Washington

  • October 05, 2026

    ​​​​​​​High Court Won't Revisit Groff Religious Accommodation Test

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined an invitation by a group of Washington firefighters to clarify whether the court's landmark 2023 decision in Groff v. DeJoy requires employers accused of illegally denying religious accommodations to show that the workplace adjustments present an actual hardship.

  • October 03, 2026

    Up First At High Court: Climate Torts & Munitions Disposal

    The U.S. Supreme Court will begin its new term on Monday, when the justices consider whether state courts have the authority to hear climate change lawsuits that seek to hold fossil fuel companies liable for local damages caused by greenhouse-gas emissions and whether federal courts can hear constitutional challenges to veterans benefits laws.

  • October 02, 2026

    Amazon E-Book Readers Near Cert. Of 30M Antitrust Class

    A New York federal magistrate judge recommended certifying a class of more than 30 million readers accusing Amazon of monopolizing the e-book market, according to a report unsealed Thursday.

  • October 02, 2026

    Amazon Seeks Records Around Lawyer's USPTO Suspension

    An attorney Amazon has accused of furthering a scheme to fraudulently register thousands of trademarks and use them to report infringement by rival Amazon merchants must hand over documents related to her discipline in California and Washington, the retail giant argued in a Washington federal court filing Thursday.

  • October 02, 2026

    PACCAR Can't Nix Drivers' Faulty Diesel Engine Warranty Suit

    A Washington federal judge ordered PACCAR Inc. to face a proposed class action alleging it sold faulty diesel engines, rejecting its Clean Air Act preemption defense and ruling that the suit plausibly pleads claims that the alleged defects breached the engine warranty. 

  • October 02, 2026

    Real Estate Recap: FAA Grants, DC Rent, REIT Merger Reax

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including a look at the top FAA grants for real estate projects last month, a potential apartment rent freeze in Washington, D.C., and activist objections to the IRT-Centerspace merger.

  • October 02, 2026

    Trump Asks 9th Circ. To Pause Seattle US Atty Reinstatement

    The Trump administration called on the Ninth Circuit Friday to suspend a federal judge's Thursday order reinstating Roger Rogoff as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, seeking to keep Charles Neil Floyd as acting head of the Seattle office pending the government's appeal.

  • October 02, 2026

    Costco 'Health Washing' Electrolyte Drink Mix, Customer Says

    Costco has been accused in Washington federal court of illegally "health-washing" its variety pack of Kirkland brand electrolyte drink mix by labeling the product as though it's sugar-free despite containing an ingredient federal and state labeling standards consider a sugar.

  • October 02, 2026

    Live Nation Fights States' Latest Bid For Insight Into DOJ Deal

    Live Nation has fired back against the latest request in New York federal court by some state attorneys general seeking material related to Live Nation's midtrial antitrust settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, arguing the states are seeking burdensome discovery, including communications between third parties and outside counsel.

  • October 02, 2026

    AGs, Enviros Sue Over Rollback Of Biden-Era Fuel Standards

    The Trump administration was hit with multiple suits by a coalition of 27 attorneys general and environmental groups Friday challenging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recent decision to roll back Biden-era fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks.

  • October 02, 2026

    Chemical Co. Secures $1.25M In Fees In Trade Secrets Case

    A chemical distributor was awarded nearly $1.25 million in attorney fees by a Seattle federal judge but was denied exemplary damages after winning $1.9 million in a trial against former employees accused of lifting trade secrets as they left the company.

  • October 02, 2026

    Rivian Accused Of Denying Wash. Workers Breaks, OT Pay

    Electric vehicle maker Rivian broke multiple employment laws in Washington state and Seattle by failing to provide mandated meal and rest breaks, shorting workers on pay and failing to reimburse business expenses, according to a former employee's proposed class action filed Tuesday.

  • October 02, 2026

    Starbucks Can't Exit Fight Over Union Trademarks

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Friday denied Starbucks Corp.'s bid to escape a lawsuit from a union representing over 12,000 Starbucks workers seeking a declaration the union can continue using Starbucks' logo and name, saying the union had done enough to show an actual controversy exists to be litigated.

  • October 02, 2026

    Nurse Can't Get 9th Circ. To Reopen COVID-19 Vax Bias Suit

    A split Ninth Circuit panel refused Friday to reinstate a lawsuit alleging an Oregon healthcare system violated the First Amendment when it refused to excuse a nurse from its COVID-19 vaccination mandate, concluding the hospital had demonstrated it would've been too difficult to let her skip the jab.

  • October 02, 2026

    States Seek OK Of $400M Sandoz Generic Price-Fixing Deal

    A coalition of 43 states and territories is seeking court approval of a $400 million settlement that would resolve allegations Sandoz Inc. and its subsidiary Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc. participated in a widespread price-fixing and market allocation conspiracy that raised the prices of generic drugs in the U.S.

  • October 02, 2026

    Justices Seek Worker's Input On ERISA Arbitration Denial

    The U.S. Supreme Court has asked a 401(k) plan participant to reply to investment management company Capital Group's bid for review of a split Ninth Circuit ruling that refused to kick to arbitration her suit alleging underperforming proprietary offerings in the company's retirement plan.

  • October 02, 2026

    Roberts Wants Less Talk. Supreme Court Attorneys Disagree.

    Near the end of last term, Chief Justice John Roberts voiced his frustration with the U.S. Supreme Court's lengthening oral argument sessions and suggested the justices might tweak their format over the summer. But as the new term begins Monday, the court has yet to announce any changes, and advocates see little need for improvement.

  • October 02, 2026

    Nike Fights Bid For Class Pay Records In Wage Suit

    Nike opposed a Washington retail worker's request for classwide pay and scheduling records in federal court, arguing the demands would require more than 1,400 hours of manual retrieval from computer systems and that he has not shown why 2,000 employees' records are needed for class certification.

  • October 02, 2026

    5 Supreme Court Cases To Watch This Fall

    The U.S. Supreme Court will convene Monday to begin its 2026 October term, which includes several cases that could determine the future of climate change tort litigation, expand religious freedoms and parental rights, and grant states authority to require proof of citizenship when individuals register for presidential elections using state forms. 

  • October 01, 2026

    DuPont, Corteva Accused Of $40B PFAS Asset Shielding

    The company formerly known as DuPont and its parent Corteva Inc. were sued in Indiana state court Thursday by 15 states and Guam alleging a newly completed seeds business spinoff is nothing more than an illegal effort to place $40 billion in assets beyond the reach of creditors pursuing forever chemicals claims.

  • October 01, 2026

    Zillow Users Can't Sue Over Microsoft Session Replay Tech

    A Washington federal judge has thrown out a proposed class action claiming Zillow used Microsoft browser tracking software that shared users' website activity with third parties, saying Wednesday that the plaintiffs went against a prior court order by inappropriately tacking two new claims onto the latest version of the lawsuit.

  • October 01, 2026

    Customers Ask 9th Circ. To Halt Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal

    Streaming service customers are asking the Ninth Circuit to step in and stop Paramount Skydance's planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery until a court can decide if their antitrust suit challenging the merger will be dismissed.

  • October 01, 2026

    Hospital Can't Privately Contact Ex-Docs, Wash. Justices Rule

    Washington's Supreme Court split 6-3 Thursday in ruling that Virginia Mason Medical Center improperly engaged in private communications with a malpractice plaintiff's treating doctors by failing to go through formal discovery or establish the patient's knowledge or consent.

  • October 01, 2026

    Judge Bars HHS Medicaid Cuts For Wash. Noncitizens On SSI

    A federal judge has temporarily halted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' attempts to cancel Medicaid benefits to noncitizens in Washington state receiving supplemental security income, finding the loss of benefits could lead to permanent disability or death.

  • October 01, 2026

    Ex-Actavis Exec Escapes Some Drug Price-Fixing Claims

    A Connecticut federal judge has dismissed a swath of claims against a former executive of Actavis and Taro in the generic drug price‑fixing litigation brought by state enforcers, holding that evidence was insufficient to prove he joined several alleged single‑drug conspiracies.

Expert Analysis

  • 6th Circ. Ruling Broadest So Far In Wave Of Habeas Decisions

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    The Sixth Circuit’s recent opinion in Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft provides the most developed structural reasoning among rulings in a widening circuit split over mandatory detention after undocumented entry into the U.S., and supplies immigration practitioners a template for due process arguments in favor of habeas relief, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: An MDL Realignment

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    With seven multidistrict litigation proceedings initiated so far this year, a review of venue locations suggests a shift away from the East Coast, a seeming reversal of last year's swing in that direction, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

  • Series

    NY Times Word Puzzles Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Every morning I let The New York Times humble me with word games, which offer a chance to recalibrate my brain before the day's chaos arrives and remind me that a solution — whether to a puzzle or employment law issue — almost always exists once I find the right angle, says Amy Epstein Gluck at Pierson Ferdinand.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lesson: Diagnose Before Arguing

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    Law school often skips over explicitly teaching students how to determine what kind of problem a case presents before they commit to a particular doctrinal path, which risks building arguments that are internally coherent but externally misaligned, says Melanie Oxhorn at Kobre & Kim.

  • Becoming The Biz-Savvy GC That Portfolio Companies Need

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    Candidates for general counsel roles at private equity-backed portfolio companies should prioritize proving their sector-specific experience, commercial judgment and ease with uncertainty — and attorneys hoping to be candidates in five to 10 years should start working on those skills now, says Dimitri Mastrocola at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

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    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

  • A Framework For Habeas Relief After 5th Circ. Bond Ruling

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    Following the Fifth Circuit’s recent Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi decision foreclosing statutory bond for detained nonimmigrants not deemed admitted to the U.S., lawyers should adopt a framework that requests habeas relief pursuant to the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

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    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • How 'Bundling' Enforcement Is Parsing Efficiency, Access

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    Recent antitrust enforcement actions have taken a selective view of companies' bundling of products or services — challenging it when it shuts out rivals, but tolerating it when it creates efficient scale — making the real test now less about lower prices than about whether competition is being blocked, says attorney Alan Kusinitz.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

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    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • Key Tronic Case Shows SEC Isn't Ignoring Controls Violations

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's first nonfraud enforcement action against a public company during Chairman Paul Atkins' tenure reflects the commission’s willingness to bring enforcement actions that charge books and records and internal controls violations, despite deviating from policing technical violations, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Where The Preemption Fight Over Prediction Markets Stands

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    While the Third Circuit's recent ruling in Kalshi v. Flaherty remains a significant win for the federal government in its quest to regulate prediction markets, the Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Circuits appear more skeptical, indicating that this fight is likely headed for the Supreme Court, says Johnny ElHachem at Holland & Knight.

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

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    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

  • Heppner Ruling Left AI Privilege Risk For Lawyers Unresolved

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    While a New York federal judge’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner resolved a privilege question surrounding client-side artificial intelligence use, it did not address how to mitigate the risks that can arise when confidential information enters the operative context of an AI system used by an attorney, says Jianfei Chen at Quarles & Brady​​​​​​​.

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