Jordan Secures 10% Forced Labor Tariff Rate With US Deal

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. and Jordan signed a trade agreement Tuesday that would lower non-tariff trade barriers on U.S. exports in exchange for a U.S. commitment to impose a 10% tariff rate on imports from the kingdom when new duties to address goods produced with forced labor take effect.

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Senate Confirms Trade Court Pick Despite Past GOP Posts

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 50-48 Tuesday evening to confirm Kara Westercamp, associate counsel to the president, to the U.S. Court of International Trade, who said during her confirmation in March she regretted her past social media posts critical of Republicans, including Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and the late Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

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New Head Of US International Trade Commission Selected

By Jack McLoone

President Donald Trump has tapped the newest member of the U.S. International Trade Commission to serve as its chair, the ITC announced Tuesday.

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Nintendo Seeks Game Over For Tariff Refund Class Suit

By Jack McLoone

A proposed class action looking to force Nintendo to reimburse customers for increased costs that were explicitly tied to President Donald Trump's now struck-down tariff regime should be handled in arbitration or tossed entirely, the company told a Seattle federal court.

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Full Fed. Circ. Won't Review Apple's ITC Loss Against Masimo

By Dani Kass

The full slate of Federal Circuit judges will not reconsider a panel's determination that Apple has infringed Masimo Corp.'s blood oxygen monitor patents in a high-profile case that led to some Apple Watch imports being banned.

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2nd Circ. Won't Be Savior For 'Made In Heaven' Koons IP Case

By Theresa Schliep

The Second Circuit on Tuesday declined to save a prop and set designer's suit accusing artist Jeff Koons of copyright infringement with his "Made in Heaven" series from the late 20th century, saying the prominence of the works should have gotten the designer's attention sooner.

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Brief

Commerce Tees Up Plywood Duties On 3 Asian Countries

By Jack McLoone

Hardwood and decorative plywood imports from China, Indonesia and Vietnam are facing possible steep duties after the U.S. Department of Commerce finalized determinations that the goods are being sold at unfair prices.

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NC Man Gets Prison For Role In $100M Deli Fraud Scheme

By George Woolston

The third member of a trio who admitted to their roles in running a market manipulation scheme that tricked investors into thinking a small, unprofitable New Jersey deli was worth $100 million was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison on Tuesday.

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Peter Navarro Loses DC Circ. Appeal Of Contempt Conviction

By Rae Ann Varona

The D.C. Circuit Tuesday upheld Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro's contempt of Congress conviction, saying President Donald Trump never invoked executive privilege to allow Navarro to flout congressional subpoenas concerning the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

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Ship Owner Slams Damages Claims In Md. Bridge Collapse

By Jared Foretek

The operators of the ship that slammed into Baltimore's Key Bridge in 2024 blasted economic damages claims from the city and county of Baltimore, as well as private claimants, telling a federal judge that none had a proprietary interest in the bridge because it was owned by the state.

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Centripetal IP Survives Fed. Circ. Despite 'Ghost In The Room'

By Theresa Schliep

A Federal Circuit panel on Tuesday backed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that declined to strike some claims in a cybersecurity patent owned by Centripetal Networks LLC, even if a "ghost in the room" suggests that it's preserving unpatentable claims.

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Dems Press Skadden On Trump Pro Bono Pact, Intel Deal Work

By Lauren Berg

A group of Democrats demanded Tuesday that Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP disclose details of its pro bono arrangement with the Trump administration in light of allegations the firm advised both Intel Corp. and the U.S. Department of Commerce when the administration received a 10% company stake.

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USDA Rule Would Broaden Foreign Co. Reporting Burden

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's recently proposed overhaul of foreign landholder reporting obligations would expand covered agricultural uses, mandate more detailed online disclosures and toughen penalties, so organizations must proactively reassess U.S. land interests and prepare for a more stringent compliance regime, say attorneys at Skadden.

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Navigating OFAC's 50% Rule For Cross-Border Exec Mobility

A recent Office of Foreign Assets Control guide signals that its 50% ownership rule can determine not only sanctions compliance but also whether a company can sponsor multinational executives for immigration, highlighting an often overlooked interaction between sanctions and immigration law, says Xuan Zhang at Reid & Wise.

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Holland & Knight Hit With $1.2B Malpractice Suit

By Madison Arnold

A real estate firm is accusing Holland & Knight LLP and three attorneys of malpractice in a new complaint filed in Florida state court and is seeking up to $1.2 billion in damages after more than 30 states opened investigations into the company's practices.

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Co. Turned Away Simpson Thacher's Deal Meeting, Jury Told

By Cara Salvatore

A retired Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP partner who handled the fundraising round alleged to have destroyed Patriot National Inc. testified in a Florida state malpractice trial Wednesday that the insurance services company waved off his attempt to present details to the board.

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Brief

Pillsbury Data Breach Suit Voluntarily Dismissed

By Matt Perez

A proposed class action against Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP over a data breach last year has been voluntarily dismissed by the named plaintiffs, following a granted motion to stay in April to discuss mediation.

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DLA Piper Says Deception, Not Bias, Cost Palestinian Atty Job

By Grace Elletson

DLA Piper urged an Illinois federal judge to toss a Palestinian attorney's suit claiming the firm revoked a job offer out of discrimination, arguing it rescinded the offer because she concealed allegations that she assaulted someone at a protest.

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DC Bar Leaders Say DOJ Ethics Suit Encourages Misconduct

By Emily Sawicki

Washington, D.C., attorney regulators continue to garner support in their effort to toss a Justice Department lawsuit over alleged "weaponizing" of executive branch lawyer discipline, with D.C. bar organizations, scores of legal scholars and more than 500 former DOJ attorneys backing the disciplinary authorities.

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Mich. Gets Judge With Blue Slips In 1st For Trump Admin

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 62-36 on Wednesday to confirm Michael Martin, a longtime federal prosecutor, to the Eastern District of Michigan and Benjamin Flowers, former solicitor general of Ohio, to the Sixth Circuit.

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DOL IG Says Info-Sharing Pacts Lacked Safeguards

By Irene Spezzamonte

U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony P. D'Esposito testified Wednesday before a U.S. House subcommittee that during the Biden administration, the department shared confidential information with plaintiffs' attorneys without notifying the Wage and Hour Division or the Employee Benefits Security Administration.

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Gov't Attys May Face Broader Duty To Report Misconduct

By Alison Knezevich

Attorneys representing the government could face "more demanding" obligations to disclose misconduct by people within their client organizations than attorneys representing private entities, according to an ethics opinion issued Wednesday by the American Bar Association.

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Retired Judges Rip Bid To Ban Foreign-Born Federal Judges

By Courtney Bublé

A group of 58 retired federal judges, appointed by presidents of both parties, on Wednesday came out strongly against recent proposals from Republican lawmakers that would require federal judges to be natural-born U.S. citizens and relinquish any citizenship that is not of the United States.

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US Marshals Can't Make Immigration Arrests In DC Court

By Rae Ann Varona

A D.C. federal judge Wednesday refused to toss a lawsuit from a certified class of immigrants challenging immigration arrests by U.S. marshals in D.C. Superior Court, declaring that the marshals lack authority and necessary training for the arrests.

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Securities Class Action Deals On Target To Hit 6-Year High

By Katryna Perera

The value of class action settlements is on track to reach a six-year high of $4.4 billion, fueled in part by a handful of "mega settlements" and other high-dollar deals, a Cornerstone Research report released Wednesday said. 

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