Analysis

End Of De Minimis Duty Breaks May Snag Supply Chains

By Dylan Moroses

As the duty exemption for low-value imports ends Friday in accordance with President Donald Trump's executive order, lawyers say they expect cost increases for importers and customers and administrative burdens that could snarl supply chains, especially for consumer goods.

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CBP, ITC Say Masimo Suit Over Apple Watch Ruling Misplaced

By Theresa Schliep

The U.S. International Trade Commission and U.S. Customs and Border Protection balked at Masimo's request that a D.C. federal court temporarily block a ruling allowing imports of redesigned Apple Watches despite the companies' patent dispute, saying it's seeking relief in the wrong places.

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Australia Aims To Cut 500 Nuisance Tariffs

By Kevin Pinner

The Australian government wants to eliminate around 500 of what are known as nuisance tariffs on goods like televisions, air conditioners, tires, glassware and various foods, expecting to save businesses AU$127 million ($83 million) annually in compliance costs, the Treasury said Thursday.

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Unicoin Says SEC's $100M Fraud Suit 'Twists' Its Disclosures

By Aislinn Keely

Crypto firm Unicoin told a New York federal judge that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's claim that it ran a $100 million fraud is based on "cherry-picked" statements taken out of context and "ignores" the firm's warnings to investors within its own disclosures with the agency.

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Judge Rejects Reed Smith's Sanctions Bid In Doc Feud

By Joyce Hanson

A New York federal judge has ordered the new owner of international shipping company Eletson to turn over documents requested by competitor Levona as the latter company looks to vacate an allegedly fraudulent $102 million arbitral award, while also ruling that Reed Smith LLP's threat of sanctions is unfounded.

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UK Plastic Packaging Tax Revenue Dips As Exemptions Rise

By Kevin Pinner

The U.K. has collected slightly less revenue from its tax on plastic packaging over the past year as manufacturers have begun using more recycled materials to qualify for exemptions from the levy and imports have declined, HM Revenue & Customs said Thursday.

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Hawaii Transient Tax Is Unconstitutional, Cruise Cos. Say

By Jaqueline McCool

The extension of Hawaii's 11% transient accommodation tax to cruise ship passengers under a new law violates the U.S. Constitution, a group of cruise companies told a U.S. district court.

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CFTC Clears Registration Path For Offshore Crypto Cos.

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday made clear that certain offshore cryptocurrency entities can use its foreign board of trade registration framework to serve U.S. customers.

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How 9th Circ. Customs Ruling Is Affecting FCA Litigation

The Ninth Circuit’s recent Island Industries decision holding that the U.S. Court of International Trade doesn’t have exclusive jurisdiction over whistleblower suits involving import duties has set the stage for the False Claims Act to be a key weapon on the customs enforcement battlefield, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

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2nd Circ. Ruling Gives Banks Shield From Terrorism Liability

A recent Second Circuit dismissal strengthens the position of international banks facing claims they indirectly helped terrorist organizations and provides clearer guidance on the boundaries of secondary liability, but doesn't provide absolute immunity, say attorneys at Freshfields.

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Series

Coaching Cheerleading Makes Me A Better Lawyer

At first glance, cheerleading and litigation may seem like worlds apart, but both require precision, adaptability, leadership and the ability to stay composed under pressure — all of which have sharpened how I approach my work in the emotionally complex world of mass torts and personal injury, says Rashanda Bruce at Robins Kaplan.

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Law360 Pulse Exclusive: The Billable Hour

In this package, Law360 Pulse explores the demand for rainmakers, the continued increase of hourly rates and whether artificial intelligence will finally kill the billable hour. For all Law360 readers, click to access a sample story: Why This Small-Firm Lawyer Charges $3,000 Per Hour.

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JAG Corps Sent To DC To Fill 'Critical Vacancies'

By Courtney Bublé

Military attorneys are being sent to prosecute crimes in Washington, D.C., as the Trump administration seeks to beef up prosecutions in the nation's capital as part of the federal surge of law enforcement.

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Judge Newman's Suspension Extended Once Again

By Ryan Davis and Theresa Schliep

Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's suspension from hearing cases was extended by another year on Friday, in a unanimous opinion by the appeals court's 11 other judges.

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Q&A

'Be Careful,' New Mich. Chief Judge Tells Attys When Using AI

By Danielle Ferguson

Just weeks into the job, the new chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan is navigating challenges like an uptick in cases and the need for another magistrate judge, and has a word of warning for attorneys using artificial intelligence in their practice.

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Analysis

M&A Attys Hand Tasks To 'Machines' In Careful Embrace Of AI

By Al Barbarino

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a back-office tool in mergers and acquisitions legal work, but is increasingly embedded in core deal processes that help attorneys manage due diligence, draft agreements and assess risk.

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DOJ Targets BigLaw, Big Tech For Antitrust 'Gamesmanship'

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Department of Justice's top antitrust official singled out technology platforms and the BigLaw attorneys who represent them for "gamesmanship" by hiding key information from merger and conduct investigators, and announced a special task force "to tackle abuses that arise in our investigations."

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Fifth Circuit vacated a pair of Biden-era regulations aimed at bolstering transparency in the short-selling market.

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Panel Nixes Buzbee Win Against Atty Who Aided Campaign

By Madison Arnold

A Texas state appeals court has reversed a $765,000 summary judgment awarded to personal injury lawyer Tony Buzbee in a dispute with an attorney who said she was never paid for her contributions to his 2019 Houston mayoral campaign.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Is AI killing the billable hour — here's what general counsel need to know about how the use of artificial intelligence is affecting law firms' billing model. Anthropic has agreed to a deal to end copyright suits brought by authors who said their works were illegally used to train the company's large language model. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.​

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DOJ Swears In 3 New Board Of Immigration Appeals Members

By Britain Eakin

The Executive Office for Immigration Review announced Friday that three new Board of Immigration Appeals members — Sheila E. Gallow, Marcos Gemoets and Kathleen K. Volkert — were sworn in during a ceremony on Thursday.

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Colorado Law Firm Faces Class Action Over Data Breach

By Zach Dupont

A Colorado law firm was hit with a proposed class action in federal court after a Utah woman claimed that the firm didn't take ample measures to protect the personal information of more than 5,000 people, which was stolen in a data breach earlier this year.

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Scores On July Bar Exam Rise Amid Dip In Test Takers

By Tracey Read

The number of examinees passing the multistate bar exam in July continued to gain momentum, with near record highs seen this summer over the past 12 years, according to an announcement from the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

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LA's Acting US Atty Essayli Faces DQ Bid Over Expired Term

By Craig Clough

The Federal Public Defender's Office in Los Angeles urged a California federal court Friday to disqualify acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, arguing that his temporary 120-day appointment has expired and his continuing service in the role "circumvented limitations" imposed by Congress.

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Exclusive

'I'm Flabbergasted': Fla. Atty's Accusers Rip Bar For Inaction

By Phillip Bantz

More than a year after it began receiving complaints that a Florida lawyer was ghosting clients, the state bar has yet to take action — highlighting what experts call a slow-moving process that can fail to keep pace with expansive alleged frauds.

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Split Fed. Circ. Backs Limits On Presidential Tariff Powers

By Hailey Konnath

The Federal Circuit held that President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs were improperly imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which it said makes no mention of "tariff," "duties" or "tax."

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Law360 Names Attys Who Moved Up The Firm Ranks In Q2

A promotion to partner or election to practice group chair means a slew of new responsibilities and also lots of well-deserved recognition. Law360 reveals the list of attorneys whose commitment to legal excellence earned them highly coveted spots in the law firm leadership ranks. Find out if your old legal friends — or rivals — moved up in the second quarter of the year.

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Hub Hires: Prince Lobel, Rubin And Rudman, Weil

By Chris Villani

The dog days of summer did little to slow the churn in the Boston legal market. Prince Lobel added a veteran cybersecurity lawyer, Rubin and Rudman made a pair of partner hires, and Weil added more attorneys from Latham.

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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 Prosecco DOC Consortium bring an intellectual property claim against a distributor, the Serious Fraud Office bring a civil recovery claim against the ex-wife of a solicitor jailed over a £19.5 million fraud scheme, and law firm Joseph Hage Aaronson & Bremen LLP sue its former client, the bankrupt Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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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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