The Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Fifth Circuit’s “moment-of-threat” rule in evaluating a police shooting (or other use of force) under the requisite Fourth Amendment excessive force analysis in a decision issued on May 15, 2025. While incorrectly described by some media as an “expansion” of the review standard for Fourth Amendment excessive force claims, the Supreme Court’s opinion was a rejection of the Fifth Circuit’s outlier rule and an upholding of the long-standing Supreme Court precedent – embraced by the majority of circuit courts, including the Ninth Circuit – that courts must evaluate the totality of the circumstances known to the force-wielding officer leading up to that law enforcement officer’s use of force, from the perspective of an objectively reasonable officer, not just some arbitrary temporal subset of those circumstances.

Miami Partner Spencer M. Mayer has been elected treasurer of the Miami-Dade Bar Young Lawyers Section for the 2025-2026 term. For the last two years, Mr. Mayer has served on the board of directors for this Section, which currently has more than 1,300 members.

Los Angeles Partner Griffen J. Thorne will speak on the effects of tariffs in the cannabis and hemp industries at the International Cannabis Bar Association (INCBA) CLE webinar on June 2 at 12:00 p.m. PT.

New Orleans Partner James W. Hailey III will join a panel on insurance fraud through a legal lens at the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud (CAIF) 2025 Midyear Meeting, hosted in Chicago on June 9-10.

Miami Co-Managing Partner Todd R. Ehrenreich was recently selected to join the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL) – the most prestigious organization of trial lawyers in the world.

Chicago Partner Darcy Ibach and Boston Partner Patricia Gary recently secured a ruling that their surplus lines insurer client has no duty to defend or indemnify its insured attorney in a legal malpractice action. 

On April 28, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order declaring mandatory English language proficiency for truck drivers in the U. S.The order rescinds and replaces the 2016 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration memo that previously overlooked the non-English language proficient as a cause for an out-of-service designation. Now, the FMCSA has been directed to be more stringent in enforcing the standard of English proficiency in commercial truck drivers. President Trump cites that common sense dictates truck drivers should be able to communicate with other drivers and the public in English as well as understand English traffic signs.

The Newark Trial Team of Partners Afsha Noran and Colin Hackett recently picked its fifth jury of 2025, and once again achieved a favorable result for the client. 

On April 22, 2025, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law Senate Bills 68 and 69 (collectively dubbed the “Comprehensive Tort Reform Legislation”), with the aim of curbing lawsuit abuse and the explosion of outsized nuclear verdicts in the state’s courts. This landmark legislation, which was widely supported by Georgia’s business community, makes a host of changes to Georgia law in the areas of civil practice, evidentiary matters, damages, and liability in tort actions.

Lewis Brisbois has expanded its products liability, toxic tort, asbestos, and trial capabilities in California and New England with the addition of 12 attorneys from Pond North LLP. The group includes Pond North’s principals, Frank Pond and Christine North, as well as six additional partners and four associates. These lawyers have joined Lewis Brisbois’ Products Liability, Asbestos Litigation, and Toxic Tort & Environmental Litigation Practices.
 

On April 27, 2025, the Washington state Legislature passed HB 1217, the Housing Stability Act, which caps rent increases for most single-family and multi-family landlords and mandates specific notice requirements for rent increases that landlords must comply with to increase rents.  The bill will take effect upon the Governor’s signature or May 20, 2025.

On April 24, 2025, the Florida House and Senate passed the Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth (CHOICE) Act, which Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to sign. The Legislature emphasized Florida’s legitimate state interest to strong legal protections in employment contracts, promoting information sharing, training, and development. The law takes effect on July 1, 2025. While most states have moved to restrict non-compete agreements, the CHOICE Act cements Florida as the most non-compete-friendly state in the country. It covers statutorily defined non-compete and garden leave agreements, ensuring full enforceability if specific conditions are met.