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The Daily Docket

A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

By Caitlin Tremblay

Good morning. DLA Piper will go on trial over claims that it fired an associate for seeking maternity leave. Plus, Citi will ask the 2nd Circuit to dismiss a New York lawsuit over its handling of fraud scams; and a status conference is scheduled in the DUI case of U.S. District Judge Thomas Ludington. Here are some unusual photos to kick off your week. Let’s dive in.

Law firm DLA Piper faces jury trial over pregnancy bias claims

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

DLA Piper is poised to go to trial in federal court in Manhattan today over claims that it fired an associate for seeking maternity leave, marking a rare chance for a jury to hear an employment discrimination case against a major law firm.

Carolin Guentert, a partner at employment law firm Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight who is not involved in the case, said attorneys who claim discrimination and their employers each have reasons to prefer avoiding litigation and a potential trial.

"Lawyers know better than most how long, challenging and personal a case can be," she said, while a trial can publicly reveal a law firm's internal workings, including details about their bonus, evaluation and termination policies. Read more about the case here.

Before you dive back into your day, take our very quick, very painless survey (I promise it’s easier than the bar exam).

Coming up today

SCOTUS: The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue orders in pending appeals.
Finance: Citigroup will argue before the 2nd Circuit that New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit accusing the bank of failing to protect customers from online scammers and refusing to reimburse customers who were victimized should be dismissed. The bank is appealing a January 2025 ruling by U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken in Manhattan that it violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
SCOTUS: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is scheduled to speak with 9th Circuit Chief Judge Mary Murguía and UnidosUS President Janet Murguía at the University of Kansas School of Law.

Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.

More top news

Industry insight

President Trump announced four new nominees to serve as federal district court judges, including two top prosecutors in Texas he credited for pursuing cases in keeping with his hardline immigration agenda. Read more here.

$1.3 million

That’s how much a prominent conservative lawyer who successfully defended a Texas county’s book removals from public libraries asked for in legal fees. But Jonathan Mitchell, a former Texas state solicitor general, also asked a federal judge in Austin to deny his bid in order to tee up an appeal. Mitchell said he intends to challenge a longstanding U.S. Supreme Court decision that limits when prevailing defendants can recover legal fees in civil rights lawsuits. Read more in this week’s Billable Hours.

In the courts

Epstein: U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff granted preliminary approval to Bank of America's $72.5 million settlement with women who accused the bank of facilitating their sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein.
Gaming: The U.S. government sued Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois to stop what it called the state's unlawful efforts ‌to regulate prediction markets. The lawsuit is the first by the CFTC to block state gaming regulators from policing operators of prediction markets. Read the complaint.
Antitrust: The 2nd Circuit rejected an appeal from a proposed class of Ivy League student athletes who were challenging their schools’ refusal to pay athletic scholarships or compensation. Read the order.
IP: Sports-betting giants DraftKings and FanDuel were sued for patent infringement by the owner of patents created by defunct gambling tech company Cantor Gaming. Two of the patents, related to mobile gambling technology, were co-invented by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other Cantor Gaming employees on the company's behalf when Lutnick was Cantor Fitzgerald's CEO. Read the complaint.

Column: Betting on the verdict: Kalshi case could shape prediction markets

As legal challenges mount against prediction markets operators, traders have responded fittingly: by betting on whether Kalshi will win a major pending case. Current odds favor industry pioneer Kalshi, with a 94% probability of winning its appeal before the Third Circuit against New Jersey. Beneath the novelty of betting on a court case lies a fundamental legal fight over whether fast‑growing prediction markets will be regulated as finance or gambling, Jenna Greene writes in On the Case.