Massachusetts

  • November 07, 2025

    Fed Faces Dem Grilling Over 30% Supervision Staff Cut Plan

    The Federal Reserve's plan to cut its bank supervision workforce by 30% is facing fresh scrutiny from the Senate Banking Committee's top Democrat, who is calling on the central bank to explain how the downsizing will affect its ability to police Wall Street.

  • November 07, 2025

    Boston, Mayor Ask Judge To Toss Fired Staffer's Lawsuit

    The city of Boston, its mayor and a police officer say a former City Hall staffer's claim that she was fired to shield a high-ranking official and spare the mayor from political embarrassment is based on nothing more than "labels and conclusions," according to new filings seeking dismissal of a lawsuit over the termination.

  • November 07, 2025

    Hearing Officer Clears Mass. Judge Of Aiding ICE Escape

    A hearing officer has concluded that Massachusetts state court Justice Shelley Richmond Joseph was not aware of a plan to allow a defendant to evade an ICE agent waiting at a suburban Boston court in 2018, but is recommending a public reprimand for other actions the judge took that day.

  • November 07, 2025

    Mass. Federal Judge Mark Wolf Retires After 40 Years

    Senior U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf on Friday announced that he is retiring after more than 40 years on the federal bench, having presided over some of the most notable cases in Massachusetts federal court over the past four decades.

  • November 06, 2025

    'Restore Coherence': Trump Admin Told To Fully Fund SNAP

    The Trump administration must fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in full this month, a Rhode Island federal judge ruled Thursday while admonishing the government for "entrenching delay" of benefits for the 42 million low-income Americans who rely on food assistance.

  • November 06, 2025

    Unions Decry Trump 'Loyalty Question' On Job Applications

    The Trump administration is violating federal job hopefuls' First Amendment rights and corrupting the government by asking applicants to detail their support for the president's policies, a union coalition said Thursday in a Massachusetts federal lawsuit challenging this "loyalty question."

  • November 06, 2025

    Ex-NBA Player Damon Jones Denies Role In Gambling Ruse

    Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones pled not guilty on Thursday in a pair of cases accusing him of participating in mob-connected, rigged poker games that cheated players out of millions of dollars and conspiring to impact outcomes of bets on NBA games.

  • November 06, 2025

    Med Groups Call To Break Up 'Politicized' CDC Vax Committee

    A Massachusetts doctor and a group of public health trade associations want the federal government to break up a key vaccine committee tasked with nationwide vaccine policy, arguing in an amended lawsuit Thursday that the panel has been tainted with anti-vaccine sentiment.

  • November 06, 2025

    Justices Say Trump Admin Can Implement Trans Passport Ban

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the U.S. Department of State can stop issuing passports to transgender and nonbinary individuals that reflect their gender identity, lifting a nationwide order that required the Trump administration to continue the longtime policy pending litigation.

  • November 06, 2025

    Ex-Goodwin Financial Services Leader Jumps To Covington

    A former Goodwin Procter LLP attorney with more than 20 years of experience advising clients on mergers and acquisitions and capital markets transactions has joined Covington & Burling LLP's Boston office as a partner and co-chair of the firm's financial services practice.

  • November 06, 2025

    Mass. Pay Transparency Law May Boost Other Worker Claims

    Massachusetts' newly implemented pay transparency law seems primed to be used as a tool to bolster laws already in place — including in discrimination and equal pay cases — even if the new statute itself is unlikely to spawn significant legal action, experts told Law360.

  • November 06, 2025

    FEMA Says States 'Mistaken' On Disaster Mitigation Program

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday urged a Massachusetts federal judge to throw out a lawsuit by 22 states and the District of Columbia over the future of a program that funds infrastructure-hardening projects to mitigate the effects of natural disasters.

  • November 05, 2025

    1st Circ. Questions Trump Admin On NIH Indirect Cost Cuts

    A First Circuit panel seemed poised on Wednesday to uphold a district court decision finding that the Trump administration lacks the authority to cap indirect costs for research grants at the National Institutes of Health. 

  • November 05, 2025

    AGs Defend Bid To Intervene In DOJ's HPE Merger Deal

    More than a dozen Democratic attorneys general have assailed the Justice Department and Hewlett Packard Enterprise for fighting their bid to peek behind the controversial settlement clearing HPE's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks, telling a California federal judge that Congress created court oversight for deals just like this.  

  • November 05, 2025

    Everclear Maker Wants Plaintiff's Atty Gagged For Harassment

    Everclear's manufacturer has asked a Massachusetts federal judge to order an attorney representing an international exchange student claiming to have suffered third-degree burns fueled by the high-proof spirit to stop sending harassing emails and otherwise trying to upend the trial through public disclosures made in social media posts.

  • November 05, 2025

    Judge Lets Ex-MIT Lab Head's Defamation Case Move To Trial

    A former research lab director at the MIT-affiliated Whitehead Institute may pursue defamation and tortious interference claims against a former subordinate and romantic partner who accused him of sexual harassment, a Massachusetts state court judge said in a decision released on Wednesday.

  • November 05, 2025

    Ex-Mashpee Tribal Leader Gets 3.5 Years For Casino Bribes

    The former chair of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on Wednesday was sentenced to a 42-month prison term for orchestrating a bribery scheme tied to the tribe's $1 billion casino project, as a Massachusetts federal judge chastised him for characterizing his yearslong conduct as "mistakes."

  • November 05, 2025

    Philip Morris Damages Guardrail Bid Meets Skeptical Justices

    Massachusetts' top court appeared unreceptive Wednesday to arguments made by Philip Morris USA Inc. that a since-reduced $1 billion verdict issued by a state court jury means more guidelines are needed to curtail massive awards.

  • November 05, 2025

    Mass. Justices Consider Raises To Address Counsel Shortage

    Justices on Massachusetts' highest court grappled at a hearing Wednesday with its ability to address an ongoing shortage of attorneys willing to represent indigent defendants, after lawyers in two of the state's busiest counties stopped taking cases in May in protest over the low pay compared with other states.

  • November 04, 2025

    Jury Told $25M Crypto Win Was Fraud, MIT Bros Call It Legit

    Manhattan federal prosecutors on Tuesday told jurors that two MIT-educated brothers pulled off a meticulously planned $25 million crypto heist by ripping off other traders they didn't like, while defense counsel argued that the government is trying to take a legitimate "sharp-edged" trading strategy and turn it into a crime.

  • November 04, 2025

    Philip Morris, RJR Owe For Woman's Lung Cancer, Jury Told

    The family of an Italian immigrant who died of lung cancer after smoking for decades went to trial Tuesday against Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, telling a Massachusetts state jury that her experience was "not unique" from millions of others who have trodden the same path of addiction.

  • November 04, 2025

    LastPass Reports Settlement With Data Breach Class

    Password manager app LastPass told a Massachusetts federal judge Tuesday that it has reached an agreement in principle to settle a consolidated class action over its 2022 data breach.

  • November 04, 2025

    Mass. Attys Split As Punitive Damages Rules Go To Top Court

    A case before Massachusetts' top appellate court over whether more safeguards are needed to cap runaway punitive damage awards has divided attorneys, with some saying the big-dollar verdicts can be skewed by improper evidence and others calling the matter a solution in search of a problem.

  • November 04, 2025

    Industry, Enviros Oppose EPA Plan To Ditch GHG Reporting

    Industry and environmental groups alike are pushing back against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to repeal a program that requires power plants, fossil fuel and natural gas suppliers, and other facilities to report their greenhouse gas emissions.

  • November 04, 2025

    DC Circ. Backs DOE's Tougher Furnace Efficiency Rules

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday upheld the U.S. Department of Energy's tighter energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters, rejecting arguments from gas utility and industry groups that the rules unlawfully force an expensive switch to new appliances.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Educating Your Community

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    Nearly two decades prosecuting scammers and elder fraud taught me that proactively educating the public about the risks they face and the rights they possess is essential to building trust within our communities, empowering otherwise vulnerable citizens and preventing wrongdoers from gaining a foothold, says Roger Handberg at GrayRobinson.

  • Federal Grantees May Soon Face More Limitations On Speech

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    If courts accept the administration’s new interpretation of preexisting case law, which attempts to graft onto grant recipients the existing limitations on government contractors' free speech, a more deferential standard may soon apply in determining whether an agency’s refusal or termination of a grant was in violation of the First Amendment, say attorneys at Venable.

  • What To Know About Interim Licenses In Global FRAND Cases

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    Recent U.K. court decisions have shaped a framework for interim licenses in global standard-essential patent disputes, under which parties can benefit from operating on temporary terms while a court determines the final fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms — but the future of this developing remedy is in doubt, say attorneys at Fish & Richardson.

  • 5 Crisis Lawyering Skills For An Age Of Uncertainty

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    As attorneys increasingly face unprecedented and pervasive situations — from prosecutions of law enforcement officials to executive orders targeting law firms — they must develop several essential competencies of effective crisis lawyering, says Ray Brescia at Albany Law School.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem

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    After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.

  • Series

    Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

  • New Mass. 'Junk Fee' Regs Will Be Felt Across Industries

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    The reach of a newly effective regulation prohibiting so-called junk fees and deceptive pricing in Massachusetts will be widespread across industries, which should prompt businesses to take note of new advertising, pricing information and negative option requirements, say attorneys at Hinshaw.

  • SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

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    The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

  • State Paid Leave Laws Are Changing Employer Obligations

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    A wave of new and expanded state laws covering paid family, medical and sick leave will test multistate compliance systems, marking a fundamental operational shift for employers that requires proactive planning, system modernization and policy alignment to manage simultaneous state and federal obligations, says Madjeen Garcon-Bonneau at PrestigePEO.

  • Opinion

    High Court, Not A Single Justice, Should Decide On Recusal

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    As public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to decline, the court should adopt a collegial framework in which all justices decide questions of recusal together — a reform that respects both judicial independence and due process for litigants, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

  • Series

    Traveling Solo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Traveling by myself has taught me to assess risk, understand tone and stay calm in high-pressure situations, which are not only useful life skills, but the foundation of how I support my clients, says Lacey Gutierrez at Group Five Legal.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Client Service

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    Law school teaches you how to interpret the law, but it doesn't teach you some of the key ways to keeping clients satisfied, lessons that I've learned in the most unexpected of places: a book on how to be a butler, says Gregory Ramos at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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