ITC Hires 2 IP Specialists As New Judges, Bringing Total To 7

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. International Trade Commission has hired a Patent Trial and Appeal Board judge and a Winston Taylor intellectual property attorney as administrative law judges, bringing its roster of judges to seven in a move the commission said will bolster its ability to handle IP cases.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

7th Circ. Probes Milwaukee Tool's Forced-Labor Liability

By Celeste Bott

Seventh Circuit judges grappled Wednesday with whether a federal anti-trafficking law allows a former Chinese prisoner to sue Milwaukee Tool over allegations it sold gloves made with forced prison labor in China, questioning the international consequences of allowing private lawsuits over foreign conduct and probing whether the company's alleged profits from that labor in the United States are sufficient to keep the case alive.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Chinese Bank Wants Out Of 'Far-Fetched' Boat Sinking Suit

By Jack McLoone

The New York arm of a Chinese bank told a D.C. federal court it should be removed from a "far-fetched" suit that claimed it was involved in an Iran-China conspiracy that resulted in Houthi rebels sinking a ship in the Red Sea.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

EU Committees OK Tighter Controls On Drug Inputs

By Jack McLoone

Two European Parliament committees voted Wednesday to advance draft measures they said would strengthen controls on chemicals used to manufacture illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Altria Tells 4th Circ. ITC Patent Cases Are Unconstitutional

By Elliot Weld

Altria has asked the Fourth Circuit to undo a district court decision allowing a patent case in the U.S. International Trade Commission brought against it by Juul to proceed, saying the Constitution dictates that private patent disputes belong in the courts.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

'Clearly Sanctionable' Conduct Not Punished In Vape MDL

By Jonathan Capriel

Buyers of CCell-branded vape hardware escaped sanctions Friday after they repeatedly mischaracterized emails to suggest a distributor had an enforcement role in a price-fixing scheme, when the California federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation called the conduct "clearly sanctionable" but giving counsel "one last chance."

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Gene Firm Sues Pentagon Over 'Chinese Military' Label

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A Chinese genetic sequencing company has sued the Pentagon, saying it was wrongly labeled a "Chinese military company" without a warning or a chance to respond.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

StayTouch Uses New Patent To Sue Apple Over NameDrop

By Bonnie Eslinger

Apple Inc. is facing a Texas federal lawsuit from GG Technologies alleging that the tech giant's NameDrop feature, which allows iPhone and Apple Watch users to share contact information by bringing their devices close together, infringes on patented technology owned by the Southern California startup.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Opinion

The Invisible AI Danger That May Undermine Legal Profession

A public database tracking cases involving hallucinations generated by artificial intelligence recently surpassed 2,200 entries, but the bigger risk underlying attorneys’ use of such tools is that they will slowly surrender their judgment to AI and lose analytical skills, says Massachusetts District Court Associate Justice Brian Palmucci.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Gibson Dunn Set To Bring On 120 Lawyers From Weil

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson and Marialuisa Taddia

Gibson Dunn is set to hire the U.S. and London-based private funds teams from Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, bringing on 120 attorneys in the largest group move reported since Weil's management committee recommended last week that the firm wind down operations.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Midterm Dem Wins To Scramble Lit Funding Legislative Efforts

By Ryan Boysen

Litigation funders can rest easy, for now, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will need to rethink its approach after last night's midterm elections saw Democrats rout Republicans, scrambling a yearslong effort for federal regulation of litigation finance that's so far relied on Republicans.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

State AG Race Wins Set To Give Dems Control Of Most Offices

By Madison Arnold

Democrats are poised to oversee a majority of state attorneys general offices around the country after Tuesday's elections saw the party hang on to all of its existing seats and flip control of five offices from the Republicans, according to unofficial election results.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Goldstein Ordered To Pay Trimmed $1M Forfeiture

By Nadia Dreid

Former SCOTUSblog publisher Tom Goldstein was hit with a $1 million forfeiture order Wednesday by a Maryland federal judge in the wake of his tax and mortgage fraud trial, where the appellate advocate was convicted on a dozen charges.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Attys Ensure Voters' 'Right To Be Heard' In Midterm Elections

By James Boyle and Lynn LaRowe

From BigLaw attorneys and solo practitioners to university professors, thousands of attorney volunteers turned out for Tuesday's midterm elections to ensure American voters' ballots would be counted.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Says Epshteyn Will Answer ABA Service Motion

By Jared Foretek

Trump advisor Boris Epshteyn will answer for himself why he has allegedly been evading subpoenas in the American Bar Association's legal challenge to the administration's law firm targeting campaign, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Holland & Hart Cost Ex-Client $23M Stake In Co., Suit Says

By Zach Dupont

Holland & Hart LLP and two of its attorneys were accused of malpractice in Colorado state court Tuesday by a former client who claims the attorneys failed to inform her that a wealth transfer plan with her then-husband left her iced out of the couple's most valuable asset.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Accused Of Unlawfully Ending Crime Victim Agreement

By Tom Lotshaw

The National Crime Victim Law Institute has accused the U.S. Department of Justice in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims of unlawfully terminating a $500,000 cooperative agreement aimed at strengthening legal support for disabled crime victims in the wake of an executive order against diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Former DOJ Officials See Mixed Results In Midterm Races

By Chris Villani

The 2026 midterm elections included bids for office by several former U.S. Department of Justice officials and nominees for the federal bench, with one race a dead heat and several others decided as of early Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »