IRS-ICE Pact Allows For Mass Tax Data Swaps, DC Circ. Told

By Kat Lucero

An information sharing agreement between the IRS and immigration enforcement agencies allows for disclosure of confidential tax information on a mass scale, as evidenced by an IRS official's declaration in a taxpayer group's suit, immigration advocacy groups challenging the agreement told the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday.

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Split 3rd Circ. Says Cell Search Didn't Violate Suspect's Rights

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A split Third Circuit panel ruled Tuesday that a woman's protections against self-incrimination weren't violated when she allowed police officers to search her phone after requesting an attorney following her arrest for drug dealing, holding that evidence on the phone ultimately used against her was properly admitted because the search was voluntary.

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Analysis

Sky-High AI Valuations Are Reshaping Dealmaking Playbook

By Al Barbarino

The latest financing for Anthropic underscores how difficult it has become to dismiss sky-high valuations backing AI as froth, and shows how such numbers could reshape acquisition and exit strategies while exposing investors to heightened legal and financial risks.

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Litigation Spending To Keep Growing As Biz Risks Run High

By Jack Karp

Companies are likely to increase their spending on litigation next year, some by over 10%, as legal disputes become more complex, more contentious and more high-stakes, according to a new report out Thursday.

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DOJ Watchdog Raises Alarm On App Use To Track Victims

By Joyce Hanson

A U.S. Department of Justice watchdog has urged DOJ grant recipients to safeguard victims' personally identifiable information, so domestic abusers and members of the public can't exploit apps and social media to gain access to safe-house addresses and other data.

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Missouri AG Can Seek Unredacted Trans Care Records

By Yeji Jesse Lee

The Missouri attorney general can demand that a hospital turn over unredacted records on patients getting transgender care as part of a probe of a whistleblower complaint, a state appeals court held Tuesday.

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Analysis

DOJ & Google Going To Trial, Again, On Ad Tech Remedies

By Bryan Koenig

The Justice Department goes to trial next week to try breaking up Google's advertising placement technology business after a Virginia federal court declared the company an illegal monopolist in ad tech.

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Movie Chain Shakes Privacy Row Over Meta Data-Sharing

By Allison Grande

A New York federal judge tossed a proposed class action accusing Bow Tie Cinemas of illegally sharing movie ticket buyers' personal information with Facebook parent Meta, finding a recent Second Circuit decision on what qualifies as data covered by the Video Privacy Protection Act was "fatal" to the plaintiff's claims.

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Chicago Cubs Hit With Biometric Privacy Suit

By Celeste Bott

The Chicago Cubs have collected the biometric data of millions of fans attending baseball games at Wrigley Field, deploying a security system with facial recognition technology without getting the written, informed consent from visitors required under Illinois law, according to a proposed class action filed in Illinois federal court Monday.

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Anthropic, Reddit Spar Over Keeping AI Case In Federal Court

By Elliot Weld

Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic has asked a California federal judge to keep Reddit's claims that user content is used to train large language models in federal court, saying that at least one of Reddit's claims are preempted by the Copyright Act and effectively arise from federal law.

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Ex-Applicant Sues Walmart, Alleging Consumer Report Misstep

By Emilie Ruscoe

Big box retailer Walmart faces a proposed class action alleging it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by running a background check, then rescinding a job offer to an applicant who'd disclosed her criminal record before starting the application process.

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Chubb Unit Wants Data, Cyber Cos. To Pay Ransomware Cost

By Lauren Berg

A Chubb insurance unit has claimed a data management company and a cybersecurity firm failed to prevent or mitigate a ransomware attack on one of its policyholders, leading to the insurer being on the hook for more than $500,000 in damages, according to a lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court.

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BIPA Logic May Sustain Walgreens Data Suit, Ill. Justices Hint

By Celeste Bott

Illinois' highest court Wednesday pressed an attorney for Walgreens to address why the company shouldn't apply its own reasoning that a plaintiff can file suit based solely on a statutory violation of the state's biometric privacy statute to allegations that the retail pharmacy chain printed too much financial information on receipts.

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Pa. State Rep. Returns To Eckert Seamans As Privacy Pro

By James Boyle

A Pennsylvania state representative and attorney specializing in data privacy matters has recently moved her practice to Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC's Pittsburgh office.

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VC-Backed Cybersecurity Biz Netskope Prices $908M IPO

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Netskope, a cybersecurity firm with venture capital backing, is set to begin trading on the Nasdaq Thursday after pricing a $908 million initial public offering, at the top of its upwardly revised range.

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Series

Adapting To Private Practice: From Va. AUSA To Mid-Law

Returning to the firm where I began my career after seven years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia has been complex, nuanced and rewarding, and I’ve learned that the pursuit of justice remains the constant, even as the mindset and client change, says Kristin Johnson at Woods Rogers.

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3 Circuits Breathe Life Into Privacy Enforcement, For Now

With the Second Circuit's recent decision in Verizon v. Federal Communications Commission, three courts of appeals have weighed in on all four record-breaking fines imposed, showing that — at least for now — the FCC continues to have broad authority to set and enforce privacy rules outside of the Fifth Circuit, say attorneys at HWG.

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Ex-Calif. Judge Gets 35 Years For Shooting Wife To Death

By Gina Kim

Former California state court judge Jeffrey M. Ferguson lost his bid for a new trial Wednesday and was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison for shooting his wife to death at home in a drunken rage, with the presiding judge expressing sympathy for his "extraordinary" son who tried to save his mother's life.

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Feds Want 3 Years For Girardi Son-In-Law's Chicago Contempt

By Lauraann Wood

Tom Girardi's son-in-law should receive a three-year prison sentence for his admitted role in helping the once-celebrated plaintiffs' lawyer steal millions from Lion Air crash victims, federal prosecutors in Chicago argued Wednesday.

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Winston & Strawn Blamed For 'Anti-Woke' Fintech $1.7B Crash

By Lauren Berg

The trustee of bankrupt "anti-woke" financial technology startup GloriFi on Wednesday launched malpractice litigation against Winston & Strawn LLP in Texas bankruptcy court, accusing the firm and one of its managing partners of putting the interests of the company's founder first and costing the business $1.7 billion in valuation.

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7th Circ. Pick Shrugs Off Conservative Group's Opposition

By Courtney Bublé

During her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Rebecca Taibleson, a federal prosecutor in Wisconsin tapped for the Seventh Circuit, fended off opposition to her nomination from conservative groups, antipathy that the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee called a "new low" for the committee.

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House Votes To End DC Judicial Nominations Commission

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 218-211 along party lines on Wednesday to eliminate the commission that vets and picks potential judicial nominees for Washington, D.C.'s local courts.

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Retired Judges Speak Out On 'Threats' To Constitution

By Courtney Bublé

More than 40 retired federal judges appointed by presidents of both parties released an open letter Wednesday, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, saying they sought to underscore the importance of the rule of law at a time when the nation's ideals "are under historic strain."

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Del. Judge's US Atty Application Plan Draws Blanche's Ire

By Lauren Berg

Delaware's chief district judge, a Trump appointee, is seeking applications for the state's U.S. attorney position to prepare for an upcoming vacancy in the interim position, a move that drew the ire of Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday.

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Giuliani Must Pay Attys $1.4M After Missing Bills Claim Fails

By Adrian Cruz

A New York state judge has awarded nearly $1.4 million to Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP in its lawsuit accusing former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani of racking up unpaid legal bills for the firm's work in various criminal, civil and administrative matters.

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Criminal Restitution Fails Defendants, Victims, Report Says

By Brandon Lowrey

Federal criminal restitution often fails to benefit victims of crime and throws defendants into a "Sisyphean struggle" with debt, with $100 billion in outstanding restitution deemed uncollectable, according to a report released this week by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

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SEC Policy Shift Could Foreclose Some Investor Class Actions

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a policy statement Wednesday that allows the use of mandatory arbitration by new publicly traded companies as its chief seeks to "make IPOs great again," but Democrats warned the move could shut the door to shareholder class actions.

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Ex-Law Student's Bias Suit In Wrong Forum, 4th Circ. Told

By Patrick Hoff

A Black former student at Washington University School of Law shouldn't be able to revive claims that she was suspended from campus and lost her scholarship after complaining about a professor's race bias because she filed the suit in the wrong state, the law school told the Fourth Circuit.

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Trump Could Swing Fed With This 1 Weird Trick: Ex-Fed Gov.

By Jon Hill

A former top Federal Reserve official told Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday that if President Donald Trump succeeds in quickly ousting Fed Gov. Lisa Cook, it could unlock an obscure mechanism for his allies at the Fed to sway future interest-rate decisions.

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