⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Fifth Circuit hears a second appeal over two one-year legal-services contracts with Hinds County, Mississippi. In 2019, the county retained lawyer Pieter Teeuwissen and his firm. A newly elected board ended the contracts three months later and stopped paying. The first appeal held that Mississippi law allowed the prior board to bind its successors for that year. On remand, the county argued that two contract terms violated state attorney-ethics rules. The district court refused to add that late defense and granted partial summary judgment to the plaintiffs. The county says it raised illegality early enough. The plaintiffs say the new defense would require reopening discovery and motions, and the county cannot reverse its earlier position that the contracts were valid.

Teeuwissen v. Hinds County (No. 25-60605) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, argued August 5, 2026.