Surprise! The judge has more questions about BofA's disclosure decisions--especially because the SEC's version of events doesn't always jibe with the New York AG's.

Never has such high-caliber, high-priced legal talent toiled with so much creativity and effort on a case of so little societal benefit. In the latest round of the Battle of the Billionaire Sailors, Boies persuaded a Manhattan judge to bar the race from taking place in the United Arab Emirates in February.

Was it wise for Bank of America to choose Wachtell to lead its defense when the firm advised the company on the underlying disclosure issues behind Friday's $2.43 billion settlement? "I have the highest respect for Wachtell," said Columbia Law School professor John Coffee Jr. "But you have problems when you're defending advice you gave the client."

The judge called the deal "half-baked justice at best," but still "better than nothing." And that's about the best Rakoff had to say for a case that's bedeviled him for six months.

To win a decision from the Second Circuit that could pave the way for investors to recover billions from the Republic of Argentina, Olson had to overcome fierce objections not only from Argentina, but also from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The courts have largely ground to a halt for the holidays, though there's still time for few more decisions in 2012 that could ensure a happy or gloomy New Year for the litigators involved. In the meantime, here are some of the biggest rulings we're looking forward to in 2013.

A new report on law firm social responsibility moves way beyond pro bono and asks firms to hew to international human rights principles--even if it means dropping clients.

In an age of global law and finance, the Supreme Court's obsession with circuit splits is both quaint and dangerous.

Exactly what did Simpson Thacher & Bartlett partner Lynn Neuner know about the e-mails she disclosed in 2007 to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on behalf of her then-client Steven Rattner? According to an explosive front-page story in The New York Times, that's an issue in the AG's escalating case against the financier.