Business of Law

  • June 12, 2025

    Weinstein Sex Abuse Trial Ends After Mixed, Partial Verdict

    Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse retrial ended Thursday with a Manhattan jury failing to reach a verdict on a count alleging the movie mogul raped an actress, one day after he was convicted of forcing sex on a production assistant and cleared on a third charge.

  • June 12, 2025

    Justices Limit FTCA Defense In FBI Raid Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday held that the Constitution's supremacy clause cannot shield the federal government from Federal Tort Claims Act suits, in the process reviving a Georgia woman's claim over an FBI raid aimed at a gang member but mistakenly carried out at her home.

  • June 11, 2025

    Calif. Justices OK More Bar Exam Proposals After Fiasco

    The California Supreme Court on Wednesday approved more measures to address the widespread problems that arose during the administration of the February bar exam, which includes a provisional license program for applicants who failed or withdrew from the exam. 

  • June 11, 2025

    DOJ's Focus On Cartels Raises Compliance Risks For US Cos.

    U.S. corporations with business interests south of the border are increasingly worried about exposure to terrorism-related criminal charges under the Trump administration for inadvertently working with cartels linked to major business sectors throughout Mexico, from energy and manufacturing to financial services, compliance experts tell Law360.

  • June 11, 2025

    Ex-Judges Urge High Court To Protect Right To Counsel

    A group of six high-profile retired judges urged the Supreme Court to protect criminal defendants' right to consult with counsel during overnight trial recesses, saying a current "patchwork" of practices in this area is bad for judges as well as defendants.

  • June 11, 2025

    DC Circ. Pauses Habeas Order In Alien Enemies Act Case

    The D.C. Circuit has agreed to briefly pause a lower court order requiring the Trump administration to give due process to Venezuelan immigrants deported from the U.S. to a Salvadoran prison under the Alien Enemies Act.

  • June 11, 2025

    DOJ Says Newsom Can't Ask Court To Halt Guard Deployment

    The Trump administration is telling a California federal judge its decision to federalize the National Guard is unreviewable in court, calling California Gov. Gavin Newsom's effort to stop the takeover "a crass political stunt" in a new filing Wednesday.

  • June 11, 2025

    DOJ Legal Policy Chief, Adviser On Judge Selections, Resigns

    Aaron Reitz, a top U.S. Department of Justice official who works on judicial nominations, announced Wednesday he's resigning after being confirmed for the role on March 26.

  • June 11, 2025

    These Firms Are Landing The Most Patent Litigation Work

    Rabicoff Law LLC reclaimed its status as the most active firm for patent plaintiffs, having filed more than twice as many cases in 2024 as it did in 2023, according to a new report from Lex Machina.

  • June 11, 2025

    Queens Defenders Ex-Director Charged With Embezzling

    A former executive director of Queens Defenders and her husband are charged with embezzling $60,000 from the organization and spending it on personal expenses including rent for a penthouse apartment, luxury goods, vacations and teeth-whitening procedures, prosecutors say in an indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York federal court.

  • June 11, 2025

    Atty Wants 6th Circ. To Vacate Tenn. 'Gag Order' Rule Decision

    If the Sixth Circuit does not undo a decision that a Nashville attorney didn't have standing to challenge a since-rescinded Middle District of Tennessee rule concerning lawyers' "extrajudicial statements," it could "be all but impossible" for lawyers to challenge similar court rules in the future, the attorney said Wednesday.

  • June 11, 2025

    New Patent Cases Rebound As EDTX Seals Top Venue Spot

    The number of new patent suits filed in 2024 increased 22.2% over 2023, bouncing back from a historically slow year, and the Eastern District of Texas further cemented its status as the most popular patent venue after a rule change made another Texas district less attractive to plaintiffs.

  • June 11, 2025

    JC Penney Blasts Jackson Walker Bid To Escape Fee Dispute

    J.C. Penney has called on a Texas bankruptcy court to knock down Jackson Walker LLP's bid to escape a fee suit prompted by a yearslong secret romance between a former firm partner and a onetime bankruptcy judge, saying the firm's dismissal bid is "riddled with implausibility, excuse and contradiction."

  • June 11, 2025

    Trump Presses 2nd Circ. To Federalize Hush Money Appeal

    Counsel for President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged the Second Circuit to take over the appeal of his New York state hush money conviction post-trial, saying a federal judge in Manhattan wrongly denied removal, and the landscape has now changed in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark presidential immunity decision.

  • June 11, 2025

    J&J's Beasley Allen DQ Bid Based On 'Innuendo,' Court Told

    A California couple ripped Johnson & Johnson's renewed bid to block two Beasley Allen Law Firm attorneys from representing them in their suit accusing the company of selling carcinogenic talc-based baby powder, arguing the company's opposition is based largely on "innuendo" rather than proof of misconduct by the lawyers.

  • June 11, 2025

    Ex-Copyright Leader Says Firing Risks 'Inoperable' Agency

    The fired leader of the U.S. Copyright Office has asked a D.C. federal judge to block the Trump administration's action while she challenges her termination, arguing that significant functions of the government agency could be rendered "inoperable" without judicial intervention.

  • June 10, 2025

    Judiciary Panel Advances New Rules On Amici, AI, Subpoenas

    The federal judiciary's top policy panel Tuesday propelled revamped rules regarding numerous hot legal topics, including artificial intelligence, "dark money" groups bankrolling amicus briefs and the subpoena powers of courts and defense counsel.

  • June 10, 2025

    NJ Rep. LaMonica McIver Indicted Over ICE Facility Incident

    U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver has been charged with forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers during her inspection of a Newark, New Jersey, immigration detention facility last month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

  • June 10, 2025

    Feds Reboot FCPA Agenda With Narrower Enforcement Focus

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday released new and tightened guidelines for enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act after a four-month pause on such prosecutions, centering prospective investigations on situations that affect U.S. competitiveness and national security as well as transnational cartels.

  • June 10, 2025

    ABA 'Surprised And Disappointed' By DOJ Shunning

    The American Bar Association on Tuesday defended its long-standing process for reviewing judicial nominees and said Attorney General Pam Bondi was wrong to call the group an "activist organization."

  • June 10, 2025

    Key Insights On Looming Fair Use Rulings In AI Cases

    Two California federal judges have indicated they are inclined to find that using copyrighted material to train artificial intelligence systems is transformative, which usually means that copying a work is fair, but that may not let Meta Platforms and Anthropic off the hook in separate lawsuits.

  • June 10, 2025

    State Chief Justices Blast Plans To Cut Legal Services Corp.

    A coalition of 37 state Supreme Court chief justices have asked federal lawmakers to reject President Donald Trump's plans to eliminate the Legal Services Corp., arguing that the "justice system is hobbled when citizens are deprived of legal counsel."

  • June 10, 2025

    House Conservatives Push Senate To 'Rein In' Judges

    House conservatives are imploring their Senate counterparts to do more to "rein in" federal judges with the budget reconciliation package.

  • June 10, 2025

    Top CFPB Enforcer Quits Over 'Devastating' Agency Pullback

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's top enforcement official resigned Tuesday, saying she can no longer effectively do her job under leadership that "has no intention to enforce the law in any meaningful way."

  • June 10, 2025

    Mass. Court-Appointed Attys Hit 'Boiling Point' Over Low Pay

    Hundreds of private attorneys in Massachusetts who are paid by the state to represent indigent defendants and others have stopped accepting new court-appointed cases over complaints about low pay, putting the system on what one veteran advocate called "the verge of imploding."

Expert Analysis

  • How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

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    Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Opinion

    Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital

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    Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition

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    Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

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    While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • Series

    Birding Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Observing and documenting birds in their natural habitats fosters patience, sharpens observational skills and provides moments of pure wonder — qualities that foster personal growth and enrich my legal career, says Allison Raley at Arnall Golden.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw

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    The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.

  • Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield

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    Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind

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    As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence

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    As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.

  • Series

    Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

  • Roundup

    Adapting To Private Practice

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    In this Expert Analysis series, attorneys who have made the move from government work to private practice in the last few years reflect on how they transitioned to law firm life, and discuss tips for others.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

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    Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

  • Jurisdiction Argument In USAID Dissent Is Up For Debate

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    A dissent refuting the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent order directing the U.S. Agency for International Development to pay $2 billion in frozen foreign aid argued that claims relating to already-completed government contract work belong in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims – answering an important question, but with a debatable conclusion, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • Firms Still Have Lateral Market Advantage, But Risks Persist

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the fourth quarter of 2024 shows that we’re in a new, stable era of lateral hiring where firms have the edge, but leaders should proceed cautiously, looking beyond expected revenue and compensation analyses for potential risks, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Opinion

    We Must Allow Judges To Use Their Independent Judgment

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    As two recent cases show, the ability of judges to access their independent judgment crucially enables courts to exercise the discretion needed to reach the right outcome based on the unique facts within the law, says John Siffert at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

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