A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday appeared to question the constitutionality of President Donald Trump's executive order aiming to limit birthright citizenship, considering whether to follow district courts in Washington state and Maryland in blocking the move.
Law360
Massachusetts
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Trump Birthright Citizenship Order Faces Scrutiny In 3rd Court

By Julie Manganis and Brian Dowling

A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday appeared to question the constitutionality of President Donald Trump's executive order aiming to limit birthright citizenship, considering whether to follow district courts in Washington state and Maryland in blocking the move.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Mass. State Sen. Gets 18 Months For Pandemic, Tax Fraud

By Julie Manganis

A former Massachusetts state senator was sentenced to 18 months in prison Friday after being convicted of fraudulently collecting pandemic unemployment benefits and failing to report consulting income he was also earning at the time on his tax returns.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Isn't Obeying Order To Unfreeze Funds, States Say

By Lauren Berg

The Trump administration is not complying with a temporary restraining order barring a freeze on funding for federal grant and aid programs, a coalition of states told a Rhode Island federal judge Friday, asking the court to enforce its order and to enter a stiffer injunction blocking the funding freeze.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOGE Access To Treasury Payment System Blocked By Judge

By Hailey Konnath and Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge blocked the access of Elon Musk and staffers of his temporary Department of Government Efficiency to U.S. Department of the Treasury payment systems Saturday and ordered them to destroy data already obtained, after state attorneys general sued, calling that access "dangerous" and unlawful.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Brother Of Aaron Hernandez Gets Time Served For Threats

By Elliot Weld

The older brother of convicted murderer and deceased former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was sentenced to time served by a Connecticut federal judge on Friday, after pleading guilty to threatening a state judge and claiming he would go on a shooting spree at the University of Connecticut.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

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.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

POLICY & REGULATION

US Patent Commissioner Steps Down Amid Resignation Push

By Theresa Schliep

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's patent commissioner has resigned from her position, marking a significant departure for the agency amid the Trump administration's whirlwind effort to slash the federal workforce.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DEALS

3 Firms Guide Bain On $3.4B Japanese Pharma Co. Buy

By Al Barbarino

Bain Capital said Friday it has agreed to acquire Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp. from Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corp., in a carveout transaction that values the target at approximately JPY 510 billion, or about $3.36 billion.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Activist Elliott Takes Aim At $7.2B AspenTech-Emerson Deal

By Al Barbarino

Activist investment firm Elliott Investment Management said Friday it has amassed a more than $1.5 billion stake in Aspen Technology, stating that AspenTech's plan to sell off its remaining shares for $7.2 billion to global technology company Emerson undervalues the business.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

Real Estate Recap: Evolving CRE Finance, Tariffs, PFAS

By Real Estate Authority Staff

Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including how modern commercial real estate financing has changed the way real estate lawyers practice, as well as insights from Big Law attorneys on two major topics of 2025: tariffs and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a.k.a. "forever chemicals."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

EXPERT ANALYSIS

Perspectives

Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines

KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LEGAL INDUSTRY

BigLaw Firms Saw Double-Digit Profit Growth In 2024

By Aebra Coe

Last year was "one of the strongest years on record" for U.S. law firm financial results, according to Citi Global Wealth at Work Law Firm Group head Gretta Rusanow, with a survey by the bank of mostly large law firms showing a 16.6% increase in profits and a 12.3% increase in revenue over 2023.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Legal Sector Gains 900 Jobs In January Amid Data Revisions

By Xiumei Dong

The U.S. legal sector started the year with a modest boost, adding 900 jobs in January, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday following the agency's annual employment data revision that also lifted earlier job figures from the past year. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Injury Attys In Hot Water Over Possible AI-Hallucinated Cites

By Lauren Berg

Morgan & Morgan PA and the Goody Law Group on Friday withdrew pretrial motions in a personal injury lawsuit against Walmart over an allegedly defective hoverboard after a Wyoming federal court ordered the firms to explain why the filings contained what appears to be case law hallucinated by generative artificial intelligence.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Plaintiffs Lawyers Swarm Los Angeles Post-Fires

By Brandon Lowrey

A deadly wildfire may be among the first covered by a new state fund that reimburses at-fault utility companies. This could mean billions of dollars for plaintiffs lawyers, and, if past fires are any indication, frustration and confusion for some victims.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

4th Circ. Says LeClairRyan Founder May Duck Tax Liability

By Jack Karp

Defunct law firm LeClairRyan PLLC's operating agreement did not bar founder Gary LeClair from jumping ship in time to potentially dodge massive tax bills tied to the firm's collapse, the Fourth Circuit ruled Friday.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Goldstein's Pro Se Filing Irks Feds Amid Murky Atty Situation

By Elliot Weld

Prosecutors have asked a Maryland federal judge to strike a pro se motion from Tom Goldstein in his tax evasion case, saying the U.S. Supreme Court attorney and SCOTUSblog publisher shouldn't be allowed to personally make arguments to the court when he is represented by several experienced lawyers.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Dentons US Names Capital Markets Leader Managing Partner

By Anna Sanders

Dentons tapped capital markets partner and regulatory team leader John Holahan to serve as U.S. managing partner, the firm announced Friday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

CFPB Suspends Activity, Closes HQ As New Chief Arrives

By Jon Hill

The Trump administration escalated efforts over the weekend to power down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, canceling the agency's next funding draw, suspending its examination activity and ordering a closure of its main office.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

2nd Circ. Orders In-House Counsel Docs In Grand Jury Case

By Parker Quinlan

The Second Circuit on Friday ruled that an in-house attorney for a publicly traded company under federal investigation in New York must turn over communications as part of a grand jury investigation under the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Del.'s Quiet Ambition To Tweak Chancery, Stem Feared DExit

By Jeff Montgomery

Anxious over claims that stockholder-tilted decisions by Delaware's Court of Chancery will trigger more companies to follow Tesla, SpaceX, Meta and Dropbox to other states, Delaware policymakers are taking a hard look at the venerable business court's processes, hoping to slow a feared rush to DExit.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DC Prosecutor Axed Jan. 6 Case Against Client, Group Says

By Lauren Berg

A legal group filed a bar complaint in Missouri Thursday against President Donald Trump's top prosecutor in Washington, D.C., saying the attorney violated rules of professional conduct when, in his new government role, he moved to dismiss charges related to the U.S. Capitol attack against his own client.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Aebra Coe and Kevin Penton

Lawyers from Latham & Watkins LLP and Proskauer Rose LLP kick off this week's Law360 Legal Lions, with a jury decision ending a $500 million antitrust lawsuit against their clients, U.S. Soccer and Major League Soccer.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

General counsel will be scrutinizing their companies' DEI policies after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi directed the U.S. Department of Justice to probe and penalize illegal diversity policies in the private and public sectors. Outside the DOJ, legal professionals, including in-house attorneys, reported high job satisfaction in a recent survey, likely leading to lower turnover. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.​

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen Investec Bank PLC sue two diamond tycoons, London florist Nikki Tibbles file a claim against an "imitator company," a direct descendant of the Cartier family launch a claim, and a Coronation Street actor hit footballer Joe Bunney with a defamation claim. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Promo that reads 2024 Practice Groups of the Year Promo that reads Law360 Pulse In-House Counsel Satisfaction Survey

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Addleshaw Goddard

Ballard Spahr

Bernstein Litowitz

Bird & Bird

Bivonas Law LLP

Bryan Cave

Cahill Gordon

Carpmaels & Ransford

Chaitman LLP

Clyde & Co

Continental PLLC

Crowley Fleck

DLA Piper

Davis Polk

Dentons

Faegre Drinker

Fieldfisher

Fox Williams

Freshfields

Fried Frank

Gentry Locke

Gibson Dunn

Goldberg Segalla

Goody Law Group

Greenberg Traurig

Guerra LLP

Guttman Buschner

Herbert Smith Freehills

Hicks Johnson

Hill Dickinson

Holland & Hart

Holland & Knight

Hueston Hennigan

Ice Miller

Irwin Mitchell

Jones Day

Jones Foster

Katten Muchin

Keoghs LLP

Kirkland & Ellis

Latham & Watkins

Lauro & Singer

Lerch Early

Lewis Silkin

Loeb & Loeb

McCoy Leavitt

McGuireWoods

Morgan & Morgan

Morgan Lewis

Mori Hamada

Morrison Foerster

Morvillo Abramowitz

Munger Tolles

Murphy Anderson PLLC

Nixon Peabody

O'Melveny & Myers

Orrick Herrington

Paul Weiss

Penningtons Manches

Proskauer Rose

Quinn Emanuel

RBG Legal Services Ltd.

RWK Goodman

Reed Smith

Reynolds Porter

Ropes & Gray

Scale LLP

Sheppard Mullin

Sidley Austin

Simmons & Simmons

Skadden Arps

Stevens & Bolton

Tavenner & Beran PLC

Theodora Oringher

Umberg & Zipser

Walker Morris LLP

Walsh & Walsh LLP

Willenken LLP

WilmerHale

Withersworldwide

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AccuWeather Inc.

American Airlines Group Inc.

American Bar Association

American Federation of Government Employees

American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations

American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees

Apple Inc.

Argo Group International Holdings Ltd.

Aspen Technology Inc.

Atos SE

Avistone LLC

Barclays PLC

Beacon Roofing Supply Inc.

Bibby Financial Services Ltd.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

California Earthquake Authority

Canon Inc.

Cartier SA

Catalent Inc.

Credit Suisse Group AG

Democracy Forward Foundation

Dun & Bradstreet Corp.

ESPN Inc.

Early Warning Services LLC

Elliott Investment Management LP

Equity Residential

Essex Property Trust Inc.

Exxon Mobil Corp.

Federal National Mortgage Association

Fordham University

Globant SA

Google LLC

Hatch Henderson Fivel LLC

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.

Howden Broking Group Ltd.

Hyatt Hotels Corp.

IDEX Corp.

Instagram Inc.

Investec PLC

Jetson Electric Bikes LLC

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.

Jushi Holdings Inc.

KKR & Co. Inc.

KPMG International

LegalZoom.com Inc.

LexisNexis Legal & Professional

LinkedIn Corp.

London Stock Exchange Group PLC

Longford Capital Management LP

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

MGA Entertainment Inc.

Major League Soccer LLC

Major Lindsey & Africa LLC

McKinsey & Co. Inc.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. SA

Meta Platforms Inc.

Michigan State University

Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings

Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp.

Moelis & Co.

NASDAQ Inc.

NBCUniversal Media LLC

NICE Ltd.

NICE inContact

National Association of Government Employees

Netflix Inc.

Neurocrine Biosciences Inc.

New England Patriots LP

New York Law School

New York State Bar Association

Norfolk Southern Corp.

PG&E Corp.

Palantir Technologies Inc.

Pershing Square Capital Management LP

Playa Hotels & Resorts NV

Public Citizen Inc.

Purdue Pharma LP

RELX PLC

RXR Realty LLC

RealPage Inc.

Reddit Inc.

Robert Half Inc.

Rutter's Holdings Inc.

SL Green Realty Corp.

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation

Southern California Edison Co.

Southwest Airlines Co.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Starbucks Corp.

State Bar of California

Station Casinos LLC

TUI AG

Tempur Sealy International Inc.

Tesla Inc.

The Florida Bar

The PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

Toyota Motor Corp.

TripAdvisor Inc.

United Policyholders

UnitedLex Corp.

University of Virginia

Venmo LLC

Walmart Inc.

Wells Fargo & Co.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Arizona Supreme Court

Bureau of Labor Statistics

California Attorney General's Office

Connecticut Attorney General's Office

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Executive Office of the President

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Reserve System

Federal Trade Commission

Information Commissioner's Office

National Labor Relations Board

New York Attorney General's Office

Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Social Security Administration

U.S. Agency for International Development

U.S. Army

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. Department of State

U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

UK High Court

US Office of Management and Budget

United States District Court for the District of Wyoming