Jury Seated In Goldstein Trial, Arguments To Start Thursday

By Jared Foretek

A federal jury was seated in Thomas Goldstein's felony tax and mortgage fraud case Wednesday, but the government will wait until Thursday to begin making its case.

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Analysis

McConaughey Not 'Alright Alright Alright' With AI Fakes

By Theresa Schliep

Actor Matthew McConaughey's series of trademarks on audio and video of him saying iconic phrases like "alright alright alright" are drawing appreciation from intellectual property attorneys who see them as an attempt to protect against the unauthorized artificial intelligence-generated use of his voice and likeness, but the effectiveness of the tactic may be limited.

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Sony Suit Over Music In USC Social Media Ads Stays In NY

By Alex Lawson

Sony Music's lawsuit against the University of Southern California over music used in social media videos promoting the school's athletic teams will remain in New York, after a federal judge found the case had compelling ties to the Empire State.

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Universal Music Cut Loose From Diddy Sex Assault Suit

By Y. Peter Kang

A New Jersey federal judge on Wednesday dismissed claims against Universal Music Group in a suit seeking to hold it liable for an alleged sexual assault of a teen girl by Sean "Diddy" Combs, saying the music giant can't be held liable for predecessor companies' alleged misconduct.

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Golf Co. Can Put Liens On Nicklaus IP For Ch. 11 Loan

By Vince Sullivan

Sports gear and golf design company GBI Services received final approval for a $17 million Chapter 11 loan Wednesday in Delaware, with a judge there ruling the debtor can grant a lien in favor of the postpetition lenders that covers the name, image and likeness rights for retired professional golfer and company co-founder Jack Nicklaus.

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Call Vendors Skirt Wiretap Suit Over AI Transcription Tool

By Allison Grande

An Illinois federal judge has released dental support organization Heartland Dental LLC and its contractor from a proposed class action accusing them of illegally using an artificial intelligence-powered note-taking tool to record and analyze patient calls, finding that they couldn't be held liable because their alleged electronic interceptions were made for legitimate business purposes.

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Meta Wants Zuckerberg's Old 'Hot-Or-Not' Site Out Of LA Trial

By Craig Clough

Meta's attorney on Wednesday urged a California judge overseeing bellwether trials over claims social media harms young users' mental health to ban mention of the attractiveness-rating website Mark Zuckerberg created at Harvard, saying the plaintiffs want female jurors to see Zuckerberg as "a bad guy" and Facebook as "born in sin."

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Calif. AG Probes 'Avalanche' Of Grok-Created Sexual Deepfakes

By Lauren Berg

California is looking into the "avalanche" of nonconsensual sexually explicit materials, including "deepfake" images used to harass women online, that are reportedly being produced by Grok, the chatbot developed by Elon Musk's company xAI Inc., the state's attorney general announced Wednesday.

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Calif. Again Asks 9th Circ. To Unleash Kids' Privacy Law

By Dorothy Atkins

California's attorney general was back before the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday, urging the court to vacate a new preliminary injunction blocking a landmark law requiring tech giants to bolster privacy protections for children, and arguing the lower court wrongly found the entire statute likely implicates the First Amendment.

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Google Inks $8.25M Deal Over Kids' App Data Privacy

By Rae Ann Varona

Google has agreed to an $8.25 million settlement that, if approved, will fully resolve a potential class action that children filed in California federal court through their parents, accusing the tech giant of secretly tracking the personal information of children under the age of 13 through child-directed apps.

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University Of Phoenix Must Face Student's Pixel Tracking Suit

By Gina Kim

An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday refused to release the University of Phoenix from a proposed class action claiming it uses third party tracking tools to share students' video-viewing behavior with Meta, finding it plausibly alleges that third parties can intercept those communications in real-time directly from students who visit the school's site.

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Microsoft Calls For Arbitration In Edge Privacy Suit Appeal

By Rachel Riley

Microsoft told a Washington state appeals court panel Wednesday that a proposed class action claiming secret collection of Edge users' browser data belongs in arbitration, contending a lower state court judge wrongly advanced the litigation after a Washington federal judge sent parallel claims to arbitration.  

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Brief

SG Asks High Court To Reshuffle Sides In AT&T Fine Case

By Christopher Cole

U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to realign the parties' designations in a combined case over the Federal Communications Commission's penalty powers after the justices recently granted review.

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Zillow, Redfin Look To Toss FTC's Antitrust Case

By Matthew Perlman

Zillow Group Inc. and Redfin Corp. have urged a Virginia federal court to toss the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust case against them, saying a partnership between the companies is meant to make their rental listing businesses more competitive, not to remove competition.

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Vox Media Sues Google, Adding To Ad Tech Antitrust Suits

By Rae Ann Varona

Google was hit Wednesday with yet another antitrust lawsuit over its ad tech, this time by Vox Media, which alleged in Manhattan federal court that the tech giant is unlawfully monopolizing the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets.

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FCC Still Weighing 39% Broadcast Cap, Carr Tells Lawmakers

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission hasn't decided whether the law gives it wiggle room to lift the 39% cap on national audience share controlled by a single broadcast chain, a move that would let Nexstar merge with Tegna, the FCC's chief told lawmakers Wednesday.

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Brief

Senate Bill Would Give FCC One Year For Satellite Licensing

By Christopher Cole

A bipartisan U.S. Senate bill unveiled Wednesday would speed up satellite applications by limiting their review at the Federal Communications Commission to one year.

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NY High Court Upholds Manhattan Artist Loft Conversion Fee

By Nate Beck

New York's highest court has decided to keep in place a fee that New York City charges for converting designated artists' lofts in Lower Manhattan into regular residential units, rejecting arguments from a neighborhood group that the charge amounts to an unconstitutional uncompensated taking.

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No Crime-Fraud Exception For Meta Docs In Discovery Row

By Emily Field

A California federal judge overseeing discovery in litigation against social media giants over their platforms' alleged harm to youth mental health has said the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege doesn't apply to certain Meta documents about its internal research on young users.

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NJ Legislature OKs Entertainment Renovation Tax Credit

By Jaqueline McCool

New Jersey would allow certain sports and entertainment renovation projects to claim an income tax credit under an economic development program if a bill passes in the state Legislature. 

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IRS Clarifies 1st-Year 100% Depreciation Deduction Eligibility

By Kat Lucero

The IRS unveiled guidance Wednesday governing the eligibility for and calculation of a retooled tax deduction for the additional first year of depreciation of an asset-producing property, including sound recording production machines, reflecting changes enacted in the July budget reconciliation law.

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Nationals' Broadcasts Leave MASN For MLB After Settlement

By David Steele

Major League Baseball will produce and broadcast Washington Nationals games on the league's cable and streaming services this season, it announced Wednesday, following a deal that resolved a yearslong legal battle over the team's broadcast rights with the regional network operated by the Baltimore Orioles.

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State Dept. Pauses Immigrant Visas For 75 Countries

By Britain Eakin

The U.S. Department of State said Wednesday that it is indefinitely pausing immigrant visas for people from 75 countries who the agency said are likely to rely on government support and stress the public purse.

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Calif. AI Law Will Have Ripple Effect On Emerging Cos.

California's Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act is the first comprehensive state-level AI safety framework with mandated public disclosures in the U.S., and although it may not affect emerging companies directly, companies that embed governance and transparency into their operations will differentiate themselves in highly competitive markets, say attorneys at Mintz.

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IP Appellate Decisions Show 4 Shifts In 2025

In 2025, intellectual property decisions issued by the Ninth, D.C., and Federal Circuits trended toward tightening doctrinal boundaries, whether to account for technological developments in existing legal regimes, or to refine areas with some ambiguity, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

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Series

The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Forming Measurable Ties

Relationship-building should begin as early as possible in a law firm merger, as intentional pathways to bringing people together drive collaboration, positive client response, engagements and growth, says Amie Colby at Troutman.

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Analysis

'The Work Has Changed': How White-Collar Attys Are Coping

By Phillip Bantz

The Trump administration's dramatic policy enforcement changes over the past year, along with turmoil and turnover at the U.S. Department of Justice, has tilted the white-collar world on its axis, forcing lawyers and firms to abruptly shift focus and expand their practices, sometimes beyond traditional white-collar criminal defense matters.

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Tort Report: Los Angeles Tops Annual 'Judicial Hellhole' List

By Y. Peter Kang

Los Angeles' designation by a tort reform group as a top "judicial hellhole," and the latest in a suit over a Kentucky judge shot to death in his own chambers lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

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Calif. Bill Would Ban AI From Replacing Arbitrators' Analysis

By Emily Sawicki

A bill introduced in the California state Senate seeks to regulate attorneys' use of generative artificial intelligence statewide, including banning lawyers from entering private client information into public AI systems and prohibiting arbitrators from utilizing AI in decision-making.

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Sinema Sued Under Rare Law By Her Former Guard's Ex-Wife

By Abigail Harrison

Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, now a Hogan Lovells attorney in Washington, D.C., destroyed a 14-year marriage by sustaining an affair with a former member of her security detail and U.S. Senate staff, according to a lawsuit that hit North Carolina federal court Wednesday.

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DOJ Calls On 3rd Circ. To Rethink Habba DQ Ruling

By Ryan Boysen

In a request for rehearing en banc filed Wednesday, the federal government asked the Third Circuit to reconsider its decision blocking Alina Habba from serving as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, saying the issue is "of exceptional importance."

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Trump Renominates NY, Virginia US Attorneys

By Emily Sawicki

President Donald Trump is taking a second crack at securing his picks for federal prosecutors in districts where he previously failed to obtain U.S. Senate approval, including renominating Lindsey Halligan to the role of U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, weeks after a federal judge ruled she was not lawfully serving.

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Graham Blocks Bill To Repeal DOJ Lawsuit Provision

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., tried and failed Wednesday to expedite the passage of a bill that would repeal a provision of the government funding package enacted in November that allows senators investigated by former special counsel Jack Smith to sue for damages.

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House Blocks GOP Bid To Cut Funds For DC Judges, Courts

By Courtney Bublé

The House on Wednesday failed to approve a Republican-led amendment to a government funding bill that would decrease the funding for D.C. courts and take aim at two federal judges Republicans are looking to impeach.

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