High Court Revives Military Vet's Injury Claims

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Fluor Corp. can be held liable for a veteran's state-based injury claims stemming from a 2016 suicide bombing in Afghanistan, saying his claims are not preempted by the Federal Tort Claims Act.

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NC Auditor Criticizes Oversight Of IOLTA Grants

By Hayley Fowler

Legal assistance grants awarded under the North Carolina Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts program were given to qualified groups, but weren't adequately monitored afterward to ensure the tens of millions of dollars were spent as intended, a state watchdog has said.

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MrBeast Executive Fired For Taking Maternity Leave, Suit Says

By Patrick Hoff

YouTuber MrBeast's companies demoted an executive for complaining that women were being sidelined and harassed by male colleagues and then fired her for taking leave after giving birth, the former employee said Wednesday in North Carolina federal court.

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RJ Reynolds Wants Order That E-Cigs Don't Infringe Patent

By Elliot Weld

RJ Reynolds Vapor Co., which produces Vuse e-cigarettes, filed a suit in Delaware federal court seeking a declaration that it does not infringe a patent held by rival VPR Brands.

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Citibank Defends Arbitration Ruling In Veteran Credit Card Row

By Sydney Price

Citibank has urged a North Carolina federal court to uphold a magistrate judge's decision to pause a military consumer lawsuit accusing the bank of misleading service members about interest and fees after the Fourth Circuit determined that the arbitration agreements were enforceable.

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Paint Co. Says Injury Firm Used Stolen Data To Solicit Clients

By Abigail Harrison

A paint company has asked a North Carolina federal court to boot the opposing counsel in a putative data breach class action, accusing them of finding stolen data on the dark web and using it to solicit potential plaintiffs before victims were even notified of the breach.

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4th Circ. Won't Rehear Spat Over DOGE's Agency Data Access

By Abigail Harrison

The Fourth Circuit has declined to reconsider a split panel's decision to vacate an injunction that blocked the Department of Government Efficiency's access to personal information held by three federal agencies.

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Nexstar Appeals Order Blocking $6.2B Tegna Merger

By Matthew Perlman

Nexstar Media Group Inc. has made good on its promise to appeal an order preventing it from fully merging with Tegna Inc., as the broadcasters fight a challenge of the $6.2 billion deal from state enforcers and satellite provider DirecTV.

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Brief

Logistics Co. Strikes Deal To End Ex-Worker's Age Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

A logistics company wrapped up a suit Wednesday from a worker who said he was forced to retire in his 70s after his managers refused to train him in a new computer system and ignored his medical accommodation requests, according to a filing in North Carolina federal court.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Draft Pleadings

Most law school graduates step into their first jobs without ever having drafted a complaint, answer, motion or other type of pleading, but that gap can be closed by understanding the strategy embedded in every filing, writing with clarity and purpose, and seeking feedback at every step, says Eric Yakaitis at Haug Barron.

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Norton Rose Faces $100M Suit Over Withdrawn Patent App

By Celeste Bott

Norton Rose Fulbright was sued in Illinois state court Tuesday by an advertising tech company claiming that the law firm mishandled a patent application and caused it to be deemed withdrawn, but kept the company in the dark about the loss of its valuable patent rights for over a year.

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Lockheed Birth Defect Trial Judge 'Disappointed' By Attys

By Cara Salvatore

A Florida federal judge said Tuesday he's "puzzled and disappointed" in counsel who appear "unprepared" on the eve of trial in a suit by children who blame their birth defects on Lockheed Martin's chemical handling practices at an Orlando defense system manufacturing and research facility.

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Hunter Biden Blasts Winston & Strawn Tactics In Fee Row

By Emily Sawicki

As a discovery dispute between Hunter Biden and Winston & Strawn LLP drags on amid a suit over allegedly unpaid legal bills, the former president's son accused the BigLaw firm, which once represented him in a Delaware criminal case and other matters, of resorting to "what is uncomfortably close to an ad hominem attack" against him.

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Analysis

Bondi's Proposed Rule Change May Shield Her In Ethics Case

By Phillip Bantz

A federal rule change that Pam Bondi proposed before she was fired as U.S. attorney general could stymie an ethics complaint against her in Florida, which is expected to be refiled after the state bar declined to take up the case during her tenure, experts say.

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Messner Reeves Accused Of $8.3M Trust Account Fraud

By Zach Dupont

Colorado law firm Messner Reeves LLP was hit with a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court from five businesses claiming it stole more than $8 million from them in a fraudulent loan scheme involving a now-defunct sports arena and hotel project in Las Vegas.

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Alston & Bird Says Goliath Investors Can't Claim Malpractice

By Carolina Bolado

Alston & Bird LLP urged a Florida federal court on Wednesday to toss a malpractice suit claiming the firm facilitated a $328 million cryptocurrency scam at Goliath Ventures Inc., arguing that the proposed class of Goliath investors who brought the suit were never clients of the firm.

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Analysis

House GOP Again Pushes Data Privacy Bill To Override States

By Allison Grande

House Republicans on Wednesday took their latest crack at establishing a cohesive nationwide data privacy framework, floating legislation that would give consumers more control over their personal information while preempting a growing patchwork of state laws, although early criticisms indicate that the issues that have long stymied these efforts persist.

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330+ Groups Urge DOJ To Restore Immigration Aid Staff

By Courtney Bublé

More than 300 legal services providers, faith-based institutions and community groups are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to fully restore a program that allows nonlawyers to assist low-income and indigent persons in immigration proceedings.

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Acting DOJ Inspector General Tapped For Permanent Post

By Jack Karp

President Donald Trump has nominated the U.S. Department of Justice's acting inspector general, who investigated the FBI's probe into Trump's links with Russia, to remain in that role on a permanent basis, according to a White House announcement.

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