Ex-CEO Says Arrow Exec Joined Fraud After Pay Frustrations

By Thy Vo

The former CEO of a Colorado database company who pleaded guilty to a scheme to steal almost $2 million from Arrow Electronics testified on Thursday that his alleged co-conspirator at the company became a mutual collaborator in the fraud because he was unhappy with his pay and long hours.

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Analysis

As Trump Wields FCA, Whistleblowers May See 'Dollar Signs'

By Chris Villani and Madeline Lyskawa

The Trump administration's plan to use the False Claims Act to target diversity programs and alleged civil rights fraud steers a well-worn statute into uncharted territory, and could spur significant whistleblower activity amid high-profile battles with Harvard University, BigLaw firms and other institutions, experts told Law360.

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Mass. Judge Halts Trump's Bid To Slash Education Dept. Jobs

By Chris Villani

A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to lay off hundreds of U.S. Department of Education employees, finding that the administration's claims of wanting more efficiency are a mask for their actual goal of dismantling the department.

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Judge Asks If DEI Is Now 'Homogeneity, Inequity And Exclusion'

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge considering a challenge to the Trump administration's cuts to hundreds of National Institutes of Health grants pressed the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday for its definition of diversity, equity and inclusion, at one point asking hypothetically whether the government's policy is now "homogeneity, inequity and exclusion."

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Colo. Health System Can't Dodge Nurses' Wage Suit

By Irene Spezzamonte

A suit by a group of nurses accusing a Colorado health system of miscalculating their overtime will stay fully in place, a federal judge ruled, agreeing with a magistrate judge's recommendation not to dismiss the Colorado Minimum Wage Act claim.

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Series

Playing Poker Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Poker is a master class in psychology, risk management and strategic thinking, and I’m a better attorney because it has taught me to read my opponents, adapt when I’m dealt the unexpected and stay patient until I'm ready to reveal my hand, says Casey Kingsley at McCreadyLaw.

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BigLaw Firms Insist Trump Deals Are Legal, Don't Alter Values

By Jack Karp

Nine BigLaw firms including Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP have written to members of Congress defending controversial agreements they made with the Trump administration to avoid executive orders targeting the firms, according to letters obtained by Law360 on Thursday.

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US Trustee, Jackson Walker Might Mediate Fee Case

By Catherine Marfin

The U.S. Trustee's Office and Jackson Walker LLP told a Texas federal judge Thursday they are open to mediating the watchdog's bid to have the law firm forfeit fees from more than 30 cases overseen by a former bankruptcy judge who was romantically involved with a onetime firm partner.

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'Circular Firing Squad' Is Stalling Romance Case, Judge Says

By Catherine Marfin

A Texas federal judge told Jackson Walker LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP that they were stuck in a "circular firing squad" in a debate over whether the former CEO of a defunct barge company could sue the firms over a former bankruptcy judge's secret romance with an attorney.

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Fox Rothschild, Litigation Funder Sued Over NJ Crash Loans

By Jake Maher

A former client is suing a Perth Amboy, New Jersey, personal injury firm, a litigation funder and Fox Rothschild LLP for allegedly steering him into multiple loans during his car accident suit with exorbitant interest rates that left him owing more money than his settlement was worth.

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Ex-Troutman Atty Drops Retaliation Suit Against Major Lindsey

By Emily Sawicki

An associate attorney who sued Major Lindsey & Africa LLC alleging the legal recruiter refused to work with her due to her underlying race discrimination suit against Troutman Pepper permanently dropped her suit Thursday.

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Split Supreme Court Blocks 1st Religious Charter School

By Katie Buehler

A deadlocked U.S. Supreme Court left in place Thursday an Oklahoma state court ruling barring the launch of the nation's first religious charter school, leaving open questions about the constitutionality of excluding religious groups from participating in publicly funded charter school programs.

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High Court Declines To Narrow Reach Of Federal Fraud Law

By Phillip Bantz and Stewart Bishop

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday held that using deceptive means to induce a business transaction may still be a crime even if the defendant doesn't seek to cause economic loss, a departure from earlier decisions that have narrowed the scope of federal fraud statutes.

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Justices Allow Trump To Fire NLRB, MSPB Members, For Now

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled two fired members of the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board cannot return to work while they challenge President Donald Trump's authority to fire them without cause, handing the president a win in his crusade against a 90-year-old precedent limiting his power to fire employees at independent agencies.

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Sen. Durbin Holds Up Florida US Attorney Nominee

By Courtney Buble

Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced Thursday he will be holding up President Donald Trump's U.S. attorney nominee for the Southern District of Florida, blaming precedent set by Vice President JD Vance when he was in the Senate.

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Del. Considering Exam Alternatives For Admitting Attys To Bar

By Rose Krebs

Delaware's judiciary announced Thursday that the state's Supreme Court is establishing a task force that will make recommendations by next year if the First State should pursue alternative pathways other than having to take an exam for attorneys to gain admission into its bar.

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