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August 07, 2024
Kleenex Maker Wants Conn. PFAS Suit Tossed
Kimberly-Clark Corp. is urging a Connecticut federal judge to throw out a proposed class action, saying the suit relies on "speculation and conjecture" to claim its New Milford manufacturing facility and shuttered landfill polluted properties and exposed residents to toxic forever chemicals.
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August 07, 2024
Highland, Co-Founder Battle Over $70M Debt In 5th Circ.
Venture capital firm Highland Capital and a company owned by Highland co-founder James Dondero squared off before a Fifth Circuit panel on Tuesday, debating whether a jury was needed to weigh defenses against claims that he and his companies owe the VC firm more than $70 million.
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August 07, 2024
Bid For Ex-Judge's Phone Records Halted At Texas Hearing
A Texas bankruptcy judge shut down a bid from JCPenney's bankruptcy administrator to subpoena former Judge David R. Jones' cellphone records in a partially sealed hearing Wednesday in connection with Jones' secret romance with a onetime lawyer at Jackson Walker LLP.
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August 07, 2024
Biden Trampled Free Speech With Israeli Sanctions, Suit Says
A group of dual U.S.-Israeli citizens sued the Biden administration in Texas federal court Tuesday alleging that an executive order authorizing sanctions and visa restrictions for individuals said to undermine peace and stability in the West Bank violates their First Amendment rights.
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August 07, 2024
Texas Flags Judge's Comments In Barrier Fight To 5th Circ.
The state of Texas has raised concern to the Fifth Circuit about comments attributed to U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra that question whether the appeals court's recent opinion vacating his preliminary injunction requiring the state to relocate its 1,000-foot antimigrant buoy barrier in the Rio Grande is precedential.
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August 07, 2024
Blackstone Buys Majority Stake In Renewable-Focused Firm
Blackstone Inc.-backed private equity funds have agreed to acquire a majority stake in renewable-energy focused engineering firm Westwood Professional Services Inc., under guidance from Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, marking Blackstone's latest bid to support energy transition, according to a Wednesday announcement.
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August 07, 2024
SpaceX Can't Stop Transfer Of NLRB Constitutionality Suit
SpaceX can't stop its challenge to the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board's structure from landing in California, a Texas federal judge ruled, saying the company appealed to the Fifth Circuit months after the transfer order.
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August 07, 2024
Dykema Faces Sony Sanctions Bid In Baseball Game TM Suit
Attorneys from Dykema representing a baseball training program in its trademark battle against Sony hit back at the media juggernaut's bid for punitive sanctions Tuesday, blasting the request as baseless.
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August 07, 2024
5th Circ. Grapples With 'Ridiculous' $100M Arbitration
A Fifth Circuit panel struggled to make sense out of a "ridiculous" arbitration proceeding that produced four contradictory arbitration awards in a legal malpractice dispute, one awarding $100 million, pressing both sides during oral arguments Wednesday to give answers about how the "spectacle" unfolded.
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August 07, 2024
Emerging Company Duo Join Pillsbury In Austin, Houston
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP announced that a pair of experienced Texas-based attorneys focused on working with emerging growth companies joined the firm's Austin and Houston offices.
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August 07, 2024
BP Malpractice Deal Needs Work, 5th Circ. Says
The Fifth Circuit scrapped a legal malpractice settlement in a consolidated lawsuit alleging attorneys were negligent in representing plaintiffs seeking compensation following the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with a panel finding the terms were not mutually agreed upon.
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August 07, 2024
FERC Defends Rejection Of Grid Operator's Project Cost Plan
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is asking the D.C. Circuit to deny two electricity cooperatives' petitions challenging its decision to reject a Southwest Power Pool plan to regionally allocate the costs of some transmission projects within the grid operator's 14-state footprint.
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August 07, 2024
Lewis Brisbois Grows In Dallas With Ex-Mackie Wolf Litigators
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP announced Wednesday that it has boosted its litigation bench in Dallas with a pair of attorneys who came aboard from Mackie Wolf Zientz & Mann PC.
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August 07, 2024
5th Circ. Tosses Passengers' Suit Over Southwest TSA Fees
The Fifth Circuit has sided with Southwest Airlines Co. in a suit alleging it breached passengers' contracts by giving them travel credits instead of refunds for Transportation Security Administration security fees, finding the claims were correctly preempted by the Airline Deregulation Act.
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August 07, 2024
L3Harris Narrows But Can't End Religious Bias Suit
Technology company L3Harris can't toss a former worker's claims that he was fired for being Christian after he complained that his new boss was harassing him, a Texas federal judge ruled, but his claims of age bias and retaliation lacked enough proof to stay in court.
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August 06, 2024
Pilots Union Tells 5th Circ. Southwest Put Animus In Policy
Counsel for the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association told a Fifth Circuit panel Tuesday that the airline had codified anti-union animus in a written policy, claiming during oral arguments that the airline was working to keep elite "check pilots" from organizing.
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August 06, 2024
4 Takeaways From Landmark Google Search Ruling
A landmark ruling in D.C. federal court Monday found that Google illegally maintains its search engine monopoly, and experts say the case could have broad implications for the company as well as the wider internet and shows how existing antitrust laws can apply to modern technology.
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August 06, 2024
Try Samsung's Petition Again, USPTO's Vidal Tells PTAB
The head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decided to give Samsung another shot at killing off infringement claims that a patent licensing outfit is trying to assert over the Galaxy Watch In Texas federal court.
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August 06, 2024
Amazon Contractor Can't Escape Worker's Welding Injury Suit
A Texas federal judge ruled Tuesday that a construction company hired by Amazon must face a trial over a worker's blindness from a welding torch light flash, saying there is a factual dispute regarding whether the company had control over all workers on site the day of the incident.
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August 06, 2024
Ex-Mayor's Fight With Law Firm No RICO Case, 5th Circ. Told
Counsel for convicted fraudster and former Texas Mayor Laura Maczka-Jordan said it's significant that a law firm accusing her and her husband of racketeering represented itself during oral arguments before the Fifth Circuit Tuesday, arguing that the case deals with a lease dispute rather than a racketeering scheme.
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August 06, 2024
Houston Partially Escapes Pappas Restaurants' Airport Suit
A state appeals court agreed Tuesday with Houston's argument that a concessions contract with the William P. Hobby Airport did not require the city to follow the Texas Government Code's competitive bidding requirements, partially tossing a suit brought by Pappas Restaurants over its loss of the 2023 agreement.
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August 06, 2024
Astroworld MDL's Special Master Owed Nearly $60K In Fees
The special master appointed to oversee discovery disputes in civil litigation stemming from the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival racked up nearly $60,000 in fees and expenses, according to a trial court order issued Monday.
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August 06, 2024
CFPB Pans Bid For 5th Circ. To Reopen Payday Rule Fight
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has urged the Fifth Circuit to deny a rehearing bid for a payday loan industry rule challenge that previously foundered at the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing it's time to put the long-running case to bed.
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August 06, 2024
Powell, Trump Attys Seek To Halt Mich. Bar Discipline Cases
Sidney Powell and other attorneys behind a legal challenge to Michigan's 2020 presidential election results want bar discipline proceedings paused while they ask the Michigan Supreme Court to step in and dismiss the professional misconduct complaints.
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August 06, 2024
Elon Musk's X Sues CVS, Mars, Ads Group Claiming 'Boycott'
Elon Musk's X Corp. sued the World Federation of Advertisers, Unilever, Mars Inc., CVS Health and Ørsted in Texas federal court Tuesday, inspired by a House Judiciary Committee Republican staffer report decrying efforts to avoid advertising next to hate speech and other "disfavored" content as an anticompetitive group boycott.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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Series
Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer
The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.
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Air Ambulance Ruling Severely Undermines No Surprises Act
A Texas federal court's recent decision in Guardian Flight v. Health Care Service — that the No Surprises Act lacks a judicial remedy when a health insurer refuses to pay the amount established through an independent review — likely throws a huge monkey wrench into the elaborate protections the NSA was enacted to provide, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Justices' Removal Ruling Presents Hurdles, But Offers Clarity
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Campos-Chaves v. Garland and two other consolidated cases endorses a multistep notice practice that could impair noncitizens' access to adequate judicial notice, but its resolution of a longstanding circuit split also provides much-needed clarity, says Devin Connolly at Reeves Immigration Law Group.
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Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule
Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.
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Justices' 'Blind Mule' Ruling Won't Change Defense Strategy
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Diaz v. U.S., holding that expert witnesses can testify broadly about the mental state of “most people” in a group, simply affirms the status quo for the majority of defendants, and is unlikely to change defense counsel’s strategy at trial, says Walter Gonçalves at the Arizona Federal Public Defender's Office.
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After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1
The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers
BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.
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Series
Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.
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What 11th Circ. Fearless Fund Ruling Means For DEI In Courts
The Eleventh Circuit's recent backing of a freeze on the Fearless Fund's grants to women of color building new companies marks the latest major development in litigation related to diversity, equity and inclusion and may be used to question other DEI programs targeted at providing opportunities to certain classes of individuals, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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How Associates Can Build A Professional Image
As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.
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Justices' Bump Stock Ruling Skirted Deference, Lenity Issues
Despite presenting a seemingly classic case on agency deference, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last week in Garland v. Cargill did not mention the Chevron doctrine, and the opinion also overlooked whether agency interpretations of federal gun laws should ever receive deference given that they carry criminal penalties, say Tess Saperstein and John Elwood at Arnold & Porter.
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Emerging Trends In ESG-Focused Securities Litigation
Based on a combination of shareholder pressure, increasing regulatory scrutiny and proposed rulemaking, there has been a proliferation of litigation over public company disclosures and actions regarding environmental, social, and governance factors — and the overall volume of such class actions will likely increase in the coming years, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age
As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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Next Steps After 5th Circ. Nixes Private Fund Adviser Rules
The Fifth Circuit's recent toss of key U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules regarding private fund advisers represents a setback for the regulator, but open questions, including the possibility of an SEC petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, mean it's still too early to consider the matter closed, say attorneys at Debevoise.