DOJ's Blanche Says Scrutiny Is On Crypto Crimes, Not Coders

By Aislinn Keely

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Monday reiterated his commitment to his April 2025 directive instructing U.S. Department of Justice staff to focus their resources on bad actors rather than the creators of the crypto tools they use, saying attorneys representing crypto software developers "should feel very comfortable communicating" with his office to ensure prosecutors comply with the memo.

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6th Circ. OKs Ohio Betting Enforcement Against Kalshi

By Alex Lawson

Ohio gambling regulators have the green light to crack down on Kalshi's sports event contracts after the Sixth Circuit denied the company's bid to keep them at bay amid litigation over whether those offerings violate state gambling laws.

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OCC Moves To Block Illinois' Limits On Card Swipe Fees

By Jon Hill

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has moved to block Illinois from enforcing its landmark swipe-fee law against national banks, issuing emergency rules that open a new front in an ongoing battle over the state's effort to curb merchant payment-processing costs.

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Firms Seek $1.65M Fee In Interactive Brokers Settlement

By Tom Lotshaw

Counsel in a class action against Interactive Brokers LLC over allegedly faulty algorithms asked a federal judge to award about $1.65 million in attorney fees and $1.63 million in litigation expenses and approve a settlement worth $6.8 million.

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Sullivan & Cromwell Alum Returns After 5 Years With DOJ

By Gina Kim

A former Sullivan & Cromwell attorney is returning to the firm after five years in the public sector working for the U.S. Department of Justice's criminal division, where he prosecuted high-profile insider trading cases and secured convictions for two former Merrill Lynch traders accused of manipulating the precious metals market.

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Structuring Bank-Fintech Ties To Avert Risk

Bank-fintech relationships that can hold up to recent increased scrutiny must take into account a broad swath of structuring considerations including due diligence, compliance, documentation, and planning for a potential wind-down and termination, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

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What DOL Proposal Signals For 401(k)s, Alternative Assets

The U.S. Department of Labor recently published a highly anticipated proposed rule that could establish more defined pathways for 401(k) plan fiduciaries to consider investment options with greater alternative asset exposure, and help fund sponsors and investment managers develop such options, say attorneys at Cleary.

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DOJ's Superseding Policy Muddies Trade Crime Disclosures

The U.S. Department of Justice’s first agencywide voluntary self-disclosure policy is intended to standardize approaches across DOJ components, but the shift may prove difficult in trade controls cases under the National Security Division, which has long viewed sanctions and export control offenses as uniquely serious, say attorneys at Covington.

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ABA Settles Scholarship Suit After Disavowing Racial Criteria

By Grace Elletson

The American Bar Association struck a deal to end a suit claiming a scholarship program for racial and ethnic minorities discriminated against white applicants, in line with a vow it made last year that its programs would be race-neutral, according to a filing Monday in Illinois federal court.

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2nd Trump Judicial Nominee Questioned Over Fla. State Case

By Courtney Bublé

For the second time in a year, a judicial nominee for a Florida federal court is under scrutiny for allegedly presiding over a state level case involving President Donald Trump while being considered for a federal judgeship.

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Reed Smith Targeted In Eletson Gas Ownership Fracas

By Caroline Simson

Reed Smith LLP and two of its partners are facing a $262 million lawsuit in a long-running and bitter dispute over ownership of an international gas shipping company, as well as other issues that remain unresolved following the vacatur of an underlying $102 million arbitral award for fraud.

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Alabama Justices Toss Case Over Atty's AI-Hallucinated Briefs

By Lauren Berg

The Alabama Supreme Court tossed an appeal and sanctioned a Mobile, Alabama, attorney for filing "grossly deficient" briefs that contained multiple inaccurate legal citations that the justices attributed to artificial intelligence "hallucinations."

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Justices Deny Ramey Appeal Of Sanctions In Google IP Case

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review $255,000 in sanctions on embattled attorney William Ramey and a client for bringing what a California judge said was a frivolous patent suit against Google, turning down his appeal arguing the decision used the wrong legal standard.

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Analysis

How A Rush To Trial Paid Off With A Rare FCPA Acquittal

By Phillip Bantz

A defense strategy to fast-track the trial in a yearslong criminal foreign bribery case against a Mexican businessman in Texas appeared to backfire when he was convicted and sent to prison last year, but the gamble ultimately paid off when a judge permanently tossed the case earlier this month.

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Toss Of Atty's LVMH Claim 'Problematic,' 2nd Circ. Judge Says

By Pete Brush

A Second Circuit judge said Monday that he is having a "hard time" understanding how the firing of a LVMH lawyer wasn't connected to her earlier harassment allegations, indicating a willingness to revive retaliation claims against the luxury goods giant.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week tackled a fresh mix of deal litigation, procedural disputes and fiduciary duty claims, with several rulings and filings underscoring the court's continued focus on contractual precision, forum enforcement and the limits of stockholder challenges.

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