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 (£1.3 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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Are You Happy With Your In-House Role? Take Our Survey

Is your company giving you everything you need to succeed? What are some misconceptions about working in-house? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Satisfaction Survey.

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Weil Merger Talks With Willkie End, Another Partner To Leave

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP have ended merger discussions and another top Weil partner is set to depart the firm, sources with knowledge on the matters told Law360 Pulse on Friday.

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Q&A

Holland & Knight Legal Profession Head On MSO Dealmaking

By Al Barbarino

Holland & Knight LLP partner Trisha Rich is at the forefront of the firm's work in a fast-growing corner of the legal industry, advising law firms setting up management services organizations, or MSOs, as well as the investors looking to buy into them.

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Trump Adviser Ducking Service In Exec Orders Suit, ABA Says

By Jack Karp

Trump attorney Boris Epshteyn has evaded service of subpoenas, so the American Bar Association should be allowed to pursue alternative means of serving him in its lawsuit over President Donald Trump's efforts to intimidate BigLaw firms, the organization is telling a Washington, D.C., federal judge.

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Mass. Judge Jailed Atty For 'Attitude,' Ethics Complaint Says

By Julie Manganis

A former Massachusetts state court judge placed a public defender into custody for hours over his "attitude" during a March 2025 hearing, the state's judicial conduct commission has said in a disciplinary complaint.

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SEC Fights LSU Claim That Case Citations Were 'Hallucinated'

By Alex Lawson

The Southeastern Conference is disputing claims that it submitted "hallucinated" case citations in its lawsuit challenging Louisiana State University's efforts to add former professional players to its sports teams, urging an Alabama federal judge to strike the allegations.

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Insurer Says NY Firm Staged Accidents For Suits

By Danielle Ferguson

A reinsurance company has filed another complaint accusing a New York personal injury law firm of recruiting workers to stage injuries in support of meritless claims, a few months after the Second Circuit dismissed similar claims because the insurer didn't have any direct injuries to bring a racketeering suit. 

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Ex-DOJ Officials And Judicial Nominees Vie For Office

By Courtney Bublé

Hundreds of candidates are on the ballot in the midterm elections, happening in less than two weeks, and among them are former U.S. Department of Justice officials and unsuccessful judicial nominees.

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9th Circ. Judge Hints Trump US Atty Firing OK Despite 'Chaos'

By Rachel Riley

A Ninth Circuit judge remarked on Friday that President Donald Trump's ouster of court-appointed Seattle U.S. Attorney Roger Rogoff has sown "chaos," but pushed back against Rogoff's contention that the move amounted to executive overreach, noting that the president already controls the office via the attorney general.

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NY Commercial Attys Must Justify Discovery Cost Bids Early

By Andrea Keckley

New York Courts Chief Administrative Judge Joseph A. Zayas said in an administrative order earlier this month that commercial litigators who want opposing counsel to fund some or all of the discovery process must state their basis for the request and provide a "good faith" estimate of the costs.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

McGinn Montoya Love Curry & Sievers PA and DiCello Levitt lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a New Mexico federal judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion over the lies that the social media giant offered the public regarding its data privacy practices.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Meta's legal chief says the company will appeal a $25 billion verdict involving data privacy practices including the Cambridge Analytica scandal. And a new study shows that while in-house starting salaries are staying stable, adding special skills like AI expertise can lift them higher.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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