Anatomy Of A Citation Hallucination: AI Edit, Associate Review

By Rachel Riley

Counsel for consumers in a supplement labeling lawsuit against Amazon responded Wednesday to a Seattle federal judge's order to explain an AI-hallucinated citation, saying the error was introduced by a generative artificial intelligence tool used to "harmonize" drafts of a brief, then missed by a fifth-year Boies Schiller associate tasked with checking the citations.

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Fat Brands' CEO To Take Leave Under Ch. 11 Financing Deal

By Clara Geoghegan

A Texas bankruptcy judge agreed Thursday to give interim approval to a $184 million debtor-in-possession loan in Fat Brands' Chapter 11 case, and also approved a connected stipulation that temporarily removes the restaurant group's CEO.

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Snoop Dogg's Ice Cream Co. Settles 'Swizzle' TM Battle

By Aaron Keller

Recording artist Snoop Dogg's ice cream company and the fruit bouquet retailer Edible Arrangements have settled a trademark dispute after mediating their use of the word "swizzle" before a Connecticut federal judge.

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Target Hit With False Ad Suit Over 'Sustainably Caught' Tuna

By Gina Kim

Target's representations that its Good & Gather tuna products are "sustainably caught" are nothing but empty promises, as its suppliers use dangerous fishing practices that harm the marine ecosystem and kill endangered sea turtles, whales and dolphins, according to a proposed class action filed Wednesday in California federal court.

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Brewery Founder Can't Knock Out $31M Logo Battle

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia federal judge sent to trial a long-running dispute over the ownership of Atlanta-based Sweetwater Brewing's leaping trout logo after ruling Thursday that she couldn't yet sort out "a case so centrally rooted in the conflicting testimony" of the designer and the brewery's former owner.

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Sandwich Co.'s Wage Disclosure Coverage Suit Gets Tossed

By Hope Patti

A sandwich chain can't proceed with a suit seeking coverage for a class action claiming it violated Washington's Equal Pay and Opportunities Act, a Washington federal court ruled Thursday, saying the underlying allegations do not fall within the policy's definition of discrimination.

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Restaurateurs Say Partner's Past Imperils Liquor License

By Matthew Santoni

The founders of a Pittsburgh restaurant say a third part-owner has jeopardized their business' liquor license by not telling them about his criminal convictions from more than a decade ago and his recent DUI arrests, and they asked a Pennsylvania state court to let them buy him out for a fraction of his original investment.

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Ex-Workers Ask 11th Circ. To Overturn ERISA Exhaustion Rule

By Kellie Mejdrich

Former workers for a seafood company urged the full Eleventh Circuit to overturn precedent that led a three-judge panel to uphold dismissal of their suit alleging mismanagement of an employee stock ownership plan, arguing the court's strictest-in-the-nation standard on exhausting administrative remedies didn't align with federal benefits law.

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Analysis

Still No Shenanigans: Fed. Circ. Keeps Review Bar High

By Dani Kass

The Federal Circuit's rejection of all mandamus petitions asking it to rein in the way U.S. Patent and Trademark Office leadership is ​evaluating patent challenges cements the appeals court's near-impossible standard for reviewing institution decisions, attorneys say.

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Series

Coaching Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Coaching youth soccer for my 7-year-old son's team has sharpened how I communicate with clients, prepare witnesses, work within teams and think about leadership, making me a more thoughtful and effective lawyer in many ways, says Joshua Holt at Smith Currie.

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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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Jackson Walker, US Trustee Reach Deal On Fee Settlements

By Vince Sullivan

The Office of the U.S. Trustee and law firm Jackson Walker LLP on Wednesday resolved the bankruptcy watchdog's opposition to a series of settlements tied to a romantic relationship between a former Jackson Walker attorney and a now-retired bankruptcy judge.

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Judge Quashes Subpoena Of 5 Firms That Repped Twitter

By Rae Ann Varona

A Delaware federal court ruled Thursday that six former Twitter employees cannot subpoena five law firms that represented the social media company in connection with its acquisition by Elon Musk, rejecting the employees' "conclusory allegations" that the company and Musk used the firms to make false promises of severance benefits.

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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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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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DOJ Antitrust Head Tells Staff: Don't Worry About Criticism

By Bryan Koenig

The acting head of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division said Thursday that he pays no heed to criticism of the agency and tells staff to do the same, while asserting in Washington, D.C., remarks that there's no better time to come work for the DOJ.

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Fired 'Arctic Frost' Agents Accuse FBI Of Political Retribution

By Dorothy Atkins

Two former FBI agents who worked on the "Arctic Frost" investigation into President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss have accused the government of abruptly firing them in an unconstitutional act of "political retribution."

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