.
August 11, 2025
Trump's DC Takeover Highlights Local Judicial Vacancies

President Donald Trump's announcement Monday on the federal takeover of D.C. law enforcement and deployment of the National Guard to Washington, D.C., has drawn attention once again to the vacancy crisis plaguing the local D.C. court system.
August 11, 2025
Pa. AG Probing 'Cyber Incident' That Disrupted Email, Phones

The website, office email accounts and phone lines for the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office were offline Monday after being disrupted by a "cyber incident," the state's top prosecutor announced.
August 11, 2025
Posner Accuser Wants Roberts To Pick Judges For Wage Case

The pro se plaintiff seeking to revive wage claims against retired Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner has filed an opposed motion asking the circuit's chief judge to request U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts assign out-of-circuit judges to preside over the case, arguing the circuit judges cannot be impartial.
August 11, 2025
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

Nielsen Holdings Ltd. and consumer intelligence spinoff Nielsen Consumer IQ agreed to end their dispute, a sole investor asked the court to name him lead plaintiff in a suit challenging Endeavor's $13 billion take-private deal, and the Chancery Court announced a new, automated case assignment regime. Here's the latest from the Delaware Chancery Court.
August 11, 2025
Legal Tech Co. Hits Back At Norton Rose With $15M Fraud Suit

Norton Rose Fulbright is facing a $15 million fraud suit in Illinois state court from a legal tech company claiming the firm made false promises to lure its founders to join its new Chicago office and offer its legal workflow product to clients, weeks after Norton Rose sued the company saying it deceived the firm and kept client files without authorization.
August 11, 2025
McDermott, Other Firms Sign Deal To End $4.4M Guo Claims

McDermott Will & Schulte, four other law firms and one consulting firm have agreed to settle, for an undisclosed amount and without formal litigation, clawback claims totaling $4.4 million by the Chapter 11 estate of bankrupt Chinese exile and convicted criminal Miles Guo.
August 11, 2025
FTX Customers Aim To Beef Up Case Against Fenwick & West

New information that has emerged since customers of the now-collapsed cryptocurrency trading platform FTX Trading Ltd. sued Fenwick & West LLP over the firm's alleged role in that collapse justifies updating the complaint against the firm, those customers told a Florida federal court Monday.

Expert Analysis

Identifying Deepfakes During Evidence Collection, Discovery

Excerpt from Practical Guidance

Attorneys must familiarize themselves with the tools used to create and detect deepfakes — media manipulated by artificial intelligence to convincingly mimic real people and events — as well as best practices for keeping this fabricated evidence out of court, says Bijan Ghom at Saxton & Stump.
An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.
This Year's Insights On Attorney Well-Being

With the legal industry increasingly grappling with attorney burnout, depression, anxiety, stress and substance use disorders, Law360 guest experts proposed solutions this year ranging from mental health first aid training to exercises that build flexible optimism.
New Strategies For Enhancing Firm Culture

How can law firms work toward retaining legal talent and meeting business goals? This year, Law360 guest commentary dove into tips like embracing cognitive diversity and conducting so-called stay interviews.
The Latest Legal Writing Tips

In 2024, Law360 guest experts provided advice for improving many kinds of legal writing — explaining how attorneys can use syllogistic reasoning, emulate master chefs, and clean up drafts produced by generative artificial intelligence tools.
2024 Pointers On Persuading Jurors

In a year where nuclear verdicts continued to proliferate, Law360 guest commentary focused on how trial attorneys can better select and connect with jurors, offering strategies for identifying anti-corporate sentiments and tactics to land one’s closing argument.
Associate Issues In The 2024 Spotlight

Law360 guest writers provided insights on a range of issues affecting associates this year, from the challenges of training new lawyers in the era of artificial intelligence, to nonfinancial factors that junior attorneys should consider before accepting a job offer.
Election Impact: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

Donald Trump's election win initiated a deluge of predictions for the incoming administration, with Law360 guest writers covering key policy areas such as immigration, tax, energy, labor and competition, plus potential congressional themes and investigations.
Cybersecurity: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

From the CrowdStrike failure to the plethora of new and sometimes tricky regulatory requirements, to early decisions interpreting cyberinsurance coverage, guest authors broke down the implications of the biggest cybersecurity developments this year.
ESG And DEI: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

In their commentary on ESG and DEI topics this year, Law360 guest authors discussed Project 2025’s potential impact, the rise of greenwashing litigation, strategies for fostering employee retention amid a shaky regulatory landscape, and more.
AI Questions: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

As the legal discourse surrounding artificial intelligence shifted from theoretical to concrete this year, guest commentary focused on the proliferation of new AI-related litigation, enforcement actions and best practices, while tracking the judiciary’s experimentation with generative AI.
Noncompetes: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

Employee noncompete issues took center stage this year, as Law360 guest writers covered everything from state-level enforceability trends and alternative methods for protecting business interests, to a National Labor Relations Board ruling and the Federal Trade Commission’s attempted ban.
The Most-Read IP Law360 Guest Articles Of 2024

Double-patenting was one of the top intellectual property topics tackled in Law360’s Expert Analysis section this year, along with the intersection of copyright law and artificial intelligence, case distribution in the Western District of Texas, and more.
The Most-Read Securities Law360 Guest Articles Of 2024

This year, popular securities guest article topics included controversial Delaware court decisions and their legislative aftermath, as well as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s focus on emerging industries amid struggles to implement its rulemaking agenda.
The Most-Read Access To Justice Guest Articles Of 2024

Law360 guest commentary addressed several emerging access to justice issues this year, including growing case backlogs, a dearth of legal services in rural communities and amendments to long-standing sentencing policies.