Analysis

USMCA Nonrenewal Brings New Caution For Business

By Dylan Moroses

The joint review process for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement formally kicked off Wednesday as the U.S. announced its intent not to renew the agreement without changes, leaving practitioners with questions about the outcomes of negotiations and expectations of continued business uncertainty.

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US Not Renewing USMCA, But Deal Still In Force For Now

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. will not to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the Office of the U.S. Trade Ambassador announced Wednesday, though the deal will remain in force as the three sides continue to negotiate.

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Alibaba Cos. Ink $600M Nonprosecution Deal Over Drug Sales

By Sarah Jarvis

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and its U.S.-based payment processor AUS Merchant Services Inc. will avoid prosecution and pay $600 million to end the U.S. Department of Justice's allegations that they allowed merchants to sell and import illegal pharmaceuticals and controlled substances into the U.S., the DOJ announced Wednesday.

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Brief

ITC Probing Monsanto's Claims Against Chinese Glyphosate

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. International Trade Commission has opened an investigation into Chinese glyphosate, the primary ingredient used in the herbicide Roundup, to determine whether the imports that Monsanto Co. alleges are being sold at unfair prices are harming U.S. industry.

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EV Battery Workers Say Ford Is Joint Employer

By MJ Koo

Battery plant workers have told a Michigan federal court that Ford Motor Co. is their joint employer and bears responsibility for unpaid wage claims at an electric vehicle battery plant, pushing back against the automaker's bid to escape the lawsuit.

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Ukrainian Civilian Suit Against Semiconductor Cos. Dismissed

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge on Wednesday dismissed claims that semiconductor manufacturers negligently sold products the Russian government used to build missiles that killed Ukrainian civilians, but gave the Ukrainian civilians who brought the suit another shot at pleading their claims.

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Calif. Judge Sends $2M Cannabis Land Dispute To Arbitration

By Jonathan Capriel

A Los Angeles County judge has hit pause on a $2.2 million lawsuit accusing a cannabis company of misappropriating an investor's contribution after both sides agreed to take the case to arbitration.

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Anthropic Says Export Controls Are Lifted For Latest Models

By Ganesh Setty

Anthropic has announced that export controls ordered by the Trump administration regarding its new Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5 models have been lifted, saying it would make the frontier models available starting Wednesday.

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Lululemon Targeted In New Shopper Tariff Refund Lawsuit

By Rachel Riley

Lululemon has been accused of boosting prices in response to the Trump administration's global tariffs then failing to refund customers when the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the duties, becoming one of the latest household brand names to face such claims.

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Tariff Refunds May Reshape Loan Covenant Calculations

Tariff refunds issued after the U.S. Supreme Court's Learning Resources decision may complicate borrowers' covenant calculations depending on accounting treatment, the timing of recognition, customer reimbursement obligations and credit agreement language, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

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DOJ China Container Indictments Signal Global Cartel Risk

The U.S. Department of Justice's recent announcement that it had indicted Chinese manufacturers for conspiring to drive up the price of shipping containers sold in the U.S. illustrates the Antitrust Division's interest in pursuing overseas cartel conduct, especially in China, signaling that multinational companies with employees abroad should strengthen antitrust compliance to avoid running afoul of U.S. national security policy, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

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Attorney Mental Health Is An Ethical Obligation In The AI Era

As attorneys cope with the increasing unpredictability that artificial intelligence and constant policy changes have created, particularly in practice areas where they carry the emotional weight of clients’ most consequential life events, otherwise soft discussions about self-care are a matter of professional competence, says attorney Jack Jrada.

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Goldstein Calls Gov't's Attack On Text Messages 'Hypocrisy'

By Jared Foretek

Lawyers for convicted SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein have rejected prosecutors' claims that the famed U.S. Supreme Court lawyer may have deleted messages between himself and his poker backers, calling the government "hypocritical" after it had previously argued that Goldstein could authenticate the messages if he took the stand at trial.

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Judiciary Dems Seek DOJ Replies Before Blanche Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

Ahead of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing for the permanent position, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding he provide answers to their outstanding oversight inquiries.

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Brief

Texas Federal Judge Requires Confirmation Of AI Checks

By Emily Sawicki

Attorneys and self-represented parties appearing before U.S. District Judge Ernest Gonzalez of the Western District of Texas are now required to certify that they have independently verified the contents of any filings created or edited using artificial intelligence.

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'Do Your Part,' Mass. Judge Chides Read Case Attys Post-Leak

By Cara Salvatore

A Massachusetts judge on Wednesday lectured counsel in the high-profile civil case against Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman acquitted of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend, to honor their ethical obligations after sensitive information leaked on social media.

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U Of Ky. Appoints Controversial Dean Pick For Law School

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove of the Eastern District of Kentucky will retire from the bench later this month to become dean of the University of Kentucky's J. David Rosenberg College of Law, a move that sparked controversy in the state.

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Wash. Atty Loses Bid For Jury In Dispute Over Bar Sanctions

By Emily Sawicki

A Washington lawyer sanctioned and disciplined for bringing a "frivolous" election suit in 2021 against then-Gov. Jay Inslee has lost her bid to have her ethics charges heard by a jury, with a state appeals panel finding no error in a trial court's ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to take on the disciplinary matter.

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Analysis

High Court's Guardrails Won't Ease Fight Over Trans Athletes

By Alex Lawson

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision permitting states to ban transgender athletes from girls' sports was written in simple terms, but attorneys tracking the issue see the ruling as a flashpoint for further litigation.

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Analysis

Plea Deals Get Scrutiny In 'Hunter,' But Justices Stay Cautious

By Brandon Lowrey

The shock for Mary Fan came almost immediately after she began her career as a federal prosecutor in Southern California in the mid-2000s.

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5 NYC Legal Service Provider Union Contracts Have Expired

By Andrea Keckley

The collective bargaining agreements for five New York City-based indigent defense and civil legal aid providers expired at the end of the day Tuesday as multiple unions reported outstanding points of contention in their negotiations.

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Watchdog Says DOL Needs Better Info Sharing Controls

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor's lack of controls over information sharing between subagencies and nongovernmental entities, including law firms and legal advocacy organizations, may have unfairly advantaged those parties with privileged investigative information, an agency watchdog reported, though use of the practice has dropped off. 

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Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of June

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires during the past month included high-profile appointments at Bayer, Harley-Davidson and PBS. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from June.

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