More US Attorneys Out In Three States

By Ryan Harroff

U.S. Attorney Dena J. King of the Western District of North Carolina announced that she is stepping down from her role as the district's top prosecutor, joining her counterparts in California's Southern District and the District of Maryland in the recent parade of U.S. attorneys to leave their posts since President Donald Trump retook the White House.

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Court Must Curb Elon Musk's 'Limitless' Power, States Say

By Carolyn Muyskens

Fourteen states filed suit against Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency on Thursday, saying the cost-cutting agency and its leader have been granted unprecedented power over the federal government without Congress' approval.

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Musk Says He'll Drop OpenAI Bid If It Scraps 'For Profit' Plans

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Elon Musk has hit back at OpenAI's claim that his $97.375 billion takeover bid is improper, noting if the ChatGPT maker agrees to nix plans to become a for-profit business, his offer will be dropped. 

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Deals Rumor Mill

Musk's $97B OpenAI Bid Dubbed A 'Stunt' Amid Other Rumors

By Al Barbarino

After a Wall Street Journal report on Monday revealed that a consortium of investors led by Elon Musk was offering $97.4 billion to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI, rumors began to swirl regarding the true intentions behind the billionaire's bid.

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9th Circ. Panel Doubts SEC's 'Gag Rule' Violates Free Speech

By Dorothy Atkins

A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday appeared to doubt a First Amendment challenge to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's "gag rule" that settling parties cannot deny allegations against them, as each judge noted that the agreements are voluntary.

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Kimberly-Clark, P&G Dodge Tampon Fraud Claims, For Now

By Rae Ann Varona

A California federal judge on Thursday dismissed a woman's fraud claims accusing Kimberly-Clark and Procter & Gamble of touting their Tampax and Kotex tampons as safe despite containing toxic levels of lead, saying that the putative class actions she filed lacked details on tests she asserted discovered the lead.

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SoCal Judge Admonished For 'Demeaning' Female Lawyers

By Rachel Scharf

A Southern California judge was publicly reprimanded by the state's judicial discipline agency Thursday for a yearslong "pattern of discourteous, undignified and impatient behavior" toward female attorneys, including the use of profanities and inappropriate gestures meant to convey the act of pumping breast milk. 

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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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Trump Picks Atty Who Worked At Apple To Head NHTSA

By Rae Ann Varona

President Donald Trump has tapped Jonathan Morrison, an attorney with an automotive background who most recently worked at Apple Inc., to head the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, according to a recent U.S. Senate filing.

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Dem AGs Urge Companies To Keep DEI Programs In Place

By Patrick Hoff

A coalition of 16 Democratic state attorneys general told companies Thursday not to immediately scrap programs meant to promote diversity, equity and inclusion within their organizations, saying these initiatives are largely legal despite threats from President Donald Trump's administration.

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9th Circ. Revives Air Force Guam Munitions Disposal Dispute

By Daniel Wilson

The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived a Guam community group's challenge to the U.S. Air Force's request for a renewed permit to explode expired munitions on the island, finding that the Air Force did not conduct a required environmental review.

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'Life's Smaller' After Universal Ride Injury, LA Jury Hears

By Rachel Scharf

A woman testified in Los Angeles federal court Thursday that she suffers from debilitating back pain after falling from a "Harry Potter" ride at Universal Studios Hollywood, telling jurors she can no longer comfortably do household chores, travel or experience amusement park attractions with her grandson.

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9th Circ. Won't Undo Meta's $725M Privacy Suit

By Lauren Berg

The Ninth Circuit on Thursday affirmed Meta Platforms Inc.'s $725 million settlement resolving privacy claims over the Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal, finding that the California district court conducted a full review of the deal's terms before approving it.

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After Winning $18M, ASUSTek Foe Asks For New Patent Trial

By Andrew Karpan

A patent litigation company that obtained a nearly $18 million award from a federal jury in Waco, Texas, against Taiwanese computer manufacturer ASUSTeK says it wants to try winning some more money at a new trial, though the company admitted it "recognizes the extraordinary nature of the relief it is requesting."

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Jury Clears Cisco In IP Trial Over Routers, Axes Patent

By Andrew Karpan

A patent licensing company has failed for a third time to land a successful infringement lawsuit in the Western District of Texas, after a jury rejected its $19.3 million case against Cisco.

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Artists, AI Image Cos. At Odds Over Scale Of Depositions

By Andrea Keckley

Artists in a proposed artificial intelligence copyright infringement class action against four companies that make or distribute software creating images with text prompts are at odds with the defendants over how many of their witnesses they should be allowed to depose, according to a filing in California federal court.

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Punchbowl Inc. Drops Appeal In Punchbowl News TM Feud

By Andrea Keckley

Massachusetts-based greeting card and event planning business Punchbowl Inc. has dropped its Ninth Circuit appeal of a California federal judge's August decision tossing the trademark infringement claims it leveled against the publication Punchbowl News.

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House Republican Debuts Independent Contractor Status Test

By Max Kutner

A U.S. House Republican who has vocally opposed Democratic-backed analyses for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee announced two bills related to the issue Thursday, proposing a new worker classification standard in one of the measures.

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Ex-Angels Staffer Says Attys Botched Skaggs Overdose Case

By Elliot Weld

A former Los Angeles Angels press officer asked a Texas federal judge to undo the 22-year prison sentence he's currently serving after being convicted of giving pitcher Tyler Skaggs fentanyl-laced pills that caused his fatal overdose in 2019.

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Origin Investors Fixed 'Fatally Vague' Fraud Claim, Judge Says

By Katryna Perera

A California federal judge has ruled that investors' fraud claims against sustainable materials-maker Origin Materials and its co-CEO can move forward, saying the plaintiffs have provided additional details from a confidential witness the judge previously found to be "fatally vague."

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SEC Nets $38M In Judgments Over Cannabis Fraud Claims

By Emilie Ruscoe

A purported marijuana cultivation company and associated entities are on the hook for judgments worth nearly $38 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims over an alleged Ponzi-like scheme soliciting would-be investors in "nonexistent" grow facilities.

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Willkie-Led Defense Firm Karman Prices Upsized $506M IPO

By Tom Zanki

Shares of Karman Holdings Inc. soared in debut trading Thursday after the defense and space systems firm priced an upsized $506 million above its marketed range, raising money for Karman and its private equity shareholders, represented by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkins LLP.

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Paul Hastings, Cooley Lead Obesity-Focused Aardvark's IPO

By Tom Zanki

Obesity-focused Aardvark Therapeutics Inc. began trading Thursday after pricing a $94 million initial public offering at the bottom of its range, represented by Paul Hastings LLP and underwriters' counsel Cooley LLP, joining a string of biotechnology firms to go public recently.

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4th Judge Rejects Trump's Take On Birthright Citizenship

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday joined three other U.S. district courts in blocking President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship, rejecting the administration's interpretation of the 14th Amendment.

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9th Circ. Upholds DEA Denial Of Psilocybin Petition

By Sam Reisman

The Ninth Circuit on Thursday affirmed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's rejection of a Seattle physician's request to treat terminally ill patients with psilocybin.

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US Will Weigh In As Justices Consider $1.3B India Award Suit

By Nadia Dreid

The Trump administration is going to get argument time in front of the justices when the corporate arm of India's space agency faces off against a satellite telecom over the enforcement of a $1.3 billion arbitration award at the nation's highest court.

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Willkie Expands Litigation Bench With Mayer Brown Trio

By Emily Johnson

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP has brought on three former Mayer Brown LLP partners in California and Washington, D.C., including two former federal prosecutors, and named one of the new partners as chair of its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act group, the firm announced Thursday.

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Disability Ruling Guides On Cases With Uncertain Causation

In Dime v. MetLife, a Washington federal court’s recent ruling in favor of a disability claimant instructs both claimants and insurers on the appropriate standard for establishing and making a disability determination when there is limited medical evidence explaining the disability’s cause, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.

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In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege

Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.

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SDNY US Atty Resigns, Alleging Trump-Adams 'Quid Pro Quo'

By Frank G. Runyeon

Danielle R. Sassoon, the interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, resigned Thursday after she refused an order by U.S. Department of Justice officials to drop the federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and expressed concern the move was part of an improper quid pro quo with President Donald Trump.

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Trump Ally Seeks To Limit Judges' Sway Over White House

By Courtney Bublé

A conservative legal group run by an ally of President Donald Trump is working on legislation to restrain judges that it deems politicized, in the wake of rulings against the Trump administration's actions.

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Goldstein Freed As Judge Doubts Feds' Crypto Claims

By Ali Sullivan

A Maryland federal magistrate judge on Thursday ordered Tom Goldstein released from jail after expressing skepticism toward federal prosecutors' claims that the SCOTUSblog publisher and U.S. Supreme Court advocate secretly made millions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency transactions in recent days.

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Analysis

Small But Mighty Busy: 1st Circ. A Hub For Anti-Trump Suits

By Chris Villani

The Boston-based First Circuit will play an outsize role in litigation challenging the aggressive start to President Donald Trump's second administration, but the liberal stronghold's philosophic divergence with the U.S. Supreme Court may make any victories fleeting.

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Lawsuit Trimmed Over Holland & Knight Atty's File Access

By Matthew Santoni

A Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday trimmed most of a lawsuit that one Philadelphia law firm had filed against another over an attorney's alleged unauthorized access to confidential files as part of his divorce.

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Analysis

4 Takeaways From 1st Opinion On AI Training And Fair Use

By Ivan Moreno

A Delaware federal court's rejection of a company's fair use defense for using copyrighted material to train an artificial intelligence program is a key moment in the clash between copyright law and AI development, as both intellectual property owners and tech companies seek favorable judicial guidance.

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DOJ Fraud Attorney Rejoins Akin As FCPA Work Stops

By Jack Rodgers

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has rehired a departing member of the U.S. Department of Justice's fraud section, which has seen significant exits following the reelection of President Donald Trump.

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Kash Patel's FBI Director Nomination Goes To Full Senate

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10, along party lines, Thursday to send Kash Patel's nomination to be FBI director to the full Senate.

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