MVP: O'Melveny's Mark W. Robertson

By Benjamin Morse

Mark W. Robertson of O'Melveny & Myers LLP recently secured several major wins for American Airlines, winning summary judgment in a uniform safety dispute and securing dismissal of a flight attendant action targeting the company's COVID-19 policies, earning him a spot as one of the 2025 Law360 Transportation MVPs.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

9th Circ. Tosses Tesla Investor Suit Over Self-Driving Tech

By Katryna Perera

The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the dismissal of a suit against Tesla Inc. and its CEO Elon Musk claiming they deceived investors about the capabilities and safety record of the company's self-driving technology, finding the investors failed to plead any actionable false statements, among other issues.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Boeing Faces New Passenger Suits Over 737 Blowout

By Rachel Riley

The Boeing Co. has been hit with a pair of fresh lawsuits in Washington state court by two California couples who say they were traumatized when a panel blew off a 737 Max jet during a January 2024 Alaska Airlines flight over the West Coast, which triggered an "explosive and violent decompression of the aircraft cabin."

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DeCotiis Beats DQ Bid In NJ Turnpike Discrimination Suit

By Rose Krebs

A New Jersey state appellate panel on Tuesday rejected a bid to disqualify DeCotiis Fitzpatrick Cole & Giblin LLP from representing the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and two employees in a discrimination case filed by a medical facility and doctors who performed work for authority members.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fox News, FedEx Ink Clawback Settlements With Guo Trustee

By Aaron Keller

The trustee handling Chinese exile Miles Guo's $374 million Chapter 11 estate has asked a Connecticut bankruptcy judge to approve sealed settlements in clawback claims once totaling nearly $4 million against Fox News, FedEx, Marcum LLP and seven other entities after a mediator agreed the terms were reasonable.

Settlement attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

9th Circ. Judges Criticize Ship Captain's Actions In Deadly Fire

By Craig Clough

An attorney for a ship captain convicted of manslaughter over the deaths of 34 people in an onboard fire urged a Ninth Circuit panel Tuesday to reverse his conviction, but he received pushback from two judges who suggested the evidence against his client was "damning" and his actions were indefensible.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Gol Linhas Ch. 11 Plan Releases Overturned On Appeal

By Rick Archer

A New York federal judge has reversed the confirmation of Brazilian airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes' Chapter 11 plan, ruling that the bankruptcy court improperly found creditor silence on the proposal's third-party claims releases could be assumed as consent.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NASCAR Tests Credibility Of Michael Jordan's Biz Partner

By Hayley Fowler

NASCAR on Tuesday sought to weaken the credibility of Michael Jordan's business partner, driver Denny Hamlin, with its attorney questioning whether Hamlin's public statements can be trusted following his court testimony that NASCAR forced him to paint a "rosy picture" of the league for fans.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Lyft Gets Albright To Invalidate Some Ride-Hailing Patents

By Adam Lidgett

A Texas federal judge has found that three of Quartz Auto Technologies' patents Lyft Inc. has been accused of infringing are not patentable, after the ride-hailing giant said they were ineligible for patent protection under the U.S. Supreme Court's Alice standard.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Tesla Joins Fight At Fed. Circ. Against PTAB Policy Changes

By Adam Lidgett

Tesla has become the latest company to head to the Federal Circuit to challenge U.S. Patent and Trademark Office changes to the institution process at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, saying the office is putting up "arbitrary roadblocks."

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Cox Failed To Protect Sensitive Data From Breach, Suit Says

By Kelcey Caulder

Communications and automotive services company Cox Enterprises failed to adequately safeguard its back-office business operations platform against a data breach, putting personally identifiable information at risk of being stolen, according to a proposed class action filed in Georgia federal court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fiat Chrysler Seeks Pause Of EV Suit For Arbitration Decision

By Jonathan Capriel

Fiat Chrysler wants to hit pause on a proposed class action alleging the batteries in its plug-in hybrid Jeep Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokees are at risk of spontaneously catching fire, saying the litigation should wait for the Michigan federal court to determine if most of the drivers suing should be pushed into arbitration.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

CSX Must Face Ex-Employee's FMLA Retaliation Suit

By Patrick Hoff

CSX Transportation Inc. can't escape a former employee's lawsuit alleging he was unlawfully fired for taking medical leave, with a Florida federal judge ruling that the dismissal of class claims in a similar case didn't start the clock ticking on the ex-worker's deadline to file suit.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

2nd Circ. Reinstates Ex-Exec's $4M Bridgegate Fees Suit

By Mike Curley

The Second Circuit on Tuesday revived claims from former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive William E. Baroni Jr. seeking $4 million in legal fees over his Bridgegate criminal case, saying the trial court was wrong to find that the Port Authority had sovereign immunity.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mass. Court Lets MBTA Escape Rider's Fare Gate Injury Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

A Massachusetts commuter cannot proceed with her personal injury lawsuit against the state's transportation authority, a state appeals court ruled to end the case, because she sent her notice of injury to the wrong transit officials.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Drivers Get Class Cert. In Liberty Mutual Rental Coverage Suit

By Mark Payne

A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday granted class certification to a group of auto drivers alleging that a Liberty Mutual subsidiary prematurely terminated car rental coverage, but denied the group's request to pursue its claims for classwide, injunctive relief. 

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Utah Youth Bring Renewed Challenge To Fossil Fuel Permits

By Ganesh Setty

A group of 10 young Utah residents have urged a state court to declare that more than 300 of Utah's fossil fuel development permits violate their right under Utah's constitution to enjoy life.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Florida Throws A Wrench Into Interstate Trucking Torts

Florida's recent request to file a bill of complaint in the U.S. Supreme Court against California and Washington, asserting that the states' policies conflict with the federal English language proficiency standard for truck drivers, transforms a conventional wrongful death case into a high-stakes constitutional challenge, say attorneys at Farah & Farah.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LA Atty Accused Of Using AI 'Hallucinations' Sanctioned

By Rae Ann Varona

A California state appeals court has ordered an attorney accused of including artificial intelligence "hallucinations" in a client's opening brief to pay $7,500 to the court, saying in a published opinion that the attorney is subject to sanctions for inaccuracies, regardless of whether they were the result of AI.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Bernstein Litowitz Atty Starts Firm After Contentious Exit

By Adrian Cruz

A former Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP partner known for handling high-profile stockholder cases has led the launch of a boutique focused on corporate disputes and securities litigation after the firm says he was fired for misconduct.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fed. Circ. Pushes DC Circ. Not To Rethink Newman Decision

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit has urged the D.C. Circuit to ignore Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's request to rehear a decision upholding the dismissal of her suit against the colleagues who suspended her, saying the judiciary has the right to police its own internal matters.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bonus Spotlight

High Billers At McKool Smith To Pocket Extra Bonus Money

By Tracey Read

McKool Smith is the latest BigLaw firm to announce extra cash for attorneys who went above and beyond with billable hours in 2025, according to an internal memo obtained by Law360 Pulse.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

1st Circ. Doubts Ex-BigLaw Atty's Campaign Finance Appeal

By Chris Villani

The First Circuit on Wednesday expressed misgivings about a former BigLaw attorney's argument that a jury that convicted him of a campaign finance scheme during a failed run for Congress should have been required to unanimously find that each specific transaction was illegal.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Wilson Sonsini To Switch Leaders For 1st Time Since 2012

By Andrea Keckley

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC announced plans for its first top leadership transition in more than a decade on Wednesday, tapping a Palo Alto, California-based litigator and a New York-based corporate lawyer to begin co-leading the firm at the start of next August.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mass. Court Says Plea Deal Inattention May Be Ineffectiveness

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' highest court on Wednesday concluded that a lawyer's failure to seek a plea bargain if asked to do so by a defendant may amount to ineffective assistance of counsel requiring a new trial under certain circumstances.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

WilmerHale Hires BNP Paribas Director In Boston

By James Boyle

An attorney with nearly 30 years of experience counseling clients on financial regulatory matters, including 10 years with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, has moved his practice to WilmerHale's Boston office.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FTC Backs Nixing ABA Role As 'Gatekeeper' For Texas Bar

By Lynn LaRowe

The Federal Trade Commission has endorsed a proposal from the Texas Supreme Court to abandon a rule requiring graduation from a law school approved by the American Bar Association for admittance to the state bar, saying the organization's "accreditation monopoly" hurts competition and consumers.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Virginia Bar Declines To Investigate Interim US Atty Halligan

By Ryan Boysen

The Virginia State Bar has declined to investigate whether Lindsey Halligan should face discipline over her scandal-plagued tenure as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, just days after a federal judge ruled she was not properly appointed to that post.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Troutman Atty Is 3rd NC Federal Judge Confirmed This Week

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 57-41 on Wednesday to confirm Matthew Orso, a partner at Troutman Pepper Locke LLP, to the Western District of North Carolina as a federal district judge.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

AGs Say Sun, Taro Settlement Mustn't Touch State Claims

By Bryan Koenig

State attorneys general have asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to again ensure their claims remain untouched by a settlement between private plaintiffs and generic-drug makers in sprawling price-fixing litigation, this time focusing on a $200 million deal between Sun Pharmaceutical, Taro Pharmaceuticals and employee benefit plans.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Would Prefer Jack Smith Testify In Public

By Courtney Bublé

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, subpoenaed former counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday for a closed-door deposition, to which President Donald Trump said he would rather see a public testimony.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »