Massachusetts

  • December 03, 2025

    Mass. Court Says Plea Deal Inattention May Be Ineffectiveness

    Massachusetts' highest court on Wednesday concluded that a lawyer's failure to seek a plea bargain if asked to do so by a defendant may amount to ineffective assistance of counsel requiring a new trial under certain circumstances.

  • December 03, 2025

    1st Circ. Doubts Ex-BigLaw Atty's Campaign Finance Appeal

    The First Circuit on Wednesday expressed misgivings about a former BigLaw attorney's argument that a jury that convicted him of a campaign finance scheme during a failed run for Congress should have been required to unanimously find that each specific transaction was illegal.

  • December 03, 2025

    Cooley Names Largest Partner Class In 4 Years With 23 Attys

    Cooley LLP will add 23 lawyers to the firm's partnership when the new year starts, up slightly from the number of new partners added last year.

  • December 02, 2025

    States Hit Abbott With FCA Suit Over Infant Formula Recall

    Seven states, including California, Michigan and New York, on Monday intervened in a False Claims Act suit brought by the federal government against Abbott Laboratories over the 2022 infant formula crisis seeking to recoup funds spent on the tainted baby food.

  • December 02, 2025

    Judge Blocks Planned Parenthood Funding Cut In 22 States

    A Massachusetts federal judge Tuesday stopped the Trump administration from halting Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood clinics in 22 states, ruling the funding cutoff likely violated requirements to warn the states ahead of time about the change.

  • December 02, 2025

    Mass. Court Lets MBTA Escape Rider's Fare Gate Injury Suit

    A Massachusetts commuter cannot proceed with her personal injury lawsuit against the state's transportation authority, a state appeals court ruled to end the case, because she sent her notice of injury to the wrong transit officials.

  • December 02, 2025

    Exec To Admit To $1.6M Scheme Involving Taxes, Restitution

    A Massachusetts executive has agreed to plead guilty in a scheme to avoid paying income taxes and restitution in a 2008 securities fraud case by receiving more than $1.6 million in compensation and benefits under the table, federal prosecutors announced.

  • December 02, 2025

    Wells Fargo Beneficiary's Hidden Trust Claims Are Too Late

    Wells Fargo has beaten claims that it intentionally concealed a Massachusetts man's trust fund and drove him to financial instability, after a federal judge found the man didn't take appropriate steps to find his trust decades earlier.

  • December 02, 2025

    Drivers Get Class Cert. In Liberty Mutual Rental Coverage Suit

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday granted class certification to a group of auto drivers alleging that a Liberty Mutual subsidiary prematurely terminated car rental coverage, but denied the group's request to pursue its claims for classwide, injunctive relief. 

  • December 02, 2025

    Judge Doubts That FEMA Funds Freeze Is Harmless

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday appeared to push back on assertions by the Trump administration that states are not entitled to a court order vacating what the government says is a temporary freeze of Federal Emergency Management Agency funds intended to pay for disaster-mitigating projects.

  • December 02, 2025

    States' HPE-Juniper Intervention Limited To Settlement

    A California federal court's ruling allowing state enforcers to intervene over a deal to end the Justice Department's challenge of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks is limited to the court's review of the settlement, according to a new order.

  • December 02, 2025

    Boston Eatery Accused Of Wage Theft After Michelin Rating

    An Italian restaurant in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood that recently received a "recommended" rating from the Michelin Guide improperly pooled tips and stole wages from its servers, according to a proposed class action filed in state court.

  • December 01, 2025

    Boston Beer Hit With Putative Class Action Over Noncompetes

    A pair of former employees for The Boston Beer Co. — the company behind brands including Samuel Adams and Twisted Tea — filed a proposed class action on Monday accusing it of forcing employees into noncompetition agreements in violation of Massachusetts law.

  • December 01, 2025

    1st Circ. Tosses Omni's Medicare Fraud Suit Over UTI Tests

    A First Circuit panel declined to revive Omni Healthcare's False Claims Act suit accusing MD Labs of billing Medicare for unnecessary urinary tract infection tests, explaining in a published opinion Monday that Omni Healthcare's own staff ordered each test — sometimes even replacing doctors' orders for cheaper tests with the pricier ones.

  • December 01, 2025

    DraftKings, Bettors At Odds Over Proof Of Bonus Disclosure

    Sports betting platform DraftKings told a Massachusetts state court Monday its players were made aware that the terms of its promotion offering $1,000 in "free" wagers required them to ante up five times the amount, and then make at least $25,000 worth of bets within 90 days, seeking to end claims alleging its marketing was deceptive.

  • December 01, 2025

    FCA Says Drivers Lack Standing In Exploding Minivan MDL

    Fiat Chrysler has urged a Michigan federal judge to toss the remaining claims in sprawling multidistrict litigation over allegations that certain plug-in hybrid minivans are at risk for spontaneous fires, arguing most of the plaintiffs haven't suffered from an actual defect or dealt with financial loss.

  • December 01, 2025

    AGs Push For Law To Boost Tribal Access To US Marshals

    Thirty-nine state attorneys general are calling on federal lawmakers to pass legislation that would allow the U.S. Marshal's Service to assist tribal law enforcement in tracking down individuals with felony warrants, saying it's vital to public safety and to address the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis.

  • December 01, 2025

    4 Mass. Rulings You May Have Missed In November

    A judge dismissed a flurry of proposed class actions alleging retailers flouted a Massachusetts law requiring that job applications include a notice of the state's ban on lie detectors, while a personal injury law firm couldn't escape a former associate's suit over its unilateral decision to eliminate commissions for cases he brought to the firm, among notable state court decisions in November.

  • November 26, 2025

    9 News Outlets Latest To Sue Microsoft, OpenAI For IP Theft

    The Virginian-Pilot, Los Angeles Daily News, Hartford Courant and six other regional news outlets joined a long list of authors and publishers who accuse Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI Inc. of willfully infringing their copyrighted works to train their generative text products.

  • November 26, 2025

    21 AGs Sue USDA Over SNAP Rollbacks For Permanent Residents

    Twenty states and the District of Columbia sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday over new agency guidance barring certain categories of permanent residents from receiving federal food assistance benefits.

  • November 26, 2025

    Up Next At High Court: ISP Liability & State Subpoena Suits

    The U.S. Supreme Court will return Monday for the first week of its December oral argument session, during which the justices will consider whether internet service providers can be held liable for contributing to their customers' infringing activity online and whether the subjects of state subpoenas are required to first challenge them in state court. 

  • November 26, 2025

    AGs Urge Congress To Reject Trump's Ban On State AI Laws

    Attorneys general from 32 states are urging Congress to preserve their ability to pass laws regulating artificial intelligence, contending that the Trump administration's renewed proposal to insert a moratorium into a federal spending bill would leave states powerless in the face of AI-powered scams, harmful chatbot hallucinations and other emerging dangers.

  • November 26, 2025

    Kalshi Challenges Nev. Order Nixing Sports Contract Shield

    Kalshi has asked the Ninth Circuit to weigh in on a Nevada federal judge's decision to vacate an earlier order shielding the trading platform's sports event contracts from the state's gaming regulators.

  • November 26, 2025

    Ill. Judge Trims DraftKings Sports Betting Promos Suit

    An Illinois federal judge refused to dismiss outright a proposed class action claiming that DraftKings's advertisements fuel gambling addiction, but trimmed a few claims from the suit, finding several of the lead plaintiffs failed to specify when they saw the ads in question.

  • November 26, 2025

    Hub Hires: Todd & Weld, Freshfields, Shipman

    It was a busy November in Boston's legal community as another firm expanded into the market, and a longtime judge traded his gavel for the ability to address his growing concerns about the Trump administration.

Expert Analysis

  • How States Are Regulating Health Insurers' AI Usage

    Author Photo

    The absence of a federal artificial intelligence framework positions states as key regulators of health insurers’ AI use, making it important for payors and service providers to understand the range of state AI legislation being passed in California and elsewhere, and consider implementing an AI-focused compliance infrastructure, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • A Simple Way Courts Can Help Attys Avoid AI Hallucinations

    Author Photo

    As attorneys increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence for legal research, courts should consider expanding online quality control programs to flag potential hallucinations — permitting counsel to correct mistakes and sparing judges the burden of imposing sanctions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl and Connors.

  • Series

    Creating Botanical Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Pressing and framing plants that I grow has shown me that pursuing an endeavor that brings you joy can lead to surprising benefits for a legal career, including mental clarity, perspective and even a bit of humility, says Douglas Selph at Morris Manning.

  • Compliance Is A New Competitive Edge For Mortgage Lenders

    Author Photo

    So far, 2025 has introduced state and federal regulatory turbulence that is pressuring mortgage lenders to reevaluate the balance between competitive and compliant employee and customer recruiting practices, necessitating a compliance recalibration that prioritizes five key strategies, say attorneys at Mitchell Sandler.

  • Opinion

    The Legal Education Status Quo Is No Longer Tenable

    Author Photo

    As underscored by the fallout from California’s February bar exam, legal education and licensure are tethered to outdated systems, and the industry must implement several key reforms to remain relevant and responsive to 21st century legal needs, says Matthew Nehmer at The Colleges of Law.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Relevance Redactions

    Author Photo

    In recent cases addressing redactions that parties sought to apply based on the relevance of information — as opposed to considerations of privilege — courts have generally limited a party’s ability to withhold nonresponsive or irrelevant material, providing a few lessons for discovery strategy, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Opinion

    Section 1983 Has Promise After End Of Nationwide Injunctions

    Author Photo

    After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the practice of nationwide injunctions in Trump v. Casa, Section 1983 civil rights suits can provide a better pathway to hold the government accountable — but this will require reforms to qualified immunity, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • Series

    Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Learning From Failure

    Author Photo

    While law school often focuses on the importance of precision, correctness and perfection, mistakes are inevitable in real-world practice — but failure is not the opposite of progress, and real talent comes from the ability to recover, rethink and reshape, says Brooke Pauley at Tucker Ellis.

  • Midyear Rewind: How Courts Are Reshaping VPPA Standards

    Author Photo

    The first half of 2025 saw a series of cases interpreting the Video Privacy Protection Act as applied to website tracking technologies, including three appellate rulings deepening circuit splits on what qualifies as personally identifiable information and who qualifies as a consumer under the statute, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw

    Author Photo

    As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.

  • 4 In-Flux Employment Law Issues Banks Should Note

    Author Photo

    Attorneys at Ogletree provide a midyear update on employment law changes that could significantly affect banks and other financial service institutions — including federal diversity equity and inclusion updates, and new and developing state and local artificial intelligence laws.

  • New DOJ Penalty Policy Could Spell Trouble For Cos.

    Author Photo

    In light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s recently published guidance making victim relief a core condition of coordinated resolution crediting, companies facing parallel investigations must carefully calibrate their negotiation strategies to minimize the risk of duplicative penalties, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • APA Relief May Blunt Justices' Universal Injunction Ruling

    Author Photo

    The Administrative Procedure Act’s avenue for universal preliminary relief seems to hold the most promise for neutralizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. CASA to limit federal district courts' nationally applicable orders, say attorneys at Crowell.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Massachusetts archive.