Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Massachusetts
-
April 29, 2024
DOJ Not Required To Probe Alleged Bias In Boston Contracts
A Boston federal judge won't second-guess a U.S. Department of Justice decision not to investigate allegations of systemic racism in the city's municipal contracting practices, deferring to the department's finding that it lacked jurisdiction for the claims.
-
April 29, 2024
Deciphera Stock Soars On $2.4B Deal With Japan's Ono
Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Monday it has agreed to be purchased by Japan's Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for $2.4 billion, which sent the Waltham, Massachusetts-based cancer drugmaker's stock soaring more than 72%.
-
April 26, 2024
Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar
In the past year, plaintiffs have won settlements and judgments for millions and billions of dollars from companies such as Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Facebook and Fox News, with many high-profile cases finally wrapping up after years of fighting. Such cases — involving over-the-top compensation packages, chemical contamination, gender discrimination and data mining — were led by attorneys whose accomplishments earned them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2024.
-
April 26, 2024
Ex-McKinsey Partner Says Firm Made Him Opioids 'Scapegoat'
A former McKinsey & Co. partner lobbed defamation claims at the consulting firm, claiming Friday that it lied to the government and the public about his purported role in deleting evidence amid government investigations into the firm's work with opioid manufacturers, an alleged scheme designed to make him the "scapegoat."
-
April 26, 2024
Crypto Atty's Senate Bid Takes Detour For SEC-Coinbase Suit
The pro-cryptocurrency attorney vying to unseat Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts added to his pro bono work in the digital asset space on Friday by taking up the mantle for Coinbase users in the crypto exchange's ongoing battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
-
April 26, 2024
ERISA Suits Targeting Annuity Deals Could Escalate
A quartet of lawsuits targeting employers who terminate their pension plans and exchange them for annuity insurance contracts could trigger a new wave of class action litigation if they gain traction, since hundreds of thousands of retirees have been subject to pension risk transfers in recent years, attorneys say.
-
April 26, 2024
Ex-Mass. Trooper Handed 5 Years For No-Work OT, Tax Fraud
A former Massachusetts state trooper convicted of stealing overtime pay, lying on his taxes and cheating to get student aid for his son was sentenced Friday by a federal judge to five years in prison for his leadership role in the sprawling overtime fraud scheme.
-
April 26, 2024
Sonus $4.5M Settlement With Investors Gets Final OK
A Massachusetts federal judge has granted final approval to a $4.5 million settlement, including $1.5 million in fees for class counsel, to resolve a securities class action between the former Sonus Networks Inc. and investors over a 2015 stock price decline tied to the communications company's revenue forecasting.
-
April 26, 2024
Gov't Wants Ex-Boston Celtic Imprisoned For Health Plan Scheme
Prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal judge to sentence former Boston Celtics player Glen "Big Baby" Davis to roughly three years in prison after he was convicted of scheming with a group of ex-pros to submit fraudulent invoices to the NBA's healthcare plan.
-
April 26, 2024
Mass. Justices Dash Deported Man's Hope For Remote Retrial
Massachusetts' high court ruled Friday that a man deported to the Dominican Republic cannot appear remotely for his retrial on charges that the justices previously vacated, citing court rules.
-
April 25, 2024
Feds Say COVID Fraud Case Against Ex-Pol Clears Early Bar
Federal prosecutors said Thursday that a former Massachusetts politician should save for trial his arguments seeking to dismiss claims that he lied to rake in COVID-19 relief funds and tried to avoid reporting income to the Internal Revenue Service.
-
April 25, 2024
1st Circ. Tosses Second Vineyard Wind Challenge
The First Circuit on Thursday rejected a legal challenge to the federal government's approval of a wind energy project off the coast of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, the second such ruling in as many days.
-
April 25, 2024
Tenn. Hacker Pleads Guilty In DraftKings Accounts Breach
A Memphis, Tennessee, man, on Thursday became the second defendant to plead guilty in Manhattan federal court to scheming to hack accounts on the DraftKings sports betting site.
-
April 25, 2024
Dems Press DEA To Move Quickly On Rescheduling Marijuana
A coalition of Democratic U.S. senators and House members are urging the U.S. Department of Justice to complete swiftly its review of marijuana's legal status and remove the drug from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
-
April 25, 2024
Ex-Burns & Levinson Life Sciences Chair Joins Polsinelli
Polsinelli PC announced that the former life sciences co-chair at New England firm Burns & Levinson LLP has joined its Boston office as a shareholder.
-
April 25, 2024
Ex-Defender Says Feds Can't Hide Other Harassment Reports
A former assistant federal defender wants to make certain #MeToo evidence public following the trial in a case accusing the judiciary of botching its probe into her own sexual harassment complaint, saying the contents of similar allegations concerning the Federal Defender's Office have already been publicly revealed.
-
April 25, 2024
Hospital Operator Must Face Data Privacy Suit In Mass.
A Massachusetts federal judge has ordered a hospital operator to face proposed class action claims that it exposed a patient's personal information to third parties, saying the patient had a reasonable expectation of privacy.
-
April 24, 2024
Whole Foods May Have Retaliated In BLM Case, 1st Circ. Says
Whole Foods hasn't yet proven that its firing of a worker who wore a Black Lives Matter mask to work wasn't retaliatory, the First Circuit said in an opinion unsealed Wednesday, ruling that there is a "genuine dispute" as to whether she was terminated for protected conduct.
-
April 24, 2024
1st Circ. Upholds Feds' Vineyard Wind Project Approval
The First Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a lower court ruling rejecting Massachusetts residents' challenge to the federal government's approval of a wind energy project off the coast of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, saying federal regulators adequately analyzed the projects' effects on right whales.
-
April 24, 2024
Mass. Golf Course Manager Gets 13 Months For Tax Fraud
A Massachusetts golf course manager was sentenced to 13 months in prison after pleading guilty to tax charges, following prosecutors' accusations that he manipulated contracts with a home developer to deflate their value.
-
April 24, 2024
Pegasystems Cuts $35M Deal To End Investor Suit
Pegasystems Inc. has agreed to pay $35 million to settle a shareholder suit in Massachusetts federal court alleging the software company failed to properly disclose a rival's trade secret litigation that led to a $2 billion verdict.
-
April 24, 2024
Student Gets 9 Mos. For Stalking China Democracy Activist
A Boston federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a Chinese national to nine months in prison for threatening a fellow student at the Berklee College of Music who had posted a pro-democracy flier on campus, citing a desire to deter other foreigners from engaging in criminal conduct to suppress speech.
-
April 24, 2024
Boston Pension Doubles Down On Bid To Lead NYCB Suit
Boston's municipal pension plan and its attorneys from Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP stood firm on their bid to lead a proposed securities class action against New York Community Bancorp, saying their chief rival for lead status bought their shares too late and is too sketchy to be a potential plaintiff.
-
April 24, 2024
Healthcare Co. Reaches Deal To Exit Pension Plan Suit
A healthcare company struck a deal with a class of retirement plan participants to end their suit accusing it of stacking its $500 million pension plan with costly funds and failing to keep fees low, according to a filing in Massachusetts federal court.
-
April 23, 2024
US Gun Cos. Tell Justices Mexico Is Circumventing Law With Suit
A group of American firearm makers is asking the Supreme Court to throw out a suit from the government of Mexico alleging they have aided and abetted cartels, saying the First Circuit broke with the high court's precedent by allowing the case to proceed.
Expert Analysis
-
Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure
Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.
-
10 Legal Subject Matters Popping Up In AI Litigation
The past five years have brought judicial opinions addressing artificial intelligence in many different legal areas, so a study of existing case law is an important first step for in-house counsel addressing how to advise on the uncertainty driving many of the AI legal disputes, says Mark Davies at Orrick.
-
Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'
Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.
-
Upcoming High Court ADA Cases May Signal Return To Basics
Recent cases, including Acheson Hotels v. Laufer, which will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in October, raise a fundamental question of whether Americans with Disabilities Act litigation has spiraled out of control without any real corresponding benefits to the intended beneficiaries: individuals with true disabilities, says Norman Dupont at Ring Bender.
-
4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
-
FTC's 'Made in USA' Enforcement Goes Beyond Labeling Rule
The Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement action against a group of businesses for falsely claiming that clothing was made domestically demonstrates that even where the agency's "Made in USA" labeling rule is not violated, other kinds of improper claims about products' origins can get companies in trouble, say Wrede Smith and Kali Yallourakis at McGuireWoods.
-
Opinion
3 Ways Justices' Disclosure Defenses Miss The Ethical Point
The rule-bound interpretation of financial disclosures preferred by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — demonstrated in their respective statements defending their failure to disclose gifts from billionaires — show that they do not understand the ethical aspects of the public's concern, says Jim Moliterno at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.
-
Series
In A 'Barbie' World: Questions On Kid Brands In Gambling Ads
A recent "Barbie" film marketing partnership with a casino raised some eyebrows as the iconic children's toy brand was being used to promote gambling in possible contravention of advertisement regulations for adult activities, but the campaign's particularities signal that the shtick may comport with responsible ad principles after all, says Abbey Block at Ifrah Law.
-
Cannabis Plain Packaging Rules: Examples And Opportunities
States that have legalized adult-use cannabis in recent years have adopted stringent requirements for product packaging and labeling in an effort to protect minors, and these rules may provide a vehicle for compromise between proponents and opponents of legalization, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
-
What Courts' Deference Preference Can Mean For Sentencing
The Fifth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Vargas decision deepens the split among federal appeals courts on the level of deference afforded to commentary in the U.S. sentencing guidelines — an issue that has major real-life ramifications for defendants, and is likely bound for the U.S. Supreme Court, say Jennifer Freel and Michael Murtha at Jackson Walker.
-
Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention
As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.
-
Opinion
3 Principles Should Guide MTC's Digital Products Tax Work
As the Multistate Tax Commission's project to harmonize sales tax on digital products moves forward, three key principles will help the commission's work group arrive at unambiguous definitions and help states avoid unintended costs, say Charles Kearns and Jeffrey Friedman at Eversheds Sutherland.
-
How High Court Is Assessing Tribal Law Questions
The U.S. Supreme Court's four rulings on tribal issues from this term show that Justice Neil Gorsuch's extensive experience in federal Native American law brings helpful experience to the court but does not necessarily guarantee favorable outcomes for tribal interests, say attorneys at Dorsey & Whitney.
-
In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development
As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
-
Perspectives
A Judge's Pitch To Revive The Jury Trial
Ohio state Judge Pierre Bergeron explains how the decline of the jury trial threatens public confidence in the judiciary and even democracy as a whole, and he offers ideas to restore this sacred right.