Washington

  • July 08, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Axes Illegal Reentry-After-Removal Conviction

    A split Ninth Circuit on Tuesday undid a Dominican man's conviction for unlawfully re-entering the U.S. after previously being removed, saying the federal government failed to prove he ever escaped border agents' surveillance near the U.S.-Mexico border.

  • July 08, 2025

    Insurer Fights ACA Loss, Citing Justices' Trans Care Ruling

    Premera Blue Cross urged a Washington federal court to rethink an early win it granted against the insurer over its coverage policy for gender dysphoria surgery, arguing the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti is dispositive of a sex discrimination claim in the case.

  • July 08, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Revives Journos' Hacking Suit Against NSO

    A divided Ninth Circuit reinstated a lawsuit by El Salvadoran journalists alleging Israeli spyware maker NSO Group hacked their iPhones when covering human rights abuses, ruling Tuesday the California federal court abused its discretion when dismissing their suit based on its conclusion that the district wasn't the appropriate forum. 

  • July 08, 2025

    Wash. Seafood Plant, Steel Shop Slapped With CWA Suits

    Environmental groups launched a pair of Clean Water Act lawsuits in Washington federal court on Tuesday accusing an Evergreen State seafood producer and specialty machinery firm of releasing pollutants into local waterways in violation of state and federal permitting regulations.

  • July 08, 2025

    States Back Enviro Orgs. Bid To Block EPA's Halt Of $3B Grant

    A group of Democratic attorneys general on Monday told a D.C. federal district court that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to terminate environmental justice grants deprives vulnerable communities of funding "necessary to achieve a healthy environment."

  • July 08, 2025

    Insurer Fights Coverage For $13M Townhome Arbitration Row

    An insurer told a Washington federal court it has no duty to defend or indemnify a developer facing a nearly $13 million arbitration demand from a construction lender, which claims the developer misrepresented the completion of underground facilities at a Seattle townhome project while requesting funds for the work.

  • July 08, 2025

    Wash. Law Firm Settles Investors' Suit Over $1M Escrow Loss

    A Washington-based law firm has settled a lawsuit in which investors accuse it of losing $1 million in escrow funds intended as a security deposit on a medical supplies purchase, the parties have informed a federal judge just weeks before the scheduled trial date.

  • July 08, 2025

    Amazon Wants To Challenge Class Cert. Bid On The Stand

    Amazon has asked a Washington state federal judge to let it interrogate the expert witness backing a bid for class action status covering tens of millions of consumers, arguing that an evidentiary hearing, with cross-examination, is needed in the antitrust litigation accusing it of keeping online retail prices artificially high.

  • July 08, 2025

    High Court Allows Trump's Gov't Cuts And Restructuring

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled the Trump administration can move forward with its plans for large-scale layoffs and reorganizations at various federal departments and agencies, lifting a California federal judge's order that had paused the efforts while a legal challenge continues.

  • July 08, 2025

    The Biggest Copyright Rulings Of 2025: A Midyear Report

    Two California judges were the first to deliver crucial rulings about what constitutes fair use in training generative artificial intelligence models — a question expected to test the boundaries of the copyright doctrine amid the emergence of the groundbreaking technology. Here is Law360's list of the biggest copyright decisions so far this year.

  • July 07, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Sanctions For Jehovah's Witnesses' Atty

    The Ninth Circuit Monday upheld nearly $160,000 in sanctions against the general counsel for a Jehovah's Witnesses group accused of submitting a misleading affidavit to a Montana federal court in litigation brought by women alleging they endured sexual assault as children at the hands of church officials.

  • July 07, 2025

    FTC Wants More Time To Present Case Against Amazon Prime

    The Federal Trade Commission asked a Washington federal judge for 10 days to put on its case-in-chief against Amazon over alleged deceptive practices that trick customers into automatically renewing Prime subscriptions, arguing the evidence at the upcoming trial would be "voluminous and complex," and lengthening the trial won't prejudice Amazon.

  • July 07, 2025

    Refugee Admission Compliance Plan Is Needed, Judge Says

    A Washington federal judge signaled Monday that he's not inclined to disturb an injunction requiring the government to admit a small class of refugees, despite President Donald Trump's travel ban and recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent curtailing the availability of nationwide injunctions.

  • July 07, 2025

    Feds Tell 9th Circ. Ayahuasca Church Not Owed $2M In Fees

    Federal officials told the Ninth Circuit on Monday that a Phoenix-based church that reached an agreement with the government to use the psychedelic ayahuasca in religious ceremonies was not entitled to more than $2 million in attorney fees.

  • July 07, 2025

    Some Class Certs. Granted In Amazon Alexa Privacy Suit

    A Washington federal judge on Monday granted class certification to plaintiffs with registered Amazon Alexa devices in a suit alleging the devices recorded and stored their conversations, and he denied class certification to those plaintiffs who did not have registered devices.

  • July 03, 2025

    Real Estate Recap: CEQA, Data Center Energy, Midyear Views

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including attorney insight into this week's reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act, how states are approaching energy demand for data center projects, and where the commercial and residential real estate sectors stand at the midyear.

  • July 03, 2025

    Youths Urge 9th Circ. To Revive Federal Equal Protection Case

    A group of youths is asking the Ninth Circuit to revive its lawsuit alleging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Management and Budget are violating the youngsters' constitutional rights by not properly protecting them from climate change.

  • July 03, 2025

    3 More Athletes Appeal NCAA NIL Settlement To 9th Circ.

    Two former wrestlers, including an Olympic medalist, and a former walk-on football player have joined the list of college athletes announcing plans to appeal the $2.78 billion name, image and likeness settlement with the NCAA, arguing that they are receiving far too small a portion of the compensation package.

  • July 03, 2025

    Circuit-By-Circuit Recap: Justices Send Message To Outliers

    It was a tough term at the U.S. Supreme Court for two very different circuits — one solidly liberal, one solidly conservative — that had their rulings overturned in eye-popping numbers. But it was another impressive year for a relatively moderate circuit that appears increasingly simpatico with the high court.

  • July 03, 2025

    The Moments That Shaped The Universal Injunction Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court voted along ideological lines when it hindered the ability of federal district court judges to issue nationwide pauses on presidential policies, but that outcome didn't seem like a foregone conclusion during oral arguments earlier this year. What do the colloquies suggest about the justices' thinking? Here are some moments that may have swayed them.

  • July 03, 2025

    Pacific Seafood Faces CWA Suit For Alleged Permit Violations

    The Center for Food Safety and Wild Fish Conservancy hit Pacific Seafood Aquaculture LLC with a Clean Water Act citizen suit alleging it has failed to comply with permit terms for three Columbia River net pen facilities, each producing more than 20,000 pounds of rainbow trout annually.

  • July 03, 2025

    The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court

    The number of law firms juggling three or more arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this past term nearly doubled from the number of firms that could make that claim last term.

  • July 03, 2025

    Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review

    The U.S. Supreme Court once again waited until the term's closing weeks — and even hours — to issue some of its most anticipated and divided decisions.

  • July 03, 2025

    Supreme Court Takes Up Transgender Sports Bans

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear challenges to West Virginia and Idaho laws barring transgender athletes from competing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity, putting yet more anti-trans legislation to the test after upholding Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors this term. 

  • July 02, 2025

    States Say DHS' Softer Stance On Grants Doesn't Moot Suit

    A collective of 20 states said Wednesday that only Congress can change the terms of federal grants, telling a Rhode Island federal judge that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's softening of its stance on withholding funds to states that don't cooperate with immigration enforcement cannot moot their suit against the government.

Expert Analysis

  • Birthright Opinions Reveal Views On Rule 23(b)(2) Relief

    Author Photo

    The justices' multiple opinions in the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 27 decision in the birthright citizenship case, Trump v. CASA, shed light on whether Rule 23(b)(2) could fill the void created by the court's decision to restrict nationwide injunctions, says Benjamin Johns at Shub Johns.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

    Author Photo

    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Plan For Increased HSR Info Sharing With Wash. Antitrust Law

    Author Photo

    Washington's merger notification requirements, effective later this month, combined with the Federal Trade Commission's new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act rules, will result in greater information sharing among state and federal agencies, making it important for merging parties to consider their transaction's potential state antitrust implications early on, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US

    Author Photo

    In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

    Author Photo

    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

    Author Photo

    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • One Year On, Davidson Holds Lessons On 'Health Halo' Claims

    Author Photo

    A year after the Ninth Circuit's Davidson v. Sprout Foods decision — which raised the bar for so-called health halo claims — food and beverage companies can draw insights from its finding, subsequently expanded on by other courts, that plaintiffs must be specific when alleging fraud in healthfulness marketing, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Focusing On Fluoride: From FDA To Class Action

    Author Photo

    A class action filed two days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans to remove ingestible fluoride prescription drug products for children from the market may be the tip of the iceberg in terms of the connection between government pronouncements on safety and their immediate use as evidence in lawsuits, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Is Turning Point For Private Funds In 401(k)s

    Author Photo

    The Ninth Circuit's decision in Anderson v. Intel reinforces that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's duty of prudence permits fiduciaries to use private market assets in diversified funds, yet it also exposes the persistent litigation and regulatory uncertainties that continue to temper wider adoption in 401(k) plans, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here