North Carolina

  • September 02, 2025

    4th Circ. Says Cooking For Terrorists Doesn't Bar Asylum

    The Fourth Circuit revived a deported Nigerian man's immigration case Tuesday, ruling a brief stint as a cook for a terrorist group did not rise to a level of "material support" to make him ineligible for asylum.

  • September 02, 2025

    DOJ Says Illinois Tuition Perks Illegally Disfavor US Citizens

    Illinois is breaking federal law by providing in-state tuition, scholarships and other benefits to people who entered the country illegally and in doing so is discriminating against American citizens, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.

  • September 02, 2025

    Ex-Executive Slaps Novo Nordisk Unit With Sex, Age Bias Suit

    A former finance director for a Novo Nordisk unit hit the company with a sex and age bias lawsuit last week, saying in a North Carolina federal court complaint that her career was cut short after she complained about workplace safety and discrimination.

  • September 02, 2025

    FERC Faces 4th Circ. Heat Over Grid Policy Revamp

    A coalition of utilities and Republican-led states have told the Fourth Circuit that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's recent overhaul of its regional transmission policy exceeds its authority, while consumer and clean energy advocates said that the agency didn't go far enough.

  • September 02, 2025

    NC Court Upholds Ruling Against Pay For Pre-Job Training

    A class of mental health workers seeking overtime compensation can't recover pay for training completed prior to the first day of work, as a North Carolina federal judge upheld a previous order finding that the time is not compensable under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

  • September 02, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Stop Dance Teachers From Using 'Inspire' TM

    A charter school failed to convince the Fourth Circuit to block two former teachers from using the name "Inspire" for their dance company, with a panel finding Tuesday that the school's trademark infringement and false advertising claims didn't have enough juice.

  • September 02, 2025

    North Carolina Powerhouse: McGuireWoods

    McGuireWoods LLP pulled top talent to its North Carolina offices this year, including a former U.S. attorney and the state's solicitor general, and also snagged two major appellate victories — all while guiding a billion-dollar private equity fund formation.

  • September 02, 2025

    NASCAR Limits Charter Sales Amid Antitrust Trial Pressure

    Hoping to avoid a preliminary injunction, NASCAR has agreed not to sell any charters this season and to limit sales next season in an effort to appease the teams accusing the organization in a North Carolina federal court lawsuit of monopolizing stock car racing.

  • August 29, 2025

    The 2025 Regional Powerhouses

    Law360's annual list of regional powerhouses reflects not only the work of exemplary firms, but also emerging legal trends in each state, from matters involving Colorado's growing life sciences industry, to an uptick in bankruptcies in Delaware, to the continued flurry of intellectual property litigation in California.

  • August 29, 2025

    Fortnite Maker Says Patent Claims Too Abstract For IP Suit

    Epic Games Inc. urged a North Carolina federal judge to throw out a suit alleging that player-to-player messaging options in its popular Fortnite video game infringe patents held by a California company.

  • August 29, 2025

    Real Estate Recap: School Housing, Texas Land, Miami Transit

    Momentum in the student housing sector, limits to foreign ownership of Texas land and incentives in Miami transit zones were among the key developments covered this week in Law360 Real Estate Authority.

  • August 29, 2025

    GardaWorld Can't Avoid Tobacco, Vaccine Health Fee Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge trimmed — but refused to toss — a proposed class action challenging a security company's health plan surcharges to employees who refused COVID-19 vaccinations and who use tobacco, opening discovery on claims that the fees violated nondiscrimination provisions in federal benefits law.

  • August 29, 2025

    NC Tex-Mex Chain Says Ex-Employee Defected With Recipes

    The owner of a string of Tex-Mex restaurants has accused a former employee in North Carolina Business Court of taking the chain's proprietary recipes, menus, drinks and decor several states away to use at another restaurant in Missouri.

  • August 29, 2025

    NC Biz Court Crops Doctors' Dispute Over Practice Split

    A state court judge has pared down claims against a North Carolina doctor in a messy legal dispute with his former business partners, finding they failed to show how he breached a settlement agreement governing their separation and that his allegedly disparaging remarks about another doctor don't rise to the level of causing extreme emotional distress.

  • August 29, 2025

    NeoGenomics Scores Win In Natera DNA Test Patent Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge put an end to genetic testing company Natera Inc.'s lawsuit accusing NeoGenomics Laboratories Inc. of patent infringement over DNA cancer test technology, finding the patent claims at issue are invalid.

  • August 29, 2025

    States Say White House Caved In AmeriCorps Cut Fight

    A coalition consisting of Maryland, two dozen other states and D.C. that is challenging the Trump administration's attempts to slash AmeriCorps programs and withhold funds announced Friday the White House has chosen to release nearly $185 million as it faced "a blistering legal defeat."

  • August 28, 2025

    'Animosity' In NASCAR Suit Raises Red Flag For NC Judge

    A North Carolina federal judge on Thursday cautioned out-of-state counsel in the NASCAR antitrust litigation to familiarize themselves with how a Charlotte jury thinks after they traded backhanded barbs in front of a packed courtroom, saying trial tactics that might pass in other states won't work in the Queen City.

  • August 28, 2025

    Barings Denied Ex-Employee Emails In Corporate Raid Case

    Investment giant Barings LLC can't force five former employees to hand over their personal emails and text messages in a corporate-raiding suit because their current employer doesn't have them, nor does it have a right to them, a North Carolina Business Court judge ruled.

  • August 28, 2025

    Truist, Ex-Execs Clash In Bids To End Poaching Dispute

    Charlotte, North Carolina-based Truist Financial Corp. and its mortgage banking arm resisted a bid for a pretrial win by its former executives' new employer, arguing that troves of evidence sustain its claims that over 50 employees were illegally poached, costing the bank tens of millions of dollars in losses.

  • August 28, 2025

    Accounting Firm Sued Over Breach Of Easterseals Data

    A North Carolina-based accounting firm was hit with a class action on Thursday alleging it failed to protect personal information and health data of children, veterans and disabled people entrusted to it by Easterseals Inc.

  • August 28, 2025

    Hotel Group Says Insurer Owes $12.5M For Helene Losses

    A hotel group said it is entitled to recover $12.5 million from a Liberty Mutual unit for business interruption losses stemming from Hurricane Helene, the company said, telling a North Carolina federal court that the insurer has unjustifiably and in bad faith refused to provide coverage.

  • August 27, 2025

    4th Circ. Upholds Va. County's 'Sensitive Places' Gun Bans

    The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday upheld a Virginia county's ban on guns in public parks and left in place its ban near county-permitted events, leaning on U.S. Supreme Court dicta on school gun bans and ruling that plaintiffs hadn't shown enough to sustain their facial challenge to the restrictions.

  • August 27, 2025

    FCC Pressed To Expand NC Carrier's High-Cost Aid

    North Carolina telecom Carolina West says it needs more money from the federal government to continue operating at its current level in high-cost remote areas, and a coalition of its peers has told the Federal Communications Commission that it agrees.

  • August 27, 2025

    Negligence Suit Over Arrest On Stale Warrant Gets New Life

    A Fourth Circuit panel Wednesday vacated a South Carolina county clerk's summary judgment win against allegations that her negligence resulted in a man being arrested twice over the same unpaid child support dispute, kicking the case back to trial court for new proceedings.

  • August 27, 2025

    Investors Push 4th Circ. To Revive Auto Parts Fraud Suit

    Investors who accused Advanced Auto Parts and its top brass of misleading them about the failure of a new pricing strategy and purposefully inflating the impact of price reductions have urged the Fourth Circuit to revive their suit, arguing that they can't downplay the allegedly false accounting as insignificant, among other things.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

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    My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

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    The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

  • Series

    Performing As A Clown Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    To say that being a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has changed my legal career would truly be an understatement — by creating an opening to converse on a unique topic, it has allowed me to connect with clients, counsel and even judges on a deeper level, says Charles Tatelbaum at Tripp Scott.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths

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    Law schools don’t spend sufficient time dispelling certain myths that prevent young lawyers from exploring new business opportunities, but by dismissing these misguided beliefs, even an introverted first-year associate with a small network of contacts can find long-term success, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing

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    Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • 9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard

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    District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Series

    Competing In Modern Pentathlon Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Opening myself up to new experiences through competing in modern Olympic pentathlon has shrunk the appearance of my daily work annoyances and helps me improve my patience, manage crises better and remember that acquiring new skills requires working through your early mistakes, says attorney Mary Zoldak.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Teaching Yourself Legal Tech

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    New graduates often enter practice unfamiliar with even basic professional software, but budding lawyers can use on-the-job opportunities to both catch up on technological skills and explore the advanced legal and artificial intelligence tools that will open doors, says Alyssa Sones at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication

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    As discussed at a recent panel at Texas A&M, artificial intelligence will not erase the human element of adjudication in the next 10 to 20 years, but it will drive efficiencies that spur private arbiters to experiment, lead public courts to evolve and force attorneys to adapt, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • When Legal Advocacy Crosses The Line Into Incivility

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    As judges issue sanctions for courtroom incivility, and state bars advance formal discipline rules, trial lawyers must understand that the difference between zealous advocacy and unprofessionalism is not just a matter of tone; it's a marker of skill, credibility and potentially disciplinary exposure, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • Series

    Volunteering At Schools Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Speaking to elementary school students about the importance of college and other opportunities after high school — especially students who may not see those paths reflected in their daily lives — not only taught me the importance of giving back, but also helped to sharpen several skills essential to a successful legal practice, says Guillermo Escobedo at Constangy.

  • Attacks On Judicial Independence Tend To Manifest In 3 Ways

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    Attacks on judicial independence now run the gamut from gross (bald-faced interference) to systemic (structural changes) to insidious (efforts to undermine public trust), so lawyers, judges and the public must recognize the fateful moment in which we live and defend the rule of law every day, says Jim Moliterno at Washington and Lee University.

  • High Court Birthright Case Could Reshape Judicial Power

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    Recent arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in cases challenging President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order primarily focused on federal judges’ power to issue nationwide injunctions and suggest that the upcoming decision may fundamentally change how federal courts operate, says Mauni Jalali at Quinn Emanuel.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Appreciating Civil Procedure

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    If you’re like me, law school’s often complex and theoretical approach to teaching civil procedure may have contributed to an early struggle with the topic, but when seen from a practical perspective, new lawyers may find they enjoy mastering these rules, says Chloe Villagomez at Foster Garvey.

  • Calif. Bar Exam Fiasco Shows Why Attys Must Disclose AI Use

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    The recent revelation that a handful of questions from the controversial California bar exam administered in February were drafted using generative artificial intelligence demonstrates the continued importance of disclosure for attorneys who use AI tools, say attorneys at Troutman.

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