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Circuit-By-Circuit Guide To 2024's Most Memorable Moments

One judge said a litigant's position would cause "an effing nightmare," and another decried the legal community's silence amid "illegitimate aspersions." Public officials literally trashed one court's opinion, and fateful rulings dealt with controversial politicians, social media and decades of environmental policy. Those were just a few appellate highlights in 2024, a year teeming with memorable moments both substantive and sensational.
January 03, 2025
BREAKING: NY Judge To Sentence Trump Jan. 10 But Says Prison Unlikely

A New York state judge said Friday he will sentence Donald Trump on Jan. 10 after rejecting his motion to dismiss his hush money conviction in light of his status as president-elect, but suggested a prison term is highly unlikely.
January 03, 2025
Disbarred Fla. Atty Can't Shake $780K Verdict For Firms

A Florida state appeals court has refused to disturb a jury verdict in favor of several law firms going after a disbarred attorney who improperly received a $780,000 payment when he owed those firms millions in connection with professional misconduct.
January 03, 2025
Physician Assistant Can't Avoid Suspension For Hiding Probe

An Ohio appeals court has affirmed sanctions the state's medical board gave a physician assistant for not disclosing his employer's investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him, rejecting the argument he misunderstood his obligation to report it on his license renewal application.
January 03, 2025
Biden Honors Delaware Jurist For Role In 1954 Brown Ruling

President Joe Biden issued a top civilian award, posthumously, to former Chancellor Collins J. Seitz of Delaware Chancery Court, father of the state's current chief justice, for his role in decisions woven into the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling.
January 03, 2025
Calif. Panel Says PAGA Suits Always Have Individual Claims

A delivery worker's individual claims against Target's shipping partner under California's Private Attorneys General Act belong in arbitration, a state appellate panel said, disagreeing with a trial court's decision that her suit only had representative claims.
January 02, 2025
FTC Asks 5th Circ. To Revive Noncompete Ban

The Federal Trade Commission told the Fifth Circuit on Thursday the agency is authorized to make rules like the one that would ban enforcement of most employee noncompetes, arguing that a Texas district court took a "cramped view" of the agency's authority to promulgate rules that define unfair competition methods.
January 02, 2025
3rd Circ. Again Remands Honduran Woman's Removal Order

The Third Circuit on Thursday again remanded a Honduran woman's removal order challenge back to the Board of Immigration Appeals, saying the agency made mistakes when considering whether she rebutted a presumption that an immigration hearing notice was delivered to her.
January 02, 2025
Calif. Judge Ices Social Media Addiction Law For 30 Days

A California federal judge Thursday blocked the state from beginning its enforcement of a new law designed to bar online platforms from using algorithms to deliver addictive feeds to children, finding there was "great value" in giving the Ninth Circuit 30 days to consider his decision to largely uphold the measure.
January 02, 2025
Ex-Bank Chair Asks 7th Circ. To Halt FDIC Enforcement Order

An Illinois community bank's onetime chairman has asked the Seventh Circuit for an emergency stay of professional sanctions ordered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. after an in-house proceeding that he argues was unconstitutional and wrongly decided.
January 02, 2025
Judicial Conference Closes Thomas Gift Probe With No Action

The Judicial Conference of the United States will not refer ethics complaints accusing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of unlawfully failing to disclose decades of luxury gifts and travel to the U.S. Department of Justice for further investigation, according to letters released Thursday.
January 02, 2025
Calif. Court OKs $46M Verdict In Jiu-Jitsu Injury Suit

A California state appeals court has affirmed a $46.5 million jury verdict in a suit accusing a Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor of causing a student's catastrophic injuries while sparring, saying jury instructions regarding the assumption of risk were properly given by the trial court.
January 02, 2025
Election Officials Push To Certify NC High Court Race Results

The North Carolina State Board of Elections should be allowed to move forward with certifying the results of the state Supreme Court race after a Republican candidate sought to block copious ballots, state officials and incumbent state Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs said Wednesday.
January 02, 2025
Retired Justice Breyer To Sit On 1st Circ. As Visiting Judge

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is returning to the bench this month as a visiting judge on the First Circuit, joining three-judge panels hearing oral arguments Jan. 8 and 10, including a financial adviser's appeal of its $93 million loss to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
January 02, 2025
9th Circ. Partly Revives Casino ATM Contract Dispute, Again

A unanimous panel of the Ninth Circuit partially reversed a bench trial verdict Thursday in two merchant service companies' dispute, in which a payment processor alleged a business it partnered with breached their contract by failing to adapt to chip-based credit card technology by a key deadline, reinstating the case for a second time.
January 02, 2025
Justices Urged To Review Copyright Attorney Fee Circuit Split

A Florida real estate broker is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide if defendants hit with copyright infringement suits can collect attorney fees when those suits are dropped, calling the case "an obvious candidate" for high court review.
January 02, 2025
9th Circ. Revives Cos.' Suit Over Unions' SeaWorld Lobbying

The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived part of a hotel operator's suit accusing two unions of thwarting its efforts to develop two San Diego properties, saying the district court prematurely dismissed a claim that the unions abused their protest rights to stop a project at SeaWorld.
January 02, 2025
Tesla Investors Appeal Chancery Rulings In Musk Pay Suit

Three Florida-based Tesla Inc. stockholders have moved ahead with Delaware Supreme Court appeals aimed at Court of Chancery decisions that short-circuited the electric car company's 10-year, $56 billion compensation plan for Elon Musk and granted a $345 million cash award for class attorneys who won the decision.
January 02, 2025
Comcast Foe Fails To Resurrect Patent Case Over Xfinity App

The full Federal Circuit on Thursday denied a request to look at a decision overturning a Delaware federal jury's infringement verdict in favor of a small California company that has been suing Comcast over patent claims for the past five years.
January 02, 2025
Epic Tells 9th Circ. Google's Legal 'Reckoning Long Overdue'

Epic Games Inc. has slammed Google's Ninth Circuit appeal of an injunction requiring the tech giant to open up its Android Play Store to rival app distributors, defending the ruling and a jury's liability verdict and arguing that Google's appeal is a meritless attempt to avoid a "reckoning long overdue."
January 02, 2025
Monsanto Appeals $175M Roundup Verdict In Pa.

Bayer AG unit Monsanto has asked the Pennsylvania Superior Court to overturn a Philadelphia jury's award of $175 million to a man who claimed Roundup weedkiller caused his cancer, arguing that a court officer coerced the jury into coming up with a verdict that was not based on science.
January 02, 2025
Startup Wants New Trial After TransUnion Undoes $18M Loss

A Sixth Circuit panel was wrong to affirm that a startup must come away empty-handed from a dispute with TransUnion LLC over a partnership to develop an online insurance quote marketplace, the startup said in asking the panel to give it a new trial instead of throwing out its jury win completely.
January 02, 2025
9th Circ. Revives Pot Fines Suit Against Calif. County

A proposed class of Northern California landowners can pursue a swath of constitutional claims against Humboldt County officials with the Ninth Circuit ruling they plausibly pled the county was overzealous in its efforts to crack down on allegedly illegal cannabis growers.
January 02, 2025
Colo. Justices To Mull Whether Hertz Qualifies As An Insurer

The Colorado Supreme Court will consider whether a rental car company offering insurance coverage to customers qualifies as an insurer under the state's insurance statutes, thereby potentially exposing it to additional liability for claims that it denied coverage in bad faith.
January 02, 2025
DC US Atty Matthew Graves Stepping Down Jan. 16

Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for D.C. who led the federal investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, said he'll be stepping down as the capital's top federal prosecutor four days before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.
January 02, 2025
Cruise Cos. Say Justices Unlikely To Consider $440M Cuba Case

Four cruise lines have urged the Eleventh Circuit not to pause sending a yearslong dispute back to a lower court after the circuit court overturned a $440 million judgment against them for "trafficking" in property seized by Cuba, saying the U.S. Supreme Court is unlikely to take up the case.

Editor's Picks

12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar

One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.
How Reshaped Circuit Courts Are Faring At The High Court

Seminal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court's latest term will reshape many facets of American society in the coming years. Already, however, the rulings offer glimpses of how the justices view specific circuit courts, which have themselves been reshaped by an abundance of new judges.
Law360's Guide To Biden's Judicial Picks

UPDATED December 20, 2024 | President Joe Biden is shaping the federal judiciary by adding to the courts' professional and demographic diversity — a sharp break from former President Donald Trump, who made the judiciary more homogeneous as the judges confirmed under him were 84% white and 76% male.

Expert Analysis

5th Circ.'s Nasdaq Ruling Another Piece In DEI Policy Puzzle

The Fifth Circuit's recent en banc opinion vacating Nasdaq's board diversity listing rule wades into the hotly debated topic of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at a time when many public companies are navigating the attention that DEI commitments are drawing from activists and shareholders, say attorneys at Debevoise.
Lessons Learned From 2024's Top ADA Decisions

Last year's major litigation related to the Americans with Disabilities Act highlights that when dealing with accommodation requests, employers must communicate clearly, appreciate context and remain flexible in addressing needs, say attorneys at Dechert.
Series

Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.
The 6 Most Significant FCRA Litigation Developments Of 2024

From a key sovereign immunity decision at the U.S. Supreme Court to a ruling on creditworthiness out of the Seventh Circuit, several important Fair Credit Reporting Act cases wound their way through the courts in 2024, each offering takeaways for both plaintiffs and defendants, say attorneys at Shipkevich.
Fed. Circ. In December: A Patent Prosecution History Lesson

Despite relying on two rock-solid principles of patent law, DDR lost its Federal Circuit case against Priceline.com, highlighting how a change in the scope of the invention from the provisional to the nonprovisional application can affect the court's analysis of how a skilled artisan would understand claim terms after reading the prosecution history, say attorneys at Knobbe Martens.
An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.
The Securities Litigation Trends That Will Matter Most In 2025

2025 is shaping up to be a significant year for securities litigation, as plaintiffs and defendants alike navigate shifting standards for omission theories of liability, class certification, risk disclosure claims and more, say attorneys at Willkie.
What To Watch For In The 2025 Benefits Landscape

While planning for 2025, retirement plan sponsors and service providers should set their focus on phased implementation deadlines under both Secure 1.0 and 2.0, an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling, and the fate of several U.S. Department of Labor regulations, says Allie Itami at Lathrop GPM.
Reviewing 2024's Crucial Patent Law Developments

As 2024 draws to a close, significant rulings and policies aimed at modernizing long-standing legal practices or addressing emerging challenges have reached patent law, says Michael Ellenberger at Rothwell Figg.
Contract Disputes Recap: Adjustments, Preclusion, Waivers

Ken Kanzawa at Seyfarth examines three recent decisions from the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals that examine distinctions between requests for equitable adjustments and claims, forum selection and res judicata, and the waiver of penalties for expressly unallowable costs.
The Justices' Securities Rulings, Dismissals That Defined '24

The U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 securities rulings led to increased success for defendants' price impact arguments, but the justices' decisions not to weigh in on important issues relating to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act's pleading requirements may be just as significant, say attorneys at Skadden.
10 Noteworthy CFPB Developments From 2024

In a banner year for consumer finance regulation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made significant strides in its efforts to rein in Big Tech and nonbank financial firms, including via rules regarding open banking, credit card late fees, and buy now, pay later products, say attorneys at Wiley.
Series

Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.
2024 Has Been A Momentous Year For ESG

Significant developments in the environmental, social and governance landscape this year include new legislation, evolving global frameworks, continued litigation and enforcement actions, and a U.S. Supreme Court decision that has already affected how lower courts have viewed some ESG challenges, say attorneys at Katten.
Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team

In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.