Washington

  • January 20, 2026

    Law360 Names Firms Of The Year

    Eight law firms have earned spots as Law360's Firms of the Year, with 48 Practice Group of the Year awards among them, achieving milestones such as high-profile litigation wins at the U.S. Supreme Court and 11-figure merger deals.

  • January 20, 2026

    Zillow, Redfin Must Produce CEO Docs In FTC's Antitrust Case

    A Virginia federal magistrate judge gave the Federal Trade Commission a limited peek Tuesday into the communications between the CEOs of Zillow and Redfin over an alleged deal paying Redfin more than $100 million not to compete for rental listings, partially overriding Zillow's objections in a ruling from the bench.

  • January 20, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives Malpractice Suit Against Bankruptcy Atty

    The Ninth Circuit Tuesday reinstated a California woman's malpractice lawsuit against her bankruptcy attorney, but said the bankruptcy court needs to significantly narrow the permission to sue it granted to the debtor.

  • January 20, 2026

    Broker-Dealer, Mutual Firm Fight Trimmed By Judge

    A Washington federal judge has dismissed claims by financial services company Leader Capital Corp., accusing a broker-dealer and a marketing services company of making misleading representations to investors about Leader Capital's compliance with securities laws, but allowed a counterclaim by the broker-dealer to proceed.

  • January 20, 2026

    Justice Jackson Slams Fee Waiver Ban For Indigent Prisoners

    The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday rejected three pro se indigent prisoners' bids to file petitions to the court without fees and permanently barred them from seeking fee waivers from the high court, decisions that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson called "foolish" in a passionate dissent.

  • January 20, 2026

    Wash. Man Not Covered In Grocery Store Shooting Suit

    A home insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify a Washington man who was convicted in a grocery store shooting in a related civil suit, a federal court ruled, saying the policy does not cover intentional acts.

  • January 16, 2026

    Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year

    Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2025, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and significant transaction work that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.

  • January 17, 2026

    Real Estate Recap: Cannabis Landlords, Global Deals, ACREL

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including how potential changes to federal marijuana regulation could affect landlords, the largest global real estate deals of 2025, and a chat with the new president of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers.

  • January 16, 2026

    Amazon Fights Class Claims That Clunky HR App Broke ADA

    Amazon urged a Washington federal judge on Thursday to pull the plug for good on a lawsuit from workers who claim the company violated state and federal disability law by dragging its heels on accommodations requests filed through its A to Z human resources app, saying the workers again failed to adequately plead their case.

  • January 16, 2026

    9th Circ. Upholds Ax Of RNC Suit Over Google Email Filtering

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday refused to revive the Republican National Committee's lawsuit accusing Google of illegally sending RNC fundraising emails to Gmail users' spam folders, finding that the committee had failed to establish the type of user relationship necessary to sustain its claims. 

  • January 16, 2026

    Amazon Beats Suit Claiming Misuse Of Forfeited 401(k) Funds

    A Washington federal judge has thrown out two workers' proposed class action accusing Amazon of using millions in abandoned retirement plan funds to offset its matching contributions instead of defraying administrative costs for participants, concluding Friday that the company followed the plan's terms.

  • January 16, 2026

    US Foods Workers' $2.4M Wage Deal Scores Initial OK

    A Washington state judge on Thursday granted preliminary approval to US Foods' $2.4 million class action settlement with nearly 3,000 current and former workers who alleged the food service retailer systematically shorted them on breaks, overtime pay, sick leave and expense reimbursements.

  • January 16, 2026

    Bikini Barista Boss Says AG Can't Bring Sex Harassment Suit

    The owner of Seattle-area "bikini barista" company Paradise Espresso urged a state judge to dismiss Washington's lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment and withholding pay from workers, arguing the state's attorney general lacks authority to bring the case.

  • January 16, 2026

    Boeing Birth Defect Appeal Draws Playground Dumping Analogy

    A Washington state appeals court expressed skepticism Friday at Boeing's stance that it can't be liable for birth defects of a factory worker's child because it has no duty to not-yet-conceived offspring, with two judges drawing parallels to the hypothetical harm caused by a company dumping chemicals near a playground.

  • January 16, 2026

    Wash. House Bill Seeks Changes To Cannabis Excise Tax

    Washington would make changes to its cannabis excise tax, which is charged in addition to sales and use tax on adult-use cannabis purchases, under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.

  • January 16, 2026

    Washington Pot Co.'s Discrimination Suit Filed Too Late

    A Washington federal judge has dismissed with prejudice a suit by a would-be cannabis dispensary alleging that the state's licensing agency discriminates against minority owners, saying the claims are outside the federal and state statutes of limitations.

  • January 16, 2026

    9th Circ. Upholds County Fines For Illegal Short-Term Rentals

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday refused to stop a Nevada county from enforcing ordinances that don't allow unlicensed short-term rentals to operate, ruling that the lower court rightfully sided against a local company by determining that the related county fines weren't unconstitutionally excessive.

  • January 16, 2026

    Money Not Sole Motive For Jordan Card Caper, Jury Told

    A Washington state youth sports coach who says he bankrolled a $2 million sports trading-card scam conceded Friday that the man accused of spearheading the fraud had motives beyond money, as a defense lawyer challenged the cooperator's account before a Manhattan federal jury.

  • January 16, 2026

    High Court Takes Up Intel Workers' Bid To Revive 401(k) Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear Intel workers' challenge to a Ninth Circuit decision backing an end to their proposed class action alleging 401(k) mismanagement, a case that gives the justices a chance to clarify the pleading standards for retirement fund underperformance. 

  • January 16, 2026

    Oregon Judge Strikes Down Exclusion Feds Cited For Logging

    An Oregon federal judge has vacated a decades-old categorical exclusion the U.S. Forest Service enacted to exempt forest thinning and wildlife habitat projects from environmental reviews after it was used to allow thousands of acres of commercial logging in Fremont-Winema National Forest.

  • January 16, 2026

    Aerospace Biz TransDigm Gets 2 PE-Backed Cos. In $2.2B Deal

    Aircraft parts maker TransDigm Group Inc., led by BakerHostetler, on Friday announced plans to buy private equity-backed Jet Parts Engineering and Victor Sierra Aviation Holdings in a roughly $2.2 billion cash deal.

  • January 15, 2026

    DHS Blocked From 2nd Attempt To End TSA Union Deal

    A Washington federal court has again stopped the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from canceling a collective bargaining agreement covering tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration workers, ruling Thursday that the federal government cannot get around a June injunction just by providing a fresh rationale.

  • January 15, 2026

    Wash. Judge Arrested For DUI Had Booze In Car, County Says​​​​​​​

    A Washington county urged a federal judge to toss a former state judge's lawsuit accusing sheriff's deputies of wrongfully stopping and arresting him on suspicion of DUI, arguing law enforcement had probable cause to detain him because he had an open alcoholic beverage in his vehicle and his speech was stumbling, slow and repetitive.

  • January 15, 2026

    Wash. Anti-Spam Law Not Federally Preempted, Judge Rules

    A Seattle federal judge has shot down Nike Inc.'s effort to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the sportswear giant of sending false or misleading marketing emails to shoppers in Washington, ruling that the state's Commercial Electronic Mail Act is not preempted by federal law.

  • January 15, 2026

    Wash. Judges To Pick US Atty As Floyd's Term Set To Expire

    The chief judge for the Western District of Washington on Wednesday announced the court's intent to select a U.S. attorney to serve on a temporary basis if President Donald Trump's pick, Charles Neil Floyd, who has been serving on an interim basis, isn't confirmed by the Senate by next month. 

Expert Analysis

  • New DOJ Penalty Policy Could Spell Trouble For Cos.

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    In light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s recently published guidance making victim relief a core condition of coordinated resolution crediting, companies facing parallel investigations must carefully calibrate their negotiation strategies to minimize the risk of duplicative penalties, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • APA Relief May Blunt Justices' Universal Injunction Ruling

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    The Administrative Procedure Act’s avenue for universal preliminary relief seems to hold the most promise for neutralizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. CASA to limit federal district courts' nationally applicable orders, say attorneys at Crowell.

  • Managing Risks As State AGs Seek To Fill Enforcement Gap

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    Given an unprecedented surge in state attorney general activity resulting from significant shifts in federal enforcement priorities, companies must consider tailored strategies for navigating the ever-evolving risk landscape, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

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    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

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    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Wash. Law Highlights Debate Over Unemployment For Strikers

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    A new Washington state law that will allow strikers to receive unemployment benefits during work stoppages raises questions about whether such laws subsidize disruptions to the economy or whether they are preempted by federal labor law, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • What 9th Circ. Ruling Shows About Rebutting SEC Comments

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    The Ninth Circuit's June opinion in Pino v. Cardone Capital suggests that a company's lack of pushback to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission comment may be evidence of its state of mind for evaluating potential liability, meaning companies should consider including additional disclosure in SEC response letters, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • 9th Circ. Decisions Help Clarify Scope Of Legal Lab Marketing

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    Two Ninth Circuit decisions last week provide a welcome development in clarifying the line between laboratories' legal marketing efforts and undue influence that violates the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act, and offer useful guidance for labs seeking to mitigate enforcement risk, says Joshua Robbins at Buchalter.

  • What 9th Circ. Cracker Barrel Ruling Means For FLSA Cert.

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    The Ninth Circuit's decision in Harrington v. Cracker Barrel suggests a settling of two procedural trends in Fair Labor Standards Act jurisprudence — when to issue notice and where nationwide collectives can be filed — rather than deepening circuit splits, says Rebecca Ojserkis at Cohen Milstein.

  • Series

    Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator

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    Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.

  • Calif. Air Waivers Fight Fuels Automakers', States' Uncertainty

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    The unprecedented attempt by Congress and the Trump administration to kill the Clean Air Act waivers supporting California's vehicle emissions standards will eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court — but meanwhile, vehicle manufacturers, and states following California's standards, are left in limbo, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma

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    Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.

  • 9th Circ. Customs Ruling A Limited Win For FCA Plaintiffs

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    While the decision last month in Island Industries v. Sigma may be welcome news for False Claims Act relators, under binding precedent courts within the Ninth Circuit still do not have jurisdiction to adjudicate customs-based FCA claims pursued by the government, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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