Washington

  • March 31, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Stay Injunction On Transgender Troop Ban

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday denied the federal government's bid for an emergency stay that would have allowed the U.S. Department of Defense to move forward with the Trump administration's ban on transgender military service following a Washington federal judge's decision to block the prohibition last week.

  • March 31, 2025

    Ex-Blood Bank Atty Goes Back To Ballard Spahr In Phoenix

    Ballard Spahr LLP has picked up a former in-house intellectual property lawyer from nonprofit blood bank Vitalant who had worked at the law firm a little over a decade ago.

  • March 31, 2025

    Insurer Off The Hook For Tribe's COVID Casino Shutdown

    Lexington Insurance Co. does not owe a Washington tribe business-loss coverage after COVID-19 forced the shutdown of the tribe's casino, a Washington state appeals court said Monday, ruling that the virus did not cause direct physical loss or damage to tribal properties.

  • March 31, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives Investor Suit Over $8B Avalara Sale

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday partially revived a proposed class action accusing tax software company Avalara Inc. of underselling investors on its future prospects before taking the company private in an $8.4 billion deal.

  • March 31, 2025

    Minimum Wage Orders Blocked For H-2A Farmworkers In Wash.

    The U.S. Department of Labor may not approve minimum wage job orders for migrant farmworkers in Washington state, a federal judge has ruled, saying seasonal farmworkers with H-2A visas must receive paychecks that don't depress agricultural wages in the area.

  • March 31, 2025

    JB Hunt Drivers Urge 9th Circ. To Revive Piece-Rate Wage Suit

    Delivery truck drivers urged the Ninth Circuit to revive their wage-and-hour suit alleging J.B. Hunt used a piece-rate formula that did not separately compensate for tasks done off-the-clock, which included fueling trucks or completing paperwork, arguing Monday the company's system ultimately failed to pay drivers for all hours worked. 

  • March 31, 2025

    Insurer Must Cover $2.4M Water Damage, Condo Owners Say

    A Washington condo association has filed a federal consumer protection complaint against Country Casualty Insurance Co., alleging $2.4 million in unpaid claims for hidden water damage to exterior sheathing and framing the condo association says is covered by its property insurance policy.

  • March 31, 2025

    Amazon's Bid To Kick Drivers From Pay Suit Mostly Denied

    A Washington federal judge agreed to oust only two of the 11 workers Amazon asked to dismiss from an 8-year-old suit accusing the company of misclassifying drivers as independent contractors, saying the other nine made enough effort to comply with discovery.

  • March 31, 2025

    Wachtell, S&C Build Mechanics Bank, HomeStreet Merger

    Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz LLP-advised Mechanics Bank on Monday announced plans to merge with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP-led HomeStreet Bank in a deal that will create a combined company with 168 branches and $23 billion in assets.

  • March 28, 2025

    Grocery Vendor Gets $3M In Atty Fees In Bony Chicken Case

    A Washington federal judge has awarded an Evergreen State grocery vendor about $3 million in attorney fees following its $10.5 million jury trial win in its case blaming a poultry producer for a lost chicken burger deal with Trader Joe's, acknowledging the "excellent work" of the plaintiff's counsel while stopping short of granting the full $4.5 million fee request.

  • March 28, 2025

    Google Privacy Fight Raises 'Classic' Trial Issues, Judge Says

    A California federal judge Friday doubted consumers' bid to certify a class of Chrome users in a revived lawsuit accusing Google of surreptitiously collecting their data while also observing that the case raises "classic" trial questions and asking how else Americans could "tell corporations what they believe to be offensive?"

  • March 28, 2025

    Wash. Uber Driver Fails To Upend Arbitration Over Termination

    A Washington federal judge has thrown out an ex-Uber driver's case seeking to block the ride-hailing company from forcing him to settle his wrongful termination dispute in arbitration, despite the plaintiff's argument that a 2024 U.S. Supreme Court ruling upended the company's case for arbitration.  

  • March 28, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Toss Of 3D Printer Co. Derivative Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday affirmed the dismissal of a derivative suit brought by a venture capital firm over an $11 million investment it made in a 3D printing company, with the panel finding the lower court correctly tossed the suit due to previous and ongoing "outside entanglements" between the parties.

  • March 28, 2025

    2nd Judge Grants Injunction Against DOD's Transgender Ban

    A Washington state federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's ban on transgender troops following a similar move by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., finding that the prohibition blatantly discriminates based on gender status and sex without any justifying evidence.

  • March 28, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Maui County's Win In Religious Land-Use Suit

    The Ninth Circuit is backing a Hawaii county's jury trial victory over a nonprofit's Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act lawsuit, ruling on Friday that the lower court rightfully sided with the county even though it erred by including a certain jury instruction.

  • March 28, 2025

    Kroger, Albertsons Appeal Block Of $24.6B Merger

    Kroger and Albertsons say they plan to appeal a Washington state judge's ruling that blocked the $24.6 billion merger of the grocery chains and determined the state could collect legal costs for prevailing in its Consumer Protection Act suit opposing the deal.

  • March 28, 2025

    Protego Says Texas Firm Broke $200M Crypto Bank Promise

    Protego Holdings Corp. said a Texas-based firm promised to invest $200 million in its launch of a cryptocurrency bank but delivered only excuses as the funding failed to materialize and a rare conditional approval from the U.S. government lapsed when financing wasn't in place.

  • March 27, 2025

    FTC Seeks Amazon Execs' Financials For Prime Renewal Suit

    The Federal Trade Commission urged a Washington federal court to make several Amazon executives hand over an accounting of their assets and liabilities, saying the financial information was essential for determining civil penalties in its lawsuit accusing the e-commerce giant of trapping consumers into renewing Prime subscriptions.

  • March 27, 2025

    Video Privacy Law Doesn't Hit Movie Theaters, 9th Circ. Says

    The federal Video Privacy Protection Act doesn't cover companies that offer "a classic in-theater moviegoing experience," the Ninth Circuit ruled Thursday in affirming the dismissal of a putative class action accusing Landmark Theatres of violating the law by sharing ticket buyers' information with Facebook.

  • March 27, 2025

    'Success By Health' Execs Fight $7.3M FTC Win At 9th Circ.

    Executives behind the alleged "Success By Health" pyramid scheme urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to reverse a $7.3 million compensatory sanction and asset-freeze injunction, arguing the sanction wasn't tied to actual loss and the lower court shouldn't have frozen assets following the high court's 2021 AMG v. FTC ruling.

  • March 27, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives Monsanto Roundup Expiration Label Fight

    Consumers can pursue their proposed class claims against Monsanto that ingredients in its Roundup herbicides could form a dangerous cancer-causing substance, but not against a distributor, the Ninth Circuit ruled Thursday.

  • March 27, 2025

    Shade Store Customers Seek Class Cert. In Deceptive Ad Suit

    A pair of Washington residents are seeking to certify a class of thousands of consumers in a case alleging The Shade Store violated Washington's consumer protection law with fake buy-now ads.

  • March 27, 2025

    Chamber Asks Justices To Review Duke Energy Monopoly Suit

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to review a decision that revived a case accusing Duke Energy of squeezing a rival out of the market in North Carolina, saying the appeals court was wrong to recognize a "Frankenstein's monster" theory of harm.

  • March 27, 2025

    WordPerfect Software Co. Settles 'Alludo' TM Suit In Wash.

    The company behind the 1990s word-processing application WordPerfect has settled a Washington-based education technology firm's lawsuit accusing it of stealing a trademarked name for a 2022 revamp, ending the case ahead of an early April trial date in Seattle federal court.

  • March 27, 2025

    Nu Skin Can't Avoid Distributor Dispute In Wash. Court

    The Washington Supreme Court said Thursday that Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. can't jettison a case in Washington state court and force product distributors to go to Utah to settle claims that the multilevel marketing company violated a Washington law against pyramid schemes, in a question that had split lower appellate courts.

Expert Analysis

  • Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind

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    As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence

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    As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.

  • Series

    Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

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    Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

  • Firms Still Have Lateral Market Advantage, But Risks Persist

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the fourth quarter of 2024 shows that we’re in a new, stable era of lateral hiring where firms have the edge, but leaders should proceed cautiously, looking beyond expected revenue and compensation analyses for potential risks, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Opinion

    We Must Allow Judges To Use Their Independent Judgment

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    As two recent cases show, the ability of judges to access their independent judgment crucially enables courts to exercise the discretion needed to reach the right outcome based on the unique facts within the law, says John Siffert at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: March Lessons

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    In this month's review of class actions appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses three federal appellate court decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving antitrust allegations against coupon processing services, consumer fraud and class action settlements.

  • Series

    Performing Stand-Up Comedy Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Whether I’m delivering a punchline on stage or a closing argument in court, balancing stand-up comedy performances and my legal career has demonstrated that the keys to success in both endeavors include reading the room, landing the right timing and making an impact, says attorney Rebecca Palmer.

  • Bias Suit Shows WNBA Growing Pains On Court And In Court

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    A newly filed disability discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the Los Angeles Sparks is the latest in a series of employment discrimination disputes filed by WNBA professionals, highlighting teams' obligation to meet elevated workplace expectations and the league's role in facilitating an inclusive work environment, say attorneys at Michelman & Robinson.

  • Unpacking The Illicit E-Cigarette Crackdown By State AGs

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    A bipartisan coalition of attorneys general for nine states and the District of Columbia announced a coordinated effort to curb illicit electronic cigarette sales, illustrating the rising prominence of state attorneys general using consumer protection laws to address issues of national scope, especially when federal efforts prove ineffective, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From SEC To BigLaw

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    As I adjusted to the multifaceted workflow of a BigLaw firm after leaving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, working side by side with new colleagues on complex matters proved the fastest way to build a deep rapport and demonstrate my value, says Jennifer Lee at Jenner & Block.

  • Making The Case For Rest In The Legal Profession

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    For too long, a culture of overwork has plagued the legal profession, but research shows that attorneys need rest to perform optimally and sustainably, so legal organizations and individuals must implement strategies that allow for restoration, says Marissa Alert at MDA Wellness, Carol Ross-Burnett at CRB Global, and Denise Robinson at The Still Center.

  • 4 Ways Women Attorneys Can Build A Legal Legacy

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    This Women’s History Month, women attorneys should consider what small, day-to-day actions they can take to help leave a lasting impact for future generations, even if it means mentoring one person or taking 10 minutes to make a plan, says Jackie Prester, a former shareholder at Baker Donelson.

  • Bid Protest Roundup: Prejudice, Injunctions, New Regulations

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Markus Speidel at MoFo looks at three recent decisions that consider whether a past performance evaluation needs to show prejudice to be successfully challenged, the prerequisites for injunctive relief and the application of new regulatory requirements to indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts.

  • Unpacking First Consumer Claim Under Wash. Health Data Act

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    The first consumer class action claim filed under Washington's My Health My Data Act, Maxwell v. Amazon.com, may answer questions counsel have been contending with since the law was introduced almost a year ago, if the court takes the opportunity to interpret some of more opaque language, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

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