White House Crypto Czar Hired Clare Locke Amid NYT Probe

By Aislinn Keely

The tech founder-turned-White House crypto and artificial intelligence czar David Sacks has hired defamation specialists at Clare Locke LLP to combat a New York Times investigation into potential conflicts of interest arising from his personal tech investments and role as a White House policy adviser.

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Terraform Founder Seeks Five Years At Most For Crypto Fraud

By Aislinn Keely

Terraform founder Do Kwon has asked a Manhattan federal judge to impose no more than five years of imprisonment after he admitted to misleading users about the stability of the crypto project, noting he still has to face "certain future detention in Korea" over the stunning collapse that wiped out $40 billion in value.

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State AGs Demand Info From 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Lenders

By Joyce Hanson

A multistate coalition of seven attorneys general has launched a probe into the terms and fees set by "buy now, pay later" lenders that are popular with shoppers, saying they're concerned that the companies' products could be breaking consumer protection laws.

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Kalshi Users Bring Class Action Over 'Illegal' Sports Gambling

By Katryna Perera

Kalshi Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action in New York federal court alleging that the platform is falsely marketing itself as a "prediction market," when in reality it is running an illegal sports gambling operation.

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Bitcoin Treasury Co. Names New General Counsel

By Lynn LaRowe

Bitcoin Treasury company Strategy announced Monday that it has brought on a new general counsel, the former legal chief of blockchain platform company Chia Network Inc., according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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CFTC's Pham Expands 'Due Process' For Enforcement Targets

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced changes to its investigation process Monday that the acting chair said are meant to protect the due process rights of those who are accused of wrongdoing by agency attorneys.

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Fed Sees Shrinking Number Of Open Exam Findings At Banks

By Jon Hill

The Federal Reserve on Monday reported broad declines in open supervisory issues at financial institutions under its oversight during the first half of the year, a shift that comes as the Trump administration is pursuing efforts to rein in examiner criticism of banks.

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Robinhood Looks To Block Nevada Sports Wager Order

By Katryna Perera

Robinhood Derivatives LLC asked a Nevada federal judge to pause state regulators from taking action over the trading platform's sports wagers while it pursues an appeal of a related court order, arguing the case presents important, novel and complex legal questions that warrant appellate review.

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Brief

Ex-NBA Vet Haslem Prepares To Exit Sprawling FTX Litigation

By Katryna Perera

Longtime Miami Heat forward turned NBA broadcaster Udonis Haslem has reached a settlement with investors over his alleged role in promoting the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange before its collapse in late 2022.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court saw a slate of corporate law clashes this past week, from fast-moving injunction fights in consumer product and real estate markets to multibillion-dollar oversight claims against crypto executives and fresh battles over control for two sports teams.

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The Future Of Digital Asset Oversight May Rest With OCC

How the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency handles fintechs' growing interest in national trust bank charters, demonstrated by a jump in filings this year, will determine how far the federal banking system extends to digital assets, and whether the charter becomes a mainstream supervisory pathway, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

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Series

The Law Firm Merger Diaries: How To Build On Cultural Fit

Law firm mergers should start with people, then move to strategy: A two-level screening that puts finding a cultural fit at the pinnacle of the process can unearth shared values that are instrumental to deciding to move forward with a combination, says Matthew Madsen at Harrison.

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Bonus Spotlight

Sheppard Mullin To Offer Larger Bonuses To Busy Associates

By Kevin Penton

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP associates who labored past 2,000 hours in 2025 can expect to see a little extra in their upcoming bonus checks, according to an internal memo obtained by Law360.

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Hagens Berman Referred To DOJ For Alleged Misconduct

By Emma Cueto

A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday recommended to the U.S. Department of Justice that it investigate powerhouse plaintiffs firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP's conduct in connection with several since-dropped product liability cases that a special master found to be filed in bad faith.

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King & Spalding Atty Dies In Mountain Climbing Accident

By Kelcey Caulder

People at King & Spalding LLP are mourning after an appellate attorney from the firm and a mountain guide fell to their deaths climbing New Zealand's tallest mountain.

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Approach The Bench: Judge Robart On Living Under Threats

By Cara Bayles and Steven Trader

It's been nearly nine years since U.S. District Judge James Robart blocked President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order barring travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, and though the judge has had a long career — including groundbreaking patent and securities decisions — he still occasionally gets recognized as that "so-called judge."

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Twitter Investors Lose Bid To DQ Musk Counsel Spiro

By Katryna Perera

A California federal judge has denied an attempt by Twitter investors to have Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP partner Alex Spiro disqualified from serving as both lead counsel for Elon Musk and a witness in a trial over claims that Musk tried to tank Twitter's stock.

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Dentons Sees Ex-Partner's Appeal Nixed In California

By Caroline Simson

California's highest court has quietly tossed litigation filed by a former Dentons partner who was fired over a $34 million contingency fee due from a Chinese client following an arbitration matter, several months after advising the parties to prepare for oral arguments.

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The Top In-House Hires Of November

By Sue Reisinger

Elon Musk's xAI has a new but familiar general counsel, while several sports groups — including the New York Mets, PGA of America and the SEC college athletic conference — also brought on new legal leaders in November.

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SDNY Head Backs Good Deals For Quick Cooperation By Cos.

By Stewart Bishop

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton on Tuesday said he's prepared to offer "real benefits" to corporations facing criminal investigations if they quickly agree to cooperate and compensate victims, ideally in the form of comprehensive, government-wide resolutions.

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Exclusive

14 Ex-Lawmakers Tell USPTO Proposed Rules Violate The Law

By Ryan Davis

A group of 14 former members of Congress, including America Invents Act sponsor Patrick Leahy, has told the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that the agency's proposal to restrict many patent challenges "violates foundational American legal principles and the AIA."

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Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Matthew Perlman

The FTC urged a D.C. court to block a deal involving a new heart valve treatment, and courts rejected the commission's monopolization case over Meta's past acquisitions and the agency's challenge of a medical device coatings deal. Here, Law360 looks at the major merger review developments from November.

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2 New Judges Confirmed To NC Federal Court

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate confirmed two federal judges for North Carolina on Tuesday.

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