Analysis

'Best Judicial System In The World': Alsup Reflects On Career

By Bonnie Eslinger

Before taking inactive status late last year, U.S. District Judge William H. Alsup presided over historic litigation in California's Northern District for 26 years, arriving at his San Francisco chambers every weekday before dawn to prepare for the day's work.

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Ex-FirstEnergy Execs' Bribe Trial Ends After Jury Hits Impasse

By Cara Salvatore

An Ohio judge on Tuesday dismissed a jury weighing charges that two former FirstEnergy Corp. executives bribed a utility regulator to help secure a controversial $1.3 billion bailout for two of the company's nuclear plants, after the jury reported an impasse following more than a week of deliberations.

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'God Squad' Exempts Gulf Drillers From Species Protections

By Gautama Mehta

A federal committee with the power to waive Endangered Species Act protections convened for the first time in 34 years on Tuesday and granted an exemption for oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Public Health Groups Challenge EPA's Mercury Limits Repeal

By Jared Foretek

The American Academy of Pediatrics and more than a dozen environmental and public health groups are calling on the D.C. Circuit to vacate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's repeal of Biden-era limits on mercury and air toxins, saying the move will jeopardize children's health across the country.

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Insurer Can't Dodge Oxy Suit Over $22M Settlement Fight

By José Luis Martínez

A Texas federal judge has declined to let Berkley National Insurance Co. off the hook in a lawsuit accusing it of mishandling competing settlement demands, finding that a group of energy companies stated a viable claim in an amended petition that the insurer exposed them to out-of-pocket liability after exhausting most of a $22 million policy on a separate claim.

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Commerce Finalizes 73% Algerian Steel Rebar Subsidy Duty

By Dylan Moroses

Following the finalization of triple-digit antidumping duties, steel concrete reinforcing bar from Algeria faces another nearly 73% duty after the U.S. International Trade Administration finalized its determinations in a countervailing duty investigation, according to a notice published Tuesday.

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Lobbyist Blocked Rivera After Tying Him To $50M Oil Deal

By Carolina Bolado

Republican lobbyist Brian Ballard was "exceptionally angry" and blocked former Florida Congressman David Rivera's number after Rivera insinuated Ballard was tied to a $50 million consulting agreement Rivera signed with the U.S. affiliate of Venezuela's state-owned company, Ballard testified Tuesday in federal court.

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Wash. Creates Electric Transmission Authority With New Law

By Rachel Riley

Washington passed a law on Monday forming a state electric transmission authority to supercharge efforts to build out the Evergreen State's power grid through public-private partnerships and other initiatives, with a focus on shifting to renewable energy sources to meet the state's decarbonization goals. 

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Teamsters Fund Sues To Block Clearway Reclassification

By Jarek Rutz

A Teamsters pension fund has filed a class action in the Delaware Chancery Court seeking to block a planned share reclassification by Clearway Energy Inc., alleging the deal would entrench the company's controlling stockholder while stripping public investors of voting power.

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Ford Says Suit Against Solar Battery Maker Is Valid

By Susan Smiley

Ford asked a Michigan federal court Monday to proceed with a breach of contract suit it brought against solar battery maker Sol-Ark over confidential technology Sol-Ark allegedly revealed in patent applications, arguing it is "demonstrably incorrect" that Sol-Ark came up with the technology on its own.

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Ariz. Judge Keeps Oak Flat Stay Pending 9th Circ. Rehearing

By Joyce Hanson

An Arizona federal judge has agreed with Apache tribal members and environmental groups that a stay should remain in place as they await a Ninth Circuit decision on their legal fight to block the transfer of 2,500 acres to a copper mining company.

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Steptoe Adds Vinson & Elkins Arbitration Pro

By Caroline Simson

Steptoe LLP has hired an international arbitration veteran from Vinson & Elkins LLP who helped secure a $1.47 billion award for Iraq to join the firm as a partner in its international disputes practice in Houston.

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In First For DOJ, Action Signals New CFIUS Enforcement Era

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking judicial enforcement of a divestment order, an unprecedented action for the agency that ushers in a new phase for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, one in which judicial proceedings complement administrative oversight and presidential divestment orders may be enforced through litigation, says attorney Sohan Dasgupta.

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Getting The Most Out Of Learning And Development Programs

Junior associates can better develop the legal, business and interpersonal skills they need for long-term success by approaching their firms’ learning and development programs armed with five tips for getting the most out of these resources, says Lauren Hakala at Reed Smith.

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Feature

Rats, Vapes And Vodka: Strange But True Cases For April Fool's

By Emily Field

A dead rodent in a burrito bowl delivery, a mix-up with vodka seltzer in the wrong cans and the Toys R Us brand taking on a Connecticut vape shop are among Law360's list of strange cases suitable for April Fool's Day.

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FTC Backs Florida's Move To Kill ABA's Accreditation Monopoly

By Hailey Konnath

The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that it supports the Florida Supreme Court's recent decision to end the American Bar Association's longstanding accreditation monopoly, agreeing with the finding that it is "not in Floridians' best interest for the ABA to be the sole gatekeeper" in deciding who sits for the bar exam.

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NC Attys Oppose DOJ Interference In State Ethics Complaints

By Hayley Fowler

A group of North Carolina lawyers is opposing the U.S. Department of Justice's proposed rule allowing the attorney general to review state-level ethics complaints against the department's attorneys, saying such a change would undercut the Tar Heel State's ability to regulate government lawyers.

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Blumenthal Presses DHS Chief To Scrap ICE Warrant Memo

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, is looking for assurances from the newly installed secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, that he will honor his apparent pledge to rescind a policy that allows immigration agents to enter private property without a judicial warrant.

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Habba, Ex-Firm Get Defense Redo In Suit Over Divorce Advice

By Jake Maher

A New Jersey appeals court gave former acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba another chance to pursue an anti-abusive litigation motion against an attorney suing her for malicious prosecution on Tuesday.

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7th Circ. Scolds Ex-Judge For Citing Fake Cases In Brief

By Celeste Bott

A Seventh Circuit panel admonished an attorney and former chief federal immigration judge for submitting a brief citing two nonexistent cases and a false quotation, saying while such errors can be "tell-tale signs" of AI hallucinations, her denial she used AI is "plausible" and the court won't consider further sanctions.

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'Construction Has To Stop!': Judge Blocks Trump's Ballroom

By Dorothy Atkins

A Washington, D.C., federal judge Tuesday granted a historical preservation nonprofit's request for a preliminary injunction halting President Donald Trump's plans to turn the White House's East Wing into an "enormous" 89,000-square-foot ballroom, saying "unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop!"

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Beasley Allen Seeks Stay Of DQ In Federal J&J Talc MDL

By Jake Maher

The Beasley Allen Law Firm asked a New Jersey federal court on Monday to hold off on disqualifying it from talc litigation against Johnson & Johnson while it appeals the disqualification order which it called "unprecedented and incorrect."

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Senate Dems Probe Musk's Alleged Role In CTA Retreat

By Sarah Jarvis

Three Democratic senators have asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to provide information on Elon Musk's possible involvement in the rollback of the Corporate Transparency Act, saying the department's moves allow entities tied to the billionaire to operate in obscurity.

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Analysis

Defamation Litigation Roundup: Unilever, Afroman, Musk

By Theresa Schliep

In this month's review of defamation fights, Law360 highlights a new suit against Unilever by an ousted member of a Ben & Jerry's board, as well as Afroman's defeat of a case by Ohio police officers after a raid of the comedic rapper's home.

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FBI Fired Agents Over Trump 2020 Election Inquiry, Suit Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

Former FBI agents who say they were illegally fired for working on the investigation into President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss filed a proposed class action in D.C. federal court Tuesday accusing the government of unconstitutional "political retribution."

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Brief

Moye White, Ex-Landlord Settle $4M Denver Lease Dispute

By Zach Dupont

Days before the start of a bench trial between a Denver landlord and defunct law firm Moye White LLP in state court, the two parties reached a settlement, ending the litigation where the landlord accused the firm of owing almost $4 million.

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