4th Circ. Says Merrill Bonus Plan Exempt From ERISA

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Fourth Circuit on Friday refused to revive an ex-Merrill financial adviser's proposed class action claiming he was shorted deferred compensation, backing a lower court's holding that the retention bonuses at issue were exempt from federal benefits law.

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Lockheed Can't Slip Workers' 401(k) Self-Dealing Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

Lockheed Martin can't escape a proposed class action alleging the company breached fiduciary duties under federal benefits law by offering underperforming proprietary target-date fund offerings in several employee 401(k) plans worth approximately $50 billion, after a New Jersey federal judge largely refused to toss the dispute.

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11th Circ. Backs Lincoln Life's Long-Term Disability Denial

By Hailey Konnath

The Eleventh Circuit has affirmed a lower court's order backing Lincoln Life Assurance Company of Boston's decision to terminate long-term disability benefits for a Mattress Firm manager who injured his back in a skiing accident, finding that he failed to show that he continued to be disabled.

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Settlement Ends High Court Fight Over Arbitration Deference

By Caroline Simson

The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed in a now-settled case relating to a vacated arbitral award favoring a former water treatment company director, which sought clarity from the justices on whether courts can second-guess the content of arbitral pleadings and filings.

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Brief

Aramark Joins NJ Insulin Pricing Suits Against PBMs

By Carla Baranauckas

Aramark Services Inc. joined multidistrict litigation accusing CVS and pharmacy benefit managers of colluding to inflate the price of insulin.

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Norfolk Slams Investors' Cert. Bid In Rail Safety Claims Suit

By Gina Kim

Norfolk Southern opposed a class certification bid in Georgia federal court Thursday by investors alleging it misrepresented safety practices up until the fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, arguing the lead plaintiffs' claims are atypical and, accordingly, are inadequate representatives for those who bought company stock after the derailment.

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Bid Protest Spotlight: Evidence, Tailored Talks, Materiality

In this month's bid protest roundup, Brian Doll at MoFo delves into three recent decisions from the Government Accountability Office about the evidentiary standards necessary to sustain a protest, discussions tailored to individual proposals, and misrepresentation claims involving factors irrelevant to the agency's decision.

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2 Discovery Rulings Break With Heppner On AI Privilege Issue

While a New York federal court’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner suggests that some litigants’ communications with AI tools are discoverable, two other recent federal court decisions demonstrate that such interactions generally qualify for work-product protection under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, says Joshua Dunn at Brown Rudnick.

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California Is Latest Battleground In Defining Access To Justice

By Brandon Lowrey

A pair of dueling California ballot initiatives both purport to increase consumers' access to justice — a righteous cause, most would say. If only the initiatives' backers agreed on what that means.

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Adams & Reese Sued For Malpractice Over $411M Injury Loss

By Lynn LaRowe

A scaffolding company has hit Adams & Reese LLP with a legal malpractice suit in Texas state court that accuses the firm of botching its defense in a Louisiana workplace injury case, leading to a roughly $411 million jury verdict and ultimately forcing the business to settle the matter for millions.

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Up Next At High Court: SEC And FCC Enforcement Authority

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court's final argument session of this term kicks off Monday, when the justices will consider the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's authority to seek disgorgement orders against alleged wrongdoers without proving investors were harmed. Here, Law360 breaks down the week's oral arguments.

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Polsinelli Sent Bogus Infringement Letters, Suits Say

By Elliot Weld

National law firm Polsinelli PC was accused of sending letters to two medical device companies with meritless claims of patent infringement, the companies claimed in a pair of malpractice suits.

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Another Record-Breaking Year For NY Lobbying: Watchdog

By Andrea Keckley

The amount of money spent on lobbying in New York state reached a new high — again — in 2025 despite lower dollar amounts from that year's top spenders, a state ethics and lobbying watchdog said Thursday.

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NY High Court Suspends Judge Over Racist Remarks

By Elizabeth Daley

A veteran judge who used the N-word among colleagues and claimed in court that a Black defendant was likely to be violent and "played the race card" has been suspended without pay by New York's highest court.

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Roundup

Balancing The Scales: Juror Bias, First For Revenge Porn Law

By Orlando Lorenzo

The California Supreme Court tossed the conviction and death sentence in a double slaying over the trial court's failures to investigate claims of juror bias, and an Ohio man is believed to be the first person in the nation convicted under a federal law intended to battle revenge porn.

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Alaska-Hawaiian Merger Judge Mulls DQ Over O'Melveny Ties

By Craig Clough

The parties in a consumer lawsuit challenging Alaska Airlines' 2024 acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines have been notified that the federal judge recently assigned to the case intends to disqualify himself unless they sign a waiver over one of his retirement accounts being tied to O'Melveny & Myers LLP, which is representing Alaska Airlines.

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Nussbaum-Linked Law Firms Hit Ch. 11 Facing Scheme Suits

By Vince Sullivan

Two commercial real estate law firms headed by Mark J. Nussbaum filed for Chapter 11 protection in New York, listing at least $353 million in disputed unsecured claims tied to the firms' hard money lending practices that have been described in litigation as a Ponzi scheme.

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Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen Aston Martin file an appeal in a row with Chinese carmaker Geely over its winged logo for London black cabs, Ineos sue Ben Ainslie's America's Cup team for a £180 million ($244 million) boat, White & Case face a claim from two energy storage companies, and a golf tour company bring a claim against Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund after the fund invested in its rival.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

New data found that some companies are being wary during the 2026 proxy season by negotiating deals behind closed doors rather than allowing shareholders to vote on issues. In the meantime, a report showed that the higher annual rate growth for outside counsel fees that began in 2022 has become the new normal. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Winston & Strawn LLP leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a New York federal jury found that Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary harmed competition in the live entertainment sector by willfully monopolizing ticketing services.

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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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