Commercial Contracts

  • July 01, 2026

    Watchdog Says DOL Needs Better Info Sharing Controls

    The U.S. Department of Labor's lack of controls over information sharing between subagencies and nongovernmental entities, including law firms and legal advocacy organizations, may have unfairly advantaged those parties with privileged investigative information, an agency watchdog reported, though use of the practice has dropped off. 

  • July 01, 2026

    Sign Co. Says WSFS Sanctions Bid Violates Mediation Deal

    A sign company asked a New Jersey federal court to sanction Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB over claims that it violated mediation confidentiality in the bank's suit alleging breach of contract and professional negligence after part of the signage on its Philadelphia building broke off and fell 40 stories to the ground.

  • July 01, 2026

    Insurer Says COVID Test Co. Knew Of Theft Prior To Policy

    An insurer said it doesn't owe coverage to a COVID-19 test kit supplier for the purported theft of $106 million by its former directors and officers, telling a Nevada federal court that the alleged loss was first discovered a month before the commercial crime policy's inception.

  • July 01, 2026

    4 Mass. Rulings You May Have Missed In June

    An advisory firm's failure to register as a broker before diving into work on a $2.1 billion take-private deal last year has cost it, while emails and text messages took center stage in several other disputes pending in Massachusetts state court in June.

  • July 01, 2026

    Del. Chancery Revives Ex-Partner's Fiduciary Claims

    A former Saffron Hill venture capital partner can pursue claims that the firm's founders and general partner breached fiduciary duties by restructuring the business to strip him of the value of his carried interest, even as the Delaware Chancery Court dismissed his contract-based claims challenging the same conduct.

  • July 01, 2026

    Cleaning Co. Agrees To $500K Deal Over OT, Sick Leave Claim

    A Texas commercial cleaning company agreed to pay $500,000 to settle claims that it failed to pay overtime wages and provide paid sick leave to Colorado workers it employed through subcontractors, according to a motion for preliminary settlement approval filed Wednesday in Colorado federal court.

  • July 01, 2026

    IT Firm Seeks To Enforce Noncompete Against Ex-Sales Chief

    Massachusetts IT management company Coretelligent has asked a state judge to block its former chief revenue officer from starting a new, nearly identical job with a rival firm, saying the move violates a noncompete.

  • July 01, 2026

    Insurer Must Split $6.5M Explosion Deal Costs With Hartford

    A Hartford unit prevailed in its bid to force another insurer to split $6.5 million in settlement costs stemming from a gas line explosion at a Maryland apartment complex, after a federal court found the "other insurance" clauses in the excess policies to be mutually repugnant.

  • June 30, 2026

    Texas Court Sends 4 Asbestos Suits Out Of MDL Court

    A Texas appeals court on Tuesday found that multiple families of people who died following diagnoses of asbestos-related malignancies can remand their cases back to the courts they initially filed in, saying the multidistrict litigation rules do not apply to their cases.

  • June 30, 2026

    Lively Says Baldoni 'Holy War' Cost Her $8M In Legal Fees

    Actress Blake Lively says she racked up more than $8 million in legal fees and expenses in her battle with her "It Ends With Us" costar Justin Baldoni, litigation she characterized as a "holy war" waged by Baldoni and his studio's financier, whom she accused of "scorched-earth" tactics designed to drain her resources.

  • June 30, 2026

    Morgan & Morgan Wins Bid To Arbitrate Ga. Malpractice Suit

    A Georgia appellate panel on Tuesday sent to arbitration a legal malpractice case accusing Morgan & Morgan of inducing a former auto collision client to accept a $750,000 settlement when the case was purportedly worth more, saying a broad arbitration clause in the representation agreement was valid and enforceable.

  • June 30, 2026

    McCarter Atty Says He Didn't Know NY Law Before $20M Deals

    A onetime McCarter & English LLP partner in Hartford testified Tuesday that he did not research New York's municipal contracting laws before helping two insurers enter into doomed $20 million loan repayment agreements with a Long Island town, but contended that he was under no obligation to do so.

  • June 30, 2026

    Cannabis Investors Want Arbitration Award Fast-Tracked

    A group of cannabis investment funds has asked the Delaware Chancery Court to fast-track their bid to confirm a favorable arbitration award and immediately prevent entrepreneur John David Engel and several of his affiliated entities from taking actions that could undermine the award while confirmation proceedings are pending.

  • June 30, 2026

    Costco Says Chubb Unit Owes Defense For Warehouse Injury

    Costco accused a Chubb unit of wrongfully refusing to defend the big-box retailer in an underlying bodily injury lawsuit, arguing that the carrier owes the retailer a full defense because it was listed as an additional insured vendor under a home decor brand's policy.

  • June 30, 2026

    SAG-AFTRA Wants House Panel To Advance AI Deepfakes Bill

    The president of actors union SAG-AFTRA spoke to a congressional subcommittee Tuesday to press the need for a bill to allow for the removal of deepfakes from the internet, framing the advent of digital replicas of people as a fundamental alteration in the methods of human interaction that cannot be ignored by lawmakers.

  • June 30, 2026

    Plumbing Co. ESOP Trial Averted By Settlement Deal

    A California federal judge stayed deadlines Tuesday in a federal benefits class action against a plumbing company and the caretakers of its defunct employee stock ownership plan that was set for trial in September, after the parties said they'd settled their dispute Monday following mediation.

  • June 30, 2026

    DOJ Defends Live Nation Deal As Boosting Competition Sooner

    The Justice Department offered its formal defense of the controversial midtrial settlement that allowed Live Nation to keep its Ticketmaster subsidiary, telling a New York federal judge the deal frees up artists and venues much faster than any remedy state attorneys general could achieve through their jury win.

  • June 30, 2026

    Buchalter Real Estate Partner Joins Holland & Knight In LA

    Holland & Knight LLP announced that an experienced real estate finance attorney who most recently practiced at Buchalter PC has joined the firm's Los Angeles office as a partner.

  • June 30, 2026

    2 Ex-Clifford Chance Attys Say Firm Wants To Claw Back $6M

    Two former practice group leaders at Clifford Chance LLP have sued in New York federal court alleging the firm is trying to claw back nearly $6 million in total from the pair after they moved to Sidley Austin LLP early this year.

  • June 30, 2026

    Broker Dropped From Fatal Fla. Turnpike U-Turn Crash Suit

    The estate of one of three people killed in a Florida Turnpike collision last year has dropped C.H. Robinson from its negligence lawsuit after the freight broker said it didn't even arrange the shipment and wasn't connected to the trucking company or driver involved in the accident.

  • June 30, 2026

    ICE Scraps Plan For NJ Immigrant Detention Center

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have decided to cancel plans to convert a New Jersey warehouse into a 1,500-bed immigrant detention center, according to a joint status report filed in federal court, saying the property will instead be sold.

  • June 29, 2026

    Calif. Firm Can't Arbitrate Ex-Clients' Sex-Abuse Deal Claims

    A California appellate court Monday said McGrath Kavinoky LLP can't arbitrate allegations it "bullied" two women into accepting a $374 million settlement for hundreds of clients claiming sexual abuse by a UCLA Health gynecologist, saying the firm's failure to obtain consent to the foreseeable conflicts made its engagement agreements unenforceable.

  • June 29, 2026

    Argentine Singer Says Universal Illegally Distributed His Music

    Universal Music Group NV wrongly assumed it still owned the rights to distribute an Argentine singer's music after the termination of a distribution agreement, the singer told a Florida federal court Monday, saying UMG interfered in his contract with a new record label and owes him unpaid royalties.

  • June 29, 2026

    Harvey Gulf CEO Sued In Chancery Over Alleged Control Grab

    Black Diamond-affiliated investment funds sued Harvey Gulf International Marine Inc.'s chief executive and other major stockholders in the Delaware Chancery Court, alleging they improperly orchestrated a stock transfer that gave CEO Shane J. Guidry majority control of the offshore vessel company.

  • June 29, 2026

    McCarter & English Missed Key Docs In $20M Loans, Court Told

    A McCarter & English LLP attorney botched two multimillion-dollar loan deals by failing to secure an ironclad repayment obligation from a New York town or include mandatory documents in the closing packages, a Connecticut state court heard Monday as a long-awaited malpractice trial got underway.

Expert Analysis

  • Locations, Permits And Power Are Key In EV Charger Projects

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    To ensure the success of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure projects, developers, funders, site hosts and charge point operators must consider a range of factors, including location selection, distribution grid requirements and costs, and permitting and timeline impacts, says Levi McAllister at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Trivia Competition Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing trivia taught me to quickly absorb information and recognize when I've learned what I'm expected to know, training me in the crucial skills needed to be a good attorney, and reminding me to be gracious in defeat, says Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: What Cross-Selling Truly Takes

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    Early-career attorneys may struggle to introduce clients to practitioners in other specialties, but cross-selling becomes easier once they know why it’s vital to their first years of practice, which mistakes to avoid and how to anticipate clients' needs, say attorneys at Moses & Singer.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: Practical Use Cases In Chambers

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    U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Goddard in the Southern District of California discusses how she uses generative artificial intelligence tools in chambers to make work more efficient and effective — from editing jury instructions for clarity to summarizing key documents.

  • Notable Q4 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    Last quarter featured a novel class action theory about car rental reimbursement coverage, another win for insurers in total loss valuations, a potentially broad-reaching Idaho Supreme Court ruling about illusory underinsured motorist coverage, and homeowners blaming rising premiums on the fossil fuel industry, says Kevin Zimmerman at BakerHostetler.

  • USPTO Initiatives May Bolster SEP Litigation In The US

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent efforts to revitalize standard-essential patent litigation face hurdles in their reliance on courts and other agencies, but may help the U.S. regain its central role in global SEP litigation if successful, say attorneys at Axinn.

  • If Your AI Vendor Goes Bankrupt: Tackling Privacy And 'Utility'

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    Because bankruptcies of artificial intelligence vendors will require courts to decide in the moment how to handle bespoke deals for AI tools, customers that anticipate consumer privacy concerns in asset disposition and questions about utility and critical-vendor classifications can be better positioned before proceedings, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    Trail Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Navigating the muddy, root-filled path of trail marathons and ultramarathons provides fertile training ground for my high-stakes fractional general counsel work, teaching me to slow down my mind when the terrain shifts, sharpen my focus and trust my training, says Eric Proos at Next Era Legal.

  • What Artists Can Learn From Latest AI Music Licensing Deals

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    Recent partnerships between music labels and artificial intelligence companies raise a number of key questions for artists, rightsholders and other industry players about IP, revenue-sharing, and rights and obligations, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • If Your AI Vendor Goes Bankrupt: Keeping Licensed IP Access

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    With contracting norms still evolving to account for the licensing of artificial intelligence tools, customers that need to retain access to key AI products in the event of vendor’s bankruptcy should consider four elements that could determine whether they may invoke traditional Section 365(n) intellectual property protections, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Malpractice Claim Assignability Continues To Divide Courts

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    Recent decisions from courts across the country demonstrate how different jurisdictions balance competing policy interests in determining whether legal malpractice claims can be assigned, providing a framework to identify when and how to challenge any attempted assignment, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin & Lodgen.

  • Tips For Financial Advisers Facing TRO From Former Firm

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    The Eighth Circuit's recent decision in Choreo v. Lors, overturning a lower court's sweeping injunction after financial advisers moved to a new firm, gives advisers new strategies to fight restraining orders from their old firms, such as focusing on whether the alleged irreparable harm is calculable, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • Series

    Teaching Logic Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Teaching middle and high school students the skills to untangle complicated arguments and identify faulty reasoning has made me reacquaint myself with the defined structure of thought, reminding me why logic should remain foundational in the practice of law, says Tom Barrow at Woods Rogers.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Resilience

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    Resilience is a skill acquired through daily practices that focus on learning from missteps, recovering quickly without internalizing defeat and moving forward with intention, says Nicholas Meza at Quarles & Brady.

  • NYC Bar Opinion Warns Attys On Use Of AI Recording Tools

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    Attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and summarize conversations with clients should heed the New York City Bar Association’s recent opinion addressing the legal and ethical risks posed by such tools, and follow several best practices to avoid violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

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