Marcia Coyle

January 26, 2009 | National Law Journal

A company's so-called tax accrual work papers, prepared with the assistance of in-house and external counsel, are protected work product, a federal appellate court has ruled in an important case closely watched by an anxious business and legal community.

By Marcia Coyle / Staff reporter

6 minute read

December 04, 2009 | The Legal Intelligencer

In the wake of the Supreme Court's refusal early Wednesday morning to hear the last-minute appeal of a Tennessee death row inmate, two justices clashed -- one with some bite -- over whether execution after lengthy delay is cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.

By Marcia Coyle

4 minute read

June 01, 2004 | The Legal Intelligencer

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling making states potentially liable for damages for failing to make courthouses accessible to disabled people will trigger piecemeal litigation involving the disabled and higher education, social services and other public activities, as well as litigation over the full meaning of access to the courts.

By Marcia Coyle

9 minute read

June 10, 2003 | Law.com

Last week, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ignored the government's request to halt federal court litigation against corporations sued for human rights violations abroad, allowing such claims to go forward under the Alien Tort Claims Act. The decision has "enormous" implications for cases against corporations under the statute, said Venice, Calif., attorney Paul L. Hoffman.

By Marcia Coyle

9 minute read

November 03, 2006 | Law.com

Latham & Watkins is the most popular spot this year for Supreme Court clerks leaving the high court for the hands-on practice of law. The firm hired six clerks from the October 2005 term -- the largest number of hires from a single term by a single law firm in recent years. Several factors may have contributed. Benjamin Horwich, former clerk to Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Samuel Alito Jr., who joined Latham's San Francisco office, cited "the firm culture and working environment for lawyers."

By Marcia Coyle

4 minute read

February 05, 2004 | Law.com

In a case with implications for international relations and federal court authority, the U.S. Supreme Court will this month hear an 87-year-old woman's battle with Austria over ownership of artworks stolen by the Nazis. The suit is one of a growing number of attempts to seek remedies for injuries that occurred in, or were the fault of, another nation. Like Maria V. Altmann's claim, a number of them stem from the World War II era.

By Marcia Coyle

9 minute read

April 11, 2005 | Law.com

A different kind of "drug war" will play out this month in the U.S. Supreme Court in a potentially landmark patent challenge with huge implications for the role of the biomedical and biotechnology industries in the development of new drugs. Merck KGAA v. Integra LifeSciences case basically asks the justices to determine how far down the chain of research and experimentation into new drugs does a federal safe harbor statute reach to protect drug manufacturers from liability for patent infringement.

By Marcia Coyle

10 minute read

May 10, 2011 | The Legal Intelligencer

Like toy soldiers standing on a carpeted battlefield, an array of groups and individuals have taken sides for the next front in the litigation assault on the new health care reform law.

By Marcia Coyle

9 minute read

August 03, 2009 | Law.com

A federal appellate court recently focused attention on a rare method of obtaining review by the U.S. Supreme Court when it certified a question to the justices in the high-profile prosecution of James Ford Seale for the 1964 kidnapping-murder of two black teenagers. The question that troubled the 5th Circuit: Though Seale committed the crime in 1964, he was not prosecuted until 2007. Did the law require the prosecution for kidnapping within five years of the crime, or is there no time limit?

By Marcia Coyle

5 minute read

April 29, 2008 | The Legal Intelligencer

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office may have a major problem on its hands - the possibly unconstitutional appointment of nearly two-thirds of its patent appeals judges.

By Marcia Coyle

5 minute read