Litigation finance tax, limits on contempt power dropped from Senate’s version of budget megabill

Two proposals of concern to many lawyers are being dropped in the U.S. Senate's version of a budget megabill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Jul 1, 2025 9:21 AM CDT

Gains from litigation funding would be taxed at nearly 32% in latest Senate version of budget megabill

The U.S. Senate's version of a budget megabill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, released Saturday sets a proposed tax of 31.8% on earnings from litigation finance contracts, down from 40.8% in the first version of the bill.

Jun 30, 2025 3:19 PM CDT

Supreme Court allows vape companies to pick courts to hear challenges

Jun 20, 2025 1:27 PM CDT

US can’t target fossil fuel producers through regulations, then argue they don’t have standing, SCOTUS says

Fossil fuel companies have standing to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for approving California’s requirement for the production of more electric vehicles, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday in a 7-2 decision.

Jun 20, 2025 11:39 AM CDT

Budget proposal for ‘orderly closeout’ of Legal Services Corp. is ‘devastation,’ says legal aid leader

The Legal Services Corp. has requested $2.1 billion in funding for fiscal year 2026, a far cry from the administration’s $21 million request to enable an “orderly closeout” of the program, according to a Bloomberg Law story.

Jun 9, 2025 2:09 PM CDT

Executive director of Skadden’s fellowship foundation resigns following firm’s pro bono deal with Trump

The executive director of the Skadden Foundation, a nonprofit entity that manages Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom’s public interest fellowship program, has resigned after the law firm reached a pro bono deal with President Donald Trump that affects its work.

Jun 5, 2025 11:41 AM CDT

Horse of a Different Color: In the age of AI, lawyers must set aside resistance to change

“It’s time to stop standing on the sidewalk throwing rocks at whatever new AI capabilities are now available to the public. Sabotaging the roads will not slow the pace of change. … More regulations will likely do little to shape the emerging AI era.”

Jun 2, 2025 2:07 PM CDT

Federal sex-trafficking law has led to an increase in suits against hotel chains

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against hotel chains in recent years based on claims they were complicit in sex trafficking. The lawsuits push the hospitality industry to take seriously the potential for trafficking on hotel premises and appropriately train their employees, according to lawyers who represent survivors.

Jun 1, 2025 1:00 AM CDT

What you need to know about the court battle over Trump’s tariffs

May 29, 2025 2:47 PM CDT

RICO billing conspiracy by law firms ‘hoodwinked’ courts, Ford alleges in suit seeking $300M

Three California law firms are part of a racketeering conspiracy that “ingeniously” inflated fee requests in lemon law litigation by spreading their fraudulent billing across thousands of cases against many car makers, according to a $300 million lawsuit filed Wednesday by the Ford Motor Co.

May 22, 2025 2:45 PM CDT

2024 produced record number of ‘thermonuclear verdicts,’ report finds; what is impact of younger jurors?

A record number of eight- and nine-figure jury verdicts are evidence of an “indisputable trend,” according to the CEO of a communications and research company that compiled the figures.

May 22, 2025 12:11 PM CDT

Posner wins dismissal of suit for unpaid salary by pro se plaintiff who led his center for unrepresented litigants

Retired federal appeals Judge Richard Posner has won dismissal of a lawsuit filed by an Indiana man who said he was owed $170,000 in unpaid salary for leading a Posner-founded group that helped litigants representing themselves in court.

May 20, 2025 11:09 AM CDT

Pipeline internship program used by prestigious law firms discriminates based on race, group contends

A law firm fellowship program for incoming law students is “the largest racially discriminatory hiring pipeline program in the legal field," according to a charge of discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by a legal advocacy group.

May 14, 2025 9:17 AM CDT

Court’s religious training order for attorneys ‘plainly exceeded remedial bounds,’ 5th Circuit says

A federal appeals court ruled last week that a federal judge erred when he required lawyers for Southwest Airlines to attend “religious liberty training” for failing to comply with a court order.

May 12, 2025 12:45 PM CDT

Rocky Patel’s Road: From small-firm lawyer to selling 30 million cigars per year

In 2022, Cigar Aficionado rated the Rocky Patel “Sixty” the No. 1 cigar in the free world. That’s a remarkable feat. The industry’s preeminent publication considers about 700 cigars for its annual survey, and its reviewers do not know the identity or any other details of the stogies they are smoking.

May 7, 2025 10:41 AM CDT