Several months after losing a motion for summary judgment, Encyclopaedia Britannica is facing another possible setback in its legal malpractice lawsuit against Dickstein Shapiro.

In a Feb. 20 order, U.S. District Judge John Bates asked Britannica to explain why he should still be able to hear the case, in light of a ruling the same day from the U.S. Supreme Court that narrowed the ability of plaintiffs to pursue legal malpractice claims involving patent matters in federal court.