Washington

  • August 05, 2025

    Epic Games Defeats Bid To Upend Jury Patent Verdict

    A Seattle federal judge Tuesday denied Utherverse Gaming LLC's bid to undo a jury finding from a verdict favoring Epic Games, rejecting Utherverse's contention that a jury leaned on insufficient evidence when rebuffing a claim in its patent for playing back recorded experiences in a virtual world.

  • August 05, 2025

    Wash. Judge Questions Injunctions' Scope In Head Start Case

    A Washington federal judge asked attorneys Tuesday to explain how the U.S. Supreme Court's decision concerning nationwide injunctions might impact efforts by a group of Head Start associations to halt federal directives restricting noncitizen access to the program and use of funds for diversity initiatives.

  • August 05, 2025

    UBH Patients Score Partial Win In Mental Health Claims Fight

    A California federal judge handed a partial win Tuesday to a class of participants in employee health benefit plans who sought coverage for mental health and substance use disorder treatments from United Behavioral Health, holding the company's overly restrictive guidelines breached fiduciary duties under federal benefits law.

  • August 05, 2025

    Microsoft Reaches Injunction Deal With Canadian Firm

    Microsoft Corp. and Canadian business The Search People Enterprises Ltd. have agreed to end a dispute after reaching a deal in which the latter company is barred from infringing intellectual property related to Microsoft's software.

  • August 05, 2025

    Amazon, DC AG Seek To Delay Antitrust Trial To May 2027

    The D.C. Attorney General's Office and Amazon are seeking more time to complete fact discovery in the city's antitrust suit against the online retail giant, asking for the potential trial in the case to be moved from January 2027 to May of that year.

  • August 05, 2025

    States Win Ruling To Shield FEMA Disaster Prevention Funds

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday temporarily barred the Trump administration from redirecting more than $4 billion in funds allocated by Congress for natural disaster mitigation efforts toward other Federal Emergency Management Agency programs.

  • August 05, 2025

    Alaska Airlines Can't Nix Flight Attendant's Surgery Win

    A Washington state appeals court won't disturb a jury's finding that a flight attendant was entitled to coverage of a spine surgery for an injury she sustained while working for Alaska Airlines, saying the trial court judge rightly rejected the airline's proposed jury instruction for its confusion.

  • August 04, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Rival Vegas Newspapers' Deal Was Not Legal 

    The Ninth Circuit handed a win to a Las Vegas newspaper formerly owned by the late billionaire Sheldon Adelson in antitrust litigation accusing the daily of trying to ruin its liberal rival, saying Monday that the papers' joint operating agreement should be dissolved as "unlawful and unenforceable."

  • August 04, 2025

    FCC Told States, Cities To Blame For Broadband Delays

    A trade association representing the global broadband industry told the Federal Communications Commission that state and local practice vary widely when it comes to broadband permitting, with some approvals taking more than a year and fees and bureaucratic delays being a frequent issue.

  • August 04, 2025

    Subcontractor Can't Get Fees In Seattle Sewer Pipeline Saga

    A Washington state appeals court panel will not let a subcontractor recoup roughly $500,000 in legal fees and costs tied to a construction firm's passthrough claims over a county-commissioned sewer pipeline project in Seattle, ruling on Monday the subcontractor was never dubbed the winner in the dispute.

  • August 04, 2025

    9th Circ. Rejects Most Of Sodexo's ERISA Arbitration Push

    The Ninth Circuit said Monday that employers can't unilaterally change Employee Retirement Income Security Act-governed plans to require arbitration, backing the bulk of a trial court ruling that refused to throw out of court a nicotine fee lawsuit against food service company Sodexo.

  • August 04, 2025

    Chemical Group Says Fluoride Judge Got It Wrong

    The American Chemistry Council told the Ninth Circuit that a California federal judge who ruled that current limits on fluoride in drinking water aren't protective enough misinterpreted the Toxic Substances Control Act and urged reversal of his decision.

  • August 04, 2025

    Anthropic Asks 9th Circ. To Review Authors' Class Cert.

    Anthropic PBC has asked the Ninth Circuit to review a California federal judge's class certification of a group of authors suing over use of their books to train artificial intelligence, saying the judge had rushed to approve a class of nearly seven million potential claimants.

  • August 04, 2025

    Boeing Settles Defunct African Airline's 737 Max Fraud Suit

    Boeing has resolved a lawsuit accusing it of duping a South African airline into purchasing faulty 737 Max jets, the parties told a Washington federal judge, ending a case marked by discovery disputes that the judge recently said had "spiraled out of control."

  • August 04, 2025

    Arnold & Porter Expands On West Coast With K&L Gates Team

    Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP is continuing to grow on the West Coast, announcing Monday that it has added seven lawyers from K&L Gates LLP to its newly launched Seattle office and one to its Los Angeles location.

  • August 02, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Limits On ICE Immigration Sweeps In LA

    The Ninth Circuit preserved most of a district court's temporary block on the Trump administration making immigration arrests in the Los Angeles area without probable cause, rejecting the government's request for a stay during its appeal.

  • August 01, 2025

    States Can't Block Trump Admin's Cuts To Science Grants

    A Manhattan federal judge on Friday rejected a request from 16 states to block the Trump administration from cutting millions of dollars in grant funds from the National Science Foundation for scientific research and programs aimed at enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM fields and environmental justice.

  • August 01, 2025

    9th Circ. Lifts Order Halting Trump From Curbing Fed Unions

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday granted the Trump administration's bid to halt an injunction blocking enforcement of President Donald Trump's executive order axing labor contracts covering agencies with "national security" aims, saying in a published opinion that the government was likely to succeed against six unions' First Amendment retaliation claim.

  • August 01, 2025

    Wheeling & Appealing: Midyear Highlights For Every Circuit

    In this special edition of Wheeling & Appealing, we're spotlighting key decisions and developments in every circuit court during the first half of 2025, while also previewing August's most intriguing oral arguments, including a remarkably "fierce" showdown between Edible Arrangements and 1-800-Flowers with millions of dollars in attorney fees on the line.

  • August 01, 2025

    3rd Circ. Asked To Revive Amazon Biometric Data Suit

    A federal judge erred in tossing class claims accusing Amazon of collecting consumers' voice data without their consent, including by finding that a third-party software company was a "financial institution," the named plaintiffs told the Third Circuit

  • August 01, 2025

    Real Estate Recap: Succession Planning, 'Build, Baby, Build'

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including attorney insights into how law firms are winning the succession game, and the Trump administration's efforts to cut red tape for data center projects.

  • August 01, 2025

    9th Circ. Sees 'Everest-Like' Preemption For Credit Union Fees

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Friday rejected a consumer's bid to revive his California class action claims over bounced-check fees at Navy Federal Credit Union, ruling that federal credit unions are exempt from state laws that regulate account fees.

  • August 01, 2025

    X Corp. Must Arbitrate Ex-Twitter Workers' Claims, Cover Fees

    A Seattle federal judge is forcing X Corp. to fully pay the fees for arbitrating the claims of about 150 former Twitter employees in Washington who say they were shorted on bonus and severance pay amid layoffs after Elon Musk took over the social media giant in 2022.

  • August 01, 2025

    9th Circ. Partially Revives Child Porn Victims' Suit Against X

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday partially revived a lawsuit brought by 13-year-old boys who had been sex trafficked alleging X Corp. refused to remove pornographic videos of them, saying Section 230 shields the social media platform from claims it knowingly benefited from sex trafficking, but not from negligence and defective-reporting design claims.

  • August 01, 2025

    AGs Sue Trump Over 'Onslaught Of Pressure' On Trans Care

    The Trump administration has improperly "weaponized" federal laws against drug misbranding, false claims and female genital mutilation as part of a pressure campaign to undermine state protections for gender-affirming care, a coalition of state attorneys general argued in a new suit Friday.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    The Legal Education Status Quo Is No Longer Tenable

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    As underscored by the fallout from California’s February bar exam, legal education and licensure are tethered to outdated systems, and the industry must implement several key reforms to remain relevant and responsive to 21st century legal needs, says Matthew Nehmer at The Colleges of Law.

  • What Dismissal Rulings May Mean For ERISA Forfeiture Cases

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    Following an influx of Employee Retirement Income Security Act class actions challenging the long-standing practice of plan sponsors using plan forfeitures to offset employer contributions, recent motion to dismiss rulings and a U.S. Department of Labor amicus brief may encourage more courts to reject plaintiffs' forfeiture theories, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Relevance Redactions

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    In recent cases addressing redactions that parties sought to apply based on the relevance of information — as opposed to considerations of privilege — courts have generally limited a party’s ability to withhold nonresponsive or irrelevant material, providing a few lessons for discovery strategy, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Opinion

    9th Circ. Customs Fraud Ruling Is Good For US Trade

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    In an era rife with international trade disputes and tariff-evasion schemes that cost billions annually, the Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Island Industries v. Sigma is a major step forward for trade enforcement and for whistleblowers who can expose customs fraud, say attorneys at Singleton Schreiber.

  • Opinion

    Section 1983 Has Promise After End Of Nationwide Injunctions

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the practice of nationwide injunctions in Trump v. Casa, Section 1983 civil rights suits can provide a better pathway to hold the government accountable — but this will require reforms to qualified immunity, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • Series

    Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Learning From Failure

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    While law school often focuses on the importance of precision, correctness and perfection, mistakes are inevitable in real-world practice — but failure is not the opposite of progress, and real talent comes from the ability to recover, rethink and reshape, says Brooke Pauley at Tucker Ellis.

  • AI Infrastructure Growth Brings Unique IP Considerations

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    The explosive rise of artificial intelligence has triggered an equally dramatic transformation in the supporting infrastructure required to meet growing AI demand, and the technology used in these data centers has its own intellectual property considerations to navigate, says Vincent Allen at Carstens Allen.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From ATF Director To BigLaw

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    As a two-time boomerang partner, returning to BigLaw after stints as a U.S. attorney and the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, people ask me how I know when to move on, but there’s no single answer — just clearly set your priorities, says Steven Dettelbach at BakerHostetler.

  • Reverse Bias Rulings Offer Warning About DEI Quotas

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    Several recent holdings confirm that targeted or quota-based diversity programs can substantiate reverse discrimination claims, especially when coupled with an adverse action, so employers should exercise caution before implementing such policies in order to mitigate litigation risk, says Noah Bunzl at Tarter Krinsky.

  • New DOJ Penalty Policy Could Spell Trouble For Cos.

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    In light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s recently published guidance making victim relief a core condition of coordinated resolution crediting, companies facing parallel investigations must carefully calibrate their negotiation strategies to minimize the risk of duplicative penalties, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • APA Relief May Blunt Justices' Universal Injunction Ruling

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    The Administrative Procedure Act’s avenue for universal preliminary relief seems to hold the most promise for neutralizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. CASA to limit federal district courts' nationally applicable orders, say attorneys at Crowell.

  • Managing Risks As State AGs Seek To Fill Enforcement Gap

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    Given an unprecedented surge in state attorney general activity resulting from significant shifts in federal enforcement priorities, companies must consider tailored strategies for navigating the ever-evolving risk landscape, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

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    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

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