Meta Says Section 230 Foils Social Media Addiction Verdict

By Rae Ann Varona

Meta urged a Los Angeles judge on Thursday to toss a landmark verdict against the social media giant and Google for harming a young woman's mental health, saying it deserves a total victory under Section 230 because the plaintiff was addicted to third-party content, not the platforms themselves.

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5th Circ. Unblocks Texas App Age-Check Law During Appeal

By Lauren Berg

The Fifth Circuit on Thursday paused an injunction halting a Texas law that requires app store owners to verify users' ages and block minors from downloading apps or making in-app purchases without parental consent, saying the state will likely succeed in showing the district court erred in blocking the law.

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Draft House Bill Aims To Set Federal AI Regulatory Standard

By Allison Grande

A bipartisan pair of House members Thursday released a draft proposal to create a federal framework for AI governance that would require large developers to take steps to address and disclose "catastrophic" risks while prohibiting states from crafting or enforcing laws "targeting the development of AI models" for three years.

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US Middle Market PE Surge Expected After Strong 2025

By Al Barbarino

U.S. middle market private equity dealmakers are signaling renewed optimism, with the vast majority expecting a meaningful jump in buyout activity over the next two years after a robust 2025, according to survey results published on Thursday. 

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MAC Must Face Customer's Makeup Try-On BIPA Suit

By Lauraann Wood

A MAC Cosmetics customer can pursue Biometric Information Privacy Act allegations targeting virtual makeup try-on technology the company uses in store and online because she has plausibly alleged that the technology's face scans can be used to identify consumers, an Illinois federal judge said Thursday.

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Flyers Ask Full 5th Circ. To Rehear CrowdStrike IT Outage Suit

By Linda Chiem

Airline passengers have asked the full Fifth Circuit to review a panel decision rejecting their proposed class action alleging the cybersecurity firm behind 2024's crippling global IT outage should be held liable for stress and physical injuries they suffered while stranded by delayed or canceled flights.

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Justices Say FCC Fines Can Stand Without Jury Trial

By Christopher Cole

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Federal Communications Commission's authority to issue monetary penalties Thursday, knocking down challenges to nearly $200 million in fines against the Big Three wireless carriers for failing to protect consumer data privacy.

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Bolton To Plead Guilty In Classified Info Case

By Jared Foretek

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton will plead guilty to charges that he illegally retained classified national defense information.

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Meta Says 9th Circ. Needn't Revisit Facebook Genocide Ruling

By Mike Curley

Meta Platforms Inc. is fighting a petition from two women asking the Ninth Circuit for a full court rehearing of their suit alleging that Facebook's 2009 algorithms contributed to the destruction of their villages during the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, saying the circuit's interpretation of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act doesn't need revisiting.

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Medical System Loses Bid To Send Data Breach Cases To Mo.

By Melanie Dorsey

Munson Healthcare cannot transfer two patient data breach proposed class actions to Missouri because it did not establish that Missouri courts could exercise personal jurisdiction over the healthcare system, a Michigan federal judge ruled, while ordering the provider to produce information that could determine if the cases should return to state court.

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Parking Cos. Face Privacy Class Action Over Plate Readers

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Four private parking operators and technology vendors in Maryland are facing a proposed privacy class action after five drivers accused them of illegally pulling their personal information from the state DMV to send them invoices with exorbitant fees.

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ERMI Failed To Protect Patient Health Data, Class Action Says

By Kelcey Caulder

A medical services provider is facing a proposed class action in Georgia federal court over a 2025 data breach that allegedly exposed the protected health information of its patients, including diagnostic treatment information and provider names.

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2nd Circ.'s Embedded Video Ruling May Protect Publishers

The Second Circuit's recent decision in Richardson v. Townsquare, dismissing an infringement claim arising from an embedding of a YouTube-hosted interview, reaffirms a potent defense for publishers who regularly use social media platforms' embed functionality, says Amanda Harris at Jassy Vick.

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Data Collection Push Signals New Era For Bank Compliance

An executive order pushing for broad bank collection of beneficiary data and a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network geographic targeting order in Minnesota should prompt financial institutions to run checks on customer diligence and privacy controls, as these directives may be part of a wider compliance shift, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

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Series

Competing At Poker Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Playing poker in male-dominated rooms taught me to treat skepticism as background noise when my opponents seem to underestimate me, to apply pressure when it matters and to adapt without losing strategic discipline — skills that are all indispensable in restructuring and insolvency matters, says Alexis Gambale at Pashman Stein.

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Quinn Emanuel, Texas Boutique Match Milbank Associate Pay

By Kevin Penton

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and a Texas-based litigation boutique are the latest firms to match Milbank LLP's pay hikes for associates, with annual increases of $10,000 to $20,000 that top off at $455,000.

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Blanche's AG Bid Could Face Rocky Path In Senate

By Courtney Bublé

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will be tapped for the permanent role, but he might not have a smooth path to confirmation.

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Goldstein Seeks Sentencing Delay, Citing New Tax Claims

By Jared Foretek

SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein renewed his push Wednesday in Maryland federal court for a delayed sentencing, saying prosecutors blindsided his defense by including additional uncharged years of alleged tax avoidance in the government's sentencing memorandum.

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Georgia Fed. Judge Facing Impeachment Threat, New DQ Bid

By Emily Johnson

A Georgia federal judge reportedly disciplined for having sexual intercourse in her chambers and attending a political event is facing renewed pressure, as a former UPS employee seeks her disqualification from his dismissed racial discrimination lawsuit and a Georgia congressman drafts articles of impeachment to remove her from the bench.

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Deepfake Mocks Judge Spearheading Judiciary Deepfake Rule

By Jeff Overley

The New York federal judge developing policies for phony audiovisual materials revealed Thursday firsthand experience with the subject: an artificial intelligence video on social media that depicts him as a maniacal Nazi who recently sentenced a private equity executive to prison "for being a Republican."

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Analysis

'Parallel' DOJ, SEC Investigations Not So Parallel Anymore

By Phillip Bantz

The level of coordination between the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has decreased under the Trump administration, resulting in disjointed investigatory efforts and misaligned timing in parallel investigations, experts say.

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'Kentucky Hammer' Tries To Control Attys, PI Market, Suit Says

By James Boyle

The principal attorney of personal injury firm Isaacs & Isaacs PCS, who advertises as the "Kentucky Hammer," has been accused by a former attorney at the firm of bullying his employees into signing unfavorable contracts and attempting to monopolize the local personal injury market.

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Baker Donelson Seeks 'No Recovery' Ruling In Ponzi Fallout

By Emily Sawicki

Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC on Thursday asked a Mississippi federal court to issue a single check-box form ruling that states the firm does not owe a monetary judgment stemming from a jury's verdict finding it committed negligent supervision amid a timber company's nine-figure Ponzi scheme, which was perpetrated in part by two of the firm's then-partners.

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Calif. Bar Accuses More Attys In Unlicensed Practice Scheme

By Lauren Berg

Three more attorneys at the Los Angeles personal injury firm facing investigation for its involvement in a record $4 billion sex abuse settlement against Los Angeles County are facing disciplinary charges by the State Bar of California, alleging the firm illegally practiced law outside the state.

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NY AG Must Preserve Cohen Docs In Trump's Civil Fraud Case

By Frank G. Runyeon

The New York state trial court judge overseeing President Donald Trump's civil fraud case granted his request to preserve notes from private meetings between state litigators and Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen after the key witness said he felt "pressured" to testify.

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SEC Disgorgement Powers Stay Intact After High Court Fight

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday said that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could collect ill-gotten gains from alleged fraudsters without having to identify victims who were financially harmed by the fraud, declining to place further limits on the agency's disgorgement powers six years after it last did so.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Robbins Geller's David Knotts

By Sydney Price

Right after graduating from Cornell University Law School, David Knotts, a native of Kansas City, Missouri, landed at one of the world's largest corporate defense firms.

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