Daily Report

08/13/2026

Litigation reporter Cedra Mayfield spoke with three jurists who successfully navigated the appointment process and found a clear pattern on their path to appointment.

For lawyers aspiring to become judges, the work begins long before a vacancy is announced.

"Lots of people are on those shortlists multiple times before things happen for them," Georgia Court of Appeals Presiding Judge Brian M. Rickman said. "Always play the long game."

Here are seven steps the judicial trio told Law.com that attorneys should consider if they aspire to one day wear the robe and hold the gavel.

🔗 https://www.law.com/dailyreportonline/2026/08/13/straight-from-the-judges-7-ways-to-position-yourself-for-the-bench/

08/13/2026

Big Law is not on the sidelines in the races for three Southeast states' highest offices. Rather, some legal industry consultants see varying motives for their campaign donations this year.

"It is a good dance right now … because it's not just Republican-Democrat, it's bigger than that," said Colorado-based consultant Meranda Vieyra.

In Georgia, three Am Law 200 firms—Freeman Mathis & Gary, McGuireWoods and Troutman Pepper Locke—were among contributors to Lt. Gov. Burt Jones' campaign this year for the Republican nomination for governor.

“You definitely do see a range of intentions right now that is just very different than in years past—very, very different," Vieyra told reporter Tom Spigolon. "It’s not as cut and dried anymore.

🔗 https://www.law.com/dailyreportonline/2026/08/12/are-law-firms-bucking-tradition-with-this-years-gubernatorial-donations/

08/13/2026

Past and present appellate and superior court judges outline seven steps lawyers can take to best position themselves for judicial appointments.

08/13/2026

A political extremism expert who left the law center several years ago was named in an indictment unsealed Wednesday. She made her initial court appearance for a bond hearing in Riverside, California, and is charged with wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured bank and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. She was charged in the government's existing case against the SPLC in Montgomery, Alabama.

A political extremism expert who left the law center several years ago was named in an indictment unsealed Wednesday. She made her initial court appearance for a bond hearing in Riverside, California, and is charged with wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally ins...

08/13/2026

The ex*****ons come as a small number of states, including the three with scheduled lethal injections Thursday—in Tennessee, Alabama and Oklahoma—drive ex*****on numbers in the United States.

08/13/2026

A New Jersey Supreme Court ruling finding no mens rea requirement for ordinary liability under Daniel's Law is a shot in the arm for those challenging the law on First Amendment grounds.

08/13/2026

KEY CONTENTLegaltech News Reporting, and expert analysis of legal technology with a focus onwhat legal departments, law firms, and tech companies need to know

08/13/2026

A physician who was sued over the death of a newborn child is off the hook because she is a state government employee and the plaintiffs failed to follow the provisions of the Tort Claims Act.

08/12/2026

Morrison Foerster and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough escaped a venture capital fund's legal malpractice suit over allegedly "defective advice."

The ruling stems from a Jan. 26 lawsuit in which St. Louis-based venture capital fund Sentinel Group Holdings alleged the two firms and Husch Blackwell, as well as Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, committed malpractice by not recognizing and advising Sentinel that a federal tax evasion conviction disqualified fund founder Burton Morriss from participating in raising funds.

From reporter Tom Spigolon: 🔗 https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2026/08/12/morrison-foerster-nelson-mullins-dismissed-from-vc-funds-malpractice-case/

08/12/2026

King & Spalding added two structured finance partners, Jonathan Ching and Andrew Ku**er, as part of its effort to expand a practice area that "still has room to grow," the firm said.

“We have a very talented team, and they're doing some really cutting-edge work,” Carolyn Alford, the firm's global co-leader of finance and restructuring, told reporter Tom Spigolon. “But we've wanted that to get bigger, and we've really wanted to add depth in this area—and adding Jonathan and Andrew is going to really go a long way in doing so.”

🔗 https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2026/08/11/with-strategic-focus-in-finance-king--spalding-recruits-duo-from-mcdermott-/