A Texas federal judge erred when he refused to let several government contractors and the Sierra Club intervene in a lawsuit that blocked the use of border wall funding for anything other than new barrier construction, the Fifth Circuit ruled Thursday.
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TOP NEWS

5th Circ. Reverses Intervention Denial For Border Wall Cos.

By Tom Lotshaw

A Texas federal judge erred when he refused to let several government contractors and the Sierra Club intervene in a lawsuit that blocked the use of border wall funding for anything other than new barrier construction, the Fifth Circuit ruled Thursday.

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Feds Say Con Man Galanis Can't Recoup $2M Despite Clemency

By Elliot Weld

Prosecutors have asked a New York federal judge to deny a request from convicted fraudster Jason Galanis to recoup $2.17 million he paid in criminal fines, after his nearly 16-year prison sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump.

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Trump Calls On Justices To Stay Block Of Gov't Restructuring

By Beverly Banks

President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to pause a California federal judge's order temporarily halting agencies from implementing an executive order to plan reorganizations and reductions in force, claiming the lower court's decision has caused confusion and wasted taxpayer dollars.

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LITIGATION

Feds Defend Oneida Nation's 500-Acre Land Trust Decisions

By Crystal Owens

The Interior Department says a Wisconsin town's bid to vacate decisions to take 500 acres into trust for the Oneida Nation is meritless, telling a federal court that the municipality fails to meet its Administrative Procedure Act burden to show any bias stemming from the agreement.

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Wash. Tribe Can't Ax Wildlife Refuge Protection Suit

By Joyce Hanson

The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe of Washington state is not a necessary party to an environmental lawsuit aimed at ensuring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service complies with rules governing the tribe's proposed aquaculture operation along the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge boundary, a federal judge has ruled.

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Roundup

Real Estate Recap: Gold Card, Hospitality, Revolving Door

By Real Estate Authority Staff

Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including attorney insights into the "Gold Card" visa program, the hospitality sector's reaction to tariffs, and the path from in-house attorney to private practice. 

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

$38M Law Firm Settlement Highlights 'Unworthy Client' Perils

A recent settlement of claims against law firm Eckert Seamans for allegedly abetting a Ponzi scheme underscores the continuing threat of clients who seek to exploit their lawyers in perpetrating fraud, and the critical importance of preemptive measures to avoid these clients, say attorneys at Lockton Companies.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Feds To Use FCA To Go After Antisemitism, DEI Policies

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday that it will use the False Claims Act to go after any recipients of federal funds that the agency determines promote diversity, equity and inclusion policies, and allow antisemitism to thrive.

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Posner Wins Ex-Staffer's $170K Wage Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A former executive at retired Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner's short-lived pro bono legal services organization lost his bid for $170,000 in back pay he claimed to be owed on Monday when an Indiana federal court found claims to be untimely.

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Goldstein Assails 'Radical' DOJ Case, Probe Of 'Sexual Habits'

By Jeff Overley

In his most forceful attack on tax evasion charges that have roiled the U.S. Supreme Court bar, indicted appellate icon Thomas C. Goldstein is accusing the U.S. Department of Justice of embracing "breathtaking" legal theories and revealing prurient information about him "to bias the grand jury."

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Ex-Litigator Settles Disability Bias Suit Against Wilson Elser

By Emily Sawicki

A former Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP litigator on Monday agreed to permanently drop his federal disability bias suit against the firm, after the sides came to a confidential resolution.

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Avenatti Rips 'Draconian' Bid To Add 13 Years To Sentence

By Elliot Weld

Former high-profile attorney Michael Avenatti asked a California federal judge to reject the government's request to tack on more than 13 years to his prison term, saying such a "draconian" result would conflict with a Ninth Circuit ruling wiping out a previous sentence in the fraud case.

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Justices Allow End Of Temporary Protections For Venezuelans

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Trump administration may rescind temporary protected status for Venezuelans, lifting a California federal judge's order requiring the government to keep Biden-era removal protections and work authorizations in place during a legal battle over a policy change.

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Split DC Circ. Pauses Halt On Trump's Union Rights Order

By Beverly Banks

A divided D.C. Circuit panel greenlighted President Donald Trump's request to pause a lower court decision that blocked the implementation of an executive order aimed at ending collective bargaining rights for federal employees, concluding the injunction ruling "ties the government's hands."

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Kirkland Guides Blackstone's $11.5B Deal For TXNM Energy

By Al Barbarino

Blackstone Infrastructure has agreed to acquire regulated utility holding company TXNM Energy in an all-cash transaction valued at $11.5 billion, including net debt and preferred stock, TXNM said in a Monday announcement.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Adler & Stachenfeld

Akin Gump

Altshuler Berzon

Bradley Arant

Bryan Cave

Carlton Fields

Cleary Gottlieb

Davis Polk

Dentons

Eckert Seamans

Eichhorn & Eichhorn

Eversheds Sutherland

Frost Brown

Gibson Dunn

Goldstein & Russell

Grant Herrmann

Hall Booth

Hartman Simons

Jeffer Mangels

Jenner & Block

K&L Gates

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Latham & Watkins

Lewis Brisbois

Maduegbuna Cooper

Mayer Brown

McGlinchey Stafford

Milbank LLP

MoloLamken

Munger Tolles

Nason Yeager

Newman LLP

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Sanderford & Carroll

Seiden & Schein

Susman Godfrey

Troutman

WilmerHale

Wilson Elser

von Briesen & Roper

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

ACLU of Northern California Inc.

American Civil Liberties Union

American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California

American Federation of Government Employees

American Foreign Service Association

Apollo Global Management LLC

Blue Owl Capital Inc.

Democracy Forward Foundation

Equity National Title

GEROVA Financial Group Ltd.

Genentech Inc.

Google LLC

HCA Midwest Health System

King Street Capital Management LP

Lockton Companies Inc.

National Treasury Employees Union

Nike Inc.

Par Funding

Planet Home Lending LLC

Protect Democracy Project Inc.

Regency Centers Corp.

Rocket Cos.

Sierra Club

StreetEasy Inc.

The Kraft Heinz Co.

Toll Brothers Inc.

UCLA School of Law

Verax Biomedical Inc.

Vistra Corp.

Zillow Group Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Bureau of Land Management

Federal Communications Commission

Fish and Wildlife Service

Interior Board of Indian Appeals

Internal Revenue Service

Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

New Mexico Public Regulation Commission

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin

Public Utility Commission of Texas

U.S. Agency for International Development

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of State

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

US Office of Management and Budget

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin