Massachusetts

  • September 12, 2024

    Corp. Disclosure Law Kills Community Boards, Nonprofits Say

    The Community Associations Institute and other groups have sued the U.S. Department of the Treasury over the Corporate Transparency Act, arguing the law should not apply to them, violates constitutional rights and will lead to mass resignations from their community leadership boards.

  • September 12, 2024

    Mass. Pot Regulator Gets Acting Head, Fired Chair To Appeal

    The Massachusetts cannabis regulator has a new acting chair, as state Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg on Thursday appointed a temporary replacement after her decision to fire Shannon O'Brien, who intends to appeal the termination.

  • September 12, 2024

    Dem Lawmakers Target Predatory Sports Betting With New Bill

    Two Democratic lawmakers on Thursday proposed federal sports betting legislation aimed at addressing what they called a "public health crisis," saying it will force operators to comply with federal standards in three areas: advertising, affordability and artificial intelligence.

  • September 12, 2024

    Verrill Lands Pot Pro To Build New Cannabis Practice

    Verrill Dana LLP has brought in a veteran attorney with extensive experience in cannabis law and criminal justice initiatives, including co-founding the Georgia Innocence Project, as a partner in its Portland, Maine office, as it looks to grow its services for the state's booming marijuana industry.

  • September 12, 2024

    Ex-Mass. State Sen. Tran Convicted Of Pandemic Aid Fraud

    Former Massachusetts State Sen. Dean Tran was convicted Wednesday of fraudulently collecting pandemic unemployment benefits after he was voted out of office and of cheating on his taxes.

  • September 12, 2024

    CFTC Can't Pause Decision To Allow Election Betting

    A D.C. federal judge on Thursday refused to stay a ruling that found the Commodity Futures Trading Commission overstepped its bounds by blocking an online trading platform from allowing users to place bets on the outcome of U.S. congressional elections.

  • September 12, 2024

    Mastercard To Buy Recorded Future Security Co. For $2.65B

    Mastercard Inc. said Thursday that it plans to buy global threat intelligence company Recorded Future from software investor Insight Partners for $2.65 billion to bolster its cybersecurity offering.

  • September 11, 2024

    Litigation Spending To Rise As Cases Grow More Aggressive

    A substantial number of large companies are expecting to increase their litigation spending by double digits next year in the face of more complex and hard-fought cases — and they are more open to bringing in new legal talent to navigate the matters, according to a report released Thursday. 

  • September 11, 2024

    Conn. Pizza Chain Sued By Ex-Operations Chief For Age Bias

    The former director of operations for Frank Pepe's, a Connecticut-based pizza chain, sued the company Tuesday in federal court for allegedly firing him because of his age, race and gender.

  • September 11, 2024

    Mass. Jury Weighs Raft Of Fraud Charges Against Ex-Pol

    A Boston federal jury resumed deliberations Wednesday in a criminal case alleging a former Massachusetts state senator lied on his taxes and an application for pandemic unemployment aid, after the ex-politico testified in his own defense.

  • September 11, 2024

    Ipsen Exec Made Illegal Trades Before Merger, Feds Say

    An Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals executive has been charged with allegedly amassing roughly $260,000 in ill-gotten gains through insider trading on the stock of a smaller rival that Ipsen purchased in 2022, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

  • September 11, 2024

    Star Witness In Bankman-Fried Trial Seeks No Prison Time

    Former FTX insider Caroline Ellison urged a Manhattan federal judge not to sentence her to prison for her part in the crypto exchange's massive fraud scheme, citing her remorse and the "devastating" trial testimony she gave against onetime romantic partner and company founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

  • September 11, 2024

    Federal Pot Ban Out Of Step With The Times, 1st Circ. Told

    A group of cannabis businesses told the First Circuit the federal government no longer has a reasonable basis for prohibiting state-regulated marijuana, saying Congress has clearly changed its tune on pot commerce in the more than half-century since the ban was passed.

  • September 10, 2024

    42 AGs Back Call For Social Media Warning Label Law

    A bipartisan group of 42 attorneys general urged Congress on Tuesday to introduce warning labels on social media platforms in a bid to tackle risks posed to young people's mental health.

  • September 10, 2024

    Natixis Worker Class Headed To Trial In 401(k) Suit

    Natixis will have to go to trial over workers' claims that it mismanaged their investment funds, according to a Massachusetts federal judge's ruling Tuesday that rejected the French investment firm's objections to a magistrate judge's report and recommendations.

  • September 10, 2024

    DeSantis Blasts Mass. Suit Over Martha's Vineyard Flights

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shouldn't have to fight "conspiracy theory" claims in Massachusetts over whether the Sunshine State tricked migrants into boarding flights to Martha's Vineyard, the governor said in a sweeping dismissal bid.

  • September 10, 2024

    Womble Bond Eyes Growth, Not Layoffs, With New Tie-Up

    The merger between Womble Bond Dickinson and Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP is not about cutting costs because of mounting competition, the international law firm's U.S. boss told Law360 on Tuesday. It's about growth in the U.S., the U.K. — and beyond.

  • September 10, 2024

    Keurig To Pay SEC $1.5M Over K-Cup Recyclability Claims

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday ordered Keurig Dr. Pepper to pay a $1.5 million penalty and refrain from filing inaccurate information in its annual reports to settle allegations that it inaccurately claimed that its K-Cup coffee and tea pods were effectively recyclable.

  • September 10, 2024

    Cybersecurity Co. Beats Suit Over Med Tech Data Breach

    A Massachusetts federal judge declined to hold information security technology company Barracuda Networks Inc. liable over a 2018 data breach that exposed the confidential information of more than 277,000 patients of medical device maker Zoll Medical Corp.

  • September 10, 2024

    Ballot Selfie Can't Tank Cannabis Firm Election, Union Argues

    A United Food and Commercial Workers union local blasted a Massachusetts cannabis dispensary for trying to throw out a union election based on one worker's voluntary photograph of his ballot, telling the National Labor Relations Board that its precedent supports tossing only that vote and not the whole election.

  • September 10, 2024

    Research Outfit Strikes $3.4M Deal In Retirement Plan Fee Suit

    Research and development nonprofit Mitre Corp. agreed to shell out $3.4 million to resolve a class action from workers who said their retirement plans were saddled with excessive fees, according to a Massachusetts federal court filing.

  • September 10, 2024

    Retention Bonus Not Wages Under Mass. Law, Court Finds

    A retention bonus does not count as wages under Massachusetts' wage laws because it is a form of "contingent compensation," a state appellate division court ruled.

  • September 10, 2024

    Womble Bond Dickinson To Merge With Lewis Roca

    Womble Bond Dickinson said Tuesday that its U.S. business is merging with regional law firm Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP at the start of the new year, the third law firm merger to be announced in the last week.

  • September 09, 2024

    Biotech Execs Face Investor Suit Over Medicare Claims

    Executives and directors of biopharmaceutical company Ardelyx have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit in Massachusetts federal court alleging the company misled investors over its intentions and ability to apply for a Medicare reimbursement program for its kidney disease treatment.

  • September 09, 2024

    Mass. High Court Hints At Notice Rule To Open Clerk Hearings

    Justices of Massachusetts' highest court on Monday appeared to signal that 28 men accused of patronizing high-end brothels catering to attorneys, political figures and other high-profile clients should have been given a chance to oppose a request by news organizations to open what are normally closed-door hearings.

Expert Analysis

  • Lessons From Country Singer's Personal Service Saga

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    Recent reports that country singer Luke Combs won a judgment against a Florida woman who didn’t receive notice of the counterfeit suit against her should serve as a reminder for attorneys on best practices for effectuating service by electronic means, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Perspectives

    Justices May Clarify Expert Witness Confrontation Confusion

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    After oral arguments in Smith v. Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to hold that expert witness opinions that rely on out-of-court testimonial statements for their factual basis are unconstitutional, thus resolving some of the complications created by the court’s confrontation clause jurisprudence, says Richard Friedman at the University of Michigan Law School.

  • Uncharted Waters Ahead For FCA Litigation In 2024

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    Following a year of significant court decisions, settlements, recoveries and proposed amendments, 2024 promises to be a lively year for False Claims Act actions and litigation, and one that will hopefully provide more clarity as FCA jurisprudence evolves, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.

  • 3 Key Class Action Trends To Use As Guidance In 2024

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    Telephone Consumer Protection Act, privacy and false advertising class actions saw significant shifts last year — including a trend toward expanding the application of preexisting laws to current technologies — that businesses should keep in mind to navigate the class action landscape in 2024, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Federal Courts And AI Standing Orders: Safety Or Overkill?

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    Several district court judges have issued standing orders regulating the use of artificial intelligence in their courts, but courts should consider following ordinary notice and comment procedures before implementing sweeping mandates that could be unnecessarily burdensome and counterproductive, say attorneys at Curtis.

  • 7 E-Discovery Predictions For 2024 And Beyond

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    The legal and technical issues of e-discovery now affect virtually every lawsuit, and in the year to come, practitioners can expect practices and policies to evolve in a number of ways, from the expanded use of relevancy redactions to mandated information security provisions in protective orders, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Opinion

    Anti-Kickback Statute Does Not Require But-For Causation

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    A proper interpretation of the Anti-Kickback Statute clearly indicates that but-for causation is not required for False Claims Act Liability, and courts that hold otherwise will make it significantly easier for fraudsters to avoid accountability, says Kenneth Capesius at Baron & Budd.

  • A Closer Look At The Federal Criminal Enforcement Slump

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    Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, now at King & Spalding, explains that the U.S. Department of Justice’s statistical reports reveal that federal authorities are considerably less productive today than in the past, as criminal prosecutions fell in 2022 in every major category, for reasons that are not entirely clear.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024

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    Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • 4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year

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    As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.

  • What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

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    As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • 4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

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    Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.

  • After Headwinds, 2024 May See Offshore Wind Momentum

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    Despite skyrocketing raw material costs, conflicting state and federal policies, and other setbacks for the offshore wind sector in 2023, the industry appears poised for growth in the coming year, with improving economics, more flexible procurement procedures and increasing legislative support, say Emily Huggins Jones and Ben Cowan at Locke Lord.

  • Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

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    Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.

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