Analysis

Transportation Cases To Watch: Midyear Report 2026

By Linda Chiem

Clashes over the Trump administration's bid to void California's vehicle emissions standards, federal restrictions on commercial drivers' licenses for foreign truckers and Boeing 737 Max securities litigation involving class certification standards are among the court battles that transportation attorneys are monitoring in the latter half of 2026.

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Texas Trucking Co. Owes $104M For Fatal Box Truck Crash

By Hailey Konnath

A Texas jury has awarded $104 million to the family of an El Paso man who was killed when a commercial trucker fell asleep behind the wheel and collided with a stopped box truck, according to an announcement made Wednesday.

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NHTSA Says AVs Must Stop Interfering With First Responders

By Linda Chiem

The U.S. Department of Transportation has urged autonomous vehicle developers to come up with fixes to driverless vehicles interfering with police, fire trucks and ambulances on roadways, saying an autonomous vehicle that "cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public."

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DOJ Joins Another Suit Aimed At Calif. Emissions Rules

By Elaine Briseño

The U.S. Department of Justice has intervened in another lawsuit targeting California's emission rules for heavy-duty trucks, arguing the Clean Air Act bars states from attempting to enforce or adopt their own emissions standards for new vehicles.

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Levona Pans Greenberg Traurig, Reed Smith Privilege Claims

By Andrea Keckley

Levona Holdings has urged a New York federal judge to order Reed Smith LLP and Greenberg Traurig LLP to turn over privilege logs in discovery related to the company's motion for sanctions, saying there are "reasons to doubt" the firms' privilege claims.

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Tesla Keeps Part Of Arbitration Award In Battery IP Feud

By Adam Lidgett

A California federal judge has backed part of an arbitration award blocking a Tesla supplier from selling certain electric vehicle battery equipment to anyone other than Tesla, but said the arbitrator needs to take another look at other parts of the injunction.

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5th Circ. Says Workers Needn't Mitigate Emotional Damages

By MJ Koo

Employees who prevail on sexual harassment claims under federal law don't need to take steps to reduce their emotional distress damages, the Fifth Circuit ruled Thursday, affirming a jury's award of compensatory and punitive damages against a regional airline in a case of first impression for the circuit.

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Southwest Airlines Accused Of Shorting Wash. Workers' Pay

By Ben Adlin

Southwest Airlines Co. regularly underpaid its workers in Washington state and denied them legally mandated meal and rest breaks, according to a former employee's proposed class action against the Texas-based carrier.

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Migrants Look To Certify Class In Martha's Vineyard Flight Suit

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal judge has been asked to certify a class of migrants alleging they were tricked into boarding flights from Texas to Martha's Vineyard in a political stunt.

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Nutmobile Builder Says Ex-Workers Used Assets For Rival Co.

By Julie Manganis

A small Massachusetts company that built the Planters Nutmobile, the L.L. Bean Bootmobile and other novelty promotional vehicles says a group of former employees intentionally drove it into the ground while secretly using its funds and trade secrets to start a competing business.

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Brief

EU OKs Antidumping Duties On Chinese Car, Light Truck Tires

By Dylan Moroses

Light truck and passenger car tires entering the European Union from China are facing new antidumping duties, the European Commission said Thursday.

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EPA Floats Compliance Changes To Truck Emission Regs

By Gautama Mehta

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed reducing the mileage for which trucks that will be built in 2027 have to adhere to emissions standards established in 2023.

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Brief

WTO, IMF, World Bank, IEA Cite Uneven Iran War Toll

By Dylan Moroses

The ongoing war in Iran sharply raised energy and fertilizer prices when it began, and although those prices have dropped, the conflict continues to fuel significant trade volatility, according to a joint statement issued by the leaders of four global economic rule-setting bodies.

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Insurer Says Freight Cos. Blew Coverage Of $59M Judgment

By Gianna Ferrarin

An insurer defending two freight companies as they appeal a $59 million personal injury judgment against them urged a New Jersey federal court to find they aren't owed any coverage because, the insurer alleged, they went behind the insurer's back by working with the injured motorist.

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Analysis

State Of 2026 Energy Dealmaking: Midyear Report

By Keith Goldberg

The war in Iran is the most influential development that has shaped energy dealmaking so far in 2026, and that figures to still be the case in the second half of the year. Other factors include data center demands and tax credits. Here, attorneys outline to Law360 the trends that are defining energy transactions this year.

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Exxon, Chevron Can't Exit Climate Suit Over Wash. Heat Death

By Rachel Riley

A Washington state judge said Wednesday that Exxon, Chevron and other oil giants must face a lawsuit over a death in a 2021 heat wave, distinguishing the case from other climate torts brought by cities and rejecting the companies' contention that the family of Juliana Leon is seeking to regulate global greenhouse gas emissions.

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Series

NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

The year's second quarter brought several notable banking law developments to New York, including a proposal to align state stablecoin rules with the federal Genius Act, fresh fair lending and cybersecurity guidance from state regulators, and a significant Second Circuit holding on preemption, say attorneys at Ashurst Perkins Coie.

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What Consent Decree Trends Mean For Deal Clearances

With merger remedies back on the table under the current administration, an analysis of recent Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice consent decrees reveals that prior approval and prior notice provisions are no longer a foregone conclusion, and companies may be able to negotiate narrowly tailored obligations, say attorneys at Weil.

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Series

Bass Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Landing a trophy striped bass and closing a big deal both require cultivating the patience to finesse — not force — your way to desired outcomes, changing course when your old approach isn’t working and learning from the ones that got away, says Jon Ruiss at Alston & Bird.

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NY Courts Ban 'Smart' Glasses Over Secret Recording Abilities

By Lauren Berg

"Smart" glasses containing cameras and other recording devices will be banned from all state courts in New York beginning later this month, making it the apparent first in the nation to implement a statewide blanket ban on the wearable technology.

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Ex-Associate Says Jackson Lewis Pushed Her Out After Leave

By MJ Koo

A former associate attorney who was on the partnership track at Jackson Lewis PC has brought suit against the employment law firm in California state court, alleging that it refused to accommodate her temporary medical restrictions after she returned from leave and pressured her to accept a demotion or resign.

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Woodward Running DOJ Antitrust Division Alarms Observers

By Bryan Koenig

When Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. quietly took over direct oversight late last month of the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, there was no formal announcement, no White House action or U.S. Senate consultation, and little to signal what lies ahead.

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Arizona Atty Faces Possible Sanctions Over Bogus Quotes

By Emily Sawicki

An Arizona federal judge is mulling fee sanctions against an attorney found to have included erroneous quotations in a brief she filed in her client's employment discrimination case, amid what he called her history of "improper litigation conduct" in the pending matter and previous cases.

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Photographers Group Rebuts Judiciary On Court Cameras

By Courtney Bublé

The National Press Photographers Association pushed back on the federal judiciary's claims that allowing cameras in courtrooms would be problematic.

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Chicago US Atty Faces Ill. Judge For Discussing Sealed Case

By Lauraann Wood

Chicago's U.S. attorney stood silent for nearly 30 minutes Thursday as an Illinois magistrate judge sternly criticized him for publicly discussing a gang-related kidnapping case before it was officially unsealed, though she stopped short of finding his conduct constituted a deliberate violation of court orders.

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Ex-Wis. Judge Appeals Conviction In ICE Obstruction Case

By Ganesh Setty

A former Wisconsin state judge convicted of obstructing immigration authorities trying to arrest a defendant after he appeared in her courtroom lodged an appeal before the Seventh Circuit on Thursday, after avoiding a prison sentence but being fined $5,000.

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Grassley Claims Smith's Team Mishandled Classified Docs

By Jack Karp

Individuals working in then-special counsel Jack Smith's office may have mishandled classified information while investigating President Donald Trump, according to messages obtained by the Senate Judiciary Committee, committee Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley has told the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Attys Win $2.5M Fee Award After $63K Native Bias Verdict

By Joyce Hanson

A South Dakota hotel must pay an Indigenous advocacy group about $2.5 million in attorney fees following a trial jury's $63,191 verdict in a civil rights case claiming the business discriminated against Native American tribe members based on race, a federal judge has ruled.

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