A panel of federal vaccine advisers on Friday voted to lift a long-standing recommendation that all newborns be given vaccinations for hepatitis B.
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TOP NEWS

CDC Panel Ends Recommendation Of Hepatitis B Shot At Birth

By Yeji Jesse Lee

A panel of federal vaccine advisers on Friday voted to lift a long-standing recommendation that all newborns be given vaccinations for hepatitis B.

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3rd Circ. Backs NJ In-State Rule For Medical Aid In Dying

By Carla Baranauckas

A Delaware woman with terminal cancer cannot end her life with medical assistance in New Jersey, the Third Circuit ruled Friday in a precedential opinion, finding that the Garden State residency requirement for medical aid in dying is restricted solely to New Jerseyans.

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Justices Take On State Court Review Doctrine Case

By Gianna Ferrarin

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday to consider whether an appellate court correctly invoked the doctrine blocking federal courts from reviewing state court judgments in a case concerning an involuntary hospital commitment.

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9th Circ. Won't Unfreeze Trump Cuts To Student Mental Health

By Ben Adlin

The Ninth Circuit rejected the Trump administration's effort to undo a lower court's pause on federal funding reductions to K-12 mental health services, siding with a coalition of 16 states seeking to preserve programs established in the wake of high-profile school shootings.

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Meta CEO Zuckerberg Fights Privacy Suit Depo At 9th Circ.

By Dorothy Atkins

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg urged a Ninth Circuit panel during a hearing Friday to scrap orders requiring him to give a limited deposition in privacy litigation over Facebook's alleged collection of health data, arguing the plaintiffs failed to exhaust alternative methods of getting the information they seek.

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ENFORCEMENT & COMPLIANCE

Federal Hemp Ban Enforcement Uncertain, Report Finds

By Sam Reisman

It is unclear how or whether federal agencies will enforce the federal ban on intoxicating hemp due to take effect in 11 months or apply the same hands-off approach that has governed marijuana, according to a recent report from the Congressional Research Service.

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LITIGATION

SG Urges Justices To Hear Hikma's 'Skinny Label' Patent Case

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. solicitor general on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Hikma Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s appeal of a decision reviving a patent suit involving its "skinny label" on a generic heart drug, saying the ruling puts the availability of lower-cost generics at risk.

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Analysis

ERISA Recap: 4 Rulings Worth Paying Attention To From Nov.

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Ninth Circuit striking down a class action win for transgender employee health plan participants who said their gender-affirming care denials were discriminatory is just one noteworthy Employee Retirement Income Security Act ruling from November. Here's a recap of that ruling and three others.

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Georgia Turns To 11th Circ. In Trans Prisoner Care Fight

By Kelcey Caulder

The Eleventh Circuit will get a chance to weigh in on a district judge's recent decision requiring the Georgia Department of Corrections to provide hormone therapy to transgender inmates, according to a Friday filing in federal court.

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Juror Who Alleged Misconduct Dismissed From Opioid Trial

By Cara Salvatore

A juror in Florida hospitals' $1.5 billion trial against the three major pharmacy chains over opioid dispensing was dismissed Friday after a judge found that her allegations of serious misconduct against another juror were largely unwarranted.

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Ga. Billing Firm Says Lack Of Harm Dooms Data Breach Row

By Allison Grande

A Georgia-based medical billing practice asked a federal judge to dismiss a proposed class action accusing it of failing to properly secure its patients and employees' personal information that was exposed in a September data breach, arguing the plaintiffs failed to show their data was publicly disseminated or otherwise misused.

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Cannabis Co. Says Rival Used AI-Fabricated Suit To Ruin Biz

By Hailey Konnath

Medical marijuana company Leafwell Inc. said Friday that competitor My Florida Green used artificial intelligence to fabricate legal claims and draft a factually and legally deficient complaint as part of a scheme to extort Leafwell and ruin its business, according to a suit filed in Florida federal court.

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Pharma Co. Says Ex-Staff Used Secrets To Compete

By Abigail Harrison

Pharmaceutical supplier New Life Medicals (USA) Inc. told a North Carolina state court that a former warehouse manager, a freelance contractor and a business partner conspired to steal confidential information to form a competing venture only 10 miles away.

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DEALS

Cancer Detection Biz Going Public Via $1.1B SPAC Merger

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Cancer detection company Freenome Holdings Inc. announced plans Friday to go public through a merger with special purpose acquisition company Perceptive Capital Solutions Corp. in a deal that gives the combined business a post-transaction equity value of $1.1 billion and was built by three law firms.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Key Takeaways From Armed Services Board's FY 2025 Report

The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals’ annual report reveals an increase in new cases filed, but a decrease in cases resolved, and fewer parties choosing alternative dispute resolution, despite the likely reduction in time and expenses incurred during a prolonged appeal process, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

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10 Commandments For Agentic AI Tools In The Legal Industry

Though agentic artificial intelligence has demonstrated significant promise for optimizing legal work, it presents numerous risks, so specific ethical obligations should be built into the knowledge base of every agentic AI tool used in the legal industry, says Steven Cordero at Akerman LLP.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Conservative Justices Probe 'Husk' Of FTC Firing Protections

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority pushed back Monday against the 90-year-old precedent permitting the removal only for cause of Federal Trade Commission members, and perhaps those serving other independent agencies, calling those safeguards a "dried husk" and wondering where to draw the line for protected agencies.

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Opinion

Horizontal Stare Decisis Should Not Be Casually Discarded

Eliminating the so-called law of the circuit doctrine — as recently proposed by a Fifth Circuit judge, echoing Justice Neil Gorsuch’s concurrence in Loper Bright — would undermine public confidence in the judiciary’s independence and create costly uncertainty for litigants, says Lawrence Bluestone at Genova Burns.

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US Lawyer Numbers Surge With Hefty 2024 Graduating Class

By Tracey Read

The number of U.S. lawyers showed marked growth for the first time since 2020, due to a 2024 graduating class that was nearly 12% larger than any other class since 2012, a study from the American Bar Association released Monday showed.

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Defense Bill Includes Protections For Retired Justices

By Courtney Bublé

The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 released Sunday night extends U.S. Supreme Court police protection for retired and former justices and their immediate family members.

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Jury Expert Sues Atty For 'Pirating' Her Jan. 6 Venue Report

By Matt Perez

A New Hampshire defense attorney representing a defendant charged for crimes related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been sued in D.C. federal court for allegedly stealing a copyrighted study analyzing attitudes in the jury pool of the District of Columbia.

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Brief

Senators Kelly, Slotkin Set Up Legal Defense Funds

By Courtney Bublé

After appearing in a video encouraging members of the military and intelligence community to not follow illegal orders, Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., have established legal defense funds.

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Litigation Funder Says Attys Hid Deal To Evade $1.5M Payout

By Christine DeRosa

A Florida-based litigation funder has sued two California attorneys and a law firm, alleging they secretly settled a client's civil dispute and steered the money so they wouldn't have to repay over $1.5 million.

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Habba Resigns As Acting US Atty After DQ Ruling At 3rd Circ.

By Jake Maher

Alina Habba stepped down Monday as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey following a Third Circuit ruling that she was unlawfully appointed to the position, with the U.S. Department of Justice unveiling that a trio of officials will take on her responsibilities.

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Ex-Archetype Capital Exec Hit With Trade Secret Injunction

By Theresa Schliep

A Nevada federal court on Friday temporarily blocked the former executive of a litigation finance business from using its trade secrets, finding the evidence indicates that his new law firm employer leveraged its proprietary mass tort review system. 

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Affordable Care LLC

American Bar Association

BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois

CVS Health Corp.

Carter’s Inc.

Center for Constitutional Rights

Chevron Corp.

Cintas Corp.

Compassion & Choices

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.

Farallon Capital Management LLC

Freenome Holdings Inc.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC

Intelligent Systems Corp.

International Business Machines Corp.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Johnson & Johnson

LexisNexis Legal & Professional

LinkedIn Corp.

Lux Research Inc.

McKinsey & Co. Inc.

Meketa Investment Group

Meta Platforms Inc.

Nasdaq Inc.

National Association for Law Placement Inc.

Perceptive Advisors LLC

Pilot Inc.

Protect Democracy Project Inc.

RELX PLC

Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co.

Spectrum Management Holding Co.

Stanford University

Starbucks Corp.

The Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Inc.

Thomson Reuters Corp.

Twitter Inc.

University of Maryland Medical System

Walmart Inc.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Wells Fargo & Co.

YouTube Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Akerman LLP

Albright Stoddard

Bartlit Beck

Bondurant Mixson

Burns Charest

Chasan Lamparello

Clarick Gueron

Consovoy McCarthy

Cooley LLP

DLA Piper

Duncan Firm

Fulcher Hagler

Genova Burns

Gibbs Mura

Goodwin Procter

Grealish & McZeal

Herrera Arellano

Hilgers Graben

Jones Day

Kaplan Kenegos

Latham & Watkins

Markus Moss PLLC

Matthew Harris

McDonald Carano

Milberg Coleman

Miller & Chevalier

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Sbaiti & Company

Shamis & Gentile

Spilman Thomas

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

Winston & Strawn

Zuckerman Spaeder

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Central Intelligence Agency

Congressional Research Service

Defense Contract Audit Agency

Defense Contract Management Agency

Defense Logistics Agency

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Reserve System

Federal Trade Commission

Food and Drug Administration

Georgia Attorney General's Office

Missile Defense Agency

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

New York Attorney General's Office

U.S. Army

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

U.S. Navy

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Tax Court

United States District Court for the District of Nevada

United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia

Washington Attorney General's Office