Fla. Judge To Get Reprimand For Remark On Shooting Attys

By Madison Arnold

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a public reprimand of a state district court judge for "intemperate and caustic" comments about shooting attorneys during a hearing.

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FIU Students' Suit Over ICE Protest May Be Mooted

By Carolina Bolado

A lawsuit by Florida International University students against administrators who disciplined them for protesting against federal immigration enforcement tactics may soon be moot, a lawyer for the university told a Florida federal judge Thursday.

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Fla. Surgeon Found Guilty Of Killing Atty Who Went Missing

By David Minsky

A Florida state court judge convicted a plastic surgeon for the murder of an attorney who disappeared after walking into the restroom at his law offices and was then killed, although a body was never recovered. 

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Fla. Judge Seeks Journo Docs In Death Penalty Ethics Case

By David Minsky

A Florida appellate judge on Thursday urged a state disciplinary commission chairman to overrule an investigative panel's objections to providing communications between lawyers and newspaper reporters in connection to allegations that she attempted to influence a lower court proceeding, saying the records are needed to fight her case. 

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Plaintiffs Bar Says $243M Tesla Verdict Doesn't Hurt Innovation

By Mike Curley

An association of plaintiffs attorneys is urging the Eleventh Circuit to reject Tesla Inc.'s appeal of a $243 million verdict against it in a fatal crash suit, saying products liability law and punitive damages don't hinder or put a "tax" on innovation, but rather encourage it by creating an incentive to create better, safer products.

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Florida Powerhouse: Lewis Brisbois

By Madison Arnold

Los Angeles-based Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP has made a splash in Florida litigation over the last year, defending a $328 million crypto Ponzi scheme case and securing the dismissal of a $4 million startup shareholder dispute.

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SEC Says Truck Leasing Co. Owner Ran $127M Ponzi Scheme

By Sydney Price

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday accused two trucking companies and their owner of fraudulently raising $127 million from hundreds of investors, many of which received Ponzi-like payments, with false claims about returns and the companies' fleet.

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FCC Warns Broadcasters To Comply With Renewal Guidelines

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Federal Communications Commission has warned broadcast licensees to comply with renewal processing guidelines, but nevertheless directed the Media Bureau to process five pending applications that failed to prepare their compliance records properly.

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Labcorp Inks $2.3M Deal To Resolve Multistate Data Breach

By Carla Baranauckas

Labcorp will pay nearly $2.3 million and adopt data security changes under a multistate settlement resolving investigations into a 2019 breach at its former debt collection vendor, a group of state attorneys general announced Thursday.

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Court Urged To Trim TM Claim From Fake Google Charger Suit

By Elliot Weld

An accessories company has asked for dismissal of part of a suit brought by Google accusing it of trademark infringement by selling counterfeit charging devices with an imitation of Google's logo, arguing that the registrations don't cover the types of cables at issue.

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Series

Playing Bid Whist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

As a child, I viewed bid whist as a family tradition and a source of friendly card game competition, but as a lawyer, I see it as a tool that has helped me cultivate skills like communication, teamwork, risk assessment and composure, says Keyonn Pope at Riley Safer.

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Litigation Spending To Keep Climbing While Biz Risks Mount

By Ryan Boysen

Big companies will increase their litigation budgets yet again next year, as navigating legal risk is now an essential element of achieving strategic business goals, according to a new report.

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Seyfarth Failed To Guard Client Data From Hack, Suit Alleges

By Lauren Berg

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on Thursday was hit with a proposed class action in Illinois federal court accusing it of failing to protect its current and former clients' personal information after the Chicago-based law firm this month disclosed a recent data breach.

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PACER Experiences Outages Of Some Court Dockets

By Matt Perez

PACER, the online public repository of federal court documents, experienced technical errors on Wednesday and Thursday preventing some users from accessing certain court dockets.

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New Eastern La. Judge's 5th Circ. Bid Goes To Full Senate

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. District Judge Anna St. John of the Eastern District of Louisiana, who was confirmed to her current post in March, is one step closer to being elevated to the federal appeals bench.

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Congressional Probes Raise Legal, 'Reputational' Risks

By Phillip Bantz

An array of companies and executives may face investigations over their dealings with the Trump administration if Democrats take control of Congress, raising the possibility that some may refuse to comply. But experts say holding out hope for a mass pardon or expecting the Justice Department not to pursue contempt charges is a risky bet.

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Analysis

5 Circuit Splits To Watch At The High Court

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court has been deciding fewer and fewer cases over the past three decades, with its caseload reaching a historic low just last term. While attorneys believe several factors have contributed to that trend, they say one of the most consequential is the court's apparent declining interest in resolving circuit splits. 

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Trump's Antitrust Pick Advances Amid Independence Worries

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump's pick to lead the antitrust division at the U.S. Department of Justice advanced to the Senate floor on Thursday, despite Democratic concerns about agency independence.

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Sen. Hyde-Smith's Opponent Seeks Blue-Slip Transparency

By Courtney Bublé

Four years ago, Scott Colom — the son of the first African American elected to the chancery bench in her region of Mississippi — was nominated for a federal judgeship. Now he's running for Senate against the senator who blocked his confirmation.

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Ed. Dept. Committee Sidesteps ABA Accreditation Issue

By Ryan Boysen

A key U.S. Department of Education committee on Thursday declined to weigh in on whether an American Bar Association council should remain a federally recognized accreditor of law schools, a day after the panel deadlocked on different proposals over the hot-button issue.

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