CIT Judge Confused By Gov't Objection To Tariff Refund Class

By Jack McLoone

A U.S. Court of International Trade judge repeatedly expressed confusion Thursday over the federal government's objection to the certification of a class of importers seeking refunds of President Donald Trump's illegal global tariffs to address concerns about finalized entries.

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Ex-Goldman Exec Convicted Of Ghana Bribery Plot

By Stewart Bishop

A former Goldman Sachs executive director was convicted Thursday for his role in what Brooklyn federal prosecutors say was a wide-ranging conspiracy to bribe Ghanaian officials in support of a Turkish energy company's push to obtain a lucrative power plant contract as the West African nation was reeling from an electricity crisis.

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Tax Court Nixes Trader's $170M Dividend Tax Break

By Molly Moses

The Internal Revenue Service correctly disallowed over $170 million in qualified dividend deductions and over $25 million in foreign tax credits to a trading firm in 2012, the U.S. Tax Court held Thursday, finding its transactions failed an anti-abuse rule.

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Analysis

EU Must Walk Tightrope With Carbon Tax Under WTO Rules

By Eleanor Butler

Lawmakers behind the European Union's carbon import tax say the policy supports global climate action while remaining compliant with World Trade Organization rules — although experts note that treating all traders equally can be tricky in practice.

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Rising Star: Taft's EJ Thomas

By Jack McLoone

E.J. Thomas of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP has helped foreign clients push back against U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty orders, securing roughly $100 million in savings for a Turkish pipe producer among other big wins, earning him a spot among the international trade attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

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China Announces Trade Countermeasures After US Actions

By Dylan Moroses

China's government will strengthen export controls on drones and their components as well as suspend coordinated inspections with U.S. officials and start new investigations into American businesses as countermeasures in response to recent U.S. actions implicating Chinese companies.

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UK Sanctions Russian Banks, Metals Firms, Oil Tankers

By Eddie Beaver

The U.K. government issued fresh sanctions against Russia on Thursday, targeting 19 entities including banks, shadow fleet tankers and companies that import rare metals used for producing military equipment.

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ITC Blocks Altria Infringement Theory In Juul Vape Case

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. International Trade Commission has upheld a judge's ruling that Altria cannot raise its primary infringement theory in a vape patent case against rival Juul Labs, finding that the issue had already been resolved in a prior case where the ITC cleared Juul on different patents.

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9th Circ. Rule Block Unlikely To Deter FinCEN Cartel Focus

The Ninth Circuit recently blocked the Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit's border cash reporting rule, interpreting it as an impermissible use of an emergency anti-money laundering tool, but regulators are more likely to see the opinion as a road map for building a more defensible rule, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

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Series

Being A Sommelier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Being a sommelier has quietly shaped how I practice law by changing the way I think, communicate and connect with people, and offers a constant reminder that expertise is about making your knowledge useful and accessible to others, says Kara Du at Sheppard.

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How Does In-House Pay Compare? Take The Law360 Survey

How do in-house salaries vary across industries, roles, and organizational revenue? What compensation tools are companies using to lure top talent? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Compensation Survey.

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No Simpson Thacher Malpractice In PIPE Case, Jury Finds

By Madison Arnold

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP escaped a malpractice lawsuit late Thursday over its representation of Patriot National Inc. in a private investment in public equity transaction in the years before the company's downfall.

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Dems Slam Skadden's 'Nothing To See Here' Trump Deal Reply

By Hailey Konnath

Three Democratic lawmakers on Thursday criticized Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP's response to their request that the firm disclose details of its pro bono arrangement with the Trump administration, saying the firm's "three sentence letter essentially saying 'nothing to see here'" is "not going to cut it."

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New ABA Chief Seeks To 'Streamline' Org., Defend Democracy

By Emily Sawicki

The American Bar Association's new president, Barbara J. Howard, will focus on twin goals of defending democracy against expected unprecedented attacks associated with this year's midterm elections, while also reorganizing the association to run more efficiently, as she kicks off her one-year term this month.

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Richards Layton Under Fire Amid Bid To Avoid AI Sanctions

By Rose Krebs

A firm has asked a Delaware vice chancellor to allow it to submit more "factual information" regarding what it says are inconsistencies in Richards Layton & Finger PA's attempt to avoid sanctions for submitting a filing with errors generated by artificial intelligence.

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Analysis

The Dramatic Moments Set To Shape Tom Goldstein's Appeal

By Jeff Overley and Jared Foretek

Prurient revelations, brash recriminations and purportedly glaring judicial errors in Tom Goldstein's criminal case have captivated the appellate bar for nearly 19 months, and many of those moments will be center stage in the star attorney's imminent appeal.

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2nd Circ. Says Pillsbury Must Surrender $3.6M Retainer

By Jessica Corso

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP was ordered on Thursday to hand over a $3.6 million retainer it was paid to defend a client against criminal and civil fraud charges, with the Second Circuit upholding a ruling that the funds were part of an asset freeze order issued in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission case.

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Ex-GC Hijacked Accounts And Posted Klan Imagery, Suit Says

By Ben Adlin

A Washington state court granted a temporary restraining order Wednesday in a school fundraising company's lawsuit accusing its former general counsel of taking control of its social media accounts and allegedly replacing its LinkedIn photo with a manipulated image of its president in a Ku Klux Klan robe.

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Ex-Girardi Atty Gets Probation For Keeping Silent On Theft

By Lauraann Wood

A former Girardi Keese attorney was sentenced to one day time-served and two years of probation Thursday for staying quiet and failing to report disgraced plaintiff's attorney Tom Girardi's theft of millions of settlement dollars owed to Lion Air Flight 620 plane crash victims.

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Wash. Justices Offer Bar Waiver After July Exam Tech Failure

By Rachel Riley

The Washington State Supreme Court said Thursday it's offering to waive the bar exam requirement for first-time applicants who were unable to take the test last week due to an abrupt cancellation driven by technical issues at the Yakima Convention Center where it was scheduled to be administered.   

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Justices' FTC Ruling Weakens Qui Tam's Constitutional Base

The U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Trump v. Slaughter, expanding presidential control over those exercising executive power, suggests that courts may be receptive to arguments challenging the constitutional foundations of the False Claims Act’s qui tam mechanism, says Daniel Passeser at Wiggin.

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