Washington

  • April 17, 2026

    Real Estate Recap: Learning From Loan-Guarantor Litigation

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including a deep dive into how an uptick in lender-guarantor claims is shaping new loans.

  • April 17, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives Doctor's PeaceHealth Whistleblower Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel has reinstated a psychiatrist's claims that PeaceHealth Inc. retaliated against him for expressing concerns about potential Medicaid fraud at a Washington hospital, concluding on Friday that the district court overlooked evidence that the employer punished him by not renewing his employment contract.

  • April 17, 2026

    Amazon Fired Drone Pilot Who Voiced Safety Issues, Suit Says

    A former Amazon drone pilot and robotics operator has claimed in a Washington state lawsuit that the e-commerce giant illegally fired him in retaliation for raising safety and regulatory concerns around what his suit describes as a "clandestine" drone AI-training program.

  • April 17, 2026

    Systemic Bias Norm At Taiwan Semiconductor, Engineer Says

    A software engineer for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has alleged the microchip-maker systematically discriminates against women by hiring them less frequently than men, underpaying women and fostering a "sexually-charged environment" rife with innuendo and harassment.

  • April 17, 2026

    Alaska-Hawaiian Merger Judge Mulls DQ Over O'Melveny Ties

    The parties in a consumer lawsuit challenging Alaska Airlines' 2024 acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines have been notified that the federal judge recently assigned to the case intends to disqualify himself unless they sign a waiver over one of his retirement accounts being tied to O'Melveny & Myers LLP, which is representing Alaska Airlines.

  • April 17, 2026

    Taxation With Representation: Skadden, Stikeman Elliott

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Amazon.com Inc. buys satellite communications company Globalstar Inc., waste management company GFL Environmental Inc. acquires Secure Waste Infrastructure Corp., and Standard Life PLC buys the British subsidiary of Dutch insurer Aegon.

  • April 16, 2026

    Citizens Group Says 25 States Are Eyeing AI Chatbot Laws

    Twenty-five U.S. states are looking at passing laws to make artificial intelligence companies face liability claims in civil suits if they fail to protect consumers who interact with chatbots, while another three states have already enacted protections, according to a citizens group's new legislative tracker.

  • April 16, 2026

    9th Circ. Judge Rips 'Sophistry' By Online Prediction Markets

    A Ninth Circuit judge appeared skeptical Thursday of requests by KalshiEX LLC, Crypto.com and Robinhood to block Nevada from enforcing state gambling laws against sports and election-related contracts, telling Robinhood's counsel "I don't buy" the companies' regulatory interpretation and slamming a Crypto.com argument as "sophistry to the nth degree."

  • April 16, 2026

    MoneyLion Hit With Wash. Class Action Over Referral Texts

    A program from fintech platform MoneyLion encouraging users to refer friends to the service has flooded Washington residents with unsolicited text messages in violation of the state's Commercial Electronic Mail Act, alleges a putative class action removed to Seattle federal court Wednesday.

  • April 16, 2026

    EPA-Backed River Plan Puts Wash. Salmon At Risk, Suit Says

    An Oregon environmental watchdog sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday over its approval of a Washington state report on watershed management, claiming the document was based on faulty modeling and, if allowed to stand, could threaten the survival of salmon and other fish in the region.

  • April 16, 2026

    Timeshare Exit Patrons Nab Reversal In Coverage Denial Row

    A Washington federal judge held she made a "mistake" when she rejected arguments that an insurer acted in bad faith by declining to defend a now-defunct timeshare exit company from a consumer protection class action that yielded a $630 million deal.

  • April 16, 2026

    AGs' Win Over Live Nation Leaves DOJ Watching From The Side

    Live Nation Entertainment Inc.'s across-the-board trial rout by 34 state attorneys general underscores the ascendancy of state antitrust enforcers looking to fill perceived enforcement gaps left by the U.S. Department of Justice during President Donald Trump's second term.

  • April 16, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Security Officer's Firing OK For Court Review

    The Ninth Circuit found Thursday that it was fair game for a jury to consider whether a nuclear facility manager illegally fired a security officer due to his prescription opioid use, ruling the revocation of his fitness-for-duty certification didn't amount to a security clearance decision blocked from judicial review.

  • April 16, 2026

    Brita Filter Labels Don't Dupe Consumers, 9th Circ. Affirms

    A reasonable consumer would not expect a low-cost Brita filter to remove or reduce all common tap water contaminants to below lab detectable limits, the Ninth Circuit ruled Thursday, affirming the dismissal of a consumer's proposed false advertising class action against the manufacturer.

  • April 16, 2026

    Seattle's COVID-Era Tenant Protections Face Appellate Skeptic

    A Washington state appellate judge pushed back Thursday on Seattle's defense of COVID-19-era tenant rights ordinances, observing that the plaintiff landlord may have a stronger Fifth Amendment takings claim than usual because of the "unique" situation of "six regulations passed within a short time period."

  • April 16, 2026

    US Bank Shorted Wash. Workers On Meals, Breaks, Suit Says

    U.S. Bank denied hourly employees meal and rest breaks, and shorted them on overtime and sick leave pay, two former workers alleged in a proposed class action filed in Washington state court.

  • April 16, 2026

    Seattle Art Museum Denied Breaks, Full Pay, Suit Says

    The Seattle Art Museum failed to pay nonexempt employees for all hours worked and denied them legally required meal and rest breaks, according to a proposed class action filed Tuesday in Washington state court.

  • April 16, 2026

    International Paper To Pay $360M For Wash. Paper Mill Co.

    International Paper said Thursday that it has agreed to acquire North Pacific Paper Co., a paper manufacturer and portfolio company of One Rock Capital Partners, for $360 million. 

  • April 15, 2026

    'A Bunch Of Games': MDL Judge Irked By Meta, AGs Sparring

    A California federal judge appeared skeptical Wednesday of Meta Platforms Inc.'s request for a summary judgment win over claims by state attorneys general in multidistrict social media addiction litigation, saying repeatedly that many disputes should be resolved at trial and panning some arguments by both sides as "a bunch of games."

  • April 15, 2026

    Hims & Hers Providers Can't Duck Suit Over Student's Suicide

    Medical providers for telehealth company Hims & Hers can't escape a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of a Washington State University freshman who died by suicide in 2023, according to a Washington state judge's order denying summary judgment motions from five individual defendants.

  • April 15, 2026

    Amneal Trims But Can't Nix AGs' Drug Price-Fixing Suit

    There is enough evidence from which a jury could conclude that Amneal Pharmaceuticals participated in a conspiracy to fix the price of an epilepsy medication, but not enough to show it participated in the overarching antitrust conspiracy alleged by dozens of state attorneys general, a Connecticut federal judge ruled Wednesday.

  • April 15, 2026

    Amazon Can't Nix MIT Economist Input On Antitrust Case

    A Seattle federal judge has shot down Amazon's bid to rule out a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor's opinions backing proposed class antitrust claims, finding the expert used a "peer reviewed economic model based on real-world transactional data" to conclude that Amazon's "anti-discounting policies" heightened prices in other online marketplaces.

  • April 15, 2026

    'Law, Not Liturgy'?: 9th Circ. Split Over Faith Bias COVID Suit

    Eight judges dissented Wednesday from the denial of an en banc Ninth Circuit rehearing of a panel's decision not to revive a Christian hospital worker's religious bias lawsuit alleging she was fired for refusing COVID-19 nasal testing, with one dissenting judge saying "courts are unwelcome guests" when deciding the veracity of an individual's belief.

  • April 15, 2026

    737 Max Families Ask Full 5th Circ. To Weigh DOJ-Boeing Deal

    Families of 737 Max 8 crash victims have asked the full Fifth Circuit to review a panel's recent decision accepting the U.S. Department of Justice's refusal to criminally prosecute Boeing for allegedly conspiring to defraud safety regulators, saying it allows corporate defendants to game the courts through a "mootness" loophole.

  • April 15, 2026

    Insurer Says No Coverage For Fatal Wash. Quarry Shooting

    An insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify a trucking company owner from civil claims following his conviction over the fatal shooting death of another man, the insurer told a Washington federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Rebutting Price Impact In Securities Class Actions

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    Defendants litigating securities cases historically faced long odds in defeating class certification, but that paradigm has recently begun to shift, with recent cases ushering in a more searching analysis of price impact and changing the evidence courts can consider at the class certification stage, say attorneys at Katten.

  • 7 Document Review Concepts New Attorneys Need To Know

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    For new associates joining firms this fall, stepping into the world of e-discovery can feel like learning a new language, but understanding a handful of fundamentals — from coding layouts to metadata — can help attorneys become fluent in document review, says Ann Motl at Bowman and Brooke.

  • Agentic AI Puts A New Twist On Attorney Ethics Obligations

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    As lawyers increasingly use autonomous artificial intelligence agents, disciplinary authorities must decide whether attorney responsibility for an AI-caused legal ethics violation is personal or supervisory, and firms must enact strong policies regarding agentic AI use and supervision, says Grace Wynn at HWG.

  • Series

    Being A Professional Wrestler Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Pursuing my childhood dream of being a professional wrestler has taught me important legal career lessons about communication, adaptability, oral advocacy and professionalism, says Christopher Freiberg at Midwest Disability.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

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    Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

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    A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.

  • Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

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    Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

  • FTC, CoStar Cases Against Zillow May Have Broad Impact

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    Zillow's partnerships with Redfin and Realtor.com have recently triggered dual fronts of legal scrutiny — an antitrust inquiry from the Federal Trade Commission and a mass copyright infringement suit from CoStar — raising complex questions that reach beyond real estate, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University College of Law.

  • Parenting Skills That Can Help Lawyers Thrive Professionally

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    As kids head back to school, the time is ripe for lawyers who are parents to consider how they can incorporate their parenting skills to build a deep, meaningful and sustainable legal practice, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses seven decisions pertaining to attorney fees in class action settlements, the predominance requirement in automobile insurance cases, how the no mootness exception applies if the named plaintiff is potentially subject to a strong individual defense, and more.

  • Series

    Teaching Trial Advocacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    Teaching trial advocacy skills to other lawyers makes us better litigators because it makes us question our default methods, connect to young attorneys with new perspectives and focus on the needs of the real people at the heart of every trial, say Reuben Guttman, Veronica Finkelstein and Joleen Youngers.

  • 9th Circ. Finding That NFTs Are Goods Will Change TM Law

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Yuga Labs v. Ripps establishes that NFTs have real, commercial value under U.S. federal trademark law, a new legal precedent that may significantly influence intellectual property enforcement and marketplace policies regarding digital assets going forward, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Texas AUSA To BigLaw

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    As I learned when I transitioned from an assistant U.S. attorney to a BigLaw partner, the move from government to private practice is not without its hurdles, but it offers immense potential for growth and the opportunity to use highly transferable skills developed in public service, says Jeffery Vaden at Bracewell.

  • Advice For 1st-Gen Lawyers Entering The Legal Profession

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    Nikki Hurtado at The Ferraro Law Firm tells her story of being a first-generation lawyer and how others who begin their professional journeys without the benefit of playbooks handed down by relatives can turn this disadvantage into their greatest strength.

  • How 9th Circ. Customs Ruling Is Affecting FCA Litigation

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    The Ninth Circuit’s recent Island Industries decision holding that the U.S. Court of International Trade doesn’t have exclusive jurisdiction over whistleblower suits involving import duties has set the stage for the False Claims Act to be a key weapon on the customs enforcement battlefield, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

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