United States: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

A federal judge has ruled on a discovery dispute involving patent infringement allegations, requiring an Italian company to make its accused product available for physical inspection.

The Texas Business Court has entered the growing national debate about whether conversations with AI tools like ChatGPT are discoverable, and it came down on the side of protection.

AI notetakers have become routine in virtual meetings, transforming ephemeral conversations into permanent, searchable records. As these tools quietly record, transcribe, and process discussions across borders, they activate complex regulatory frameworks spanning data protection, communications privacy, and workplace law.

Global reliance on critical minerals for emerging technologies has created a competition between nations to secure reliable supply chains for continued innovation pertinent to national security. This is necessary from a national security perspective for both partners in this agreement.

On May 27, 2026, Governor Kathy Hochul signed New York's 2026 state budget into law. The $268.1 billion budget includes significant tort reform provisions for New York State motor vehicle litigation.

A Massachusetts federal court granted summary judgment to Alexion Pharmaceuticals, dismissing Amyndas Pharmaceuticals' Chapter 93A unfair competition claim based on alleged misuse of confidential information during partnership negotiations. The decision rigorously enforces causation requirements and clarifies the boundaries between trade secret protection and legitimate competitive activity in pharmaceutical business development.

The Southern District of Texas addresses critical questions left open by the Supreme Court's Purdue decision regarding consensual third-party releases in bankruptcy plans. The court establishes when opt-out mechanisms suffice for creditor consent and clarifies the permissible scope of gatekeeping provisions that restrict litigation against non-debtor parties in Chapter 11 reorganizations.

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued its first-ever interpretation of the Helms-Burton Act's Title III, establishing that property confiscated by Cuba's Communist regime remains permanently "tainted" and off-limits for commercial use...

Michael Lowry (Partner-Las Vegas) authored “Are Nevada Procedural Statutes Still Effective in Federal Courts?” appearing in the June 1, 2026, edition of Nevada Lawyer magazine.

For hundreds of years, the world’s sovereign nations refused to allow any other foreign sovereign to be sued in their courts without the sovereign’s consent. The guiding principle was “absolute sovereign immunity,” an outgrowth of the ancient legal precept rex non potest peccare, understood to mean “the king can do no wrong.” The principle also was recognized as wise foreign policy because it extended "grace and comity" to other sovereigns.

The U.S. Supreme Court's April 22, 2026, decision in Hencely v. Fluor Corp. rejected the recent expansion of the government-contractor defense for private contractors working on certain federal projects...

Recent Supreme Court decisions have fundamentally reshaped the legal protections available to government contractors facing tort claims and civil litigation. The Court's rulings in GEO Group v. Menocal and Hencely v. Fluor Corp. have narrowed the scope of contractor immunities and eliminated key procedural advantages, forcing contractors to reassess their risk exposure when performing work under federal contracts.