5th Circ. Won't Force Aramark To Arbitrate Aetna ERISA Suit

By Lauren Berg

Aetna cannot force food services company Aramark to arbitrate allegations the insurer cost it millions of dollars by approving shoddy health benefit claims, a split Fifth Circuit panel affirmed Thursday, saying the parties' agreement doesn't clearly delegate arbitrability to an arbitrator and the claims seek equitable, not legal, relief.

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Ex-NFL Player Can't Keep $1.9M Atty Fees, 5th Circ. Rules

By David Steele

Former NFL player Michael Cloud was not owed attorney fees by the NFL's retirement plan from his attempt to attain disability benefits, the Fifth Circuit said Thursday, dealing Cloud another defeat after a previous court victory was reversed.

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7th Circ. Declines To Stay Alcoa Life Insurance Injunction

By Emily Brill

An injunction ordering aluminum producer Alcoa USA Corp. to reinstate certain retirees' life insurance benefits will remain active while the company appeals the underlying decision, the Seventh Circuit held Thursday, denying Alcoa's motion to stay the injunction.

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HHS Proposes Hospital Ban On Gender Care For Minors

By Dan McKay

The Trump administration moved to block all hospitals that receive federal funding from providing gender-affirming care to minors and issued warning letters to a dozen companies Thursday as part of a sweeping push to halt the care nationwide, even in states with legal protections in place.

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Brief

AT&T Worker Takes 401(k) Forfeiture Suit To 9th Circ.

By Jack McLoone

An AT&T worker has turned to the Ninth Circuit after a California federal judge spiked his proposed class action alleging that the telecom giant misspent employee 401(k) plan forfeitures. 

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Split 6th Circ. Blocks Michigan's Ban On Conversion Therapy

By Gianna Ferrarin

A split Sixth Circuit panel ordered an injunction on Michigan's conversion therapy ban, ruling the law likely places an unconstitutional restriction on the First Amendment rights of a Catholic charitable organization and a therapist whose faith-based psychotherapy practices fall under the ban.

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Ex-NJ Judge's Firing Suit Revived After Discovery Cured

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state judge on Thursday revived a former Garden State workers' compensation judge's suit alleging she was unconstitutionally removed from her job, ruling over the state's objections that she has now substantially complied with the state's discovery requests.

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Brief

InnovAge Investors Get Final OK For $27M Deal, Atty Fees

By Katryna Perera

A Colorado federal judge has granted final approval to a $27 million settlement between InnovAge Holding Corp., its underwriters and a class of stockholders accusing the senior healthcare company of making misleading statements in an initial public offering that later caused stock prices to tank after a government audit exposed the alleged falsehoods.

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Series

Nature Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Nature photography reminds me to focus on what is in front of me and to slow down to achieve success, and, in embracing the value of viewing situations through different lenses, offers skills transferable to the practice of law, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.

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$3.6B Hogan Lovells, Cadwalader Deal To Form Top 5 Firm

By Kevin Penton

Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft are planning to combine, creating what the firms say will be the world's fifth-largest firm by revenue, they announced Thursday.

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Fake Quotes In Pa. Patent Case Lead To Judicial Rebuke

By James Boyle

Two Barley Snyder attorneys have been directed to explain to a Pennsylvania federal judge how nonexistent quotes from cited cases appeared in a July filing, according to a recently published order that also denied a holiday light clip manufacturer's request for a temporary restraining order preventing a rival company from selling a similar product.

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Calif. AG, Bar Officials Fight Bid To Stop ABS Fee-Sharing Ban

By James Mills

Both the California attorney general and the California State Bar are opposing a California attorney's attempt to block a new law preventing fee-sharing with out-of-state law firms owned by nonlawyers set to go into effect on Jan. 1.

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Boies Schiller Must Face Fla. Fee Suit, Court Told

By Lynn LaRowe

In pushing back on a bid to toss a Florida state court lawsuit against Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and related defendants, a pharmaceutical mass tort law firm and other parties said the lawsuit outlines a clear breach of a nondisclosure agreement and interference with existing business relationships, making the complaint legally sufficient under Sunshine State law.

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Dems Offer Bill To Shine Light On High Court 'Shadow Docket'

By Ryan Boysen

Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to explain its "shadow docket" rulings, criticizing the high court for issuing "harmful, backwards decisions" that "impact millions of Americans' lives" but are often unaccompanied by a formal opinion.

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DC Circ. Told Transferred Ethics Suit Bolsters Newman's Case

By Adam Lidgett

Suspended Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman is contending that a decision in which an ethics complaint against a Fourth Circuit judge was transferred out of his home court bolsters her argument that her fellow circuit judges shouldn't have investigated her fitness to remain on the bench.

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Trump's Picks To Lead FDIC, CFTC Win Senate Approval

By Jon Hill

The U.S. Senate on Thursday signed off on two more of President Donald Trump's picks for top financial regulator jobs, confirming Travis Hill and Michael Selig as chairs of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, respectively.

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Senate Package Includes US Attorney, DC Judge Confirmations

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate confirmed 13 U.S. attorneys and three local judges for the District of Columbia as part of a nominations package confirmed 53-43 along party lines on Thursday.

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Chancery Sr. Magistrate Leaving Bench For Role As Neutral

By Rose Krebs

Delaware's Chancery Court will soon be losing its senior magistrate, as she is returning to private practice to serve as a professional neutral.

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