Trials

  • January 24, 2025

    Anschutz Gets Trade Secrets Trial Delayed Amid Sale Dispute

    A Colorado state judge on Friday delayed an upcoming trial in a trade secrets suit brought by Anschutz Exploration Corp., giving the parties more time to deal with a discovery fight over a recent sale that left the jurist "totally dumbfounded" and "furious" at a Denver oil prospector earlier this week.

  • January 24, 2025

    Deere Loses Fed. Circ. Bid To Revive Seeding Patent Fight

    The Federal Circuit on Friday shot down John Deere's appeal of its loss at the lower court in a case where a jury found that a rival's SpeedTube products didn't infringe a pair of patents, affirming a lower court's denial of the farming equipment giant's bid for a new trial.

  • January 24, 2025

    Ford Fails To Block Evidence Of Other Crashes In Death Trial

    A Georgia federal judge refused to block evidence of similar crashes from being presented at a trial over the deaths of a couple in a rollover wreck of their Ford Motor Co. vehicle, but he limited the number of incidents that the plaintiffs can present from the 110 that the plaintiffs proposed to 50.

  • January 24, 2025

    EEOC Disability Bias Suit Tossed Following Nixed Evidence

    A mortgage and financial services company on Friday defeated a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it unlawfully refused to hire a woman because she took pain medication, after a Washington federal judge ruled midtrial that a key piece of evidence shouldn't have been shown to jurors.

  • January 24, 2025

    Feds' Madigan Theory 'Doesn't Line Up,' His Atty Tells Jury

    Counsel for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan told an Illinois federal jury Friday that prosecutors attempting to convict him of racketeering have painted an "incomplete and misleading" picture of a crooked politician at trial, but have failed to meet their burden to prove he ever acted with corrupt intent or engaged in a "this for that" exchange for his official action.

  • January 24, 2025

    Trial Delayed For Ailing Wife Of Former Sen. Menendez

    The bribery and corruption trial of Nadine Menendez, the wife of former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, was delayed from Feb. 5 to March 18 by a Manhattan federal judge Friday due to health issues following a cancer diagnosis.

  • January 24, 2025

    Blank Rome Attys Fight Lawyer's Bid For New Trial

    A team of Blank Rome LLP attorneys accused another attorney in Pennsylvania federal court of "seeking another bite at the apple" by moving for a new trial after a jury rejected her malicious litigation claims against the team and an aviation company.

  • January 24, 2025

    Conn. Oil Trader Says Timing Of Money Moves Sinks Verdict

    A onetime Connecticut oil trader has asked a federal judge to erase a September 2024 conviction on charges he used a go-between to bribe an official at Brazilian oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA, arguing the jury verdict hinged on third-party wire transfers that occurred beyond the statute of limitations.

  • January 24, 2025

    Philip Morris Settles Tobacco Liability Trial After Openings

    Philip Morris and a supermarket chain have reached a settlement with the family of a Massachusetts woman who died of lung cancer in 2022 after decades of smoking the company's Marlboro cigarettes, ending the case a day after trial began.

  • January 24, 2025

    Calif. Panel Remands Ex-DA Worker's Bias Suit Over Slur

    A California appeals panel reopened a discrimination lawsuit against the San Francisco District Attorney's Office by a Black ex-employee, saying a trial court should evaluate the city's response to a co-worker's racial slur given a state Supreme Court ruling that a single epithet can create a hostile work environment.

  • January 23, 2025

    Think, McFly! 'Back To The Future' Writer Says No Apple Theft

    The co-writer of "Back to the Future" suggested to a California federal jury Thursday that an independent filmmaker suing Apple and acclaimed director M. Night Shyamalan for copyright infringement should make like a tree and get out of the courtroom because her film bears no resemblance to the Apple TV+ show, "Servant."

  • January 23, 2025

    Intuitive Judge Walks Back 'Inappropriate' Witness Instruction

    Counsel for Intuitive Surgical objected Thursday to a California federal judge's "inappropriate instruction" to a witness testifying in a trial over allegations it abused its market power by blocking hospitals from using a refurbished part for its surgery robot, prompting the judge to walk back the direction.

  • January 23, 2025

    Marlboro Smoker Was Target Of Deception, Jury Hears

    Philip Morris targeted a Massachusetts preteen as a "replacement" customer for others who were dying of lung disease, a Springfield jury heard Thursday, though the company's lawyer said the woman had free will and knew enough to stop smoking.

  • January 23, 2025

    Ryanair's 'Piracy' Jury Win Over Booking.com Gets Undone

    A federal judge has decided that Ryanair failed to show that Booking.com made enough money scraping flight data from the discount Irish airline to justify a verdict in its favor, overturning a jury verdict out of Delaware last year that found the website broke computer fraud laws.

  • January 23, 2025

    Ex-Tribal Chair Seeks High Court Review Of Extortion Verdict

    A former tribal chair in Massachusetts told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that the First Circuit was wrong and stands alone in ruling that federal extortion laws apply to Native American officials as it reinstated his convictions tied to the development of a casino project.

  • January 23, 2025

    Madigan's Law Firm Profits Drove Corrupt Acts, Jury Told

    Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's ownership interest in his Chicago law firm and his entitlement to 50% of its profits was behind his efforts to extort property tax business from developers who needed approvals from state and local government for their projects, prosecutors told an Illinois federal jury Thursday.

  • January 23, 2025

    Home Health Agency Operator Gets 12 Years For $100M Fraud

    The former operator of a Massachusetts home healthcare agency convicted of fraud last summer has been sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $100 million in restitution to the state's Medicaid program.

  • January 23, 2025

    Combs Lodges $50M Suit Over Supposed Sex Assault Tapes

    Sean "Diddy" Combs filed a $50 million defamation suit in New York federal court on Wednesday accusing a grand jury witness, a lawyer and Nexstar Media Inc. of spreading falsities about nonexistent videos that purportedly depict the indicted hip-hop mogul sexually assaulting intoxicated celebrities and minors.

  • January 23, 2025

    NC Biogas Co. Sidesteps Sanctions For Now In Lender Fight

    A North Carolina Business Court judge held back on sanctioning a biogas company for allegedly violating a court order to pay its lender before pursuing new contracts on a renewable energy project, reasoning that he needs more information about the terms of the agreement to see if a contempt ruling is warranted.

  • January 23, 2025

    Conflict Limits 1 Lawyer On Javice Team As Trial Date Slips

    A lawyer defending Charlie Javice on charges she swindled JPMorgan Chase into paying $175 million for a financial aid startup she founded will be limited in representing her, a Manhattan federal judge said Thursday, before pushing trial back a week.

  • January 23, 2025

    Colo. Panel Says Atty-Witness Rule Isn't Limited To Jury Trials

    A Colorado professional rule banning attorneys from advocating at trials where they are a "necessary witness" isn't limited to jury trials, a state appeals court ruled Thursday, affirming the disqualification of a lawyer who sought to represent a cannabis business that he once co-owned with his wife.

  • January 23, 2025

    Feds Want 14 Years For Fraudster Who Scammed NBA Pros

    Prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal judge to sentence a recidivist fraudster who was convicted of swindling two former NBA players out of $8 million to up to 14 years in prison, saying his previous sentences had not deterred him and he'd committed repeated bail violations.

  • January 22, 2025

    Chutkan Says Trump's Pardon Can't 'Whitewash' Jan. 6 Terror

    President Donald Trump's pardon of defendants accused of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol "cannot whitewash the blood, feces and terror that the mob left in its wake," U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan wrote Wednesday in an order dismissing one such case.

  • January 22, 2025

    Intuitive Chief Rejects Da Vinci Robot Market Monopoly Claim

    Intuitive Surgical's president testified Wednesday in a $140 million California federal antitrust trial over claims the da Vinci surgical robot maker abuses its market power by blocking hospitals from having third parties refurbish a crucial robot component, saying there's no monopoly since Intuitive competes with traditional and laparoscopic surgery offerings.

  • January 22, 2025

    Shyamalan Denies Theft From Indie Film: 'I Didn't See It'

    Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, who found success in Hollywood with his breakout movie "The Sixth Sense" about a child who sees dead people, testified Wednesday in a California federal trial that he never saw a film he's accused of stealing from for his Apple+ show "Servant" before it was produced.

Expert Analysis

  • How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case

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    The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

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    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • How To Use Exhibits Strategically Throughout Your Case

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    Exhibits, and documents in particular, are the lifeblood of legal advocacy, so attorneys must understand how to wield them effectively throughout different stages of a case to help build strategy, elevate witness preparation and effectively persuade the fact-finders, say Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie and Colorado prosecutor Adam Kendall.

  • Crypto Mixer Laundering Case Provides Evidentiary Road Map

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    A Washington, D.C., federal court’s recent decision to allow expert testimony on blockchain analysis software in a bitcoin mixer money laundering case — which ultimately ended in conviction — establishes a precedent for the admissibility of similar software-derived evidence, say Peter Hardy and Kelly Lenahan-Pfahlert at Ballard Spahr.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • 15 Quick Tips For Uncovering And Mitigating Juror Biases

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    As highlighted by the recent jury selection process in the criminal hush money trial against former President Donald Trump, juror bias presents formidable challenges for defendants, and attorneys must employ proactive strategies — both new and old — to blunt its impact, say Monica Delgado and Jonathan Harris at Harris St. Laurent.

  • 5 Lessons From Ex-Vitol Trader's FCPA Conviction

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    The recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering conviction of former Vitol oil trader Javier Aguilar in a New York federal court provides defense takeaways on issues ranging from the definition of “domestic concern” to jury instruction strategy, says attorney Andrew Feldman.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

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    A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

  • Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy

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    The New York criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump typifies some of the greatest challenges that lawyers face in crafting persuasive presentations, providing lessons on how to handle bad facts, craft a simple story that withstands attack, and cross-examine with that story in mind, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Series

    Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.

  • A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

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    As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

  • Measuring Early Impact Of Rule 702 Changes On Patent Cases

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    Since Federal Rule of Evidence 702 was amended to clarify the standards for admitting expert witness testimony five months ago, emerging trends in patent cases suggest that it may be easier to limit or exclude expert testimony, and hold key practice takeaways for attorneys, say Manuel Velez and Nan Zhang at Mayer Brown.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data

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    Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • 'Fat Leonard' Case Shows High Bar For Rescinding Guilty Plea

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    Prosecutors’ recent move in the “Fat Leonard” bribery case, supporting several defendants’ motions to withdraw their guilty pleas, is extremely unusual – and its contrast with other prosecutions demonstrates that the procedural safeguards at plea hearings are far from enough, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.

  • Series

    Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.

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