Trials

  • June 30, 2025

    Sotomayor Urges Tenn. To Address Jury Instruction Issue

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that Tennessee's high court should fix a logical knot that she says makes it impossible to get a verdict of voluntary manslaughter in the state, in a statement on Monday that came alongside the court's refusal to review a second-degree murder case centering on jury instructions.

  • June 30, 2025

    Lin Wood Can't Avoid Legal Costs In Defamation Case

    A Georgia federal judge has found that retired attorney L. Lin Wood can't escape paying his former law partners $750,000 in attorney fees and costs related to a $3.75 million defamation verdict against him, rejecting his argument that the statute governing attorney fees was unconstitutional.

  • June 30, 2025

    Justices To Resolve Split On Supervised Release Fugitives

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear arguments in a case poised to resolve a sharp circuit split over whether the "fugitive tolling" doctrine barring criminal defendants from earning credits to reduce prison sentences while they are not behind bars also should apply to defendants who abscond from supervised release.

  • June 30, 2025

    Ex-Ohio Speaker Calls 6th Circ. Bribery Ruling A 'Stretch'

    Former Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Larry Householder urged the Sixth Circuit to rethink its decision to stand by his bribery conviction over the FirstEnergy nuclear bailout scandal that got him 20 years in prison, arguing the panel made "an illegal stretch" in assuming the jurors undertook proper analysis despite allegedly improper instructions.

  • June 30, 2025

    Justices Seek SG's View In $1.2M Roundup Verdict

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked the U.S. solicitor general to weigh in on Monsanto's petition challenging a $1.2 million jury award given to a man who claimed that the company's Roundup weed killer caused his cancer.

  • June 30, 2025

    Justices Rebuff American Airlines' Bid To Revive JetBlue Pact

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rebuffed American Airlines' bid to revive its codeshare agreement with JetBlue in Boston and New York.

  • June 30, 2025

    High Court Takes Up $1B Copyright Fight Over ISPs' Liability

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday granted a petition for certiorari from Cox Communications Inc. that asked the justices to review a Fourth Circuit's conclusion that telecom companies can be liable for copyright infringement for providing an internet connection that leads to music piracy online.

  • June 30, 2025

    Husch Blackwell Adds Ex-US Atty, DOJ Public Integrity Lawyer

    Todd Gee, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi and an ex-member of the U.S. Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section, has joined Husch Blackwell LLP as a white collar partner in the firm's Washington, D.C., office.

  • June 28, 2025

    DOJ OKs $14B HPE-Juniper Deal With Small-Biz WiFi Unit Sale

    The U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement Saturday with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, clearing the tech giant's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks by requiring the divestiture of a WiFi network business geared toward small firms.

  • June 27, 2025

    Biogen, Genentech May Stay Mum On Damages At Trial

    A California federal judge Friday discouraged Biogen and Genentech from discussing the "magnitude of the money at issue" during their upcoming breach of contract trial over alleged patent royalties due from sales of Biogen's multiple sclerosis medicine, noting that most of the jurors are "not of significant means."

  • June 27, 2025

    Logging Co. Cleared In $73M Trial Over Firefighter's Death

    A jury cleared R&T Logging of Oregon Inc. of liability Friday in a $73 million trial over the death of a firefighter and EMT in an accident in which an employee of the logging company's trucking partner was driving drunk.

  • June 27, 2025

    Abrego Garcia Attys 'Cannot Put Any Faith' In DOJ Claims

    Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia's attorneys on Friday urged the Tennessee federal judge overseeing his criminal case to delay issuing his release from custody, citing the government's contradictory statements over its seemingly new intention to redeport him somewhere other than his native El Salvador.

  • June 27, 2025

    NY Man Wins New Trial Over Jury Instruction Issue

    A man who was convicted of criminal weapons possession for firing a gun on a Brooklyn street was granted a new trial by the New York state appeals court, which found a trial court hadn't explained to the jury that it was sometimes legal to snatch a gun in self-defense.

  • June 27, 2025

    Tesla To Face Punitive Damages Claim At Trial Over Fla. Crash

    Tesla will face a punitive damages claim at trial next month in a wrongful death suit over a deadly collision in 2019, with a Florida federal judge saying there is enough evidence the carmaker knew about dangers associated with its autopilot system to send the claim to a jury.

  • June 27, 2025

    Pregnancy Loss Draws Police Scrutiny Following Dobbs

    The nation's abortion debate has played out in civil courtrooms and state capitols across the country since the overturning of Roe v. Wade three years ago. But the battle is also emerging in another arena: the criminal courts.

  • June 27, 2025

    After Dobbs, States Become Battleground For Abortion Rights

    Three years ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the precedent set by Roe v. Wade, it did more than end nearly five decades of federal constitutional protection for abortion; it also fractured the legal landscape of reproductive rights, shifting the authority to regulate the procedure to individual states, and leading to legal uncertainty for courts, physicians and patients.

  • June 27, 2025

    Colo. Appeals Court Clarifies Meaning Of Molotov Cocktail

    A Colorado state appeals court has ruled for the first time on the interpretation of state laws around explosives and incendiary devices, stating that lawmakers "intended 'explosive' to carry the same meaning as 'incendiary device.'"

  • June 27, 2025

    Sunbeam Says 'Reptile Theory' Tactics Doom $8.8M Verdict

    Sunbeam Products Inc. and parent company Newell Brands Inc. want a new trial in a case where a woman won an $8.8 million verdict on claims that a slow cooker made by the companies left her with burns, asserting that her attorneys committed misconduct aimed at using "Reptile Theory" to inflame the jury.

  • June 27, 2025

    Samsung Hit With $12.5M Verdict In Mobile Patent Trial

    A Texas federal jury hit Samsung with a $12.5 million verdict Friday, finding that it violated a patent held by Empire Technology Development LLC related to cellphone signals, but rejecting the claim that the infringement was willful.

  • June 27, 2025

    Jury Adds $30M More To Fleet Tech Co.'s Trade Theft Trial Win

    An Illinois federal jury on Friday more than doubled the $28.9 million in damages it awarded a day earlier to a fleet management technology firm after finding a garbage truck manufacturer poached its former executive and capitalized on stolen trade secrets, slapping a $30 million punitive award atop the initial verdict.

  • June 27, 2025

    Mass. High Court Says Bias In Police Stop Taints Evidence

    A Massachusetts judge should have granted a motion to suppress evidence — in this case, a bag of cocaine — found after a driver ran from police who had presumably racially profiled him, the state's highest court said Friday.

  • June 27, 2025

    DOJ Tax Division To Split Criminal, Civil Units, Official Says

    The U.S. Department of Justice aims to finalize a reorganization plan for its Tax Division by summer's end that would separate the criminal and civil tax functions and relocate them to the department's main branches, a department official said Friday.

  • June 27, 2025

    Texas High Court Overturns $116M Verdict In Fatal Crash Suit

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday tossed a $116 million jury verdict against trucking company Werner Enterprises Inc. over a crash that killed one child and paralyzed another, ruling that even though a company driver traveled at an unsafe speed, he was not to blame for the accident.

  • June 27, 2025

    Combs Defense Atty Blasts 'Fake Trial' In Closing Argument

    A lawyer for Sean "Diddy" Combs on Friday attacked the legitimacy of the government's racketeering case, accusing prosecutors of invading the hip-hop icon's private sex life and saying two women he is alleged to have trafficked are motivated by money.

  • June 27, 2025

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Last-Minute Settlements Head Off Trials

    Untouched by the summer slump, the North Carolina Business Court kicked off June with a sanctions order against a biogas company caught spurning court orders and a new complaint by a former NFL player accusing his longtime financial adviser of defrauding him for decades.

Expert Analysis

  • 5th Circ. Ruling Is Latest Signal Of Shaky Qui Tam Landscape

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    In his recent concurring opinion in U.S. v. Peripheral Vascular Associates, a Fifth Circuit judge joined a growing list of jurists suggesting that the False Claims Act's whistleblower provisions are unconstitutional, underscoring that acceptance of qui tam relators can no longer be taken for granted, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients

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    Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

  • How Attorneys Can Make The Most Of A Deposition Transcript

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    With recent amendments to federal evidence rules now in effect, it’s more important than ever to make sure that deposition transcripts are clear and precise, and a few key strategies can help attorneys get the most out of a transcript before, during and after a deposition, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • 3 Steps For In-House Counsel To Assess Litigation Claims

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    Before a potential economic downturn, in-house attorneys should investigate whether their company is sitting on hidden litigation claims that could unlock large recoveries to help the business withstand tough times, says Will Burgess at Hilgers Graben.

  • Series

    Teaching College Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving as an adjunct college professor has taught me the importance of building rapport, communicating effectively, and persuading individuals to critically analyze the difference between what they think and what they know — principles that have helped to improve my practice of law, says Sheria Clarke at Nelson Mullins.

  • A New Tool For Assessing Kickback Risks In Health Marketing

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    The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in U.S. v. Sorensen, reversing a conviction after trial of a durable medical equipment distributor, highlights two principle considerations for determining whether payments to marketers in healthcare are unlawful under the Anti-Kickback Statute, says Elisha Kobre at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Enviro To Mid-Law

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    Practitioners leaving a longtime government role for private practice — as when I departed the U.S. Department of Justice’s environmental enforcement division — should prioritize finding a firm that shares their principles, values their experience and will invest in their transition, says John Cruden at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Understanding How Jurors Arrive At Punitive Damage Awards

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    Much of the rising trend of so-called thermonuclear verdicts can be tied to punitive damages amounts that astonish the imagination, so attorneys must understand the psychological underpinnings that drive jurors’ decision-making calculus on damages, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation.

  • Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals

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    If a law firm enters into a pro bono deal with the Trump administration in exchange for avoiding or removing an executive order, it has an ethical obligation to create a written settlement agreement with specific terms, which would mitigate some potential conflict of interest problems, says Andrew Altschul at Buchanan Angeli.

  • Series

    Playing Football Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    While my football career ended over 15 years ago, the lessons the sport taught me about grit, accountability and resilience have stayed with me and will continue to help me succeed as an attorney, says Bert McBride at Trenam.

  • 10 Arbitrations And A 5th Circ. Ruling Flag Arb. Clause Risks

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    The ongoing arbitral saga of Sullivan v. Feldman, which has engendered proceedings before 10 different arbitrators in Texas and Louisiana along with last month's Fifth Circuit opinion, showcases both the risks and limitations of arbitration clauses in retainer agreements for resolving attorney-client disputes, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

  • Series

    Power To The Paralegals: The Value Of Unified State Licensing

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    Texas' proposal to become the latest state to license paraprofessional providers of limited legal services could help firms expand their reach and improve access to justice, but consumers, attorneys and allied legal professionals would benefit even more if similar programs across the country become more uniform, says Michael Houlberg at the University of Denver.

  • Fed. Circ. In March: Forfeiting Claim Construction On Appeal

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    The Federal Circuit's decision in Wash World v. Belanger last month confirms the importance of fair notice to the district court when determining forfeiture of an argument on appeal in the context of patent claim construction, allowing appellants to better gauge the appropriate framing of arguments that may be presented, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.

  • AI Use In Class Actions Comes With Risks And Rewards

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    The use of artificial intelligence in class actions holds promise for helping to analyze complex evidence, but attorneys and experts must understand how to use it correctly, and how to explain it clearly, say Simone Jones and Eric Mattson at Sidley and Anna Shakotko at Cornerstone Research.

  • 4 Takeaways From La. Coastal Wetland Damage Verdict

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    A recent $745 million verdict in a case filed by a Louisiana parish against Chevron for violating a Louisiana environmental law illustrates that climate-related liabilities pose increasing risk and litigation risk may not follow a red state versus blue state divide, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

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