Texas Judge Finds Treasure Hunter Entitled To Booty

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge found that a benefactor who helped fund an expedition to recover Spanish treasure in the Caribbean wrongly stole a treasure hunter's share of the loot, sinking the financial backer's attempt to hold on to all the retrieved artifacts.

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8th Circ. Told EPA Misread Aquifer Rule For SD Uranium Mine

By Gautama Mehta

Opponents of a proposed uranium mine in South Dakota told the Eighth Circuit that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did not deserve judicial deference regarding its reasons for exempting an aquifer from Safe Drinking Water Act protections.

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Canada Plans Billions To Shield Steel, Autos From US Tariffs

By Jack McLoone

The Canadian government announced a cumulative CA$5.22 billion ($3.72 billion) in funding for programs to diversify Canadian steel production and open new overseas markets as part of its ongoing response to U.S. tariffs, while also announcing programs for automotives.

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FTC's Meador Questions 'Reliance' On Hovenkamp Treatise

By Bryan Koenig

Federal Trade Commission member Mark Meador vouched Thursday for an "aggregation" theory of antitrust violations that can combine conduct that may not be anticompetitive individually, in a Houston speech that also took direct aim at a foundational academic treatise of modern competition law.

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Vegas Man Gets 38 Months For $5M Tax Refund Fraud Scheme

By Zak Kostro

A Las Vegas man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for his role in what the government described as a $5 million tax refund fraud scheme that also involved his mother, who owned a tax preparation business, federal prosecutors said.

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Russia Must Put Up Security In $50B Yukos Award Suit

By Caroline Simson

England's Court of Appeal on Thursday ordered Russia to put up nearly £1 million in security as it appeals the enforcement of some $50 billion in arbitral awards to former shareholders of Yukos Oil Co., citing a "real risk" that the country could refuse to pay if it's unsuccessful.

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Driving Boat To Oilfield Isn't Maritime Work, 5th Circ. Says

By Danielle Ferguson

Using a boat to transport workers to oil platforms off the Louisiana coast does not make a labor supplier and oil producer's services agreement a maritime contract with an enforceable indemnity provision, a Fifth Circuit panel said in finding the producer does not have to indemnify the supplier.

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Valve Cleaning Blamed For U.S. Steel Coke Plant Explosion

By Matthew Santoni

A contractor cleaning out a 72-year-old cast iron valve at U.S. Steel's Clairton, Pennsylvania, coke plant caused the valve to split and leak flammable gas, which led to a 2025 explosion that killed two workers and injured others, alleges a lawsuit one of the injured workers filed Wednesday in state court.

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Reed Smith Seeks 2nd Circ. Emergency Stay In Eletson Row

By Bonnie Eslinger

Reed Smith urged the Second Circuit in an emergency motion to pause lower court decisions requiring the firm to turn over client files related to shipping company Eletson, saying the courts have "presumed the outcome" of a bankruptcy appeal before scheduled December oral arguments.

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Deals Rumor Mill

PE Giants In Talks With NFL As Nscale Gets Heat Over IPO

By Al Barbarino

Blackstone and Apollo are in talks with the NFL about potential investment in teams, Nscale is working on a potential $45 billion deal to provide Anthropic with compute power as the data center developer faces questions over its lofty IPO valuation, and private equity-backed financial technology company IntraFi could be up for sale valued at more than $10 billion. 

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NextEra Investors Try Again On $150M Deal After 1st Denial

By Sydney Price

NextEra investors are again looking for approval of their $150 million settlement to their lawsuit accusing NextEra of political interference after a Florida federal judge rejected their initial attempt over supposed deficiencies, providing the court with more detail on how the deal was calculated and benefits to class members.

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Investor Says $68M Bulgaria Award Can't Be Nixed

By Gautama Mehta

A renewable energy investor asked the D.C. Circuit to enforce a €61 million ($68 million) arbitral award it won from Bulgaria, arguing Bulgaria's accession to the European Union did not render the treaty under which that award was granted inapplicable.

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Zurich Gets 11th Circ. To Shrink Solar Co.'s Coverage Win

By David Aaro

Zurich American Insurance convinced the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday to narrow First Solar Electric LLC's $12.2 million jury win in a coverage dispute over rain damage, but the appeals court backed the bulk of damages awarded to the Georgia solar farm.

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Voltage Can't Keep Shoals ITC Appeal Alive At Fed. Circ.

By Theresa Schliep

The Federal Circuit on Thursday allowed Shoals Technologies Group LLC to drop its appeal of a U.S. International Trade Commission decision that Voltage LLC didn't infringe its solar power patent after prevailing in another case, even though Voltage opposed the dismissal request.

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How NRC's New Rules Alter Foreign-Financed Reactor Deals

New Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules for reactor licensing open U.S. nuclear projects to foreign capital, presenting new considerations for structuring governance, diligence and approvals to secure and maintain eligibility, says J. Brin Gibson at Spencer Fane.

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Series

Being In The Peace Corps Made Me A Better Lawyer

When I served in the Peace Corps, the people of the West African village where I was stationed helped me acclimate to my new surroundings and enabled me to develop problem-solving, teamwork and empathy skills that have bolstered my legal practice far beyond the ability to offer technical advice, says Brian Bewley at McGuireWoods.

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New Weil-Willkie Domains Add To Merger Speculation

By Marialuisa Taddia

Two domain names that combine the names of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP have been registered, fueling speculation about a potential merger between the two prominent Wall Street law firms.

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Bonus Spotlight

Hueston Hennigan Bumps Clerkship Bonus To $205K

By Lynn LaRowe

Trial boutique Hueston Hennigan is offering a $205,000 bonus to lawyers who have completed one or more federal clerkships, the firm confirmed Thursday.

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'Grave Errors': 5th Circ. Boots Judge After AI 'Botch Job'

By Jeff Overley

A Mississippi federal judge's careless use of artificial intelligence tools led to "sloppy edicts" riddled with "falsehoods and fabrications," the Fifth Circuit held in a Thursday night opinion removing the judge from litigation over an anti-DEI law in the Magnolia State because of his "extraordinarily grave errors."

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Texas Judge Probe Shows Lack Of Mental Impairment Process

By Jack Karp

Fifth Circuit officials have done a reasonable job of handling a rare situation involving a Texas federal judge who appears to be undergoing a mental health crisis, but the episode highlights that a more standardized way of dealing with federal judges experiencing mental impairment needs to be established, experts and scholars say.

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Jackson Walker Hits Back At Fee Clawback Sanction Move

By Vince Sullivan

Law firm Jackson Walker said Wednesday that it should not be sanctioned for failing to bring to a Texas federal judge's attention additional cases involving an undisclosed romantic relationship between a bankruptcy judge and one of its attorneys because the U.S. Trustee already investigated those cases and didn't take action.

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GOP Reps. Seek Probe Of Fla. Judge's Sanctions Order

By Courtney Bublé

Top Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee asked the Judicial Conference Thursday to investigate a Florida federal judge for potential misconduct with an order she issued in the case involving the leak of President Donald Trump's tax returns.

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JPMorgan, Ex-Frank Execs Clash Over $2.1M In Legal Fees

By Jarek Rutz

JPMorgan Chase & Co. faced renewed demands in the Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday to pay about $2.1 million in withheld legal fees for convicted Frank founder Charlie Javice and former executive Olivier Amar, as their lawyers accused the bank of using repeated billing objections to delay funding for their criminal defenses.

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Roundup MDL Atty Fund 'Cries Out' For Review, 9th Circ. Told

By Dorothy Atkins

Plaintiffs' firms urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse a ruling Thursday requiring them to contribute 8% of their recovery fees to a common benefit fund in multidistrict litigation over Monsanto's Roundup weed killer, arguing the judge ignored a special master's recommendation and the issue "cries out for some appellate supervision."

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