The ABA is on board with the U.N.'s agenda on business and human rights, but lawyers are only starting to ponder the questions it raises. Should human rights influence legal advice? Did Shell's advisers go too far in Kiobel?

A four-judge majority found no reason to meddle with New York's long-established interpretation of the in pari delicto doctrine.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday sharply limited the reach of a federal law used to hold corporations and others accountable for human rights abuses committed abroad. But human rights lawyers predicted additional litigation over how much of the federal courthouse door was left ajar.

The odds of a surprise turnaround for the banks fighting the Federal Housing Finance Agency are looking slimmer and slimmer.

In its biggest suit yet, the National Credit Union Administration claims Bear Stearns sold $3.6 billion in shoddy mortgage-backed securities to four failed credit unions. But just like the cases that the Federal Housing Finance Agency brought against a slew of banks, the NCUA suits are in limbo as federal appeals courts weigh whether the agencies waited too long to sue.

The Sixth Circuit caught flack from tort reformers six months ago for green-lighting class claims over mold-ridden Whirlpool washing machines. Now the Seventh Circuit has given class action critics more to stew over in a parallel case against Sears--and possibly complicated efforts by Whirlpool's lawyers at Mayer Brown to win Supreme Court relief.

It's almost impossible to exaggerate the obstacles Barclays' lawyers faced in the $13 billion Lehman 'windfall' litigation: claims by three different plaintiffs represented by three powerhouse firms; a judge openly skeptical of the bank's core argument; and a disjointed trial schedule that stretched over six months. Yet in the end the bank prevailed in upholding a deal that helped shape the unfolding of the great recession.

When regulators are forced to defend an outcome as soon as it's announced, and when your client's detractors are fuming with anger, you know you've done something right.