Confederate Monument To Stay At NC Courthouse, Panel Says

By Abigail Harrison

"Negative feelings" about a century-old Confederate monument installed outside a North Carolina courthouse can't sustain the NAACP's constitutional challenge seeking its removal, a state appeals court said Wednesday in ruling the monument can stay.

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Ex-NFL Player Challenges Adviser's Late Payment Demand

By Hayley Fowler

Retired NFL player Mike Rucker and his wife on Wednesday urged North Carolina's business court not to let their former financial adviser countersue them for nonpayment, arguing he can't decide after 20 years that he deserves compensation when that was never the agreement.

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NC Judge Trims Co.'s $116M Investment Coverage Dispute

By Hope Patti

A North Carolina state court has trimmed a company's suit claiming that its insurer obstructed its recovery of more than $116 million in coverage for an investment that didn't pay out on time, tossing a breach of contract claim while preserving bad faith and statutory violation claims.

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Veterans Fight BofA Interest Suit Dismissal Recommendation

By Sydney Price

Three veterans told a North Carolina federal court Tuesday that a magistrate judge was wrong to recommend tossing their proposed class action accusing Bank of America of violating an interest cap law for military service members, arguing their claims under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act are unambiguous.

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Insurance Execs' Coverage Bid 'Not Plausible,' Judge Says

By Chart Riggall

Berkley Assurance Co. doesn't owe any coverage duties to insurance executives who were sued over allegations they sabotaged their former company on their way out the door to start a rival firm, a Georgia federal judge has ruled.

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Comey, James Urge 4th Circ. To Reject Indictment Revival Bid

By Emily Sawicki

Former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James have urged the Fourth Circuit not to revive criminal indictments filed against them last year in the Eastern District of Virginia, arguing they were fatally flawed because they were brought by a federal prosecutor who was not lawfully in that position.

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Split 4th Circ. Shields Musk From USAID Deposition, For Now

By Rae Ann Varona

The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday ruled that Elon Musk and two former U.S. Agency for International Development officials will not, for now, have to testify in litigation ex-employees filed accusing the billionaire of illegally dismantling the foreign aid agency, saying no "extraordinary circumstances" justified the depositions.

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4th Circ. Won't Reconsider Stay Of Block On Va. Vape Law

By Mike Curley

The Fourth Circuit won't hold an en banc or other rehearing of its decision to stay an order blocking enforcement of certain Virginia e-cigarette regulations.

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4th Circ. Says Employers Can't Shorten Bias Suit Deadlines

By Anne Cullen

The Fourth Circuit ruled Wednesday that the filing windows for workers to bring claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act can't be shortened through an employment agreement, aligning with the Sixth Circuit's views on the question.

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FERC Can't Justify Nixing Grid-Planning Change, DC Circ. Told

By Keith Goldberg

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission failed to justify its rejection of a PJM Interconnection plan to make grid-planning decisions without the approval of the regional grid operator's members committee, transmission owners told the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday.

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CSBS Chief Warns Of OCC Charter, Preemption Overreach

By Jon Hill

The head of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors fired a warning shot at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Tuesday, accusing the agency of stretching its chartering and preemption powers too far and signaling that states could challenge the moves in court.

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Gordon Rees Opens New Offices In North Carolina, Wisconsin

By Tracey Read

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani has expanded its reach in the Southeast and Midwest by opening new offices in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Madison, Wisconsin.

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Akerman Hires Real Estate, Litigation Partners For NC Office

By Isaac Monterose

Akerman LLP hired three new partners who used to work at Moore & Van Allen PLLC, Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in order to strengthen its real estate and litigation teams in Charlotte, North Carolina, the firm announced Wednesday.

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NC Jewelry Maker Hits Ch. 11 With $10.5M Debt

By Emily Lever

Lab-grown gemstone jewelry maker Charles & Colvard Ltd. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in North Carolina, declaring $19.2M in assets and $10.5M in liabilities.

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Recent Rulings Show DEI Isn't On Courts' Chopping Block

Contrary to recent narratives that workplace diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are on the verge of legal collapse, courts are applying familiar guardrails for litigating DEI-adjacent cases — requiring the right plaintiff, the right challenge and the right proof — rather than rewriting the rules on DEI, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: In Court, It's About Storytelling

Law school provides doctrine, cases and hypotheticals, but when lawyers step into the courtroom, they must learn the importance of clarity, credibility, memorability and preparation — in other words, how to tell simple, effective stories, say Nicholas Steverson and Danielle Trujillo at Wheeler Trigg, and Lisa DeCaro at Courtroom Performance.

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OpenAI Practices Law Without A License, Insurer Alleges

By Lauren Berg

OpenAI is practicing law without a license, according to an insurer's lawsuit filed in Illinois federal court that alleges artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT provided faulty legal advice to a woman seeking disability benefits that led to a breached settlement and a flurry of frivolous court filings.

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Analysis

UK Law Sector's Private Equity Boom Offers Lessons For US

By Ryan Boysen

Private equity money is pouring into the U.K. legal sector, fueling a wave of consolidation in consumer-facing practices and offering a glimpse of what it could look like if outside investment in the U.S. legal industry takes off.

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Criminal Contempt Of DOJ Attys Unlikely For Violating Orders

By Jack Karp

Federal judges have been floating the possibility of holding government attorneys in criminal contempt of court for violating immigration-related court orders, a potentially shocking move that scholars say is unlikely and probably less effective than civil contempt orders.

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Lindsey Halligan Faces Fla. Bar Investigation, Watchdog Says

By Lauren Berg

The Florida Bar is investigating Lindsey Halligan, the former interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia who pursued controversial indictments against President Donald Trump's political opponents, according to a letter the Campaign for Accountability made public Thursday.

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Troutman And Former Atty Push To Limit Scope Of Bias Trial

By Jake Maher

Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP and a former associate suing the firm for racial discrimination and retaliation this week fought over the role that charged language and calculations of financial damages should play in an upcoming trial.

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Atty's Scheduling Error Dooms Appeal In AT&T Forfeiture Suit

By Patrick Hoff

An AT&T worker can't ask the Ninth Circuit to review the dismissal of his proposed class action claiming the telecommunications company misused forfeited 401(k) funds, with a California federal judge saying his attorney's busy schedule was "one of the least compelling excuses" for filing a late appeal.

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Analysis

A Look At Four States' Tort Reform Legislation Fights

By Y. Peter Kang

There are currently four states debating whether to install business-friendly tort reform legislation or medical malpractice guardrails. The issues include a potentially brutal showdown in California over auto collision litigation and efforts in Florida to expand wrongful death liability for healthcare providers.

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Ex-Judge In Wis. Says ICE Prosecution Theory Has No Limits

By Britain Eakin

A former Wisconsin judge has said the government's case against her for obstructing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has no limiting principle and wrongly turned her authority to manage her courtroom into a federal felony for impeding ICE.

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Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana Judicial Nominees Advance

By Courtney Bublé

Four judicial nominees advanced out of committee Thursday along party lines, which included two for Texas.

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