A panel of the Federal Circuit has determined that the U.S. Department of State had no contractual obligation to physically return villas and parking areas it leased from two Afghans after the Taliban seized the properties and terminated the leases.
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TOP NEWS

Fed Circ. Says Gov't Had No Duty To Return Afghan Properties

By Tom Lotshaw

A panel of the Federal Circuit has determined that the U.S. Department of State had no contractual obligation to physically return villas and parking areas it leased from two Afghans after the Taliban seized the properties and terminated the leases.

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Court Nixes Labor Requirements From Army Corps Contract

By Elaine Briseño

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims granted a construction company's request to strike negotiated labor prices and work terms from a hurricane-mitigation contract with the Army Corps of Engineers, finding the requirements were unrelated to the project's needs.

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NLRB Prosecutors Drop Challenge To SpaceX Severance Pact

By Emily Brill

National Labor Relations Board prosecutors have dropped a challenge to SpaceX's severance agreement that spurred a fight over the agency's constitutionality, telling a Texas federal judge that "further proceedings would not effectuate the purposes of the National Labor Relations Act."

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LITIGATION

Medical, School Groups Seek Order Halting $100K Visa Fee

By Dan McKay

A medical practice in rural North Carolina and other employers asked a federal judge Friday to block enforcement of the Trump administration's $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, arguing the "massive" fee hike will inflict irreparable harm on their communities.

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GAO

GAO Denies Challenge To $17M Arlington Cemetery Deal

By Tom Lotshaw

One Virginia small business failed to persuade the U.S. Government Accountability Office that the Army erred when it awarded a nearly $17 million deal to another Virginia small business for customer care center support for Arlington National Cemetery.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

How Fractional GCs Can Manage Risks Of Engagement

As more organizations eliminate their in-house legal departments in favor of outsourcing legal work, fractional general counsel roles offer practitioners an engaging and flexible way to practice at a high level, but they can also present legal, ethical and operational risks that must be proactively managed, say attorneys at Boies Schiller.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Hogan Lovells, Cadwalader's Divergent Paths Led To Deal

By Aebra Coe

The blockbuster combination between Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP announced this past week involves two law firms that have charted very different paths in recent years. Here, a look at what events led up to the firms joining together at the deal table.

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Analysis

More Pardon Seekers Going 'Straight To The White House'

By Phillip Bantz

A nonprofit's unusual plan to make a mass pardon request directly to the Trump administration highlights burgeoning optimism among white collar defendants about their chances of securing relief, and a recognition that the clearest path to clemency no longer runs through the traditional channels.

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4 Stories That Shaped Civil Rights, Access To Justice In 2025

By Marco Poggio

Civil rights and access to justice advocates faced mounting pressure in 2025, as President Donald Trump's return to office drove aggressive immigration enforcement, deep cuts to criminal justice funding, renewed Supreme Court scrutiny of the Voting Rights Act, and a steep increase in executions.

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Federal Courts Not Subject To FOIA, DC Judge Rules

By Jake Maher

The conservative litigation group America First Legal Foundation cannot demand documents from the federal Judicial Conference of the U.S. and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Freedom of Information Act because they are not executive agencies, a D.C. federal judge ruled Thursday.

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Wis. Judge's Conviction In ICE Case Tees Up Legal Battle

By Ryan Boysen

The conviction of a Wisconsin state judge for obstructing ICE officers is just the start of what will likely be a long legal battle, with major questions over judicial immunity, the evidence at hand and the meaning of "corrupt" yet to be decided.

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Justices Let Immigration Judges' Free Speech Suit Continue

By Ganesh Setty

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Trump administration has failed to show it will be irreparably harmed by a Fourth Circuit decision that revived immigration judges' lawsuit challenging restrictions on their ability to speak publicly.

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Florida Supreme Court Approves Limits For Non-Lawyer Roles

By Madison Arnold

The Florida Supreme Court has signed off on a rule change to spell out that nonlawyers at a law firm cannot supervise the work of attorneys or perform policymaking duties that affect the practice of law.

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Keesal Young Drops Part Of Stradley Ronon Poaching Suit

By Madison Arnold

Keesal Young & Logan wants to drop part of its California state court lawsuit alleging Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP unlawfully recruited 10 of its attorneys.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen the designer of an 88-facet diamond bring a copyright claim against a luxury watch retailer, collapsed firm Axiom Ince bring legal action against the solicitors' watchdog, and the Post Office hit with compensation claims from two former branch managers over their wrongful convictions during the Horizon information technology scandal.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

In one of the stories in corporate legal news from the past week, almost half of the in-house legal professionals in a recent survey said they were either actively or passively seeking new jobs, citing stress, a struggle to build multidisciplinary teams and anxiety around artificial intelligence.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Five firms lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the D.C. Circuit reinstated an order that blocked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from freezing grants for climate change projects.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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Promo that reads 2025 MVPs Promo that reads Law360 Pulse Compensation Report

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

American Bar Association

American Civil Liberties Union

Balfour Beatty PLC

Binance Holdings Ltd.

Blickstein Group

Bouygues

Brasfield & Gorrie LLC

Citigroup Inc.

Council on Criminal Justice

Davies Group Ltd.

Dell Technologies Inc.

Democracy Forward Foundation

FTI Consulting Inc.

Galliford Try

Gallup Inc.

Google LLC

H. Lundbeck A S

HSBC Holdings PLC

Johnson & Johnson

Krka dd Novo Mesto

LinkedIn Corp.

Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund

Michelin Group

NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund Inc.

Nasdaq Inc.

Solicitors Regulation Authority Ltd.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Stantec Inc.

Starbucks Corp.

Suncor Energy Inc.

The Cigna Group

The Council of State Governments

The Florida Bar

The Justice Collaborative

Twitter Inc.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Vodafone Group PLC

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Arnold & Porter

Ashurst LLP

Atkinson Andelson

Baker Botts

Beasley Allen

Berger Montague

Bless Litigation

Boies Schiller

Burr & Forman

Cadwalader Wickersham

Clyde & Co

Cohen Milstein

Constantine Law Ltd

Cooley LLP

DAC Beachcroft

DLA Piper

David Boies

Davis Polk

Farrar & Ball

Fennemore

Fieldfisher

Foley Hoag

Gateley PLC

Gibson Dunn

Gimbel Reilly

Gowling WLG

Gunderson Dettmer

Hagens Berman

Harbottle & Lewis

Hay & Kilner

Hodel Wilks

Hogan Lovells

Holland & Knight

Holwell Shuster

Jenner & Block

Joffe & Associes

Jones Day

Joseph & Hall

Joseph Cohen & Del Vecchio

K&L Gates

Kasowitz LLP

Kaster & Lynch

Kaster Lynch

Keesal Young

Keller Postman

Kennedys Law LLP

Keoghs LLP

Kirkland & Ellis

Korein Tillery

Kuck Baxter

Latham & Watkins

Lewis Silkin

Liskow & Lewis

McDermott Will & Schulte

McGuireWoods

Nelson Mullins

Nixon Peabody

Orrick Herrington

Paul Hastings

Pillsbury Winthrop

Proskauer Rose

Quarles & Brady

Quinn Emanuel

Reed Smith

Robinson Calcagnie

Sharpe Pritchard

Sheppard Mullin

Shook Hardy

Shoosmiths LLP

Sidley Austin

Simons Muirhead Burton

Siskind Susser

Spratt Endicott

Stone King

Stradley Ronon

Strang Bradley

Stroock & Stroock

Trethowans LLP

Venable LLP

Victor M. Glasberg & Associates

Whiteford Taylor

WilmerHale

Winston & Strawn

Womble Bond

Zimmer Citron

gunnercooke LLP

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Executive Office for Immigration Review

Executive Office of the President

Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council

Federal Judicial Center

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

Florida Supreme Court

International Trade Commission

National Labor Relations Board

New Jersey Attorney General's Office

Office of Justice Programs

Small Business Administration

Social Security Administration

U.S. Air Force

U.S. Army

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of State

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Government Accountability Office

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

UK High Court

UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO)

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin