US politics
fromAbove the Law
2 days agoMorning Docket: 04.03.26 - Above the Law
The Department of Justice may become more aligned with Donald Trump's influence following leadership changes.
The lawsuit was filed by Deshanae L. Brown, who alleges she was subjected to discrimination based on her race, sex, and disability, citing violations of federal and state laws including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Costa's then-manager told him that ServiceNow would not pay this commission because the Sales Compensation Department had concluded that Costa had 'overachieved to a degree that was outside normal' in relation to his sales quota. In other words, ServiceNow believed Costa had made too much money, notwithstanding that his commission was only a small percentage of the revenue recognized and received by ServiceNow.
Effective discovery requires more than compliance - it requires strategy. Litigators can balance expansive discovery rights and privacy concerns without slowing cases down through practical, results-focused approaches that consider proportionality, electronically stored information management, and the specific discovery rules applicable to their jurisdiction.
The legal profession rewards endurance, precision and control. It also quietly normalizes stress, isolation and overextension. For patent practitioners and other IP lawyers, the pressures are uniquely acute: compressed prosecution deadlines, high-stakes litigation exposure, often unrealistic client-driven budget constraints, regulatory whiplash at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and increasingly complex technologies layered with global filing and prosecution strategy.
* Judge demands to know why Lindsey Halligan is still listed as "U.S. Attorney" when she is most definitely not a "U.S. Attorney." [ Law360] * Could law firms be on the brink of a financial downturn? [ Reuters] * McGlinchey Stafford will close down. Which might go a ways toward answering the prior question. [ American Lawyer] * "Mid-market legal powerhouse" launches. Which might go a ways toward further complicating that question. [ ABA Journal]
Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo are presumed dead after a U.S. missile hit the boat they were taking home to Trinidad last October. President Trump said the strike targeted narco terrorists when he posted the video online, but families of those men say they had no ties to the drug trade. Now Joseph's mother and Samaroo's sister are suing the U.S. government in federal court in Massachusetts.
Judge Jenkin wrote that the Batton's plaintiffs interests would not be impaired if their motion to intervene was denied, as they would have the opportunity to object to the settlement at the agreement's final approval fairness hearing.
According to a 2025 MetLife personal injury study, the severity of injury plays a significant role in determining a settlement amount both in terms of economic and non-economic damages. As such, the MetLife study found that on average, the amount of settlement money a personal injury litigant receives is about $324,000.
They don't drive it. They don't manage it. They don't control it. They let it control them. And then one day, they look up and realize discovery closed last week, the client is asking why nobody has taken the key depo, the adjuster wants a status report "by the end of the day," and the partner is asking the question that makes your stomach drop: "Where are we on this file?"
A year or so ago, most legal departments were still testing. AI pilots. Workflow trials. Small process experiments. Everyone was learning cautiously. The stakes were relatively low, and the work was labeled "innovation," which made imperfection forgivable. Then something shifted. Those same pilots became part of day-to-day delivery, and the business started relying on them. Sometimes intentionally, because early results looked good.
* Supreme Court heard challenges to laws targeting trans athletes and the argument went about as you'd expect. [ Balls and Strikes] * Senior federal prosecutors resign in response to the Justice Department's efforts to paper over the murder of Renee Good. [ CBS News] * Tom Goldstein trial could feature celebrity witnesses. [ Law360] * School voids exam - that students already took - after similarities to past exams came out. [ Legal Cheek] * Supreme Court tariff decision looms large. Don't plan on that $2000 rebate check that Trump promised and promptly forgot about. [ Reuters]