Trump To Drop Scottish Whiskey Tariffs After UK Royal Visit

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. will grant imported whiskey from the United Kingdom preferential tariff treatment following the visit to the U.S. by King Charles and Queen Camilla, President Donald Trump said on social media Thursday.

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ITC Proposes Litigation Funding Disclosure Rule For IP Cases

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. International Trade Commission on Thursday proposed a new rule that would require litigants in intellectual property cases before the commission to disclose information about entities that have an ownership or financial interest in the case, including litigation funders.

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How They Won It

How Sullivan & Cromwell Won An $18B 'Bet The Country' Case

By Chris Villani

It is not often that a Second Circuit ruling is hailed as "the greatest legal achievement in national history" by a country's president, but that's what happened after a team from Sullivan & Cromwell LLP persuaded the appellate panel to nix an $18 billion judgment against Argentina.

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Brief

Commerce Finalizes Steep Duties On Russian Palladium

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. Department of Commerce finalized triple-digit antidumping duty rates on imported palladium from Russia, according to a notice published Thursday.

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EU-South American Provisional Trade Deal Takes Effect Friday

By Dylan Moroses

The European Union's interim trade agreement with four countries in the South American regional bloc known as Mercosur will begin to apply on a provisional basis Friday, according to news releases issued by the European Commission and members of European Parliament on Thursday.

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Critical Mineral Restrictions Up 500% From 2009, OECD Says

By Jack McLoone

Global export restrictions on critical raw materials that are key for digital and renewable energy technologies increased fivefold between 2009 and 2024, which could lead to greater risks of supply chain vulnerabilities, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.

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Fla. High Court Allows Email Service To Foreign Debtor

By David Minsky

The Florida Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving a Maltese citizen's challenge of email service in a law firm's lawsuit to collect fees, validating a recent state law that allows parties to bypass the Hague Convention to serve legal documents to foreign entities electronically.

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Ex-Shareholders, Reed Smith Seek End To Eletson Suit

By Rick Archer

Former shareholders of Eletson Holdings on Thursday joined with their ex-Eletson counsel at Reed Smith to ask a New York bankruptcy judge to dismiss a suit claiming they had schemed to seize control of Eletson assets in defiance of the company's Chapter 11 plan.

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Senate Advances Mont. Judge Pick Rated Unqualified By ABA

By Courtney Bublé

A judicial nominee for the District of Montana who was the only nominee of the second Trump administration so far to receive a "not qualified" rating from the American Bar Association advanced out of committee on Thursday.

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Senate Dems Press Lutnick On Stablecoin Co.'s Loan To Trust

By Joyce Hanson

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Thursday told Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the CEO of El Salvador-based Tether that they want information about the stablecoin company's reported loan to a trust benefiting Lutnick's four children.

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Series

Playing Magic: The Gathering Makes Me A Better Lawyer

The competitive card game Magic: The Gathering offers me a training ground for the strategic thinking skills crucial to litigation, challenging me to adapt to oft-updated rules, analyze text as complicated as any statute and anticipate my opponent’s next moves, says Christopher Smith at Lash Goldberg.

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Jones Day Beats Sanctions Bid In $2M Fee Dispute

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois state judge has ruled that Jones Day can pursue punitive damages on several of its claims in a lawsuit alleging a former client made a series of unlawful transactions to avoid paying over $2 million in legal fees, and also denied sanctions sought by the ex-client against the firm.

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Google $700M Deal Nears Approval As Judge Questions Fees

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge said Thursday he would likely give final approval to Google's $700 million antitrust deal with states and consumers, but criticized the accompanying request for $85 million in attorney fees, calling the 100,000 hours the consumers' counsel said they spent on the case "grotesquely bloated."

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'Christian Witch' Says Jenner & Block Must Face Vax Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

A former Jenner & Block LLP employee told an Illinois federal judge that she didn't need to disclose that she's a "Christian witch" in order to seek an exemption to the law firm's COVID-19 vaccine requirement, urging the court to reject her ex-employer's bid to toss the case.

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Judge Denies Push To Stop Closed Immigration Hearings

By Tom Lotshaw

A D.C. federal judge denied a Minnesota human rights organization's request to block immigration judges from restricting public and press access to proceedings, ruling that it failed to show an immediate threat of future harm from unlawful hearing closures.

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J&J Says Ill. Ruling Backs Beasley Allen's DQ From Talc Suits

By George Woolston

Johnson & Johnson told a New Jersey federal court that a recent ruling in Illinois backs the Beasley Allen Law Firm's disqualification from multidistrict litigation over its talcum powder.

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LSC Decries House Subcommittee's Proposed Budget Cut

By Marco Poggio

The nation's largest funder of civil legal aid condemned a House appropriations proposal to slash its budget for fiscal year 2027 by more than half, warning Thursday the reduction could leave nearly 3 million Americans without help for critical civil legal problems.

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Ex-Husch Blackwell Partner Urges Discovery In ERISA Dispute

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

A former Husch Blackwell LLP partner has urged a Missouri federal court to ignore the firm's request for summary judgment in a dispute over employee retirement benefits, arguing discovery should proceed in the proposed class action.

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Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Matthew Perlman

A pair of door manufacturers ended a landmark private merger challenge, state enforcers are gearing up for a potential Live Nation breakup bid following a crucial jury win, and a separate group of states and DirecTV are challenging Nexstar's $6.2 billion deal for rival broadcaster Tegna.

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Hub Hires: Weil Gotshal, Reed Smith, Morgan Lewis

By Chris Villani

April showers bring legal hires in Boston, with several attorneys on the move. Weil Gotshal snagged an international trade lawyer from Kirkland & Ellis, Morgan Lewis added an attorney from Hunton, and Reed Smith continued to expand its new Boston office.

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