Higher Ed Group Seeks Fees After Beating DOE Research Cap

By Julie Manganis

An organization of public and private research universities has asked a Massachusetts federal judge to award attorney fees and costs in a successful challenge to a U.S. Department of Energy limit on reimbursements for indirect costs of grant-funded research, the third such request since last fall.

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Fed. Circ. Says Judge Wrongly Axed Teva's $177M Eli Lilly Win

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit ruled Thursday that a Massachusetts federal judge was wrong to overturn a $177 million jury verdict that Teva won against Eli Lilly & Co. on headache drug patents, finding that contrary to the judge's finding, the patents are not invalid.

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Vineyard Wind Seeks Order For GE To Finish Offshore Project

By Carolyn Muyskens

An attorney for Vineyard Wind urged a Boston judge on Thursday to force a GE Vernova subsidiary to finish work on a massive offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, saying only GE can do the work that would bring the wind farm to full power.

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Analysis

AGs' Win Over Live Nation Leaves DOJ Watching From The Side

By Bryan Koenig

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.'s across-the-board trial rout by 34 state attorneys general underscores the ascendancy of state antitrust enforcers looking to fill perceived enforcement gaps left by the U.S. Department of Justice during President Donald Trump's second term.

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Workers Say Folded Boston Pot Shops Owe Them Pay

By Jonathan Capriel

Former employees of two defunct Boston marijuana dispensaries, both called Pure Oasis, are suing the companies behind the shops and their owners in Massachusetts state court, accusing them of failing to pay out final wages and earned vacation time after the leaders decided to close the shops without warning.

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DraftKings Hacker Gets 30 Mos. After New Online Misconduct

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge handed down a 30-month prison sentence Thursday to a Tennessee e-commerce entrepreneur who admitted to scheming to hack accounts on the DraftKings sports betting site, citing his alleged criminal misconduct after pleading guilty.

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2 Sentenced In North Korean Remote IT Worker Scheme

By Julie Manganis

Two New Jersey men have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a scheme to aid North Korea in getting around U.S. and United Nations sanctions by using stolen identities to place workers in information technology jobs.

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1st Circ. Nixes Cop Assault Count Over Hearsay Testimony

By Elizabeth Daley

A Puerto Rico police officer who joined three other officers in brutalizing a teenager cannot escape most of his convictions, however, the First Circuit also ruled that since his pistol whipping charge relied on recounted statements from the absent victim, the decision on that count had to be reversed.

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Series

Isshin-Ryu Karate Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My involvement in martial arts, specifically Isshin-ryu, which has principles rooted in the eight codes of karate, has been one of the most foundational in the development of my personality, and particularly my approach to challenges — including in my practice of law, says Kaitlyn Stone at Barnes & Thornburg.

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Meta, Uber Verdicts Top Product Liability Trials

By Emily Field

This year has brought major courtroom setbacks for tech platforms and app companies. Juries issued headline-making verdicts against Meta and Google over claims their platforms harm young users, while Uber lost its first federal bellwether trial over driver assaults and now faces a second sexual assault case.

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Analysis

Bondi's Contempt Defenses Are Strong, But Not Without Risk

By Phillip Bantz

Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi currently has some potentially powerful defenses against Congress' relatively limited abilities to force her to comply with a subpoena to be deposed under oath about the Epstein files, but her exposure to being held in criminal contempt could shift with the political winds, experts said.

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Calif. Lawyer Sues Over State Bar Investigations

By Andrea Keckley

A California trial lawyer claimed in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday that he has been unfairly investigated by the state bar since 2019, alleging the office "illegally prioritizes revenue-generation over protection of the public."

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NJ US Atty's Office Turmoil Doesn't Nix Conviction, Judge Rules

By Carla Baranauckas

A federal judge on Thursday rejected a New Jersey criminal defendant's attempt to dismiss his conviction and disqualify the state's top federal prosecutor, holding that the appointment of the current U.S. attorney complies with federal law and that any earlier defects in leadership do not warrant dismissal.

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Judiciary Panel Loves Paralegal's Idea To Modernize Briefs

By Jeff Overley

An Arizona paralegal's unsolicited idea for overhauling a procedural rule governing the format of briefs found a surprisingly enthusiastic audience Thursday at a federal judiciary meeting, where prominent officials and attorneys voiced strong interest and agreed to explore the concept in earnest.

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Ramey Says Sanctions Violation Was 'Misunderstanding'

By Elliot Weld

William Ramey, an intellectual property attorney sanctioned in several federal jurisdictions, told a California federal judge Thursday that any violations of a previous sanctions order regarding his ability to practice law in the state were due to "good-faith misunderstanding of the scope of the court's order — not willful disregard."

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Judge Doubts Broad Shift In Immigration Hearing Access

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge appeared unconvinced Thursday by a human rights group's claim that the public is getting less access to immigration court hearings in Minnesota during the second Trump administration.

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Citizens Group Says 27 States Are Eyeing AI Chatbot Laws

By Joyce Hanson

Twenty-seven U.S. states are looking at passing laws to make artificial intelligence companies face liability claims in civil suits if they fail to protect consumers who interact with chatbots, while another three states have already enacted protections, according to a citizens group's new legislative tracker.

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Optimum Defends Antitrust Suit Against Apollo, BlackRock

By Alex Wittenberg

Apollo, Ares, BlackRock and other financial giants are colluding to block Optimum Communications Inc. from negotiating a debt refinancing to avert bankruptcy, acting as a "cartel" and locking Optimum out of credit markets, Optimum said in a brief opposing the investors' bid to dismiss its antitrust suit in New York.

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Sentencing Commission Votes To Enact Modest Reform Agenda

By Stewart Bishop

The U.S. Sentencing Commission on Thursday voted to enact multiple revisions to the federal sentencing guidelines, including the first inflationary adjustment in over a decade for calculating penalties for economic crimes, but declined to take action on a series of more transformational changes that were under consideration.

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