Washington

  • September 05, 2024

    Wash. Bar Backs Experiment For Nonlawyers To Practice

    The Washington State Bar wants to relax the rules on who can practice law, in what it hopes will allow businesses not run by lawyers the chance to innovate how the industry provides legal services and expand who is able to afford them.

  • September 05, 2024

    DOE Says Bonneville Power Lacks Proper Contract Oversight

    The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General released a report to the public on Thursday identifying weaknesses in the Bonneville Power Administration's management of its Fish and Wildlife Program contracts, including instances where "invoice reviews lacked supporting documentation to justify the costs incurred."

  • September 05, 2024

    Wash. Justices Won't Take Up BNSF Water Reg Dispute

    Washington's highest court on Wednesday declined a request for review by BNSF Railway Co. and two Washington ports seeking to reverse a water quality watchdog's win in a dispute over the scope of state-issued industrial stormwater permit terms.

  • September 05, 2024

    Wash. Justices Uphold State's Wastewater Nitrogen Limits

    The Washington Supreme Court overturned a win for the city of Tacoma and other municipal wastewater treatment plant operators challenging state caps on nitrogen discharges, finding Thursday that the limits state regulators added to its permits don't qualify as a rule under the Administrative Procedure Act.

  • September 05, 2024

    LA Developer Beats RICO Suit Over CEQA Fight At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit affirmed Thursday a decision tossing a Hollywood hotel developer's $100 million racketeering suit against rival hotel developers, rejecting the plaintiff developer's allegations that its competitors had pursued "objectively baseless" sham California Environmental Quality Act litigation to extort the firm.

  • September 04, 2024

    Albertsons CEO Takes Stand On Kroger Merger, Missing Texts

    Federal Trade Commision attorneys on Wednesday pressed Albertsons Cos. Inc. CEO Vivek Sankaran in Oregon federal court about why he had such dire predictions about the company's future without a merger with Kroger despite previous statements about how his company had been crushing the competition.

  • September 04, 2024

    Amazon Disclosures Doom Prime Viewers' Deception Claims

    A Washington federal judge on Tuesday threw out Amazon Prime subscribers' claims that the company illegally disclosed their personal viewing habits, axing some of their state law consumer protection allegations for good while providing an avenue for them to amend their federal claims.

  • September 04, 2024

    Tort Report: 'Landmark' $16M Crash Verdict Against Amazon

    A "landmark" verdict out of Georgia that put Amazon on the hook for an independent contractor delivery driver's negligence and a hearing-impaired Florida physician's disciplinary matter lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

  • September 04, 2024

    9th Circ. Blocks Calif.'s Social Media Content Disclosure Law

    The Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday that a trial judge wrongly denied X Corp.'s bid to block parts of a new California law that requires social media giants to disclose their content-moderation policies, finding that provisions requiring the companies to disclose how and whether they define extreme content are likely unconstitutional.

  • September 04, 2024

    Amazon Says Too Many Differences Among Driver Class

    Amazon urged a Washington federal court to reject class certification in a delivery driver's lawsuit alleging he was misclassified as an independent contractor, saying there are too many differences among these drivers to warrant class treatment.

  • September 04, 2024

    3M Earplug Plaintiffs Want Child Support Subpoena Blocked

    The plaintiffs' leadership group representing service members and others in multidistrict litigation against 3M Co. over injuries stemming from its Combat Arms Earplugs asked a Florida federal court Wednesday to block the state of Washington Division of Child Support from interfering in the $6 billion settlement reached earlier this year.

  • September 04, 2024

    Insurer Must Cover Woman's Fire Claim, Wash. Panel Says

    An insurer must cover a woman's claim for damage to her former home after she was assaulted and set on fire by her ex-husband, a Washington state appeals court ruled, finding that a domestic abuse exception to the policy's intentional loss exclusion applies.

  • September 04, 2024

    Wash. Contractors Must Face Suit Over Off-Site Death

    A Washington appeals panel has revived a wrongful death suit alleging a contractor and subcontractor are responsible for the death of a worker in a forklift accident, saying they may have had a duty to the worker even though the accident didn't happen on the worksite itself.

  • September 04, 2024

    Nordstrom Family Makes Takeover Offer, Valuing Biz At $3.8B

    Nordstrom Inc. confirmed Wednesday that it received a proposal from a group that includes its CEO Erik Nordstrom and brother Pete to acquire the company for $23 per share in cash, which values the company around $3.8 billion.

  • September 04, 2024

    Concrete Co. Owes Workers $370K, Wash. Panel Says

    A Washington appeals court refused to overturn a state agency's determination that a concrete company owes workers more than $370,000 in wages for working at a disposal site, saying the work was sufficiently related to a public works project to trigger the state's prevailing wage law.

  • September 03, 2024

    Seattle Court Accused Of Fostering Racist, Hostile Workplace

    An African American former employee at the Seattle Municipal Court has alleged that she was the target of racist and sexist comments and that a court administrator falsely claimed in a courtwide email that she had been arrested and charged with a serious crime when she was on sick leave.

  • September 03, 2024

    Retailer Says No Good Faith In Worker's Wash. Pay Range Suit

    Retailer Aaron's urged a Washington state court to throw out a job applicant's proposed class action accusing it of failing to post salary ranges in job advertisements, saying the worker's 15 other similar lawsuits show he had no interest in actually getting a job at the company.

  • September 03, 2024

    Bill-Pay Co. Says Judge Already Scrapped Wash. CPA Claims

    An online bill-pay platform has urged a Washington federal judge to throw out a consumer's proposed class action accusing the company of disguising itself as an official processor for legitimate service providers, pointing to disclosures on its website that the district court has already highlighted when dismissing comparable claims.

  • September 03, 2024

    9th Circ. Rejects Tax Lien Pro Rata Share In Bankruptcy Sale

    The bankruptcy court is not authorized to use the pro rata method to allocate proceeds between the IRS and an estate with a tax lien for unpaid taxes and penalties, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday, saying there is nothing in bankruptcy law that explicitly allows this approach.

  • September 03, 2024

    Gov't Backs 9th Circ. Bid To Revive Invisalign Monopoly Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice has told the Ninth Circuit that a lower court applied the wrong standard when tossing a pair of class actions accusing the maker of Invisalign of monopolizing markets for clear dental aligners and teeth scanners.

  • September 03, 2024

    Apartment Co. Asks 9th Circ. To Toss NLRB Wage Talk Ruling

    An Arizona property management company has urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse a National Labor Relations Board decision finding the company unlawfully fired a worker who talked about wages, joining a chorus of employers arguing the labor agency is unconstitutionally structured.

  • September 03, 2024

    Alaska Says Nothing's Changed As Flyers Try Merger 'Do-Over'

    Alaska Airlines wants a nixed flyer challenge to its $1.9 billion purchase of Hawaiian Airlines to stay nixed, telling a Hawaii federal judge that declarations from the plaintiffs about their travel plans could have been submitted months ago and are "too little, too late" to overcome the judge's ruling that they had no standing.

  • September 03, 2024

    $15M Class Atty Fee Sought In Microsoft-Activision Suit

    Attorneys for Sweden's state pension fund manager have proposed a $15 million attorney fee for their investigation and intervention in a suit seeking Delaware Court of Chancery fixes for defects in some terms of Activision Blizzard Inc.'s $68.7 billion acquisition by Microsoft Corp. last year.

  • August 30, 2024

    Expert Doesn't Back Certain Tribal Fishing Rights, Judge Says

    A Washington federal judge has granted the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe's bid to amend his earlier order questioning whether the Stillaguamish Tribe had ever fished in certain saltwater near Puget Sound, ruling after examining expert testimony in the tribes' fishing rights battle that historical evidence fails to show that Stillaguamish ever caught sea life there.

  • August 30, 2024

    $100M Deal Finally Ends MoneyGram Unclaimed Property Fight

    Delaware will be giving back more than $100 million from uncashed MoneyGram checks to the states where they were bought after finally reaching a settlement with 29 other states that took the matter all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    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.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    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.

  • Justices' Removal Ruling Presents Hurdles, But Offers Clarity

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    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.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    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.

  • Arbitration Implications Of High Court Coinbase Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Coinbase v. Suski ruling not only reaffirmed the long-standing principle that arbitration is a matter of contract, but also established new and more general principles concerning the courts' jurisdiction to decide challenges to delegation clauses and the severability rule, say Tamar Meshel at the University of Alberta.

  • After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1

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    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.

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

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    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.

  • Series

    Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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.

  • Best Practices For Chemical Transparency In Supply Chains

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    A flurry of new and forthcoming regulations in different jurisdictions that require disclosure of potentially hazardous substances used in companies' products and processes will require businesses to take proactive steps to build chemical transparency into their supply chains, and engage robustly and systematically with vendors, says Jillian Stacy at Enhesa.

  • Money, Money, Money: Limiting White Collar Wealth Evidence

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    As courts increasingly recognize that allowing unfettered evidence of wealth could prejudice a jury against a defendant, white collar defense counsel should consider several avenues for excluding visual evidence of a lavish lifestyle at trial, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • How Associates Can Build A Professional Image

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    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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