Judge Favors Arbitration Of Ex-Jackson Lewis Atty's Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

A California federal judge appears poised to back Jackson Lewis' bid to force a disability bias suit from one of its former attorneys into arbitration, according to a tentative Thursday order which said he's not persuaded that a law barring mandatory arbitration of sexual harassment disputes covered her case.

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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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GM To Depose Ex-FCA Exec Again After Judge Flags Gaps

By Susan Smiley

Former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles executive Alphons Iacobelli can be deposed a second time by counsel for General Motors LLC, a Michigan state judge ruled Thursday, emphasizing that Iacobelli must turn over all documents requested by GM and that omitting pertinent information from his testimony is not an option.

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Adidas Complaint Response Was Wanting, Ex-Worker Testifies

By Cara Salvatore

A former senior Adidas employee staffed on a Beyoncé partnership testified Thursday in her Oregon retaliation trial that she was not regularly updated by human resources as to the status of her complaints regarding another employee who allegedly called her a racial slur.

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Ex-NJ US Atty Hit With Ethics Charges Over Trump Club Case

By Rose Krebs

New Jersey's former acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba Mildon has been hit with an ethics complaint over an alleged conflict of interest when she advised a former Trump Organization golf club server in connection with a sexual harassment suit.

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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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Bus Driver Accuses NYC Transit Authority, Union Of Bias

By Emily Brill

A New York City bus driver has hit the city's transit authority and his union with a religious discrimination suit, accusing them of retaliating against him for complaining after he learned that a union leader had mocked his Rastafarian head covering.

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NY Contractor Gets Final OK For $162M Caregiver Wage Deal

By Katherine Smith

A New York federal magistrate judge has signed off on final approval of a $162 million settlement in a proposed class and collective action against a contractor that helps administer a state Medicaid program, ending claims that the company failed to pay personal care assistants accurately or on time.

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FEMA Subcontractor Defends No-Poach, Wage-Fixing Suit

By Matthew Perlman

A disaster response worker is defending a proposed class action accusing Fluor Federal Services Inc. and several subcontractors of fixing wages and agreeing not to hire each other's workers, arguing that one of the companies identified members of the conspiracy in writing.

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Philly Four Points Hotel Sued Over Irregular Scheduling

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A group of hotel housekeepers have filed putative class claims against the Four Points by Sheraton in Philadelphia, saying it violated a city employment law by failing to provide workers with predictable, regular scheduling.

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Temp Worker Says Waste Hauler Owes Pay For Waiting Time

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts man who temporarily worked for a trash hauler while Teamsters-affiliated sanitation workers were on strike says he was not paid for time he was required to wait at a staging area to be transported to and from his assigned routes.

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NLRB Rejects Stanford's Student Union Challenge

By Braden Campbell

The National Labor Relations Board on Thursday denied Stanford University's call to rethink precedent empowering certain college student workers to unionize, noting a group of resident assistants withdrew the representation petition the challenge was based on.

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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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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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Ex-Wine Co. Exec Had 'Unusual' Distributions Deal, Jury Told

By Aaron Keller

The former president of a company that controls Josh Cellars wines was warned his employment and operating agreements could require a "very long" wait for possible distributions from a trademark holding entity, the executive's personal lawyer testified Thursday during a breach of contract trial in Connecticut state court.

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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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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 Inside Trading Docs 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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