North Carolina

  • June 09, 2026

    Biopharma Founder's Nonsolicit Clause Void Under Calif. Law

    A biopharmaceutical company's co-founder prevailed Monday in convincing North Carolina's business court that nonsolicitation restrictions in his contract were void after they were deemed unenforceable under California law.

  • June 09, 2026

    Attys, Broker Lose 4th Circ. Bid To Toss Tax Convictions

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the convictions of a father-daughter attorney duo and an insurance agent in a $22 million tax avoidance scheme, rejecting their arguments that the calculations on the allegedly false tax forms were technically true and the venue was improper.

  • June 09, 2026

    4th Circ. Lets Hartford Unit Off The Hook For Drug Test Fight

    A Hartford unit doesn't owe coverage to a drug testing company accused of reporting false positive drug tests due to substandard quality control, the Fourth Circuit ruled Tuesday, saying the suit is related to an earlier claim that was covered by another insurer.

  • June 09, 2026

    Health Tech Exec Defends $430K Wage Suit

    A former healthcare data platform chief strategy officer urged a North Carolina federal court to keep his $430,000 wage and commissions suit intact, arguing he has alleged enough ties to keep the case in the state and enough facts to let his claims move forward.

  • June 09, 2026

    The Law360 400: A Look At The Top 100 Firms

    The race to build the legal industry's largest law firm accelerated in 2025, with major firms leaning on mergers, lateral hiring and strategic expansion to climb the ranks of the Law360 400.

  • June 08, 2026

    Soldier's Maduro Raid Betting Case Set For December Trial

    A federal judge in Manhattan set a December trial date Monday in a "novel" and "complex" insider trading case against a U.S. Army soldier accused of unlawfully profiting off prediction market bets based on his knowledge of the January capture of deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

  • June 08, 2026

    DC Circ. Backs FERC Rejection Of Grid-Planning Deal

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was allowed to reject a proposal by PJM transmission owners that would've allowed the regional grid operator to make grid-planning decisions without the approval of its members committee over an issue with a single amendment, the D.C. Circuit has said.

  • June 08, 2026

    Former Electric Utility Exec Can Continue With Bias Suit

    A North Carolina electric utility must continue facing claims that it passed over a Black executive for company president because of his race, a North Carolina federal judge ruled, trimming the former executive's suit in response to the utility's dismissal motion but preserving the central allegations.

  • June 08, 2026

    NC Doctor Avoids Prison For Role In $11M Medicaid Fraud

    A North Carolina doctor received five years of probation with eight months of house arrest for making false statements in an $11 million Medicaid fraud scheme, after a federal judge said he was struggling to balance the need to deter others with unwarranted sentencing disparities.

  • June 08, 2026

    Ohio Justices Back $29M Duke Energy Gas Rate Increase

    Duke Energy Ohio Inc. can raise natural gas distribution rates to offset roughly $29 million tied to the retirement of man-made underground propane storage caverns used since the late 1950s to supply customers during spikes in demand, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled.

  • June 08, 2026

    Life Insurer Seeks Input On Murdered Woman's Benefit Payout

    An insurer asked a North Carolina federal court to determine the rightful beneficiary of a murdered woman's remaining $100,000 in life and accidental death benefits, saying it is exposed to competing claims by the woman's children, one of whom is awaiting trial for murder.

  • June 08, 2026

    Shoals Solar Patent Dispute Kept Alive By NC Court

    A North Carolina federal court has refused to find that three Shoals Technologies Group solar energy patents were unenforceable in the company's infringement suit but said the court would keep certain issues in mind should the case result in a damages verdict.

  • June 08, 2026

    Skadden-Led First Carolina Bank Unveils Plan For $82.5M IPO

    First Carolina Financial Services Inc., a community bank with branches in four southeastern states, said Monday that it plans to offer 5.5 million shares at a price range of $14 to $16 in an initial public offering steered by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and Troutman Pepper Locke LLP.

  • June 08, 2026

    Epic Games Skirts TM Suit Over Fortnite Messaging Tech

    A North Carolina federal judge ended a patent dispute between a California technology company and Fortnite-maker Epic Games Inc., finding that patent claims related to the game's player-to-player messaging options were directed to an "abstract idea" under U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • June 08, 2026

    Trump's $100K H-1B Fee Is Unauthorized Tax, Judge Rules

    A Massachusetts federal judge ruled Monday that President Donald Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa payment constitutes a tax that Congress did not authorize the president to impose, declaring the fee unlawful and vacating it in its entirety.

  • June 05, 2026

    HHS Can Issue Medicare Fines Without Jury, 4th Circ. Says

    The Fourth Circuit ruled Friday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services can seek monetary penalties from Medicare participants for violating program requirements without a jury trial, rejecting a Maryland nursing home operator's argument that Medicare participants are guaranteed that right.

  • June 05, 2026

    Epic Fights Apple's Bid For High Court Sanctions Review

    Epic Games told the U.S. Supreme Court there's no need for high court review of a California federal court's contempt order against Apple for violating a ban on company policies that barred app developers from steering users to outside payment options.

  • June 05, 2026

    EPA Asks 4th Circ. To Back 'Streamlined' Haze Plan Reviews

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urged the Fourth Circuit to deny a petition challenging its approval of West Virginia's regional haze plan, saying it reasonably accepted the plan after proposing to reject it based on a new policy to streamline reviews.

  • June 05, 2026

    Ex-City Council Member's 2nd Daughter Cops To COVID Fraud

    The second daughter of a former city council member in Charlotte, North Carolina, has pled guilty to her role in the family's alleged scheme to submit fake applications for federal loan assistance during the coronavirus pandemic, court records show.

  • June 05, 2026

    4th Circ. Upholds Sanctions For Late Copyright Damages Info

    The Fourth Circuit affirmed a ruling that excluded a software company's damages evidence and granted summary judgment to its competitor, saying in a published opinion Friday that the plaintiff's repeated failure to disclose its damages calculation justified sanctions that effectively doomed its copyright, false advertising and contract claims.

  • June 05, 2026

    Health Funds Ink $5.5M Generic Drug Deal With Breckenridge

    A proposed class of end-payers who allegedly overpaid for generic drugs have asked a federal court for preliminary approval of a $5.5 million settlement with Breckenridge Pharmaceutical Inc., though notifying class members and seeking final approval would wait until the process could be combined with another settlement, the plaintiffs said Thursday.

  • June 05, 2026

    Insurance Mogul Asks To Defer Prison Amid Restitution Push

    A billionaire insurance mogul sentenced to 12 years for bribery and wire fraud asked to put off his federal prison reporting date, saying he needs to maintain access to his defense attorneys and the special master as they continue to map out billions of dollars in restitution.

  • June 04, 2026

    Atkore Inks Additional $50M Deal In PVC Pipe Antitrust Row

    Atkore Inc. has reached another settlement in litigation claiming it conspired with other polyvinyl chloride pipe producers to fix prices, this time agreeing to pay $50 million to a class of end-user plaintiffs, according to a motion for preliminary approval of the deal filed Thursday in Illinois federal court.

  • June 04, 2026

    4th Circ. Revives Inmate Suit, Citing Deleted Prison Video

    An inmate whose prison disciplinary conviction for indecent exposure led to his transfer to a maximum security facility should not have lost his case without having his sanctions request over destroyed video evidence reviewed, a Fourth Circuit panel said Thursday, vacating and remanding a lower court's decision.

  • June 04, 2026

    NC Justices Launch Commission To Tackle Legal Deserts

    Forty-eight of North Carolina's 100 counties are classified as legal deserts, and a commission established by the state's supreme court will aim to address this dearth of attorneys at a meeting Friday, the North Carolina Judicial Branch said.

Expert Analysis

  • A Framework For Habeas Relief After 5th Circ. Bond Ruling

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    Following the Fifth Circuit’s recent Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi decision foreclosing statutory bond for detained nonimmigrants not deemed admitted to the U.S., lawyers should adopt a framework that requests habeas relief pursuant to the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • 4th Circ. Ruling Will Rewrite Class Action Litigation Strategies

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    The Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Oliver v. Navy Federal Credit Union is the first from a federal circuit court to hold that motions to strike are inappropriate vehicles for challenging class allegations at the pleading stage, invalidating a tactic that had been used for decades, says Jim Francis at Francis Mailman.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • Nexstar Offers A Cautionary Tale On State-Level Deal Scrutiny

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    State-enforcement challenges to the $6.2 billion Nexstar-Tegna merger remind legal practitioners that federal approval isn't always sufficient to deliver certainty on closing, integration and timetable assumptions, says Brett Story at Britehorn Securities.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • Where The Preemption Fight Over Prediction Markets Stands

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    While the Third Circuit's recent ruling in Kalshi v. Flaherty remains a significant win for the federal government in its quest to regulate prediction markets, the Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Circuits appear more skeptical, indicating that this fight is likely headed for the Supreme Court, says Johnny ElHachem at Holland & Knight.

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

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    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

  • Employer Tips After 4th Circ. Rejects Trimmed Suit Deadlines

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    The Fourth Circuit's recent holding in Thomas v. EOTech that employers cannot use contractual provisions to shorten statutory filing periods for Title VII or Age Discrimination in Employment Act claims offers a warning for employers to review any such documents and reassess their litigation risk, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • Heppner Ruling Left AI Privilege Risk For Lawyers Unresolved

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    While a New York federal judge’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner resolved a privilege question surrounding client-side artificial intelligence use, it did not address how to mitigate the risks that can arise when confidential information enters the operative context of an AI system used by an attorney, says Jianfei Chen at Quarles & Brady​​​​​​​.

  • The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

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    With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

  • Notable Q1 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    Notable insurance class action decisions from the first quarter of the year included reminders about the statute of limitations as a key defense for claims relating to allegedly deficient forms, the importance of focus on the specific contract at issue and further guidance on the contours of Rule 23, says Kevin Zimmerman at BakerHostetler.

  • Arguments Show Justices Vacillating On Geofence Warrants

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    Questions and statements by the justices during recent oral arguments in Chatrie v. U.S., probing the Fourth Amendment limits of geofence warrants, revealed a Supreme Court that is skeptical of the government’s most sweeping claims, uncomfortable with the petitioner’s broadest theories and searching for a narrow off-ramp, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • Series

    Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

  • A Core Weakness In The Challenge To Birthright Citizenship

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    The government’s recent oral arguments against birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara would have the Supreme Court use modern immigration classifications as markers for a constitutional boundary that is not expressed in the Fourteenth Amendment, making the theory easier to administer but weaker as a matter of text and history, says attorney Tara Kennedy.

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