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The National Law Journal
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Providing in-depth coverage of the issues that mean the most to the legal community.
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The justices are weighing whether to allow Texas to use its new gerrymandered congressional districts for the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, in which control of the House of Representatives could come down to a handful of seats. https://loom.ly/DRImofs
In Supreme Court Brief, DOJ Defends Letter to Texas Seeking to Dismantle 'Coalition' Districts| Law.com
The Trump Justice Department told the justices that a lower court had misinterpreted a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that kicked off the state's controversial redistricting push.
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November 26, 2025 at 8:02 PM
In a separate concurrence, Judges Stephanie Thacker and Robert King pushed back against the idea that the circuit runs the risk of holding en banc hearings too often. They worried Wilkinson’s viewpoint could have an “unintended chilling effect.” https://loom.ly/LTsUd48
4th Circuit Judge's Worry of En Banc Overuse Spurs Back-and-Forth| Law.com
“By subjecting litigation to the en banc detour, we shield it from Supreme Court review while the often year-long proceeding plays itself out, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote. Shielding significant cases from the Supreme Court for prolonged periods can have deleterious consequences.”
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November 25, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Many firms in the region will likely see an increase in profits in 2025, despite any demand decline, because billing rate increases are driving revenue and net income growth across the industry. https://loom.ly/bCbtl3w
DC Law Firms Report ‘Very Different’ Financials Amid Uncertain Regulatory Environment| Law.com
Many firms in the region will likely see an increase in profits in 2025, despite any demand decline, because billing rate increases are driving revenue and net income growth across the industry.
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November 25, 2025 at 10:55 PM
On Nov. 17, the SEC announced its Division of Corporate Finance would no longer express its views on no-action requests—except on a narrow category of non-binding proposals under Rule 14a-8(i)(1). https://loom.ly/dYt53TU
SEC Decision to Halt Review of Most Corporate 'No Action' Requests Draws Investor Ire| Law.com
Shareholders' only recourse is to sue in federal court to try to force the company to include the proposal in its proxy statement, said Paul Chesser of the National Legal and Policy Center.
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November 25, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Cozen O’Connor’s election lawyer Jerry Goldfeder, and Julissa Reynoso, a former ambassador to Spain and Andorra and member of the executive committee at Winston & Strawn, were both named as members of Mamdani’s Committee on Legal Affairs. https://loom.ly/reCUrRg
Mamdani Taps Big Law Partners and Public Defense Leaders for Transition Team| Law.com
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani named Cozen O'Connor's Jerry Goldfeder and Winston & Strawn's Julissa Reynoso to the Committee on Legal Affairs. Legal Aid Society head Twyla Carter was also named to serve on that committee.
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November 25, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Stuart, the son and grandson of coal miners, helped bust one of West Virginia's largest heroin and fentanyl trafficking rings during his tenure as U.S. attorney. https://loom.ly/0U3lEfA

Former U.S. Attorney Michael Stuart Pulls Up Chair as HHS General Counsel| Law.com
As the only former United States attorney to serve in the role of general counsel, I bring a sharp scalpel and a fierce determination to issues like fraud, waste and abuse, Michael Stuart said Monday.
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November 25, 2025 at 10:44 PM
The Friday ruling found there was triable evidence that three Florida House districts and one of the Sunshine State’s Congressional districts had been drawn with race as the predominant factor, which would violate the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. https://loom.ly/d_mBguA
Federal Judicial Panel Allows Lawsuit Challenging Florida Redistricting To Move Forward, In Part| Law.com
“Plaintiffs have offered district-specific statements of key actors and district-specific circumstantial evidence that is sufficient to create a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether race predominated in the drawing,” U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Becerra ruled.
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November 25, 2025 at 10:39 PM
The motion, signed by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton of the Southern District of New York, seeks an expedited ruling. The Epstein Files Transparency Act requires disclosure within 30 days.

https://loom.ly/JkQ2bd0
In Wake of Congress' Action, SDNY US Attorney Renews Bid to Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Transcripts| Law.com
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, in motions filed Monday, said the Congressional mandate to open files related to the disgraced financier and sex offender overrides any contrary provisions, including those requiring nondisclosure of grand jury materials.
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November 25, 2025 at 6:33 PM
"We believe, and we ask that... you agree with the district court that the First Amendment does not stop at the Oval Office door,” Charles Tobin, a Ballard Spahr attorney, told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. https://loom.ly/gI5o7Eo
‘Close Question’: Associated Press Urges DC Circuit to Restore Oval Office Access| Law.com
The AP brought a First Amendment lawsuit against several White House officials after President Donald Trump barred the news outlet from the White House press pool and other spaces over its refusal to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
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November 25, 2025 at 6:25 PM
The Supreme Court's 1950 decision in Feres v. United States barred claims from service members that "arise out of or are in the course of activity incident to service." https://loom.ly/-kAZR0s
Thomas, Gorsuch Set Sights on Longstanding 'Feres Doctrine.' What Is It?| Law.com
In a dissent Monday, Justice Clarence Thomas said the Supreme Court's longstanding bar against tort suits from members of the military, known as the Feres doctrine, has no basis in law.
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November 25, 2025 at 6:21 PM
“The attacks that Donald Trump has leveled against me and others are related to his own pathological need to attack people who stand up to him and who fight for free and fair elections and for democracy,” Elias said. https://loom.ly/2GmtHpA
Marc Elias' Boutique Sees Rising Demand, Head Count, as Political Litigation Ramps Up| Law.com
The boutique has grown to 62 total attorneys since its founding in 2021, an increase Elias credited largely to redistricting fights at the state level.
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November 25, 2025 at 12:04 AM
“At bottom, what the defendant recasts as a constitutional crisis is merely a repackaging of arguments that controlling precedent has repeatedly rejected,” prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett of the Southern District of New York. https://loom.ly/UobV_Gc
Precedent Supports Death Penalty in Mangione Federal Case, SDNY Prosecutors Say| Law.com
Luigi Mangione's defense attorneys have argued intense pretrial publicity, including comments from President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, have undermined their client's rights. But prosecutors say the Manhattan-based Southern District of New York is familiar territory to highly publicized criminal matters, and that the court is well-positioned to deal with it.
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November 25, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Observers say the trend is a culmination of a few dynamics, including that some laterals may now prefer boutiques because these firms are more flexible during the Trump administration to handle more sensitive and controversial matters. https://loom.ly/Oxw0JwE
Boutiques Become More Attractive for Outgoing Government Lawyers| Law.com
Avoiding the routine career move of heading to Big Law, several former top prosecutors have launched or joined prominent boutiques.
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November 24, 2025 at 11:55 PM
“I agree with Mr. Comey that the Attorney General’s attempt to install Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid,” U.S. District Senior Judge Cameron McGowan Currie of the District of South Carolina wrote in a 29-page order. https://loom.ly/P5fx-kI
Charges Against Comey, James Thrown Out as Judge Rejects 'Defective' Appointment of Halligan as US Attorney| Law.com
I conclude that all actions flowing from Ms. Lindsey Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing Ms. Letitia James's indictment, constitute unlawful exercises of executive power and must be set aside, U.S. District Senior Judge Cameron McGowan Currie wrote in an order disqualifying Halligan and dismissing without prejudice criminal charges against the New York attorney general and former FBI director James Comey.
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November 24, 2025 at 11:48 PM
The new cybersecurity safeguards can make litigation matters more costly, less efficient and even invite new risks of their own, according to business litigators.

https://loom.ly/dzI98xo
'More Rules and Hurdles': US Chief Judges Adopt Cybersecurity Sealed Document Safeguards| Law.com
Because sealed documents filed in CM/ECF will not be accessible or viewable by litigants electronically, service of those documents can no longer be accomplished through CM/ECF, U.S. Chief District Judge Mark S. Davis of the Eastern District of Virginia wrote in a standing order following cyberattacks on the federal judiciary's Case Management/Electronic Case Files system.
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November 24, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Those regulations hindered resource development and were an overreach of federal authority, the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stated. https://loom.ly/nFUsABE
Trump Administration Moves to Reverse Endangered Species Act Protections| Law.com
The changes “represent both individually and cumulatively significant retractions to the scope of the statute in many different ways,” said George Washington University environmental law professor Robert Glicksman.
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November 24, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Alito imposed an "administrative stay" on the lower court's decision and ordered a group of plaintiffs to respond to Texas' appeal to the Supreme Court by 5 p.m. Monday. https://loom.ly/0Vxw-t0
Justice Alito Freezes Order Blocking Texas' New Congressional Map| Law.com
Justice Samuel Alito Jr. granted Texas a temporary pause of a federal court order blocking it from using new congressional districts adopted at the urging of President Donald Trump.
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November 23, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Because AI has the potential to improve how legal departments handle everything from contract reviews and risk mapping to outside counsel billing and employee training, panelists said AI isn’t optional anymore—and ignoring it is the quickest route to irrelevance. https://loom.ly/KfOIfAc
'You Will Be the Dinosaur': In-House Leaders Call Ignoring AI a Career-Crushing Blunder| Law.com
If you can imagine being a lawyer today without knowing how to use email, that’s what it’s going to be like not understanding AI,” said Angeline Chen, general counsel and chief administrative officer at Progress Federal Solutions.
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November 21, 2025 at 10:54 PM
“One of the silver linings to the cloud that we're in in this administration is that they're not bashful, and they're not hiding what they're doing,” said Abbe Lowell. https://loom.ly/NFt2TKU
'Everyone's a Little Bit More on Edge': Chaos Is Good News for Some Lawyers| Law.com
In a panel discussion on Wednesday hosted by Forbes, Marc Agnifilo and Abbe Lowell agreed that the presumption of regularity has eroded. Civil litigator Davida Brook said her work is also impacted.
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November 21, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Law firm leasing totaled 2.4 million square feet during Q3—the third highest quarterly volume since 2018—bringing the total for the first three quarters of 2025 to 8.3 msf. https://loom.ly/G2g2zho
Law Firms Are Taking Up a Growing Chunk of US Office Leases| Law.com
Half of all of the law firms leases in major markets signed during the third quarter of 2025 were relocations, as firms focus on upgraded, efficient office environments, a new Savills leasing report explains.
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November 21, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Unlockd Media filed a motion seeking recusal, arguing that Gilliam has maintained an ongoing, close friendship with Cassandra Knight, Google's vice president for litigation and discovery, without ever informing the parties involved in the case. https://loom.ly/sKYJ5MM
Google Foes Seek Judge's Recusal Over Undisclosed Ties to Tech Giant's Litigation Chief| Law.com
Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. and Google's Cassandra Knight became friends in law school. He later officiated her wedding, and she traveled from Europe to attend and speak at his investiture.
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November 21, 2025 at 10:09 PM
While the FDA has not yet issued guidance filling in the details of the proposal, health care lawyers have hailed it as a major, welcome shift.

https://loom.ly/h1RyXgY
FDA Offers Up New Pathway for Drugs That Can't Clear Normal Approval Hurdles| Law.com
“Companies should really sit down and say, could I meet these points?” Hogan Lovells partner Lynn Mehler said. “How do I follow the larger concept at play here, which is FDA willingness to be practical, to be flexible?”
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November 21, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Second Amendment scholar Haley Proctor of Notre Dame Law School joins Jimmy Hoover to break down the major gun cases to be decided during the 2025-2026 term. on this week's Supreme Court Brief podcast. https://loom.ly/IIrgZ_U
November 21, 2025 at 9:51 PM
U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb temporarily paused her order from taking immediate effect, imposing a 21-day administrative stay until Dec. 11 to “prevent potential disruption to the functioning of the District and the National Guard during the appeals process.” https://loom.ly/gKuSqyw
US Judge Rules Trump's DC National Guard Deployment Likely Unlawful| Law.com
U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb granted a preliminary injunction blocking President Donald Trump's Defense Department from deploying National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., but temporarily paused her order from taking immediate effect to prevent potential disruption to the functioning of the District and the National Guard during the appeals process.
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November 21, 2025 at 9:30 PM
The House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 2675, also known as the Protecting Our Courts from Foreign Manipulation Act, which is aimed at protecting American courts from potential threats by foreign entities participating in civil litigation as third-party funders. https://loom.ly/x9o0dYQ
U.S. House Judiciary Committee Advances Litigation Funding Reform Bill| Law.com
The latest measure designed to tackle litigation finance is one of several different bills making their way through Congress aimed at addressing issues such as foreign influence in the third-party funding industry.
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November 21, 2025 at 9:26 PM