9th Circ. Urged To Rehear Cannabis Dormant Commerce Case

By Sam Reisman

A California attorney who has challenged cannabis social equity programs in numerous jurisdictions asked the entire Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to reconsider whether the U.S. Constitution's dormant commerce clause applies to federally illegal marijuana.

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Judge Preserves CBD Co.'s Contract Breach Spat

By Jonathan Capriel

A hemp and CBD company run by North Carolina State Rep. John Bell won't get a default win on its $1.6 million counterclaim against Texas-based ex-business partners who accused it of stealing trade secrets and using political connections to threaten their executives with jail time, a North Carolina federal judge has ruled.

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ADA Challenge to Oregon Psilocybin Law Can Proceed

By Sam Reisman

An Oregon federal judge Tuesday rejected the state's health regulator's bid for a favorable judgment in a suit brought under federal antidiscrimination law, seeking to broaden access for homebound patients to the state's regulated psilocybin program.

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Illinois Court Rejects Challenge To Chicago Dispensary Permit

By Mike Curley

An Illinois appeals court has rejected a neighbors group's challenge to a special-use permit granted to a Chicago dispensary, finding that a lower court correctly found that the group lacked standing to challenge the zoning board's decision.

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FDA Can't 'Refuse To File' Tobacco Applications, Suit Says

By Mike Curley

The maker and a seller of Zone nicotine pouches are suing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Texas federal court, alleging the agency stalled and eventually refused to file their marketing application, despite federal law requiring the FDA to either approve or deny such applications.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: The Human Element

Law school teaches you to quickly apply intellect and logic when handling a legal issue, but every fact pattern also involves a person, making the ability to balance expertise with empathy critical to the growth of relationships with clients, colleagues and adversaries, says Rachel Adcox at Adcox Strategies.

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Alston & Bird Hires Derivatives Atty From K&L Gates

By Jack Rodgers

Alston & Bird LLP has hired a former K&L Gates LLP lawyer, who has joined its financial services group, the firm announced Thursday.

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Nomination For New DOJ Fraud Chief Heads To Senate Floor

By Courtney Bublé

The nomination of Colin McDonald for the new position of assistant attorney general for fraud was sent to the full Senate on Thursday, after the Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines to advance his nomination.

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McGuireWoods Gains Former Fried Frank IP Litigator In DC

By Jack Rodgers

McGuireWoods LLP announced Thursday it has hired an intellectual property litigator from Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP, which he moved to in 2022 alongside his wife.

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Insurance Co. Aflac's GC Pay Jumped To $5.9M In 2025

By Madison Arnold

The general counsel of Georgia-based insurance giant Aflac Inc. got a pay hike in 2025, taking home a total compensation of almost $6 million.

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Sitting Judges Take Stand Over Threats Growing 'Ordinary'

By Jake Maher

On the heels of an ethics opinion giving them wider latitude to speak publicly, sitting federal judges brought attention Thursday to the increasing threats against them and their family members, warning about the dangers of such threats becoming "ordinary."

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Judge Digs Into Counsel Over 'Astronomically High' Fee Bid

By Nadia Dreid

Attorneys who represented classes of people who say they received harassing phone calls from real estate agents in violation of federal telemarketing laws are asking for way too much of the $20 million settlement, according to the California federal judge who tore into them Wednesday.

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