Trump 'Debanking' Order Calls For Scrutiny Of Bank Practices

By Jon Hill

President Donald Trump on Thursday directed federal regulators to investigate and potentially punish banks if they have turned away customers based on their political or religious beliefs, escalating his administration's crackdown on so-called debanking.

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Trump Greenlights Private Equity, Crypto 401(k) Investing

By Kellie Mejdrich

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that aims to make it easier for retirement plans to invest in a wider range of assets, including cryptocurrency, private equity and real estate.

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UnitedHealth Selling Home Health Branches In DOJ Deal

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement Thursday resolving its Maryland federal court challenge to UnitedHealth's $3.3 billion acquisition of home health and hospice company Amedisys, with the deal requiring the companies to sell at least 164 locations across 19 states.

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Health Insurance Telemarketers Cough Up $145M In FTC Suits

By Joyce Hanson

Two telemarketing companies will pay $145 million to settle Federal Trade Commission claims that they misled millions of consumers into buying phony health insurance plans, the FTC said in a Thursday announcement accusing the telemarketers of making false promises that didn't provide what they offered.

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Ex-Data Co. Execs Charged With $25M 'Round Tripping' Scam

By Pete Brush

Two executives from bankrupt California data company Near Intelligence Inc. fraudulently inflated the company's revenues by $25 million in a conspiracy that involved a third executive from advertising company MobileFuse LLC, according to a Manhattan federal court indictment unsealed Thursday.

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Binance Partner To Pay $48.5M For Compliance Failure Claims

By Sydney Price

Cryptocurrency trust Paxos Trust Co. has agreed to pay a $26.5 million fine and place $22 million into beefing up its compliance program in a settlement with a New York regulator over its anti-money laundering policies and other alleged due diligence failures related to its stablecoin partnership with crypto exchange Binance.

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Trump Taps Economic Adviser Miran For Fed Board Vacancy

By Sarah Jarvis

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he has chosen Stephen Miran, the chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers, to fill a vacancy on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors until early 2026 while continuing to search for a permanent replacement.

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ND Judge Strikes Down Fed's Debit Card Fee Regulation

By Emilie Ruscoe

A North Dakota federal judge has invalidated the Federal Reserve's regulation limiting certain debit card fees charged in merchant transactions, ruling in favor of a truck stop and convenience store in finding that the Fed had attempted to "improperly repackag[e] the defunct-Chevron deference under a different name."

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CFPB Mulls Cuts To Oversight Reach In 4 Nonbank Markets

By Jon Hill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering formally scaling back the reach of its nonbank oversight, floating a series of early stage proposals that contemplate sharply reducing the number of firms it would supervise in four key financial services markets.

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Judge Orders Chemours To Cut Discharges At W.Va. Plant

By Tom Lotshaw

A West Virginia federal judge on Thursday ordered Chemours to take any steps needed to stop its Washington Works manufacturing plant from continuing to discharge excessive amounts of a harmful "forever chemical" into the Ohio River.

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SC Judge Tosses Charleston Climate Suit Against Energy Cos.

By Tom Lotshaw

A South Carolina state judge has ruled that a city of Charleston lawsuit seeking damages from oil and gas companies for greenhouse gas pollution and climate change impacts is barred under the U.S. Constitution and federal Clean Air Act.

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NC Town Alleges Chem. Giants Hid PFAS Health Risks

By Abigail Harrison

A North Carolina town sued Arkema Inc., Dynax and other chemical manufacturers on Wednesday over the infiltration of toxic "forever chemicals" into its drinking water, alleging the companies knew for decades that the compounds were dangerous and willfully ignored it.

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Ga. AG Sues Gov.'s Race Rival Over No-Limit Fundraising

By Chart Riggall

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr sued one of his top Republican rivals in the Peach State's 2026 gubernatorial race Thursday, alleging Lt. Gov. Burt Jones reaped an unfair advantage in the contest through a campaign finance vehicle that allows him to raise unlimited amounts of cash.

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Ex-Worker Sues Firm For Bias After Work On CDC Contract

By Kelcey Caulder

A former employee sued a management consulting and professional services firm in Georgia federal court Wednesday, alleging he was discriminated against and ultimately fired because of his Islamic faith and PTSD while working on a three-year Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contract.

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Michigan AG Fights Bid To Pause PBM Price-Fixing Suit

By Carolyn Muyskens

Michigan's attorney general has said there is no reason to pause her price-fixing suit against pharmacy benefit managers Express Scripts and Prime Therapeutics for a pending dismissal motion, urging a federal judge not to put discovery on ice. 

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HHS Wins Another Round In Medicare Drug Negotiation Battle

By Mark Payne

A Texas federal court dealt another blow to the pharmaceutical industry Thursday when it ruled in favor of Medicare's Drug Price Negotiation Program, turning away arguments that the program is unconstitutional — the third such decision in two days.

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California Anti-Deepfake Law Struck Down By Judge

By Jared Foretek

A California federal judge has agreed to block a California anti-deepfake law as constitutionally and legally invalid, siding with conservative media companies and content creators who argued that the law infringes platforms' First Amendment rights to moderate content on their own and pressures them to censor speech.

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Motorola Surveillance App Teed Up For 1st Circ. Review

By Nadia Dreid

The First Circuit should decide whether a Motorola app designed to allow police to record calls without informing the person on the other line was illegal in and of itself, said a Massachusetts federal judge overseeing a suit from four men who argue that it was.

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FTC Urged To Investigate Meta's $14.3B Scale AI Investment

By Al Barbarino

A group of advocacy organizations is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Meta's recent $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, saying it fits into a "buy or bury" strategy to eliminate competition.

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Amazon, DC AG Get Antitrust Trial Delayed To May 2027

By Nadia Dreid

The District of Columbia's antitrust suit accusing Amazon of not allowing sellers to offer their products for less on other platforms will not make it to trial until closer to mid-2027, after a D.C. judge agreed Wednesday to allow the parties to push back the original trial date by four months.

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HPE-Juniper Judge Shuns More Direct Comment On DOJ Deal

By Bryan Koenig

Comments, or complaints, about the controversial U.S. Department of Justice deal permitting Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks must go through the DOJ and will no longer be accepted if submitted directly to the court, the reviewing California federal judge said Wednesday.

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Experian Gets CFPB Credit Reporting Suit Tossed, For Now

By Lauren Berg

A California federal judge dismissed a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lawsuit accusing Experian of mishandling consumer credit reporting disputes, saying the agency hasn't sufficiently shown that a tolling agreement with Experian's parent company stopped the clock on the claims, but gave the agency a chance to rework its complaint.

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Loan Servicer Inks $2M Deal With Mass. AG Over Foreclosures

By Julie Manganis

A mortgage servicing firm will pay $2 million to settle allegations that it violated Massachusetts consumer protection, debt collection and foreclosure prevention laws while previously operating as a direct loan servicer, the state attorney general's office announced on Thursday.

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NY AG Says Landlord Overcharged City Subsidized Tenants

By Grace Dixon

The New York Attorney General's Office has filed a lawsuit in state court against a New York City landlord who it says overcharged rent-stabilized tenants receiving subsidies and then sued some of the tenants for nonpayment.

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FCC Plans To Narrow Enviro Rules For Broadband Projects

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday proposed to make it easier for broadband providers to clear FCC reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

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FCC Chucks Nearly 100 'Outdated' Broadcast Rules

By Christopher Cole

In a bid to reduce what it considers to be obsolete regulations, the Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to drop nearly 100 older rules applying to broadcasters from its books.

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Haynes Boone Grows NY Office With Ex-Winston Strawn Atty

By Kevin Penton

Haynes Boone has added a litigator previously with Winston & Strawn LLP who once headed the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation division as chair of its financial services investigations and enforcement practice in New York, the firm has announced.

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Wilson Elser Nabs Former Transpo Safety Board Adviser

By Jack Rodgers

A former team leader for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration who worked with its passenger carrier division on issues involving commercial passenger vehicles like buses and motor coaches has joined Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP's Washington, D.C., office as an of counsel.

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Cos. Must Tailor Due Diligence As Trafficking Risks Increase

As legislators, prosecutors and plaintiffs attorneys increasingly focus on labor and sex trafficking throughout the U.S., companies must tailor their due diligence strategies to protect against forced labor trafficking risks in their supply chains, say attorneys at Steptoe.

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Unpacking The Supreme Court's Views On Judgment Finality

The U.S. Supreme Court's June opinion in BLOM Bank SAL v. Honickman reaffirmed that the bar for reopening a final judgment remains exceptionally high — even when the movant seeks to amend their complaint based on a new legal development, say attorneys at Venable.

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Series

Creating Botanical Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Pressing and framing plants that I grow has shown me that pursuing an endeavor that brings you joy can lead to surprising benefits for a legal career, including mental clarity, perspective and even a bit of humility, says Douglas Selph at Morris Manning.

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Bonus Spotlight

Milbank Offers Summer Bonuses Of Up To $25K To Associates

By Anna Sanders

Milbank LLP has become the first BigLaw firm to announce summer bonuses this year, offering up to $25,000 for associates and counsel after smaller shops also unveiled midyear payouts.

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'Breakdown In Civility' Gets Boies Schiller Sanctioned

By Grace Elletson

A California federal judge slapped Boies Schiller Flexner LLP with a $15,000 sanction Thursday in a former worker's suit claiming Levi Strauss & Co. declined to promote her out of sex bias, faulting the firm for a "uniquely eye-opening breakdown in civility and professionalism."

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Federal Courts Disclose New Cyberattacks On PACER System

By Lauren Berg

The federal judiciary on Thursday disclosed there have been escalating cyberattacks on its case management system, putting sealed and sensitive case documents at risk, and that it is taking steps to strengthen its security.

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Fox Rothschild Must Face Litigation Funding Suit, Court Told

By Rose Krebs

A married couple is urging a New Jersey state judge to reject Fox Rothschild LLP's bid to exit a malpractice suit alleging that they were unlawfully steered to cover medical expenses with high-interest loans from the firm's litigation funder client, saying they've "amply" pleaded claims of misconduct.

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Ex-Boston Heart CEO Defends Jenner & Block Fee Bid

By Rose Krebs

Boston Heart's former CEO is urging the Delaware Chancery Court to order the medical testing company to advance her legal fees to pay Jenner & Block LLP for its defense of her in criminal and civil cases, disputing Boston Heart's claims that the law firm's rates are "grossly inflated."

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DOJ's Boasberg Complaint Violates Judicial Privacy, Sen. Says

By Jake Maher

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has accused the U.S. Department of Justice of misusing private comments from a meeting of the Judicial Conference of the United States to pursue ethics charges against a federal judge who found probable cause to hold President Donald Trump's administration in contempt of court.

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2nd Circ. Says Trial Atty With Brain Disease Not 'Ineffective'

By Bonnie Eslinger

The Second Circuit on Thursday affirmed the convictions of a former New York City law enforcement union president along with its ex-financial adviser for defrauding members out of $500,000, rejecting among contentions that one defense lawyer's abilities were impaired at trial by a fast-moving neurodegenerative disease.

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Calif. Ethics Panel Clarifies Judge DQs In Racial Justice Cases

By Madison Arnold

A California judicial ethics committee has issued a formal opinion advising a judge who is a former prosecutor that a pending case involving a discovery motion under the state's Racial Justice Act does not require the judge's recusal.

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Democracy Forward Launches Appellate Practice

By Lynn LaRowe

The Democracy Forward Foundation has formed an appellate practice on the heels of a hiring spree that has doubled the nonprofit's legal staff since November with former BigLaw and government attorneys, as some private firms have pulled back from taking on cases that challenge the current White House.

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Trump Admin Asks Justices To Halt ICE Arrest Limits In LA

By Hailey Konnath

The Trump administration on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a California federal court's order temporarily blocking the government from conducting immigration arrests in the Los Angeles area without probable cause, arguing that it threatens officials' ability to enforce immigration laws.

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Sentencing Commission Plans To Reassess Fraud Guidelines

By Stewart Bishop

The U.S. Sentencing Commission on Wednesday said it will consider potential reforms to the federal sentencing guidelines for fraud offenses, including the outsized role of loss calculation in sentencing, one of several priorities the agency has marked for closer examination.

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