OCC Finalizes Rule Confirming Trust Charter's Broader Scope

By Aislinn Keely

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday finalized a rule amending its chartering regulations to make clear that national trust banks can go beyond managing assets for others, a tweak that could benefit fintech firms seeking charters and could draw the ire of banking groups.

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Morgan Stanley Joins Ranks Of OCC Crypto Bank Hopefuls

By Jon Hill

Morgan Stanley has applied with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to launch a new crypto-focused national bank, adding its name to a growing list of institutions pursuing federal trust charters for digital asset businesses.

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Bitcoin ATM Scam Suit Will Go To Arbitration, Ind. Judge Rules

By Katryna Perera

A retiree's proposed class action claiming that Bitcoin Depot Inc. facilitates fraud schemes that target the elderly belongs in arbitration, an Indiana federal judge has ruled after finding the retiree agreed to the company's terms, which include an arbitration clause, each time he used one of their ATMs.

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SEC Issues Final Rules For Foreign Private Issuer Reporting

By Katryna Perera

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday adopted final rules requiring directors and officers of foreign private issuers to begin disclosing their holdings and transactions of the issuer's securities on March 18, as mandated under a new law aimed at cracking down on foreign insider trading.

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KuCoin Operators Again Seek To Shed $1.2M Crypto Theft Suit

By Emilie Ruscoe

Operators of cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin seek to shed the latest revision of a cryptocurrency theft victim's proposed class action, arguing that the amended suit's conversion and aiding and abetting allegations fare no better than the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and Bank Secrecy Act claims that were tossed in January.

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Roundup

Taxation With Representation: Linklaters, Wilson Sonsini

By Zak Kostro

In this week's Taxation With Representation, French electric utility Engie acquires UK Power Networks, Gilead Sciences Inc. buys clinical-stage biotechnology company Arcellx Inc., and The Brink's Co. acquires NCR Atleos in a deal that unites two major companies in the ATM business.

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Why Meme Coin Ruling May Amplify Crypto Legislation Push

A Florida federal court's recent decision in De Ford v. Koutolas, declining to rule definitively whether LGBCoin is a security, is notable for how it refused to give deference to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission guidance on meme coins, which may strengthen the ongoing industry push for clear rules-based regulatory frameworks, say attorneys at Goodwin.

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Opinion

AI-Assisted Arbitration Needs Safeguards To Ensure Fairness

As tribunals and arbitral institutions increasingly use artificial intelligence tools in their decision-making processes, ​​​​​​​clear disclosure standards and procedural safeguards are necessary to ensure that efficiency gains do not erode the fairness principles on which arbitration depends, says Alexander Lima at Wesco International.

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Goldstein Testimony 'Solidified' Case, Juror Says

By Jared Foretek

One of the 12 jurors who convicted SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein on a slew of tax and mortgage charges on Feb. 25 told Law360 that the key moment in the 16-day trial was when the famed U.S. Supreme Court lawyer took the stand, with the juror calling the testimony "a performance."

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Up Next At High Court: Drug User Gun Possession

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will close out its February oral argument session by hearing its newest Second Amendment case over a federal law that prohibits drug users from possessing firearms, as well as a dispute over whether motor carrier brokers can be held liable for truck crashes under state law.

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Del. Supreme Court OKs Disputed Corporate Law Rework

By Jeff Montgomery

Delaware's Supreme Court upheld Friday hotly contested legislation approved by state lawmakers in 2025 that expanded liability shields for some corporate acts involving controlling stockholders or potentially conflicted officers or directors, and narrowed public access to some corporate books and records.

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When Murder Charges Reach People Who Didn't Kill

By Marco Poggio

Felony murder murder charges permit people to be convicted of murder, even when they neither killed nor intended to kill. Critics say the charges drive excessive sentences, and a wave of reconsideration in courts and legislatures have led states like California to narrow their reach, while others are weighing whether the long prison terms tied to them are constitutional.

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Optimum Says Apollo, BlackRock Bullied Kirkland Withdrawal

By Bryan Koenig

Optimum Communications is escalating its fight accusing Apollo, Ares, BlackRock and other financial giants of an illegal joint campaign constricting its ability to refinance debt, amending its New York federal court complaint to also accuse the companies of "bullying" Kirkland & Ellis LLP into withdrawing as its transaction counsel.

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Calif. Mass Tort Firm Drops Suit Against ABS Fee-Sharing Ban

By James Mills

A California mass torts firm seeking to overturn the state's law banning alternative business structure fee sharing with out-of-state law firms owned by nonattorneys dropped its suit Thursday, three months after filing it.

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Marshall Dennehey Can't Arbitrate Atty's Sex Harassment Suit

By Grace Elletson

An Ohio appeals court declined Thursday to send a former Marshall Dennehey PC attorney's sexual harassment suit to arbitration, ruling that mocking comments he faced from a senior lawyer triggered the protection of a law that shields sex misconduct disputes from being kicked out of court.

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Injury Defense Atty Scolded For 'Gotcha' Litigation Tactic

By Y. Peter Kang

A Florida appellate panel on Friday upheld the dismissal of a car crash suit after plaintiffs' counsel failed to appear at a pretrial hearing due to illness, but also chastised defense counsel for a "gotcha" litigation tactic in not informing the judge of opposing counsel's illness despite knowing about it.

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Katten Pushes For Atty Immunity To Non-Clients' Suit In Texas

By Lynn LaRowe

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP is asking the Texas Supreme Court to shut down a state court lawsuit brought by co-defendants of a client they successfully represented in a federal criminal investigation over alleged healthcare fraud, saying lower courts that refused to dismiss are seeking to limit the state's "hundred-year-old doctrine" of attorney immunity.

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Pro Bono Spotlight

NY Prisoner Gets Rare $600K Deal With Gibson Dunn's Help

By Parker Quinlan

A man incarcerated in a New York state prison who was placed in solitary confinement for over six years has obtained a $600,000 settlement after filing a pro se lawsuit that drew the aid of pro bono counsel from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

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Calif. Bar Charges Atty With Misconduct In LA Utility Case

By Dorothy Atkins

The California State Bar has lobbed disciplinary charges against veteran plaintiffs attorney Paul Kiesel, accusing him of helping divert class action litigation against the city of Los Angeles over a botched utility billing system, allegations which he vigorously denied and slammed as "unfounded, misguided and fundamentally wrong."

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Markey Pushes Bill To Bolster Immigrant Legal Access

By Ganesh Setty

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., announced on Friday that he will introduce legislation to help immigrants secure legal counsel in deportation and other immigration proceedings via a $100 million grant program.

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Hub Hires: Seyfarth, Greenberg Traurig, Outside GC

By Chris Villani

Massachusetts may be buried under a blanket of snow, but the Boston legal market was anything but frozen in February. Seyfarth bolstered its depth in mergers and acquisitions, Greenberg Traurig snagged a benefits attorney, and Outside General Counsel hired a new managing partner.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen Linklaters sue a shipping company, high-street clothing giant Urban Outfitters hit with an intellectual property claim, Ithaca Energy sue rival Chrysaor, and cabaret club magnate Alex Proud face legal action with his nightclubs in financial turmoil.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

A proxy season preview report showed that nearly three-quarters of shareholder proposals for annual corporate meetings among Russell 3000 companies this year have gone to a vote. The U.S. Department of Labor unveiled the details of a long-awaited proposed rule to replace a previous administration's regulation outlining how to decide if a worker is an employee or independent contractor. These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Milbank LLP, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

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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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