North Carolina

  • March 23, 2026

    Emails Enough For Law Firm To Secure Fee, NC Justices Rule

    Raleigh-based law firm Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers LLP secured a $13,500 victory in the North Carolina Supreme Court when the justices found that a father's emails to the firm satisfied the state's fraud statute requirement that a contract "be in writing."

  • March 23, 2026

    NC High Court Nixes Mold Claims Over Contract Limit

    The North Carolina Supreme Court has thrown out a couple's suit against a contractor over water and mold damage to their home, finding that a one-year limitation on claims in their work contract applies over the four-year statute of limitations in the state's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

  • March 23, 2026

    Democratic AGs Demand IEEPA Tariff Refund Legislation

    A group of Democratic state attorneys general pushed congressional leaders to enact legislation that would require timely refunds of all duties levied under the now-invalidated International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs, including interest.

  • March 20, 2026

    5th Circ. Wipes Out FTC's TurboTax 'Deceptive' Ad Ruling

    The Fifth Circuit on Friday vacated the Federal Trade Commission's cease-and-desist order imposed on Intuit Inc. for its TurboTax advertising that regulators say duped customers into thinking they could file their tax returns for free, saying the agency's in-house decision is unconstitutional, and the dispute must go to federal court.

  • March 20, 2026

    Jury Finds Tech Co. Data Analyst Guilty Of Extortion Scheme

    A data analyst contracted to work for a Washington, D.C.-based technology company was hit with a federal jury verdict finding him guilty of conducting a cyber extortion scheme that threatened to disclose employees and executives' personal information if they didn't pay him $2.5 million.

  • March 20, 2026

    Nexstar Won Over DC, But Faces Big Task In Local TV Markets

    Broadcast behemoth Nexstar had plenty to celebrate in Washington, D.C., on Thursday with twin regulatory approvals pivotal to its plan to take over rival Tegna, but even if the deal survives legal challenges, it will face scrutiny in local TV markets.

  • March 20, 2026

    Real Estate Recap: Rate Hold, Data Center Regs, Housing EOs

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including reactions to the latest interest rates news from the Fed, states tamping down on data center development and executive orders on the affordable housing front.

  • March 20, 2026

    States Want To Halt Nexstar-Tegna Integration For Challenge

    State enforcers asked a California federal court Friday to stop Nexstar Media Group Inc. from integrating with rival broadcast company Tegna Inc., after the companies closed their $6.2 billion merger despite a pair of lawsuits challenging the deal.

  • March 20, 2026

    Bed Skirt Biz Partner Owes $608K For Sabotage, Defamation

    A minority owner of a commercial bed skirt company must pay over $608,000 for trying to sabotage the business and defaming the CEO, a North Carolina Business Court judge ruled following a bench trial, saying he must also fork over his interest in the company.

  • March 20, 2026

    NC High Court Keeps County Waste-Fee Classes Intact

    A group of North Carolina property owners can proceed in their waste fee lawsuit as three certified classes, as the North Carolina Supreme Court found Friday that a "key issue" — the identity of class members who hired private waste collection services — could be determined.

  • March 20, 2026

    Balancing The Scales: $3M Jury Verdict, GEO Appeal Denial

    A Philadelphia federal judge rejected bids to disturb a $3 million jury award and impose sanctions on plaintiff's counsel arising from proceedings he described as "near-daily Festivus celebrations, where everyone got to air their grievances 'for the sake of the record'" and a Detroit man saw his murder conviction vacated after 27 years due to the case's reliance on a coerced confession and a lack of physical evidence, among other access to justice stories you may have missed.

  • March 20, 2026

    The Quest For A 'Sound Basic Education' In North Carolina

    Robb Leandro was the original named plaintiff in one of the longest-running lawsuits in Tar Heel State history, centered on the state's constitutional obligation to provide children with a "sound basic education." Over three decades, a series of eponymous North Carolina Supreme Court opinions have steered the state toward what could be a multibillion-dollar remedy to improve public education. He's now waiting alongside millions of residents for the state's justices to release what could be a far-reaching opinion, more than two years after hearing oral argument.

  • March 20, 2026

    Builders Can Proceed As Class In Fee Suit, NC Justices Say

    Homebuilders challenging the City of Raleigh's capital facilities fee ordinances can proceed within a certified class action after North Carolina's highest court ruled Friday that state statute requires unlawful fees be returned to the payor regardless of who ultimately shouldered the cost.

  • March 20, 2026

    NC High Court Says Repose Is 'Immunity,' Substantial Right

    The North Carolina Supreme Court on Friday allowed an airplane parts maker to appeal an order denying its motion for summary judgment in a suit over a 2015 plane crash, overturning precedent to find that the statute of repose under the General Aviation Revitalization Act is a type of immunity and therefore a "substantial right" impacted by the denial.

  • March 20, 2026

    4th Circ. Dubious Of Undoing Execs' Payroll Tax Convictions

    Two former software executives in North Carolina challenging their conviction for failing to pay employment taxes seemed unlikely to get a reversal in the Fourth Circuit on Friday, with at least one judge hearkening back to his days as a prosecutor as he opined that the pair had essentially been "stealing."

  • March 20, 2026

    Seyfarth Real Estate Team Adds Charlotte City Council Member

    Seyfarth Shaw LLP announced Thursday that its real estate department has welcomed a former Nuveen Natural Capital attorney who last fall was elected to the Charlotte City Council.

  • March 20, 2026

    White House Pushes Congress To Override State AI Laws

    The White House directed Congress to preempt "burdensome" state laws on artificial intelligence in a legislative framework released Friday.

  • March 20, 2026

    Man Says Marketing, Sales Put Chinese Co. In Court's Reach

    A man suing a Chinese vape manufacturer is pushing back against its efforts to dismiss the suit from North Carolina federal court, arguing that its marketing and sale of vapes in the state put it within the court's jurisdiction.

  • March 19, 2026

    4th Circ. Backs T-Mobile In Signal Interference Suit

    The Federal Communications Act dooms every bit of an internet and phone service provider's suit accusing T-Mobile of interfering with and slowing down its signals, the Fourth Circuit said Thursday, declining to revive the litigation.

  • March 19, 2026

    4th Circ. Leery Of W.Va. Opioid Towns' Abatement Arguments

    During a heated hourlong oral argument Thursday, two Fourth Circuit judges interrogated an attorney for West Virginia municipalities stricken by the opioid crisis about whether the public nuisance of overly available drugs had already been abated, leaving only redress of resulting harms.

  • March 19, 2026

    States Join Push To Revive EPA Climate Danger Finding

    A coalition of state and local governments on Thursday became the latest group to ask that the D.C. Circuit overrule the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rescission last month of its long-held position on the danger greenhouse gases pose to public health.

  • March 19, 2026

    NC Justices Shouldn't Ax Severance Fight, Ex-CEO Says

    North Carolina's long-arm statute means its business court had jurisdiction to decide a lawsuit filed by the former CEO of a cybersecurity and IT firm over its alleged failure to buy out his equity interest as part of a severance agreement, he has argued to the state's high court in opposition to the company's appeal of a ruling keeping the case in the Tar Heel State.

  • March 19, 2026

    4th Circ. Probes Basis For Chemours River Pollution Order

    The Chemours Co. FC LLC found favor Thursday with at least one Fourth Circuit judge who appeared skeptical of why a lower court decided to render an injunction that blocks the company from continuing to discharge forever chemicals into the Ohio River.

  • March 19, 2026

    Insurance Execs Ask 11th Circ. To Review Coverage Suit Toss

    Insurance executives accused of sabotaging their former company as they prepared to start a rival firm will ask the Eleventh Circuit to review a lower court ruling that Berkley Assurance Co. did not have to pay for their defense in now-dismissed litigation filed by their ex-employer.

  • March 19, 2026

    Live Nation CEO Says He Can't Recall 'Market Power' Remark

    Live Nation's longtime CEO sparred Thursday with states that say the $36 billion entertainment giant engages in monopolization, telling a Manhattan federal jury the business is a "better mousetrap" than rivals and saying he couldn't recall telling investors the company has "incredible market power."  

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Practicing Stoicism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Practicing Stoicism, by applying reason to ignore my emotions and govern my decisions, has enabled me to approach challenging situations in a structured way, ultimately providing advice singularly devoted to a client's interest, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Texas, One Year In

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    A year after the Texas Business Court's first decision, it's clear that Texas didn't just copy Delaware and instead built something uniquely its own, combining specialization with constitutional accountability and creating a model that looks forward without losing touch with the state's democratic and statutory roots, says Chris Bankler at Jackson Walker.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Educating Your Community

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    Nearly two decades prosecuting scammers and elder fraud taught me that proactively educating the public about the risks they face and the rights they possess is essential to building trust within our communities, empowering otherwise vulnerable citizens and preventing wrongdoers from gaining a foothold, says Roger Handberg at GrayRobinson.

  • 5 Crisis Lawyering Skills For An Age Of Uncertainty

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    As attorneys increasingly face unprecedented and pervasive situations — from prosecutions of law enforcement officials to executive orders targeting law firms — they must develop several essential competencies of effective crisis lawyering, says Ray Brescia at Albany Law School.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem

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    After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.

  • Series

    Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

  • SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

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    The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

  • Compliance Steps To Take As FCRA Enforcement Widens

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    As the Fair Credit Reporting Act receives renewed focus from both federal and state enforcers, regulatory and litigation risk is most acute in several core areas, which companies can address by implementing purpose processes and quick remediation of consumer complaints, among other steps, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Opinion

    High Court, Not A Single Justice, Should Decide On Recusal

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    As public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to decline, the court should adopt a collegial framework in which all justices decide questions of recusal together — a reform that respects both judicial independence and due process for litigants, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

  • Series

    Traveling Solo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Traveling by myself has taught me to assess risk, understand tone and stay calm in high-pressure situations, which are not only useful life skills, but the foundation of how I support my clients, says Lacey Gutierrez at Group Five Legal.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Client Service

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    Law school teaches you how to interpret the law, but it doesn't teach you some of the key ways to keeping clients satisfied, lessons that I've learned in the most unexpected of places: a book on how to be a butler, says Gregory Ramos at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • Where 4th And 9th Circ. Diverge On Trade Secret Timing

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    Recent Fourth and Ninth Circuit decisions have revealed a deepening circuit split over when plaintiffs must specifically define their alleged trade secrets, turning the early stages of trade secret litigation into a key battleground and elevating the importance of forum selection, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 3 Tips On Finding The Right Job

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    After 23 years as a state and federal prosecutor, when I contemplated moving to a law firm, practicing solo or going in-house, I found there's a critical first step — deep self-reflection on what you truly want to do and where your strengths lie, says Rachael Jones at McKool Smith.

  • Series

    Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Painting trains me to see both the fine detail and the whole composition at once, enabling me to identify friction points while keeping sight of a client's bigger vision, but the most significant lesson I've brought to my legal work has been the value of originality, says Jana Gouchev at Gouchev Law.

  • H-2A Rule Rollback Sheds Light On 2 Policy Litigation Issues

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    The Trump administration’s recent refusal to defend an immigration regulation implemented by the Biden administration highlights a questionable process that both parties have used to bypass the Administrative Procedure Act’s rulemaking process, and points toward the next step in the fight over universal injunctions, says Mark Stevens at Clark Hill.

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