Analysis

Texas' Bid To Launch Stock Exchange Moves Forward

By Tom Zanki

As the owner of the new Texas Stock Exchange LLC gears up to begin trading by next year, capital markets attorneys are closely watching how the company plans to penetrate a market long dominated by two New York-based juggernauts.

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Texas Appeals Court Wipes Exxon's $2.5M Oil Cleanup Verdict

By Catherine Marfin

A Texas appeals court has wiped a more than $2.5 million verdict for ExxonMobil Pipeline Co., finding that successive owners of its pipeline hadn't agreed to assume the cleanup costs of an oil spill.

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5th Circ. Won't Revisit HHS Win On Scope Of ACA

By Grace Elletson

The Fifth Circuit has declined to conduct an en banc rehearing after an appellate panel upheld a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule that said the Affordable Care Act forbids against transgender bias in healthcare, but one judge argued the court got its analysis wrong.

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Jackson Walker Ethics Case Shelved Over Lack Of Authority

By Emily Sawicki

A Houston federal judge on Monday recommended closing an ethics case against Jackson Walker LLP over its supposed knowledge of a firm attorney's relationship with a judge, finding the court lacked the authority to pursue sanctions against a law firm.

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Fed. Circ. Questions Mitek's Fears Of USAA Check Patent Suit

By Ryan Davis

A Federal Circuit panel appeared skeptical of banking software company Mitek Systems Inc.'s effort to revive a suit seeking a declaration that it is not infringing check deposit patents United Services Automobile Association has won millions from suing over, suggesting Monday it seems like Mitek won't also be sued.

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Power Cos., States Ask DC Circ. To Dispose Of Coal Ash Rule

By Tom Lotshaw

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acted arbitrarily and well beyond its authority when it enacted a new rule to strengthen federal regulations for coal ash, a score of electric utility entities and Republican-led states told the D.C. Circuit.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2025 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2025 editorial advisory boards.

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DOJ's LA Fitness ADA Suit May Be 'Inadequate,' Judge Says

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge expressed doubts Monday about the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit alleging that LA Fitness failed to accommodate patrons with disabilities and said the court so far finds the pleadings to be "inadequate" in arguing there is a "pattern and practice" of discrimination.

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Fired SpaceX Workers Want To Know Where Musk Was

By Craig Clough

An attorney representing fired SpaceX workers urged a California federal judge Monday to reconsider a previous judge's ruling that the retaliation case does not belong in state court and to allow her clients access to records about CEO Elon Musk's past movements to prove the location from which he directed the company.

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Brief

PetroQuest Gets OK For $20.6M Texas Oilfield Sale

By Rick Archer

A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Monday approved the $20.6 million sale of PetroQuest Energy's East Texas oilfields, more than two years after a failed attempt to sell those fields sparked a lawsuit that helped land the company in Chapter 11.

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5th Circ. Panel Split On NLRB Case After Post-Loper Remand

By Braden Campbell

Members of a Fifth Circuit panel appeared split Monday about whether to once again uphold a National Labor Relations Board decision letting its acting prosecutor pull a pending suit in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year to scale back courts' deference to federal agencies.

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CFPB Small Biz Rules Outstrip Authority, 5th Circ. Hears

By Spencer Brewer

The Texas Bankers Association asked a Fifth Circuit panel on Monday to kill the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new small business minority data rule during oral arguments, while the panel questioned what to do with the case given the agency's leadership change.

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Texas Can Help Feds With Noncitizen Arrests, Judge Says

By Tom Lotshaw

A Texas federal judge has modified an injunction blocking a controversial Texas immigration law to clarify that law enforcement in the Lone Star State can help federal agencies with initiatives to arrest and detain unauthorized immigrants.

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Gilstrap Tells Patent Atty To 'Relearn The Fundamentals'

By Andrew Karpan

U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap has decided that a "public admonition" is a more appropriate punishment than legal fines for a lawyer whose client was called a "patent troll" by opponents, ordering the attorney to "relearn the fundamentals of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure."

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USAA Fails To Flip PTAB Loss In $218M EDTX Case

By Andrew Karpan

Federal Circuit judges decided Monday to affirm an administrative board's rulings that wiped out claims in two patents, including one that is tied to a $218.45 million jury verdict leveled against PNC Bank in a patent case in the Eastern District of Texas.

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Sidley Adds Paul Hastings Energy, Finance Pro In Houston

By Jake Maher

Sidley Austin LLP added a former Paul Hastings LLP partner specializing in energy industry transactions to its energy, transportation and finance team in Houston, the firm announced Monday.

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Kiromic SEC Order Shows Importance Of Self-Reporting

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently filed settled charges against Kiromic BioPharma illustrate the critical intersection between U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory processes and investor disclosures under the securities laws, and showcase how responding promptly to internal whistleblower reports may reap benefits, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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Disciplinary Rule Updates Every Texas Lawyer Needs To Know

Sweeping amendments to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct that recently went into effect provide essential clarity and modernity to rules governing conflicts of interest, client confidentiality and duties to prospective clients, says Robert Tobey at Johnston Tobey.

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How High Court May Rule In First Step Act Resentencing Case

U.S. Supreme Court justices grappled with verb tenses and statutory intent in recent oral arguments in Hewitt v. U.S., a case involving an anomalous resentencing issue under the First Step Act, and though they may hold that the statute is unambiguous, they could also decide the case on narrow, practical grounds, say attorneys at Bracewell.

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4 Keys To Litigating In An Active Regulatory Environment

For companies facing litigation influenced by government regulatory action — a recent trend that a politically charged atmosphere will exacerbate — there are a few principles that can help to align litigation strategy with broader public positioning in the regulatory and oversight context, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

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Series

Documentary Filmmaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Becoming a documentary filmmaker has allowed me to merge my legal expertise with my passion for storytelling, and has helped me to hone negotiation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are important to both endeavors, says Robert Darwell at Sheppard Mullin.

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Senate Confirms Pam Bondi To Be AG

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 54-46 on Tuesday to confirm Pam Bondi to be attorney general.

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'Is This A Joke?' Judge Denies Atty Fees For Grocery Patrons

By Bryan Koenig

A California federal judge had so little tolerance for shoppers claiming victory and seeking attorney fees from the abandoned Kroger-Albertsons merger that in tossing their motion and underlying lawsuit he noted with incredulity, "Plaintiffs are actually making these arguments."

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Trump Selects McKinsey CLO For Commerce Department GC

By Hailey Konnath

President Donald Trump on Monday nominated McKinsey & Co.'s Chief Legal Officer Pierre Gentin to serve as the next general counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, according to congressional records.

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Haynes Boone Adds 7-Atty Seward & Kissel Team In NY

By Christine DeRosa

Haynes Boone has grown its fund finance and securitization practices with the addition of seven attorneys from Seward & Kissel LLP, including the head of the firm's asset securitization and CLO practice group.

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Former Conn. US Attorney Returns To McCarter & English

By Christine DeRosa

Vanessa Roberts Avery, who recently stepped down as U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, has returned to her roots as a business litigator at McCarter & English LLP in Hartford, Connecticut.

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Analysis

Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

By Jeff Overley

February is off to a rip-roaring start in several circuits, and there's plenty more action ahead, including a moment of truth for judiciary policymaking that has managed to anger both the defense and plaintiffs bars. We'll explore all that in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing, which also includes an appellate quiz pegged to recent presidential news.

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DOJ Criminal Division Leader Joins White & Case's DC Shop

By Jack Rodgers

White & Case LLP announced on Tuesday it was growing its white collar team with the addition of partner Brent Wible, who told Law360 Pulse that it was time for him to step back into private practice following a five-year stint with the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Trump Picks AG Paxton Atty For Homeland Security Dept.

By Catherine Marfin

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's special counsel, who is also a former member of President Donald Trump's reelection campaign, has been tapped for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Paxton announced Tuesday.

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