5th Circ. Won't Force Aramark To Arbitrate Aetna ERISA Suit

By Lauren Berg

Aetna cannot force food services company Aramark to arbitrate allegations the insurer cost it millions of dollars by approving shoddy health benefit claims, a split Fifth Circuit panel affirmed Thursday, saying the parties' agreement doesn't clearly delegate arbitrability to an arbitrator and the claims seek equitable, not legal, relief.

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Ex-NFL Player Can't Keep $1.9M Atty Fees, 5th Circ. Rules

By David Steele

Former NFL player Michael Cloud was not owed attorney fees by the NFL's retirement plan from his attempt to attain disability benefits, the Fifth Circuit said Thursday, dealing Cloud another defeat after a previous court victory was reversed.

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7th Circ. Declines To Stay Alcoa Life Insurance Injunction

By Emily Brill

An injunction ordering aluminum producer Alcoa USA Corp. to reinstate certain retirees' life insurance benefits will remain active while the company appeals the underlying decision, the Seventh Circuit held Thursday, denying Alcoa's motion to stay the injunction.

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HHS Proposes Hospital Ban On Gender Care For Minors

By Dan McKay

The Trump administration moved to block all hospitals that receive federal funding from providing gender-affirming care to minors and issued warning letters to a dozen companies Thursday as part of a sweeping push to halt the care nationwide, even in states with legal protections in place.

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Brief

AT&T Worker Takes 401(k) Forfeiture Suit To 9th Circ.

By Jack McLoone

An AT&T worker has turned to the Ninth Circuit after a California federal judge spiked his proposed class action alleging that the telecom giant misspent employee 401(k) plan forfeitures. 

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Split 6th Circ. Blocks Michigan's Ban On Conversion Therapy

By Gianna Ferrarin

A split Sixth Circuit panel ordered an injunction on Michigan's conversion therapy ban, ruling the law likely places an unconstitutional restriction on the First Amendment rights of a Catholic charitable organization and a therapist whose faith-based psychotherapy practices fall under the ban.

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Ex-NJ Judge's Firing Suit Revived After Discovery Cured

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state judge on Thursday revived a former Garden State workers' compensation judge's suit alleging she was unconstitutionally removed from her job, ruling over the state's objections that she has now substantially complied with the state's discovery requests.

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Brief

InnovAge Investors Get Final OK For $27M Deal, Atty Fees

By Katryna Perera

A Colorado federal judge has granted final approval to a $27 million settlement between InnovAge Holding Corp., its underwriters and a class of stockholders accusing the senior healthcare company of making misleading statements in an initial public offering that later caused stock prices to tank after a government audit exposed the alleged falsehoods.

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Series

Nature Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Nature photography reminds me to focus on what is in front of me and to slow down to achieve success, and, in embracing the value of viewing situations through different lenses, offers skills transferable to the practice of law, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.

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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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Health, Legal Employers Face Unique Online Speech Hurdles

Employers in the legal and healthcare industries must consider distinctive ethical obligations and professional requirements when disciplining employees for social media posts, while anticipating an area of the law in flux as courts seek to balance speech rights and the workplace function, say attorneys at FordHarrison.

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Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen the designer of an 88-facet diamond bring a copyright claim against a luxury watch retailer, collapsed firm Axiom Ince bring legal action against the solicitors' watchdog, and the Post Office hit with compensation claims from two former branch managers over their wrongful convictions during the Horizon information technology scandal.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Five firms lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the D.C. Circuit reinstated an order that blocked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from freezing grants for climate change projects.

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Florida Supreme Court Approves Limits For Non-Lawyer Roles

By Madison Arnold

The Florida Supreme Court has signed off on a rule change to spell out that nonlawyers at a law firm cannot supervise the work of attorneys or perform policymaking duties that affect the practice of law.

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Sidley Adds Williams & Connolly Mass Torts Trial Atty In DC

By Alison Knezevich

A trial attorney who spent more than two decades at Williams & Connolly LLP has moved to Sidley Austin LLP to help lead its product liability and mass torts practice.

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Yale Law School Appoints Deputy Dean To Top Spot

By Brian Steele

The deputy dean of Yale Law School, a career academic and public servant who clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, will take over the top deanship position next year, the school announced Friday.

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Federal Courts Not Subject To FOIA, DC Judge Rules

By Jake Maher

The conservative litigation group America First Legal Foundation cannot demand documents from the federal Judicial Conference of the U.S. and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Freedom of Information Act because they are not executive agencies, a D.C. federal judge ruled Thursday.

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Analysis

More Pardon Seekers Going 'Straight To The White House'

By Phillip Bantz

A nonprofit's unusual plan to make a mass pardon request directly to the Trump administration highlights burgeoning optimism among white collar defendants about their chances of securing relief, and a recognition that the clearest path to clemency no longer runs through the traditional channels.

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Hogan Lovells, Cadwalader's Divergent Paths Led To Deal

By Aebra Coe

The blockbuster combination between Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP announced this past week involves two law firms that have charted very different paths in recent years. Here, a look at what events led up to the firms joining together at the deal table.

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DC Firm Hiring From Government Skyrocketed In 2025

By Alison Knezevich

As federal lawyers left in droves this year amid President Donald Trump's return to the White House, the number of attorneys who moved from government jobs to BigLaw firms in Washington, D.C., doubled in 2025 compared to the last post-presidential election year.

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Keesal Young Drops Part Of Stradley Ronon Poaching Suit

By Madison Arnold

Keesal Young & Logan wants to drop part of its California state court lawsuit alleging Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP unlawfully recruited 10 of its attorneys.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

In one of the stories in corporate legal news from the past week, almost half of the in-house legal professionals in a recent survey said they were either actively or passively seeking new jobs, citing stress, a struggle to build multidisciplinary teams and anxiety around artificial intelligence.

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Gambling Tech Co. Loses Sanction Bid In NJ Defamation Case

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state judge rejected a gambling technology company's bid for sanctions in its defamation suit against investigative firm Black Cube and law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP on Thursday, ruling that Black Cube did not willfully disobey a court discovery order.

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Colo. Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart Retires

By Zach Dupont

After an extended leave of absence this year, Colorado Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart announced her retirement from the state's high court Friday.

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Justices Let Immigration Judges' Free Speech Suit Continue

By Ganesh Setty

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Trump administration has failed to show it will be irreparably harmed by a Fourth Circuit decision that revived immigration judges' lawsuit challenging restrictions on their ability to speak publicly.

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