Remembering Richard Posner: A Prolific Jurist

Judge Richard Posner died Tuesday at age 87, leaving a legacy as one of the most influential members of the judiciary who never served on the U.S. Supreme Court. Here, Law360 revisits its coverage over the years of the prolific retired Seventh Circuit judge, including interviews with him about his pragmatic approach to the law, his belief that the courts mistreat pro se litigants and his love of felines.

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Posner Remembered For Wide Influence, Pragmatic Approach

By Ryan Boysen

The iconoclastic, prolific and hugely influential U.S. Circuit Court Judge Richard A. Posner is being remembered for a lifetime of relentless advocacy for a more pragmatic approach to the law and a legacy that will ripple through American jurisprudence for decades to come.

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Senate Confirms First Judge Of Lame-Duck Period

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate confirmed Alabama Supreme Court Justice Gregory Cook to the Northern District of Alabama on Thursday, marking the first judicial confirmation of the lame-duck period.

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DOJ Exodus Leaves Trump Facing Confirmation Crunch

By Courtney Bublé

Since the Democrats' sweeping victories on Election Day, there has been an exodus of top officials at the U.S. Department of Justice and prospects for confirming permanent replacement are slim.

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Split 2nd Circ. Backs Habeas Win In 1992 Conn. Murder

By Brian Steele

A divided Second Circuit panel affirmed a decision to free a man after he spent decades in prison for a Connecticut murder, holding that his trial attorney should have investigated the claims of an eyewitness who could have cleared him.

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EU High Court Adviser Backs Bulk Of €1.5B Google Fine

By Bryan Koenig

A European Court of Justice advocate general said Thursday that the European Union's top court should upend a lower court decision scrapping a €1.49 billion fine imposed over Google's past restrictions against rival search engines on third-party websites using its advertising tools.

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Judge Cites Alito Dissent In Trump Birthright Order Fight

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge weighing whether to block the Trump administration's latest birthright citizenship executive order suggested on Thursday that the government's interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent citizenship ruling was contradicted even by Justice Samuel Alito's dissent in the case.

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Masimo, ITC Tell Justices To Skip Apple Watch Ban Appeal

By Adam Lidgett

Masimo Corp. and the U.S. International Trade Commission said Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Court should ignore Apple's arguments that the Federal Circuit degraded the agency's domestic industry requirement by sustaining a finding that Apple watches infringed a pair of patents.

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DC Circ. To Decide If EPA Needs Stricter Incineration Rules

By Nadia Dreid

The D.C. Circuit will decide whether the Environmental Protection Agency has been violating the Clean Air Act by declining to set standards for all types of incinerators, something two environmental groups say the law intended but the agency has refused to do for 25 years.

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Judge Newman's Former Atty Has Moved From DOJ To USPTO

By Adam Lidgett

An attorney who had represented U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman of the Federal Circuit for part of an ongoing legal battle over her suspension has moved to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office after serving about a year at the U.S. Department of Justice, according to the patent agency.

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3rd Circ. Backs Union In Utility Co. Doctor's Note Dispute

By Katherine Smith

An electric utility must reimburse a lineman for a doctor's note he was asked to provide after calling out sick, the Third Circuit has ruled, finding that a lower court erred by rejecting an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers local's bid to enforce an award ordering the reimbursement.

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Ex-Kean Law Prof Can't Challenge NJ Policy, 3rd Circ. Says

By Lauren Berg

A former Kean University adjunct law professor doesn't have standing to challenge the constitutionality of a workplace discrimination policy for New Jersey employees, the Third Circuit ruled Thursday, saying she hasn't shown what actual or imminent harm she faces now that she is no longer subject to the policy.

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4th Circ. Curbs Gov't Access To Journos' Comms Via LinkedIn

By P.J. D'Annunzio

The Fourth Circuit has limited the scope of an order directing LinkedIn to give up journalists' communications with alleged sources on the professional networking website in response to a federal leak probe, noting that the government's ability to investigate potential violations of the law is tempered by the First Amendment.

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6th Circ. Rejects Fraud Claims Over $600M Train Deal

By Kelcey Caulder

Ohio residents who waived personal injury claims for extra payments from a $600 million settlement with Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern Corp. over a 2023 train derailment can't reclaim their right to sue the railroad giant, the Sixth Circuit ruled.

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6th Circ. Revives Prisoner's Claims, Flags Litigation Loophole

By Melanie Dorsey

A Sixth Circuit panel has revived a Michigan prisoner's constitutional lawsuit, finding that two previously dismissed lawsuits did not count as strikes under a federal law restricting inmates' ability to file cases without paying court fees, while one judge urged Congress to close loopholes that allow prisoners to repeatedly bring meritless claims.

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6th Circ. Revives Mom's Free Speech Claim Over C&D Letter

By Susan Smiley

A Sixth Circuit panel has partially revived a Michigan mother's First Amendment claims against Lowell Area Schools and several of its employees, saying a cease-and-desist letter she received from a school principal possibly crossed the line from permissible persuasion to a prior restraint and speech ban.

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7th Circ. Wary Of Reviving Bid To Block DEI Grant Cuts

By Celeste Bott

Seventh Circuit judges appeared skeptical Thursday of an Illinois nonprofit's bid to block the Trump administration's cuts to its education grants, questioning whether the organization had ruled out future spending on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and whether the funding cuts amounted to viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment.

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NYC, LA, Other Cities Seek To Halt Latest HUD Grant Terms

By Rachel Riley

New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and dozens of other cities across the country that have challenged the Trump administration's grant restrictions are asking a Washington federal judge to block a new round of funding conditions from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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Colorado Says Sanctuary Law Appeal Hinges On Distortions

By Tom Lotshaw

Colorado asked the 10th Circuit to affirm a district court ruling dismissing the Trump administration's challenge of laws limiting immigration enforcement assistance, arguing that an administration appeal relies on distortions to try to require the state to provide assistance Congress made voluntary.

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11th Circ. Revives Fla. Small Biz Qui Tam After Key Ruling

By David Minsky

The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday remanded a long-running False Claims Act lawsuit alleging the owners of a construction company defrauded a program for disadvantaged small businesses, finding that an appellate panel sent a similar case back to a lower court after ruling the Constitution wasn't violated.

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11th Circ. Upholds $2.75M Award In Gag Clause Breach

By Carolina Bolado

The Eleventh Circuit has affirmed a $2.75 million judgment against a woman for breaching a confidential agreement with a former intimate partner she claims sexually assaulted her, rejecting her arguments that the agreement was invalid and violated her First Amendment rights.

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11th Circ. Backs Emory Healthcare In Ex-Prof's ADA Suit

By David Aaro

The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday declined to reinstate a lawsuit from a former professor at Emory University's healthcare arm who claimed she faced "unrelenting" retaliation for taking time off after a knee injury, saying she hadn't shown that her alleged mistreatment stemmed from a desire to punish her.

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Coldwell Banker's Trade Secrets Win In Calif. Reversed

By Craig Clough

A split California state appeals court panel has reversed a directed verdict win for Coldwell Banker and some employees accused of stealing trade secrets from a rival real estate company, finding a lower court judge imposed an unreasonable trial time limit and forced the rival to rest before it could finish presenting its case.

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Texas High Court Nixes Felon's Gun Sentencing Enhancement

By Parker Quinlan

The highest criminal court in Texas on Thursday ruled in a split decision that a man convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm cannot also be given a deadly weapon sentencing enhancement because his decision to fire the weapon was not the cause of his possession charge.

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Fla. Justices End Automatic Speedy-Trial Discharge Rule

By Carolina Bolado

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday quashed an intermediate appellate court's ruling that had vacated two felony convictions and sentences because the charges were filed after the speedy-trial period had expired, finding that Florida's rule on speedy trials never permitted discharge of charges without giving the state a recapture period.

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NJ Panel Won't Renew Country Singer's Helicopter Death Suit

By Mike Curley

A New Jersey appeals panel refused to reinstate a wrongful death and defect suit from the widow of country singer Troy Lee Gentry over his death in a 2017 helicopter crash, backing the trial court's order on summary judgment.

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Trial Judge Declares Win In Close Wash. Supreme Court Race

By Rachel Riley

King County Superior Court Judge Sean O'Donnell has declared victory in a tight race for a seat on the Washington State Supreme Court, with a roughly 1.5 percentage-point lead over state appellate Judge Ian Birk, according to preliminary results from the Nov. 3 election.

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Brief

Colo. Appeals Court Won't Rehear Emissions Rule Challenge

By Rachel Konieczny

The Colorado Court of Appeals said Thursday that it would not rehear environmental advocacy groups' challenge to a state agency rule on emissions monitoring, leaving intact a panel's October ruling that determined the rule "heightens, increases or raises" criteria for pollution permits beyond those already in place.

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Religious Employer Bias Ruling Lands In Unsettled Landscape

Despite the Fourth Circuit's recent ruling in Doe v. Catholic Relief Services that a religious nonprofit violated federal and state antidiscrimination law by terminating health insurance coverage for a nonministerial employee's same-sex spouse, the boundary between religious autonomy and antidiscrimination law remains unsettled for lay employees, say attorneys at Ogletree.

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Mich., NJ Rulings Show Evolving Law On Diminished Capacity

Recent rulings in New Jersey and Michigan demonstrate that even states recognizing the diminished capacity defense may adopt different rules for litigating it, leaving trial courts to grapple with when and how such evidence may be introduced, says Adam Wright at Wayne State University Law School.

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Are You Happy With Your In-House Role? Take Our Survey

Is your company giving you everything you need to succeed? What are some misconceptions about working in-house? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Satisfaction Survey.

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Crowell & Moring Finance Litigation Head Joins Norton Rose

By Andrea Keckley

Norton Rose Fulbright has welcomed the New York-based head of financial services litigation at Crowell & Moring LLP as a partner, saying his hire will bolster its services to corporations, financial institutions and private capital clients.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Megan Norcott

The past week in London has seen Olympic gold medalist Daley Thompson target gym chain Hybrid Fitness for an alleged breach of contract, investor claims continue to mount against building materials giant Kingspan, and real estate magnate Mike Kohan be sued by property lender Decama Finance.

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Longtime DC Steptoe Partner Joins Potomac Law Group

By Jack Rodgers

An attorney who spent more than 28 years as of counsel for Steptoe LLP's complex commercial litigation team has moved to Potomac Law Group's office in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Friday.

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Memories Of Weil: From Childbirth To The Lehman Bankruptcy

By Aebra Coe

Those who worked within the walls of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP over its 95-year history have built up countless personal and professional memories. Here, six former attorneys and staff share some of their top memories.

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Analysis

How AI Became The 'Backseat Driver' In Settlement Talks

By Chris Villani

Attorneys say the ubiquitous use of artificial intelligence by clients has put up barriers to resolving cases by giving litigants unrealistic expectations about their claims, introducing inaccurate or irrelevant case law, and making them second-guess their hired legal counsel more often.

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Hall Booth Beats Appeal Over Failed DQ Bid In Med Mal Suit

By George Woolston

A New Jersey appellate panel rejected a bid to disqualify Hall Booth Smith PC from representing a hospital and healthcare company in a medical malpractice suit, finding that the firm's prior representation of another defendant in the case is not materially adverse to the interests of its current clients.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

DLA Piper and Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Massachusetts federal judge said she would reduce an $88 million verdict awarded to an Alabama couple in the first bellwether hernia mesh trial against Medtronic subsidiary Covidien LP.

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Kasowitz Denies Columbia Students' Deal Overcharge Claims

By Adrian Cruz

Kasowitz LLP asked a New York state judge Friday to dismiss a suit by a group of Columbia University students accusing it of wrongfully taking more than $6 million from a 2025 settlement in a suit over alleged antisemitism on campus, calling the complaint a "publicity stunt" that fails to prove the firm engaged in malpractice.

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Beltway Moves: Weil, Dechert, WilmerHale

By Alison Knezevich

Washington, D.C., attorneys from Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP continued to land new roles in some of the most recent legal industry hiring developments in the nation's capital.

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Judge Says Email, Not Bias, Cost Public Defender His Job

By Kelcey Caulder

A federal magistrate judge recommended that the Georgia Public Defender Council be freed from an attorney's suit alleging he was fired for complaining about racial bias and then hit with a retaliatory bar complaint, finding that an email he sent to his colleagues was what actually led to his termination.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

The top story of the week – the spy and romance thriller at AI chipmaker Nvidia – continues to unfold in layers, as the company hired Wachtell Lipton to probe its involvement in possible national security violations, saw its CEO resign in disgrace, tried to defend its general counsel's intervening in a related China inquiry, was pulled into congressional investigations, and faced an investor's lawsuit over the mess.

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Western Va.'s Top Federal Prosecutor Latest To Face DQ Bid

By Jack Karp

The lawyer leading the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia is the latest top federal prosecutor to have the legality of their appointment challenged in court, as a defendant in a gun case claims the office's leader was placed through a series of "machinations," "games" and "cynical measures."

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ABA Council Backs Law School Course, Faculty Rule Changes

By Emma Cueto

The American Bar Association council that handles law school accreditation voted Friday to relax standards related to online course credits and courses taught by full-time faculty, requirements that critics have claimed contributed to higher tuition rates.

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Fox Rothschild Fights Revival Of Malicious Prosecution Suit

By Rose Krebs

Fox Rothschild LLP is urging a New Jersey state court to deny an adult daycare company's bid to undo the toss of its malicious prosecution suit against the firm and one of its attorneys, saying the court didn't err in dismissing the complaint.

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Mich. State Police Chief Can't Shake Ex-Aide's Distress Claim

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan State Police director must face an emotional distress claim brought by his former executive assistant, a state Court of Claims judge has determined, finding that she sufficiently alleged Col. James Grady threatened her with a baseless internal investigation unless she accepted a demotion reducing her hourly pay by $8.

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How Nonprofits Are Adjusting To A New Pro Bono Landscape

By Alison Knezevich

Legal advocacy groups face a changed pro bono landscape during Trump's second administration. With some large firms avoiding cases against the federal government, nonprofit leaders say they are developing volunteer networks, relying on smaller shops and solo practitioners, and leaning more on their own staff attorneys to carry the pro bono load. 

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AI Played Key Role In Miami Boat Crash Acquittal, Atty Says

By Carolina Bolado

Artificial intelligence tools played a key role from jury selection to closing statements in a recent high-profile criminal trial over a boat crash that killed one teenager and left another permanently disabled, the defense attorney who secured a not guilty verdict said Friday during a panel discussion in Miami on AI in litigation.

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Mich. Tribal, State Courts Both Aim To Tackle Legal Deserts

By Susan Smiley

The newly named co-chairs of the Michigan Tribal State Federal Judicial Forum, Judge Carol Montavon Bealor and Judge Hannah Bobee, agree their respective court systems share one crisis: a lack of attorneys in rural areas.

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Balancing The Scales: Trans Prisoner Care, Immunity In Mich.

By Orlando Lorenzo

The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed gender transition medical services to continue to be offered in federal prisons, and the Sixth Circuit ruled that prison officials in Michigan can't claim immunity from allegations that they knew of mold contamination that led to seizures and respiratory issues among incarcerated women.

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Arizona Law Clinic Takes Legal Aid For Veterans On The Road

By Marco Poggio

Law students and their supervising attorneys drive hours from Tucson to bring free legal help to veterans in rural Arizona. On the Hopi Reservation, the University of Arizona's Veterans' Advocacy Law Clinic works with tribal partners to help veterans file disability claims and seek discharge upgrades that could open the door to benefits.

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Raskin Seeks Judiciary Gavel, High Court Ethics Curbs

By Courtney Bublé

In making his bid to be elected House Judiciary chair, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., on Friday said ethics reforms for the U.S. Supreme Court are among his top priorities.

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Goodwin Taps Simpson Thacher For Insider Trading Fight

By Chris Villani

Goodwin Procter LLP has hired Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP to represent it as an alleged victim of an insider trading scheme that Massachusetts federal prosecutors say was orchestrated by a former Goodwin associate, according to a Friday filing seeking to oppose the attorney's request for records in redacted filings.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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