Paralegal Tells NC Justices Not To Disturb Appellate Victory

By Hayley Fowler

The convicted former paralegal of a disbarred attorney has urged North Carolina's highest court to let stand an intermediate appellate ruling offering her another chance to dismiss the state's embezzlement charges against her, arguing the decision doesn't meet the high bar for review.

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Former NC Utilities Commission Chair Joins McGuireWoods

By Andrea Keckley

McGuireWoods LLP announced Wednesday that the former chair of the North Carolina Utilities Commission is the latest addition to its energy regulatory and enforcement teams.

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NC Hospital Beats Weight Loss Clinic's Trademark Suit

By Ryan Harroff

A North Carolina federal judge tossed a Tar Heel State weight loss clinic's trademark infringement suit, calling the clinic's mark "relatively weak" and finding it has "very little similarity" to the purportedly infringing mark used by the hospital and healthcare provider it sued.

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More Students Sue Over Scrapped Foreign Student Records

By Madeline Lyskawa

More than 130 international students accused the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of abruptly and unlawfully terminating digital visa compliance records, saying in a complaint filed in Georgia federal court that the data deletion puts them at risk of arrest, detention and deportation. 

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Fla. Realty Co. Sued Over Home Liens Told To Pay Ch. 11 Bills

By David Minsky

A Florida bankruptcy judge on Wednesday said he would approve judgments ordering a realty company sued over predatory listing contracts that effectively acted as liens on homes to pay more than $800,000 in Chapter 11 fees, including to attorneys representing homeowners allegedly duped into signing the agreements.

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Brief

Ex-Operations Manager, NC School Settle Racial Bias Case

By Hayley Fowler

A Black former operations manager for a North Carolina charter school has voluntarily dropped his suit accusing his ex-employer of discriminating against him and firing him under false pretenses, according to a joint motion filed in federal court.

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Solicitor General's Office Now Features Two Top Lieutenants

By Jeff Overley

Mere days after the U.S. Solicitor General's Office got a new leader, it also got a new leadership structure featuring two BigLaw alums in the traditional second-in-command post, according to a hearing list the U.S. Supreme Court released Thursday.

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Jenner & Block Fights DOJ Bid To Toss Exec Order Suit

By Ryan Boysen

Jenner & Block LLP on Thursday urged a D.C. federal court to reject the government's bid to dismiss its lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the firm, saying the "legal profession as a whole is watching."

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4th Circ. Refuses To Halt Abrego Garcia Probe In Sharp Order

By Dorothy Atkins

A Fourth Circuit panel on Thursday rejected the Trump administration's "extraordinary" emergency motion to stay a discovery order in litigation over Kilmar Abrego Garcia's deportation to El Salvador, while cautioning the administration against ignoring federal courts, saying it could degrade both executive and judicial branch powers and that "law in time will sign its epitaph."

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K&L Gates Bungled Crypto Co.'s Bankruptcy Claim, Suit Says

By Aislinn Keely

Gryphon Digital Mining has sued its former counsel K&L Gates LLP, claiming it dropped the ball on a bankruptcy filing that cost the company millions of dollars and complicated another legal case, all while allegedly overbilling the crypto mining firm by $1 million for related matters.

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Akerman Sues To Block Malpractice Claim, Secure $750K Fees

By Jake Maher

Akerman LLP sued the healthcare services company Rennova Health Inc. and three medical laboratories in Florida state court this week, alleging that they owe the firm about $750,000 in unpaid fees and are now threatening to sue the firm for malpractice even though they have already released any claims.

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Calif. Judge To Resign Over Misconduct Amid Office Romance

By Jack Karp

A California state judge will resign and be barred from serving on the bench after engaging in misconduct that included pretending to be the lawyer for his judicial secretary with whom he was having an affair, according to a Thursday decision.

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LegalZoom Scores Arbitration In Unlawful Practice Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A suit accusing online legal services provider LegalZoom of engaging in the unauthorized practice of law will head to arbitration, after a New Jersey federal judge ruled the claims fall within the scope of an enforceable arbitration agreement.

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Judge Accused Of Sexting, Misusing Bench For Ex-Client

By Thy Vo

A Colorado state judge improperly used his position to help a former client with legal advice and exchanged sexually explicit texts with her while on the bench, according to a judicial disciplinary complaint that also alleged the judge failed to disclose their "prior sexting" when he later presided over her case.

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High Court Sets Arguments Over Birthright Pause

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ordered special oral arguments over President Donald Trump's bid to pause or limit three nationwide court orders prohibiting implementation of his executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship, keeping the president's mandate on hold until at least mid-May.

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Top Democrats Urge DOJ To Defend GAO's Legislative Status

By Courtney Bublé

Three top House Democrats are looking for assurances from the U.S. Department of Justice that it will "zealously defend" a government watchdog in upcoming litigation by a conservative legal organization that challenges its status in the government.

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Debt Firm's Successor, Ch. 11 Trustee End Latest Pay Dispute

By Daniel Connolly

A law firm that bought thousands of client files left over from the collapse of bankrupt California-based debt relief business Litigation Practice Group PC has agreed to pay nearly $1 million to the bankruptcy estate to help settle a payment dispute that began months ago.

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'Latter-Day Machiavelli' Defamed Calif. Law Firm, Court Told

By Rose Krebs

California employment law firm Lawyers for Justice PC has filed a suit in state court accusing one of its former clients of defamation in what the firm calls "a scorched-earth crusade against her former attorneys."

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen the producers of West End show "Elf the Musical" face a contract dispute, Korean biotech company ToolGen Inc. bring a fresh patents claim against pharma giant Vertex, and ousted car tycoon Peter Waddell bring a claim against the private equity firm that backed his business. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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