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Adam Zimmerman

@profadamszimmerman.bsky.social
8.1K followers 548 following 309 posts

Law Professor at USC Gould School of Law SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAu…

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Reposted by Adam Zimmerman
Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
1. Twenty-five years ago, I was clerking for Judge Weinstein, who once had a perfect, unobstructed view of the Towers. I arrived in the office early to deliver the keys to the office to his newest clerk, Kaimi Wenger. His deputy, June Lowe, came in to tell me a plane had hit the first tower.
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
1. Twenty-five years ago, I was clerking for Judge Weinstein, who once had a perfect, unobstructed view of the Towers. I arrived in the office early to deliver the keys to the office to his newest clerk, Kaimi Wenger. His deputy, June Lowe, came in to tell me a plane had hit the first tower.
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Reposted by Adam Zimmerman
Jessica Clarke @jessicaclarke.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
My essay on West Virginia v. BPJ is forthcoming in the Yale Law Journal Forum. I argue the case should be treated as an erroneous departure from the Court's sex equality jurisprudence. Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened. Draft on SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
1. A few quick notes about today’s $17B Multistate AG settlement with Meta. First, what’s the case about and how does it rank among other blockbuster settlements? www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/t...
nytimes.com
Meta to Pay Up to $17.1 Billion in Landmark Settlement Over Social Media Addiction Claims
The social media giant settled with 47 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, and agreed to make major changes to its products over claims its platforms endangered children.
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
1. A few quick notes about today’s $17B Multistate AG settlement with Meta. First, what’s the case about and how does it rank among other blockbuster settlements? www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/t...
nytimes.com
Meta to Pay Up to $17.1 Billion in Landmark Settlement Over Social Media Addiction Claims
The social media giant settled with 47 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, and agreed to make major changes to its products over claims its platforms endangered children.
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Reposted by Adam Zimmerman
Jessica Clarke @jessicaclarke.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
The Supreme Court's decision in the transgender athlete cases, West Virginia v. B.P.J., is out. In a 6-3 opinion by Justice Kavanaugh, the Court upheld state laws excluding transgender girls and women from girls' and women's sports against equal protection and Title IX challenges. 1/x
supremecourt.gov
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Jessica Clarke @jessicaclarke.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
The Supreme Court's opinions on transgender athletes (West Virginia v. BPJ and Little v. Hecox) will be out tomorrow morning and seem likely to be written by Justice Kavanaugh. I'll have thoughts on the implications on Bluesky tomorrow and live on Wednesday here: law.seattleu.edu/rapid-respon...
law.seattleu.edu
Rapid Response Webinar
The Supreme Court decides. Our experts explain what it means. Join a live discussion on the transgender athlete ruling and its impact on schools and sports.
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Justin Levitt @justinlevitt.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Watson decision is unequivocally good news for election officials looking to prevent chaos. And the fact that four Justices disagreed is still mind-boggling.
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Jessica Clarke @jessicaclarke.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
In yesterday's Mullin v. Doe decision, the Supreme Court treated the President's repeated denigration of Haitians as not enough to show unconstitutional animus. Why do courts keep looking past explicit bias? Why is that the wrong thing to do? I took up those questions here: ssrn.com/abstract=3213998
papers.ssrn.com
Explicit Bias
In recent decades, legal scholars have advanced sophisticated models for understanding prejudice and discrimination, drawing on disciplines such as psychology,
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
I spoke to Bloomberg about the relationship between the Social Media litigation and our federal regulatory state. news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/m...
news.bloomberglaw.com
Major Tech Verdicts Serve to Check Industry as Regulation Stalls
Jury verdicts against technology juggernauts like Meta Platforms Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. are spotlighting the role complex litigation plays in shaping tech policy in the absence of comprehensi...
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
You know we’re in rough times when your Tort exam provides the background research an interview with CNN. www.cnn.com/2026/06/08/u...
cnn.com
A gender reveal mishap sparked a deadly wildfire. Who’s being held accountable is unusual | CNN
The expectant couple, along with several children and loved ones, walked with anticipation into the grass at the edge of the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa, California – where wild grasses turn golde...
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Monsanto's exotic bid to end litigation over Roundup in a $7.25B class action deal in state court hit a snag. But, just because the JPML let objectors remove and send the case to federal MDL, doesn't mean it will stay there. The JPML almost never resolves jx questions. www.law360.com/articles/248...
law360.com
$7.25B Roundup Deal Conditionally Sent To Calif. MDL - Law360
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Thursday conditionally sent the case that resulted in a yet-to-be-finalized $7.25 billion settlement with Monsanto over claims that its weedkiller Rou...
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
I spoke to NPR about the latest in the litigation over Trump’s $1.8 Fund. www.npr.org/2026/05/30/n...
npr.org
Judge agrees to review Trump's $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization' fund
The fund has sparked a broad backlash since it was announced earlier this month, exposing fractures within the Republican Party.
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Reposted by Adam Zimmerman
Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
1. Shortly before the first Trump administration, I wrote a piece called "Presidential Settlements," which charts the history of Presidentially-brokered settlements dating back to the founding. There are otherworldly differences between this settlement and those. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Presidential Settlements
Large groups repeatedly turn to the White House to collectively resolve complex disputes, much like a class action. Such presidential settlements go back at le
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
1. Shortly before the first Trump administration, I wrote a piece called "Presidential Settlements," which charts the history of Presidentially-brokered settlements dating back to the founding. There are otherworldly differences between this settlement and those. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Presidential Settlements
Large groups repeatedly turn to the White House to collectively resolve complex disputes, much like a class action. Such presidential settlements go back at le
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
I spoke to the New York Times about the legal problems with Trump’s proposed $1.8B settlement fund. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/u...
nytimes.com
Trump and Top Officials Defend $1.8 Billion Fund With Inaccurate Claims
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
I shared some additional thoughts about Trump's $1.8B settlement with PBS. www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...
pbs.org
Why legal experts say Trump's new 'anti-weaponization' fund is unprecedented
President Donald Trump’s administration has created a nearly $1.8 billion fund to pay people who say they were victims of government “weaponization,” raising questions about whom among his allies and ...
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
I spoke to @CNN about Trump’s $1.776B deal with his own administration to create a compensation fund for his political supporters. I’ve documented presidential settlements that go back to the earliest days of the republic. But I’ve never seen anything like this. www.cnn.com/2026/05/18/p...
cnn.com
What to know about Trump’s $1.8 billion taxpayer-fueled fund for his allies | CNN Politics
The unprecedented lawsuit President Donald Trump brought against the Internal Revenue Service over the unauthorized disclosure of his tax returns years ago has led to an unprecedented arrangement that...
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Alicia Bannon @aliciabannon.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Interested in a state supreme court clerkship? @statecourtreport.org has a database featuring clerkship opportunities from 25 states and more than 80 justices. We hope it's a good starting point for applicants! statecourtreport.org/state-judici...
statecourtreport.org
State Judicial Clerkship Resource
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
I spoke with CNN’s Leigh Waldman about the stakes involved in New Mexico’s litigation against social media companies, like Facebook. urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
urldefense.com
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Jessica Clarke @jessicaclarke.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
I'm delighted to work with UCLA Law Review @uclalawreview.bsky.social to publish Skrmetti's Shell Game. Here's an updated version of the article with more discussion of how lower courts are interpreting that case. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Reposted by Adam Zimmerman
Matteo Godi @matteogodi.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
I’m so grateful to @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social for presenting my paper, (towards?) “A Theory of Statutory Torts,” at our faculty workshop—and for all of the insightful comments from everyone else! And, yes, we do have a great time workshopping (very rough) ideas at @uscgould.bsky.social!
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
I never noticed this, but Judge Boasberg relied on one of my obscure law review articles to certify this very important class action in JGG v. Trump five weeks ago.
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
I spoke to @bloomberglaw.com about Edison’s new wildfire compensation fund, and the difficult choices CA homeowners now face in the wake of last year’s wildfires in Los Angeles. news.bloomberglaw.com/california-b...
news.bloomberglaw.com
Sue or Settle: Choice Before LA Fire Victims Rubs Wounds Raw (1)
As many survivors of last year’s Eaton Fire in Los Angeles exhaust their insurance coverage money for temporary relocation, they’re faced with either taking their chances in court against Southern Cal...
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
👇
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will be the first state high court to resolve if addictive social media platforms are a “nuisance“ and whether such claims are consistent with the First Amendment and federal law— with me, @alahav.bsky.social, and Teddy Rave. urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
urldefense.com
Massachusetts high court filters Instagram for addictive features
The first state high court to consider whether social media platforms are legally responsible for the teen mental health crisis seemed inclined to allow the issue to go to trial.
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Reposted by Adam Zimmerman
Alexandra Lahav @alahav.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
I'm revising the Wright & Miller treatise right now on this very topic and there is no case I can find in which the litigants' assessment that an order was plainly illegal could be violated without contempt. The closest is a case of prior restraint of a newspaper and there the court said...
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Just now reading about the radical leftist judge who supported the dismissal of both James Comey’s & Letitia James’ indictments. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
www.law.com/2025/11/17/h...
law.com
‘He’s Not Doing Nonsense’: Federal Appeals Panel Receptive to Tossed Plaintiffs’ Expert on Tylenol and Autism| Law.com
In oral arguments on Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit criticized aspects of U.S. District Judge Denise Cote’s 2023 ruling tossing all five plaintiffs’ experts tying acetaminoph...
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Reposted by Adam Zimmerman
Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
I was proud to join a very distinguished group of constitutional law professors organized by @dorfonlaw.bsky.social to file this SCOTUS brief in support of trans rights. www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...
supremecourt.gov
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Here’s mine!
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Purdue’s lawyers told the Supreme Court this Opioid deal would never happen—unless, that is, plaintiffs were forced to give up their separate claims against the Sackler family. They were wrong. In nearly all mass tort settlements, when there’s a will, there’s a way. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/h...
nytimes.com
Judge to Approve Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy, Releasing Billions for Opioid Plaintiffs
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Ariela Gross @arielagross.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
160 faculty from all 5 UC law schools signed this open letter detailing why the Trump demands to UCLA are unlawful, unconstitutional, and wrong: sites.google.com/view/uclawfa... Great to work with @fishkin.bsky.social @blakeprof.bsky.social @seanashiffrin.bsky.social on this statement.
sites.google.com
Home
UC Law Faculty to Regents: Resist the Unlawful Demands
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Abby Wood @yesthatabbywood.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
www.latimes.com/california/s...
latimes.com
USC rejects Trump education compact aimed at shifting the university to the right
USC interim President Beong-Soo Kim said in a statement that he had sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education turning down the Trump offer.
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
www.latimes.com/california/s...
latimes.com
USC rejects Trump education compact aimed at shifting the university to the right
USC interim President Beong-Soo Kim said in a statement that he had sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education turning down the Trump offer.
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Reposted by Adam Zimmerman
Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Oral argument today in Bowe v US presents one of the most profound constitutional questions: Just how much power does Article III's Exceptions Clause give Congress to strip SCOTUS of appellate jurisdiction? I offer some history and context in my latest column for @justiaverdict.bsky.social 👇
verdict.justia.com
Will SCOTUS Decide What Its “Essential Functions” Are?
Cornell Law professor Michael C. Dorf discusses the U.S. Supreme Court case Bowe v. United States, which raises the question of whether limits on successive habeas petitions for state prisoners also a...
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
I wonder if this new effort opens up opportunities for a Rule 23(b)(2) nationwide class. There are ripeness Qs, but they could be overcome in the 1A context. And the logic of mandatory class action is also about overcoming just such collective action problems. review.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/u...
review.law.stanford.edu
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Lawrence Solum @lsolum.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
Please help me get the word out about the new websites for Legal Theory Blog and the Legal Theory Lexicon. Reposting here and on other social media sites is great. It would be especially helpful if law school faculty members could send an email to their colleagues with the new addresses.
legaltheoryblog.com
Legal Theory Blog
Discover our latest articles and updates. Stay informed with recent posts that cover a variety of topics you care about!
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
I spoke to @bloomberg.com about a new SEC proposal that would gut securities class actions by sending securities cases into mandatory arbitration. TLDR: States would have to go along--and even then--it could backfire--sparking costly forms of mass arbitration. news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/s...
news.bloomberglaw.com
SEC Shift on Arbitration Sparks Strategies to Counter Its Effect
An SEC policy change enabling companies going public to shunt securities fraud claims into binding arbitration before they’re ever filed in court is already prompting ideas about how to turn the table...
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
1. Word to the wise: Don't tell your nemesis about when you hold your class. He may zoom-bomb you and try to serve your Civil Procedure class with a frivolous lawsuit from Texas in the chat! A 🧵on the hurdles to service via Zoom-bombing.
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
1. My 9-11 story. On September 11, I was clerking for Judge Jack B.Weinstein—a legendary jurist, scholar and person—who also happened to have an unobstructed view of the World Trade Center from the Brooklyn federal courthouse.
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Alexandra Lahav @alahav.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
I've been thinking a lot about Judge Sutton's decision in Thomas Moore v Obama in connection with what the district courts are faced with today. He was right then to follow what the law was, and the district judges are right now. See below for a good take: www.dorfonlaw.org/2025/09/what...
dorfonlaw.org
What Should a Lower Federal Court Judge Do When SCOTUS Plays Calvinball?
Last week, Federal District Court Judge Allison Burroughs handed Harvard a major victory in its lawsuit challenging the Trump administratio...
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
There is something to SCOTUS acting like a "Supreme District Court." District courts are supposed to be our fact-finders and emergency decisionmakers, while our apex courts clarify legal principles, through detached "review, not first view." SCOTUS has flipped that script entirely.
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
I give up. Which is it?
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
Yes!
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
This is my favorite. Nora Engstrom’s “Plaintiff’s Lawyer.” She’s taught these materials at Stanford for over a decade. It’s more interesting than other ethics casebooks. And by focusing on plaintiff lawyers, rectifies an imbalance in our legal instruction. faculty.westacademic.com/Book/Detail?...
faculty.westacademic.com
Engstrom's Legal Ethics: The Plaintiffs' Lawyer University Casebook Series 9798892090551 Nora Freeman Engstrom
faculty.westacademic.com: Engstrom's Legal Ethics: The Plaintiffs' Lawyer: This casebook examines legal ethics from the perspective of plaintiffs’ lawyers. Specifically, this casebook offers a detail...
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Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Another read is not that SCOTUS is shy about confronting Trump but that they're basically on board with his project but would be embarrassed about the legal arguments they'd have to make if they upheld his actions on the merits, so they find procedural means to let him get his way.
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Adam Zimmerman @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
1. Earlier, I said SCOTUS was ducking confrontations with Trump by "channeling" them to less effective places. Maybe better words are "fragmenting" them. Curbing nationwide injunctions. Scattering Alien Enemy Act cases to all 94 districts. Dividing funding challenges... bsky.app/profile/stev...
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Jessica Clarke @jessicaclarke.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
I've posted a draft article on the Supreme Court's Skrmetti decision on SSRN. I argue that this harmful decision represents the worst sort of legal formalism, but does not predetermine the results in other transgender rights cases or eviscerate sex discrimination law. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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