DOJ Seeks Lawyers for Gitmo Cases

By Joe Palazzolo

At the time of the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Boumediene v. Bush three weeks ago, the Justice Department had four lawyers devoted to handling about 250 Guantánamo Bay habeas cases. Now that the high court has cleared the way for detainees to challenge their captivity in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Justice is trying to fatten its team to 50 lawyers — half of whom would be assigned to clean up or augment the government's evidence.

Courtside: With Footnote, Souter Causes Stir

By Tony Mauro

The footnote was easy to miss. It began on page 27 of Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, issued by the Supreme Court on June 25, and it ended on the next page. But Justice David Souter's footnote 17 has reverberated around law schools, leading Hugh Young, a lawyer involved in the landmark punitive damages case, to predict that "it is going to become the great mystery footnote of the decade."

Supreme Court Wrap-Up: (Mostly) In Tune

By Tony Mauro

The headline Supreme Court decisions came fast and sometimes furious in June: Gitmo Detainees Get Habeas! No Death Penalty for Child Rapists! Exxon Valdez Punis Slashed! And on its final day in session, June 26, the biggest headline yet: An Individual Right to Bear Arms! In spite of the June jousting, the justices head out for far-flung summers in a generally better frame of mind than last term.

Alan Gura's Victory Lap

By Joe Palazzolo

A group of gun rights advocates roared with approval as Alan Gura descended the stairs of the Supreme Court on the morning of June 26, having just learned of the high court's decision in the landmark Second Amendment case, District of Columbia v. Heller.

A Merger Blooms Over a Glass of Chardonnay

By Marisa McQuilken

Atlanta's Troutman Sanders and D.C.-based litigation boutique Ross, Dixon & Bell won't officially merge until Jan. 1, but their union was informally sealed months ago over a glass of Napa Valley chardonnay at two in the morning.

Intellectual Property: Washington's Big Ideas

This term the Supreme Court limited the limits of patent exhaustion. Next term, Federal Circuit cases about the scope of patentability — including the much-discussed In re Bilski — may be aimed at the high court. Meanwhile, Congress is struggling with how to enact major changes in patent, copyright, and trademark law. Everything's grinding to a halt in the Senate.

Age Has Not Withered Him

By Ronald D. Rotunda

Age is an issue in this presidential campaign. Is John McCain too old to be president? At 71, he is strong, fit, experienced, and young enough to be president, writes Ronald Rotunda.

From the Archives: O'Connor's July Bombshell

•      
  • Subscription Required

By Tony Mauro

To mark our 30th anniversary, we've reached into our archives to highlight key events and players who made a difference since we made our debut. A version of the following article appeared in the July 4, 2005, edition...

Life Sciences: A Practice Focus

Flush with new power, the Food and Drug Administration is pushing companies to mitigate after-approval risks. Plus, drug companies need good securities lawyers as much as regulatory counsel.