Sinema Says Tryst With Ex-Guard Not In NC Court's Reach

By Abigail Harrison

Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, now a Hogan Lovells attorney, told a North Carolina federal court Thursday that a lawsuit alleging her cross-country affair with a former member of her security detail ended a 14-year marriage must be dismissed because the trysts occurred outside state borders.

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FDIC Owns SVB Insurance Claims, Court Told

By Abigail Harrison

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., as receiver for Silicon Valley Bank after its historic collapse in early 2023, is entitled to recover on what could be tens of millions of dollars in financial institution bond proceeds, the FDIC's counsel told a North Carolina federal court Thursday.

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Amazon Beats Race Bias Suit Over Poor Performance Rating

By Grace Elletson

A North Carolina federal judge tossed a suit from a Black former Amazon manager who alleged the retail giant discriminated against her when it gave her a bad performance review, saying she didn't actually face any significant consequences as a result of the negative feedback.

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Tanger Asks NC Justices Not To Review COVID Coverage Suit

By Gianna Ferrarin

Two insurers failed to establish an error justifying review from the North Carolina Supreme Court of a decision allowing Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. to seek $50 million in pandemic-related coverage, the retail outlet chain told the justices.

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Insurer Asks NC Justices To Free It From Captive Carrier Row

By Hope Patti

A Georgia insurance company told North Carolina's highest court that the state's Business Court doesn't have jurisdiction over it in a shareholder dispute over the demise of a defunct captive insurer, arguing it had nothing to do with the supposed bad acts of its individual members.

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Ex-Consultants Sue Gallagher Over Nonsolicitation Clauses

By Mark Payne

Insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher Co. shouldn't be able to enforce nonsolicitation clauses that "stifle valid competition and hinder employee mobility," a pair of former group welfare benefits consultants told a federal court this week, telling the court both clauses run afoul of North Carolina law. 

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4th Circ. Backs $42M Abu Ghraib Verdict, Likens CACI To Pirates

By Jared Foretek

A $42 million judgment against defense contractor CACI Premier Technology Inc. for conspiring with the U.S. military to torture Abu Ghraib prison detainees was upheld by a split Fourth Circuit panel Thursday, with the majority holding that the military prison was effectively within U.S. territorial jurisdiction during the war in Iraq.

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Ex-Dealer's Retaliation Suit Against Harrah's NC Revived

By Gina Kim

The Fourth Circuit on Thursday revived employment retaliation claims against Harrah's and Caesars Entertainment by a former table games dealer, finding the lower court abused its discretion by making "speculative assertions" about the need to add as a defendant a related tribal gaming enterprise.

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4th Circ. Scolds Atty Suspected Of Using AI In Race Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

The Fourth Circuit has reprimanded an attorney suspected of using generative artificial intelligence to draft briefs in a race discrimination lawsuit against Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., warning that courts need to grapple with the technology as it "may soon become the norm."

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Haynes Boone Names New Charlotte Office Managing Partner

By Tracey Read

Haynes Boone has elevated a North Carolina finance partner to office managing partner in Charlotte as the city continues its ascent as a financial and legal hub.

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Series

Podcasting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Podcasting has changed how I ask questions and connect with people, sharpening my ability to listen without interrupting or prejudging, and bringing me closer to what law is meant to be: a human profession grounded in understanding, judgment and trust, says Donna DiMaggio Berger at Becker.

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'Swinging Dicks' Dissent Stirs Uproar Across 9th Circ. Bench

By Jeff Overley

A raunchy dissent in litigation over transgender spa patrons prompted dozens of Ninth Circuit judges to denounce the "vulgar barroom talk" of a colleague, who returned fire by ridiculing his peers for adopting the "fastidious sensibilities of a Victorian nun."

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Atty Who Sought Trump Pardons Accused Of Extorting Client

By Stewart Bishop

A South Carolina attorney and lobbyist who has billed himself as a fixer for prisoners seeking clemency from President Donald Trump made an appearance in Brooklyn federal court Saturday on newly unsealed charges that he tried to extort a client for over half a million dollars.

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Life Sciences Partner Hiring Up Amid Regulatory Scrutiny

By Aebra Coe

Large law firms' partner additions in life sciences rose slightly across five geographic markets between 2024 and 2025, with several factors including increased regulatory scrutiny driving new additions, according to an analysis by intelligence platform Macrae+.

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Judge Denies US Atty's Recusal Call Over Conflict Concerns

By Rose Krebs

Calling it "procedurally improper, untimely, and lacking merit," a federal judge on Friday nixed a demand from Minnesota's U.S. attorney for the judge to step aside from a habeas case related to the government's immigration enforcement operation since his wife is pursuing litigation over the crackdown as the state's solicitor general.

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NY Republicans Say Chief State Judge Crossed Ethics Line

By Emily Sawicki

Republican legislators on the judiciary committees of the New York state Senate and Assembly have brought a misconduct complaint against New York State Chief Judge Rowan Wilson over statements the judge made at a symposium in support of proposed legislation to reform minimum sentencing guidelines that they believed violated judicial conduct rules on impartiality.

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Immigration Watchdog Sues DOJ Over Secret Court Hearings

By Adrian Cruz

A Minnesota-based human rights nonprofit has sued the U.S. Department of Justice in D.C. federal court over its decision to restrict public access to proceedings at St. Paul's Fort Snelling Immigration Court.

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Ariz. Judicial Council OKs ABS Rules Despite Bar Concerns

By Rachel Rippetoe

Arizona's Judicial Council approved some new restrictions on out-of-state operations for non-attorney-owned law firms allowed to operate under the state's licensure program, despite the Arizona state bar's concerns that the new rules aren't stringent enough.

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Reed Smith Is Ignoring Expanded Back Pay Window, Atty Says

By George Woolston

A former Reed Smith LLP attorney who claimed she was unlawfully underpaid told a New Jersey state court on Friday that the firm's bid to limit the window of time for which she's seeking damages is an attempt to roll the case back in time.

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Q&A

She Has A Point: Finnegan's Cora Holt

By Theresa Schliep

Cora Holt, a partner at Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP in Washington, D.C., has a "do your job" attitude and "getting the stuff done" approach to litigation that earned plaudits from Kassie Helm, co-chair of Dechert LLP, who praised Holt for her work as part of a Law360 series celebrating women litigators.

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Q&A

NC Judge Brings Military Roots, Not Politics, To Biz Bench

By Abigail Harrison

The North Carolina Business Court added decade-long Superior Court Judge Graham Shirley to its bench this month. In an interview, Judge Shirley told Law360 how time as an attorney in the U.S. military helped make him a thorough and punctual jurist, and expanded on his interest in keeping partisan politics out of the judiciary. 

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Esquire's $348M Signature Deal Bolsters Litigation Platform

By Al Barbarino

Esquire Financial Holdings Inc. has agreed to buy the parent company of Signature Bank in a roughly $348.4 million deal that Esquire said will help expand its Chicago-area commercial banking presence and support growth of its litigation banking platform.

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GSA Pans Giving 'Unelected Judiciary' Sway Over Property

By Courtney Bublé

The federal government's landlord told the federal judiciary it is "ill equipped" to have direct authority to maintain its buildings.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

In London, Estée Lauder accused Jo Malone's founder of intellectual property infringement, the wife of an Iranian businessman linked to a £75 million fraud sued several Iranian oil companies, HSBC sued U.S. property tycoon Michael Fuchs, and Charles Russell Speechlys brought a claim against a United Arab Emirates company it once represented in an international arbitration.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP and Clement & Murphy PLLC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Federal Circuit vacated an over $600 million judgment involving the maker of Norton antivirus software for infringing Columbia University patents.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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