Washington

  • January 12, 2026

    Supreme Court Won't Disturb 9th Circ. Severance Suit Revival

    The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to disturb a Ninth Circuit ruling that restarted two former microchip manufacturer employees' class action alleging their employer illegally revoked severance benefits following a merger, turning down an employer-side petition for review of the case.

  • January 12, 2026

    No High Court Review For California Opioid 'Nuisance' Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it would not weigh in on a circuit court decision that a California public nuisance lawsuit against pharmacy benefit managers over their opioid-dispensing practices belongs in state court.

  • January 12, 2026

    Justices Decline To Hear Alaska's Fishing Regulations Dispute

    The U.S. Supreme Court won't step into a dispute between Alaska, the federal government and Indigenous groups over a Ninth Circuit order barring the state from opening part of the Kuskokwim River to all fishers and upheld decades of precedent that began with an Ahtna elder's 1984 litigation.

  • January 09, 2026

    Mylan, Aurobindo Must Face Generic Drug Price-Fixing Claims

    A Connecticut federal judge on Friday refused to hand a quick win to Mylan Pharmaceuticals and Aurobindo Pharma USA in sprawling antitrust litigation against 26 total pharmaceutical companies, ruling that a coalition of states has enough evidence to raise a genuine dispute about whether the companies conspired to fix drug prices.

  • January 09, 2026

    Wash. AG Aims To Weigh In On Constitutionality Of Email Law

    Washington state's attorney general intends to weigh in on a proposed class action accusing apparel maker Hanesbrands Inc. of flooding consumers' inboxes with misleading marketing emails, responding to Hanes' argument that the state's Commercial Electronic Mail Act is unconstitutional.

  • January 09, 2026

    Up Next At High Court: Pollution Lawsuits & Trans Athletes

    The U.S. Supreme Court will kick off the new year by hearing disputes over the constitutionality of state laws banning transgender female athletes from female-only sports and whether state or federal courts are the proper forum for lawsuits seeking to hold major oil companies accountable for harm caused by their oil production activities along Louisiana's coast. 

  • January 09, 2026

    Calif. Climate Laws Violate Free Speech Rights, 9th Circ. Told

    A coalition of business groups urged a Ninth Circuit panel Friday to preliminarily block new California laws requiring large companies to disclose financial risks tied to climate change, arguing the laws are unprecedented and violate the First Amendment, in part by being "completely untethered" to any product or transaction.

  • January 09, 2026

    Real Estate Recap: Predicting '26

    Catch up on this past week's developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including key asset classes and pending litigation to watch in the new year.

  • January 09, 2026

    High Court Grants Review Of Falun Gong Cisco Spying Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday it will determine whether the Ninth Circuit was right to reinstate a suit brought under the Alien Tort Statute suit alleging that Cisco aided the Chinese government's allegedly unlawful crackdown on the Falun Gong religious movement.

  • January 09, 2026

    Wash. Gov. Pitches Bills On AI Chatbots, Vaccines, Housing

    Washington state's governor announced six bills Friday that he's asking lawmakers to pass in the legislative session that kicks off Monday, including measures to increase housing, guard Washingtonians from people posing as law enforcement, reinforce the state's vaccine decision-making authority and establish protections around AI chatbots, particularly for youth.

  • January 09, 2026

    Ready Capital, Broadmark Want Securities Suit Moved To NY

    Two real estate investment trusts and other parties urged a Washington federal court to transfer the proposed securities class action they're facing to New York federal court, arguing that the move is needed because the suit overlaps with a case in that state.

  • January 09, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives Suit Over Milliman's 'Fuzzy Matching' Tactic

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday reversed a decision tossing one of two classes in litigation accusing consulting firm Milliman of peddling inaccurate information by using a strategy known as "fuzzy" data matching to compile its reports, saying the lower court applied a too-high standard at the summary judgment stage for showing class members were harmed.

  • January 09, 2026

    States Cite Ed. Dept. Outsourcing In Revamped Suit

    Democratic state attorneys general added fresh allegations Friday to an ongoing lawsuit over cuts to the U.S. Department of Education, saying the Trump administration has begun offloading some of the department's functions to other agencies.

  • January 09, 2026

    Justices To Resolve Split On SEC Disgorgement Powers

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case that could resolve a circuit split over whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has to prove investor harm in order to secure disgorgement from alleged fraudsters. 

  • January 09, 2026

    Seyfarth Names New Labor & Employment Chair In Seattle

    One of the youngest equity partners in Seyfarth Shaw LLP's 80-year history has been named chair of the firm's labor and employment practice for the Seattle office, the firm has announced.

  • January 09, 2026

    Woman Says Spouse's Terrorist Label Imperils Her Citizenship

    An Iranian-born naturalized citizen is accusing federal immigration authorities of jeopardizing her citizenship after labeling her Iranian husband who lives abroad as a terrorist, telling a Washington federal court that authorities failed to explain the label and that she's unable to contest it.

  • January 09, 2026

    Beveridge & Diamond Reelects Leader, Names Office Heads

    National environmental law firm Beveridge & Diamond PC has reelected its current managing principal to a second term and chosen new office leaders for shops in Texas, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.

  • January 09, 2026

    NLRB Must Face Agency Atty's Speech Suppression Suit

    The National Labor Relations Board can't exit a field attorney's suit over her advocacy work with an environmental nonprofit, a Washington federal judge has ruled, finding that she has adequately alleged that her work doesn't violate a federal conflict of interest statute.

  • January 08, 2026

    9th Circ. Vacates Seagate Loss In Hard Drive Price-Fixing Case

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday resurrected a number of Seagate Technologies' antitrust claims against Japanese manufacturer NHK Spring in a fight over hard drive components, finding that U.S. antitrust laws could indeed apply to the alleged conspiracy in this case even though foreign entities executed transactions abroad.

  • January 08, 2026

    States Fight To Block EPA From Wiping Out $7B Solar Funding

    A coalition of states urged a Washington federal district judge Thursday to preliminarily block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from cutting solar power grant programs, arguing that without an injunction the Trump administration could transfer $7 billion back to the Treasury and "we will be entirely out of luck."

  • January 08, 2026

    Weyerhaeuser Says $1.5B Pension Move Didn't Harm Retirees

    Lawyers for timber producer Weyerhaeuser and State Street Global Advisors urged a Washington federal judge at a hearing Thursday to throw out a proposed class action from retired workers over Weyerhaeuser's transfer of $1.5 billion in pension obligations to a private equity-backed insurance company, arguing that the retirees have failed to establish the deal actually harmed them.

  • January 08, 2026

    Apple Beats Antitrust Suit Over Heart Rate Data At 9th Circ.

    A Ninth Circuit panel affirmed Apple's win Thursday against startup AliveCor Inc.'s antitrust claims alleging it illegally blocked third-party access to Apple Watch medical data to create rival software, finding that Apple has no "duty to deal" with AliveCor and therefore the startup's claims fail as a matter of law.

  • January 08, 2026

    Wash. Justices Take Up Pixel Privacy Suit Against Hospital

    The Washington Supreme Court has taken up a group of parents' bid to revive their proposed class action accusing Seattle Children's Hospital of sharing their private data with Facebook parent company Meta by installing its Pixel browser tracking tool on the hospital's public-facing website.

  • January 08, 2026

    Stoel Rives Picks Up Former K&L Gates Environmental Leader

    Environmental lawyer Ankur Tohan has joined Stoel Rives LLP as a partner in the Seattle office, where he'll focus on renewable energy, carbon capture, power infrastructure and compliance matters, the firm announced Thursday.

  • January 08, 2026

    9th Circ. Upholds Hyundai, Kia Theft Defect Settlement

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday upheld a $145 million class action settlement resolving claims that certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles were defectively designed and vulnerable to theft, rejecting the arguments of two objectors who said the deal shortchanged owners whose cars were never stolen or that it wasn't enough of a total payout.

Expert Analysis

  • Notable Q3 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    The third quarter of 2025 was another eventful quarter for total loss valuation class actions, with a new circuit split developing courtesy of the Sixth Circuit, while insurers continued to see negative results in cost-of-insurance class actions, says Kevin Zimmerman at BakerHostetler.

  • Series

    Mindfulness Meditation Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Mindful meditation enables me to drop the ego, and in helping me to keep sight of what’s important, permits me to learn from the other side and become a reliable counselor, says Roy Wyman at Bass Berry.

  • AI Litigation Tools Can Enhance Case Assessment, Strategy

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    Civil litigators can use artificial intelligence tools to strengthen case assessment and aid in early strategy development, as long as they address the risks and ethical considerations that accompany these uses, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Attys Beware: Generative AI Can Also Hallucinate Metadata

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    In addition to the well-known problem of AI-generated hallucinations in legal documents, AI tools can also hallucinate metadata — threatening the integrity of discovery, the reliability of evidence and the ability to definitively identify the provenance of electronic documents, say attorneys at Law & Forensics.

  • How 9th Circ. Ruling Deepens SEC Disgorgement Circuit Split

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Sripetch creates opposing disgorgement rules in the two circuits where the SEC brings a large proportion of enforcement actions — the Second and Ninth — and increases the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court will step in, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • When Atty Ethics Violations Give Rise To Causes Of Action

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    Though the Model Rules of Professional Conduct make clear that a violation of the rules does not automatically create a cause of action, attorneys should beware of a few scenarios in which they could face lawsuits for ethical lapses, says Brian Faughnan at Faughnan Law.

  • Justices' LabCorp Punt Leaves Deeper Class Cert. Circuit Split

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    In its ruling in LabCorp v. Davis, the U.S. Supreme Court left unresolved a standing-related class certification issue that has plagued class action jurisprudence for years — and subsequent conflicting decisions among federal circuit courts have left district courts and litigants struggling with conflicting and uncertain standards, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Lessons From Del. Chancery Court's New Activision Decision

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in AP-Fonden v. Activision Blizzard, declining to dismiss certain fiduciary duty claims at the pleading stage, offers takeaways for boards considering a sale, including the importance of playing an active role in the merger process and documenting key board materials, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Opinion

    Courts Must Continue Protecting Plaintiffs In Mass Arbitration

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    In recent years, many companies have imposed onerous protocols that function to frustrate plaintiffs' ability to seek justice through mass arbitration, but a series of welcome court decisions in recent months indicate that the pendulum might be swinging back toward plaintiffs, say Raphael Janove and Sasha Jones at Janove Law.

  • Series

    Practicing Stoicism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Practicing Stoicism, by applying reason to ignore my emotions and govern my decisions, has enabled me to approach challenging situations in a structured way, ultimately providing advice singularly devoted to a client's interest, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Texas, One Year In

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    A year after the Texas Business Court's first decision, it's clear that Texas didn't just copy Delaware and instead built something uniquely its own, combining specialization with constitutional accountability and creating a model that looks forward without losing touch with the state's democratic and statutory roots, says Chris Bankler at Jackson Walker.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Educating Your Community

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    Nearly two decades prosecuting scammers and elder fraud taught me that proactively educating the public about the risks they face and the rights they possess is essential to building trust within our communities, empowering otherwise vulnerable citizens and preventing wrongdoers from gaining a foothold, says Roger Handberg at GrayRobinson.

  • How A 9th Circ. False Ad Ruling Could Shift Class Certification

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    The Ninth Circuit's July decision in Noohi v. Johnson & Johnson, holding that unexecuted damages models may suffice for purposes of class certification, has the potential to create judicial inefficiencies and crippling uncertainties for class action defendants, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • 5 Crisis Lawyering Skills For An Age Of Uncertainty

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    As attorneys increasingly face unprecedented and pervasive situations — from prosecutions of law enforcement officials to executive orders targeting law firms — they must develop several essential competencies of effective crisis lawyering, says Ray Brescia at Albany Law School.

  • Insights From Recent Cases On Navigating Snap Removal

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    Snap removal, which allows defendants to transfer state court cases to federal court before a forum defendant is properly joined and served, is viewed differently across federal circuits — but keys to making it work can be drawn from recent decisions critiquing the practice, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

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