Should Judges Explain En Banc Votes? 6th Circ. Can't Agree

By Carolyn Muyskens

Two Sixth Circuit judges clashed Tuesday over appellate judges writing opinions to explain their votes on en banc petitions, as one longtime judge called the practice "offensive to our system of panel adjudication."

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Mich. Panel Says Teen's 67-Year Term 'Does Not Pass Muster'

By Parker Quinlan

A Michigan man who was sentenced to at least 67 years in prison for crimes allegedly committed when he was 17 will be resentenced after a state appeals court ruled the punishment was unconstitutionally long.

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Mich. Tribe Asks High Court To Undo Great Lakes Fishing Pact

By Crystal Owens

A Michigan tribe is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a Sixth Circuit decision to uphold a 2023 decree governing fishery management in the Great Lakes, saying the document was negotiated over its objections, restricts its treaty rights and will micromanage the waters for the next quarter-century.

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Ill. Woman Who Lost Legs Says Boat's Design Was Defective

By Danielle Ferguson

An Illinois woman who lost both logs in a boating accident in a popular Lake Michigan area has sued the manufacturers of the boat that struck her, alleging the vessel's lack of propeller guard and operator controls was part of a defective design.

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Water Law & Real Estate: A Special Report

By Real Estate Authority Staff

What's more summery than a trip to the shore? That's where Law360 Real Estate Authority has headed — not for a break, but for a special section looking at waterfront real estate, from coastal development challenges to big projects and the lawyers keeping them on course.

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Mich. Tribe Can't Get $1.5M In Legal Fees In Recognition Fight

By Crystal Owens

A D.C. federal court judge on Wednesday denied a Michigan tribe's bid to recoup $1.5 million in legal fees from the U.S. Department of the Interior over the tribe's challenge to a federal recognition status denial, saying the motion is untimely because a decision to remand the dispute is final.

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6th Circ. Clarifies Class Cert. Standard In FirstEnergy Suit

By Lauren Berg

A class of FirstEnergy investors suing in the wake of a $1 billion bribery scandal should not have been certified, the Sixth Circuit ruled Wednesday, saying the district court applied the wrong standard, but indicated the class could be recertified on remand.

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Brief

Garmin, Fitness Tracker Co. Reach Resolution In IP Suit

By Elliot Weld

Garmin International Inc. and Israeli wearable tech firm CardiacSense Ltd. have reached a resolution in a case in a suit over a patent covering devices that measure bodily data.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Negotiation Skills

I took one negotiation course in law school, but most of the techniques I rely on today I learned in practice, where I've discovered that the process is less about tricks or tactics, and more about clarity, preparation and communication, says Grant Schrantz at Haug Barron.

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Kelley Drye Hit With Class Action Over Client Data Leak

By James Boyle

Poor security measures and inadequately trained employees at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP contributed to a data breach that exposed the personal information of clients earlier this year, according to a complaint filed in New York state court seeking to form a class action.

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NJ US Atty Defends Status, Says She Is 'Validly Serving'

By Ryan Boysen

Acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba has hit back against criminal defendants who claim her contentious appointment violates the U.S. Constitution, saying everything is above board and a "lengthy period of acting service is not unusual."

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Analysis

Decision In $50B Yukos Case Raises Interesting Question

By Caroline Simson

The D.C. Circuit's decision last week reviving Russia's bid to escape litigation to enforce $50 billion in arbitral awards has raised what experts say remains a "very open" question — are U.S. courts obligated to defer to foreign courts that affirm an arbitral award issued under their law?

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GSA Strikes Anthropic Deal For Access To Generative AI

By Sarah Martinson

The U.S. General Services Administration has made a deal with artificial intelligence developer Anthropic for the company to offer its generative AI tool Claude to all three branches of the federal government, including courts, at the cost of $1 for a year.

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How They Won It

How A Flowchart Won $14.5M In Fla. Woman's Fraud Suit

By David Minsky

In Mireya Cambero's lawsuit against her ex-husband Jose Fernando De Matos, her attorneys at Miami-based Diaz Reus LLP had to prove fraudulent transfers but avoid confusing a jury with voluminous, uninteresting business filings. The best way to do it, they decided, was to organize their evidence in an easily digestible flowchart.

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NY Civil Rights Advocates Want ICE Holding Space Shut Down

By Marco Poggio

New York City immigrant rights advocates are calling for the closure of what appears to be an unofficial detention center for noncitizens hosted in a federal building in Lower Manhattan following a federal court injunction Tuesday that ordered U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement to "meet baseline conditions" inside the facility.

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Fla. Detention Center Still Blocks Atty Access, Groups Say

By David Minsky

Civil rights groups Wednesday urged a Florida federal court to grant attorneys access to detainees located at an Everglades-based immigrant detention center in a proposed class action complaint, saying people confined at the facility aren't able to petition for their release.

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Trump Taps Democratic Commissioner As Acting FERC Chair

By Keith Goldberg

President Donald Trump on Wednesday named Democratic Commissioner David Rosner as acting chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, citing his support for expanding the electric grid to better serve data centers and artificial intelligence, which is an administration priority.

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