Massachusetts

  • 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.

  • November 04, 2025

    Confirmation Ends Dem-Appointed Judges' Lock On 1st Circ.

    The Senate voted 52-46 on Tuesday to confirm Joshua D. Dunlap, a partner at Pierce Atwood LLP, to the First Circuit.

  • November 04, 2025

    2 Facing Charges In Harvard Medical School Explosion

    Two college-age men from southeastern Massachusetts were arrested Tuesday on charges that they used a commercial-grade firework to set off an explosion inside a Harvard Medical School lab early Saturday morning, the U.S. attorney's office announced.

  • November 04, 2025

    BU Law Will Start Offering AI Certificate In Fall 2026

    Boston University School of Law will begin offering a certificate in artificial intelligence for law practice in fall 2026 to prepare students for using the technology in their legal careers.

  • November 04, 2025

    Mass. Developer, Wife Sue Hotel Over Fall At Award Gala

    A prominent Massachusetts real estate developer and his wife have filed a negligence lawsuit against Boston's Seaport Hotel, claiming she was seriously injured when she fell onto a partially obscured staircase during an event.

  • November 03, 2025

    MIT Bros Rest, Expert Says $25M Crypto Score Was Aboveboard

    Two MIT-educated brothers accused of using an unlawful crypto trading strategy to steal $25 million from other traders on Monday rested their case without taking the stand, after a defense expert witness said they didn't violate any rules of the Ethereum blockchain.

  • November 03, 2025

    Justices Urged To Rethink Baseball's Antitrust Shield, Again

    Three baseball players have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rehear their petition to stop major league organizations from restricting their salaries, noting another similar pending petition and saying the issue will persist until the justices undo baseball's exemption from antitrust laws.

  • November 03, 2025

    Mass. Justices Hint Charter Schools Must Obey Records Law

    Justices on Massachusetts' highest court on Monday appeared skeptical of arguments that a publicly funded charter school, unlike its city- and town-operated counterparts, is not subject to the state's public records law.

  • November 03, 2025

    Fla. Pain Doc Was 'Pawn' In Kickback Scheme, 11th Circ. Told

    A Florida pain management doctor on Monday urged the Eleventh Circuit to reverse his conviction in a conspiracy to accept kickbacks for prescribing a liquid fentanyl drug, arguing that he was merely a "pawn" in the scheme.

  • November 03, 2025

    Cannabis Cos. Allege Hinckley Allen Malpractice Cost $25M

    A group of cannabis companies have claimed that Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP's alleged malpractice stemming from the purported decision to prioritize the personal interests of a manager in a 2017 investor suit ended up costing them over $25 million in damages.

  • November 03, 2025

    Black Man Granted New Trial In Mass. Over Lawyer's Bias

    A Black man who pled guilty to firearms offenses in 2018 after consulting with his lawyer — who was found to have made racist social media posts — is entitled to a new trial, Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court said Monday, unanimously reversing a lower court's decision.

  • November 03, 2025

    New Loan Forgiveness Rule Targets Trump Critics, States Say

    Two lawsuits filed Monday, one by a coalition of states and the other by a group of cities, unions and advocacy organizations, are challenging a new Trump administration rule imposing "intentionally vague" and allegedly illegal restrictions on student loan forgiveness for public employees intended to stifle dissent.

Expert Analysis

  • APA Relief May Blunt Justices' Universal Injunction Ruling

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    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.

  • Wells Fargo Suit Shows Consumer Protection Limits In Mass.

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    The Massachusetts Appeals Court's May decision in Wells Fargo Bank v. Coulsey underscores that consumer rights are balanced against the need for closure, and even the broad protections of state consumer protection law will not open the door to relitigating the same claims, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Managing Risks As State AGs Seek To Fill Enforcement Gap

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    Given an unprecedented surge in state attorney general activity resulting from significant shifts in federal enforcement priorities, companies must consider tailored strategies for navigating the ever-evolving risk landscape, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

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    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

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    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • While On Firmer Ground, Uncertainty Remains For SEC's ALJs

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    The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia's recent opinion in Lemelson v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission affirmed the legitimacy of the SEC's administrative proceedings, but pointedly left unanswered the constitutional merits of tenure protection enjoyed by SEC administrative law judges — potentially the subject of future U.S. Supreme Court review, says Dean Conway at Carlton Fields.

  • FDA's Hasty Policymaking Approach Faces APA Challenges

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    Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has abandoned its usual notice-and-comment process for implementing new regulatory initiatives, two recent district court decisions make clear that these programs are still susceptible to Administrative Procedure Act challenges, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator

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    Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.

  • Calif. Air Waivers Fight Fuels Automakers', States' Uncertainty

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    The unprecedented attempt by Congress and the Trump administration to kill the Clean Air Act waivers supporting California's vehicle emissions standards will eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court — but meanwhile, vehicle manufacturers, and states following California's standards, are left in limbo, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

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    Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding

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    As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • Quantifying Trading-Based Damages Using Price Impact

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will likely increasingly rely on price impact analyses to demonstrate pecuniary harm from trading-related misconduct, meaning measuring price impact will be helpful in challenging SEC disgorgement, determining appropriate remedies, and assessing loss causation and damages in private litigation, says Vyacheslav Fos at Boston College and Erin Smith at Compass Lexecon.

  • State Law Challenges In Enforcing Arbitration Clauses

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    In recent cases, state courts in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Jersey have considered or endorsed heightened standards for arbitration agreements, which can mean the difference between a bilateral arbitration and a full-blown class action in court, says Fabien Thayamballi at Shapiro Arato.

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

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