Analysis

Appeal Of US Atty Invalidations May Be 'Devastating' To DOJ

By Phillip Bantz

As the list of interim and acting U.S. attorneys found to be unlawfully appointed under President Donald Trump grows, so too does the pressure on his administration to make the next move, which could force a risky strategic decision on whether to push the issue up to the U.S. Supreme Court, experts said.

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NY AG Applauds Reports Grand Jury Declined To Reindict

By Lauren Berg

New York Attorney General Letitia James Thursday hailed reports that a Norfolk, Virginia, federal grand jury had declined to reindict her on charges of mortgage fraud, refusing to revive a case that President Donald Trump had pushed prosecutors to pursue against his "guilty as hell" political opponent.

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Supreme Court Allows Texas Redistricting Map To Stay For Now

By Spencer Brewer

The U.S. Supreme Court gave Texas a green light Thursday to adopt its redrawn congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, staying a decision by the lower court that blocked the new maps as the case plays out.

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5th Circ. Denies Green Card Holder's Bid To Stop Deportation

By Rae Ann Varona

The Fifth Circuit on Thursday refused to block a lawful permanent resident's deportation, saying the green card holder failed to show that a New Mexico child abuse statute under which he was convicted isn't a categorical match with a federal offense.

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Senate Impeachment Hearing On Judges Likely In January

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate hearing on impeachment of "rogue" judges is likely going to be rescheduled for January, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who will be chairing the hearing, told Law360 on Thursday.  

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Fla. High Court Backs University Control Over Nonprofit

By David Minsky

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a university can control a research nonprofit's budget and approve its board members, saying a state law doesn't impair a memorandum of understanding between the two parties. 

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Brief

Senate Confirms 4th NC Federal Judge This Week

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate on Thursday confirmed its fourth federal judge this week for North Carolina.

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Mich. Judge Throws Out Mail-In Ballot Matching Guidance

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Michigan state court judge has ruled that absentee ballots returned with a missing or mismatched ballot stub may not be counted, siding with the Republican National Commitee and local challengers.

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1st Spot Crypto Market To Launch Amid CFTC 'Crypto Sprint'

By Emilie Ruscoe

Derivatives exchange Bitnomial said Thursday it is poised to launch the first spot crypto exchange regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, with guidance from Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP.

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SEC Investor Panel Presses For Corporate AI Disclosures

By Jessica Corso

A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission working group is urging the agency to adopt regulations that could standardize the way publicly traded companies report the way they use artificial intelligence, arguing Thursday that investors are not always being kept informed about the risks of the technology.

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Crenshaw Blasts SEC Short-Selling Rules Deadline Extension

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's outgoing, lone Democratic commissioner has criticized the agency's decision to extend the compliance dates for a pair of Biden-era regulations aimed at bolstering transparency in the short-selling market, calling the move a "repeal by extension."

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Citadel Securities Sparks Crypto Clash Over DeFi Exemptions

By Aislinn Keely

Citadel Securities ignited debate with crypto advocates this week when it told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that decentralized finance projects dealing in tokenized securities should broadly be subject to the same obligations as traditional exchanges and broker-dealers.

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Dems Press CFPB's Vought On Mortgage Rate Shutdown Plan

By Jon Hill

Senate Democrats are demanding clarity on the fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's benchmark mortgage-rate work if the Trump administration lets the agency go dark, warning of imminent potential chaos for the $13 trillion mortgage market.

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9th Circ. Says Species' Competing Interests Impact ESA Cases

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The Ninth Circuit has ruled that when a court-ordered injunction would protect one animal or plant covered by the Endangered Species Act but harm another, the court must weigh their "competing" interests before taking action.

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Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Methane Rule Delay

By Tom Lotshaw

Environmental groups are challenging a final rule the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published Wednesday to extend a number of compliance deadlines for methane pollution control requirements, calling it an unlawful handout for oil and gas companies.

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CDC Vaccine Committee Punts Hepatitis B Vote Again

By Yeji Jesse Lee

Federal vaccine advisers on Thursday put off a vote on changing guidelines for a long-used hepatitis B vaccine for infants, delaying again a decision expected to have wide-ranging ramifications for national childhood vaccine policy in the U.S.

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11th Circ. Blocks Fla. City's Abortion Clinic Buffer Zone Law

By Carolina Bolado

The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday ordered a preliminary injunction blocking a Clearwater, Florida, ordinance requiring a 5-foot buffer zone outside an abortion clinic, finding the city likely violated protesters' rights by burdening their ability to leaflet drivers.

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Squires Clarifies Points On Patent Eligibility Declarations

By Adam Lidgett

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires is reminding applicants that they can file declarations explaining why their patents are eligible under Section 101 of the Patent Act and that examiners need to consider them when filed. 

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Fed. Circ. Prior Art Ruling Conflicts With AIA, Justices Told

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit ruling that the filing date of a patent application dictates whether it can be used as prior art to invalidate a later patent is at odds with the law that created the modern administrative patent review system, one of the law's chief architects told the U.S. Supreme Court this week.

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Live Nation Customers Appear Poised For Antitrust Class Cert.

By Craig Clough

Consumers accusing Live Nation of monopolizing the live entertainment industry were in a good position Thursday for class certification after a California federal judge issued a tentative ruling that would approve the request and appeared skeptical of the entertainment giant's arguments at a hearing.

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NYT Says Pentagon Press Pass Policy Flouts Constitution

By Adam Lidgett

The New York Times accused the Pentagon of violating the First and Fifth Amendments with its policy of allowing officials to take away press passes of journalists who report on matters not authorized by the government, saying Thursday in a D.C. federal lawsuit that it took action after its reporters refused to agree to follow the rule.

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EU To Probe Meta's WhatsApp Restrictions On AI Providers

By Matthew Perlman

European enforcers have launched an investigation into recent changes Meta made to its WhatsApp policies over concerns that they block artificial intelligence providers from communicating with their users on the messaging platform.

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Kalshi Sues Conn. Over Online Gambling Enforcement Case

By Katryna Perera

Derivatives exchange KalshiEX LLC has sued the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and its leaders over a cease-and-desist order issued by the department directing Kalshi to stop operations within the state.

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Lawmakers Debate Higher Pay, Health Benefits For Boxers

By Alex Lawson

An effort to revamp American boxing got underway on Capitol Hill on Thursday as lawmakers deliberated over legislation to provide better pay and workplace protections for fighters, with Democrats expressing concern over the potential for corruption to flourish in the sport.

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Brief

Ohio Football Player's Mother Drops Suit After NIL Approval

By Tom Lotshaw

The football player's mother who sued the Ohio High School Athletic Association over a bylaw banning athletes from receiving name, image and likeness compensation dropped the suit after the association recently voted to rescind the ban.

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Gov't Watchdog To Probe FHFA Mortgage Fraud Referrals

By Grace Dixon

The Government Accountability Office will review whether Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte weaponized mortgage fraud investigations against the president's perceived political opponents and flouted the agency's typical investigation process.

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Miami Resident Claims City Extorts Land For Permits

By David Minsky

A Miami resident told a Florida state court that the city is subverting the eminent domain process by unconstitutionally extorting land from homeowners in exchange for building permits.

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Feds Defend Pro-Trump Policy Question On Job Applications

By Chris Villani

The Trump administration on Wednesday urged a Massachusetts federal judge not to strike a question for potential federal employees asking how they would advance the president's agenda, saying there's no evidence the question hurts an applicant's chances of getting hired.

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Oregon Labor Peace Law Unconstitutional, 9th Circ. Told

By Sam Reisman

Cannabis companies that brought a successful challenge to an Oregon state law requiring marijuana businesses to have labor peace agreements told the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday the law was unconstitutional and preempted.

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Bipartisan Bill Would Set Guardrails On Employers' AI Use

By Anne Cullen

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday that mandates employers include human oversight when using automated decision-making software, regularly test their tools and disclose to workers when they're in play.

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Prolonged FTC Review Kills $615M Healthcare Staffing Deal

By Matthew Perlman

Talent software and staffing company Aya Healthcare Inc. abandoned its planned $615 million deal for Cross Country Healthcare Inc. on Thursday, citing uncertainty from an ongoing Federal Trade Commission review that was extended by the government shutdown.

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Data Co. Seeks To Consolidate NJ Judicial Privacy Law Cases

By Jake Maher

The data privacy firm Atlas Data Privacy has asked the New Jersey Supreme Court to consolidate over 100 ongoing cases where it is suing data brokers under the state judicial privacy statute Daniel's Law into a single multicounty litigation, according to a notice to the bar filed this week.

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School Privacy Waiver Case Belongs In State Court, Mich. Says

By Danielle Ferguson

Michigan's top education official has urged a federal judge to let a state court decide the constitutionality of a funding package requiring schools to give up certain privacy rights to receive critical funding, while school leaders challenging the waiver are asking the federal court to block it from going into effect.

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Credit Bureaus Can't Duck Suit Over Excluded Medical Debt

By Bryan Koenig

A California federal judge has found that Equifax, Experian and TransUnion must face key parts of a rejiggered proposed antitrust class action from medical practices and collection agencies targeting the credit reporting agencies' decision to exclude medical debt under $500 from consumer credit reports.

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LA Fitness Says FTC Can't Expand Online Shopping Law

By Gina Kim

LA Fitness urged a California federal judge to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit alleging the gym has burdensome cancellation methods, arguing Wednesday that it fails to state a claim under the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act, which doesn't apply to brick-and-mortar businesses and only regulates online commerce.

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9th Circ. To Decide Agents' Immunity In Fatal Ariz. Shooting

By Joyce Hanson

An Arizona federal judge has agreed to let three U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents pause a lawsuit against them until the Ninth Circuit weighs in on whether they are immune from the suit claiming they wrongfully shot and killed a Tohono O'odham Nation man.

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Watchdog Says Hegseth's Signal Use Could've Harmed Pilots

By Madeline Lyskawa

A Pentagon watchdog released a report Thursday finding that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's use of Signal to discuss plans to bomb targets in Yemen earlier this year exposed sensitive information that could have put U.S. pilots at risk of harm. 

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Treasury To Float Guidance For Budget Bill's Int'l Provisions

By Natalie Olivo

The U.S. Treasury Department announced plans Thursday to issue regulations for international tax provisions that were modified under the federal budget bill in July, including guidance to help corporations calculate foreign tax credits on certain types of overseas income.

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Trump Admin. Slashes Work Permit Validity To 18 Months

By Britain Eakin

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Thursday said work permits will only be valid for 18 months rather than five years for some categories of immigrants, including refugees, asylees and those granted withholding of removal.

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AILA Says Texas Migrant Arrest Law Not Mirror Of Federal Law

By Britain Eakin

The American Immigration Lawyers Association has urged the full Fifth Circuit to affirm a split panel decision upholding an injunction of Texas' Senate Bill 4, arguing that the state's migrant arrest law conflicts with federal law in a key way.

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NY Fed. Court Urged To Vacate ICE's Courthouse Arrest Policy

By Ganesh Setty

Two New York-based nonprofit organizations that provide immigration and settlement services are urging a federal court to halt arrests of noncitizens at immigration courts, while the Trump administration has responded that such arrests are discretionary decisions outside the court's purview.

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Protesters' Use-Of-Force Suit Stays Open To Field Objections

By Lauraann Wood

A lawsuit accusing immigration officials of using excessive force against Chicago press and peaceful protesters should briefly stay alive for potential class member objections, but the government's position that dismissal would prevent the class from filing similar future claims is seemingly "not correct on the law," a federal judge said Thursday.

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SDNY Judge Unsure Of Jurisdiction In Maurene Comey Suit

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge said Thursday he may not have jurisdiction over former prosecutor Maurene Comey's suit claiming President Donald Trump's rivalry with her father, former FBI Director James Comey, led to her firing.

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US, Tribes Ask High Court To Uphold Michigan Fishing Pact

By Crystal Owens

Four Michigan tribes and the federal government are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a petition by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to overturn a decision to uphold a 2023 Great Lakes fishing compact, telling the justices that the case is not "the stuff of certiorari."

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Kimmel Brouhaha Brings Out Levity At DC's 'Telecom Prom'

By Christopher Cole

ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel's roller coaster ride at the hands of the Federal Communications Commission took center stage Wednesday at a light-hearted Washington dinner for telecom lawyers, as FCC Chair Brendan Carr served up a comedic bit over the controversy that followed Kimmel's recent war of words with the agency chief.

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Mass. Justices Unlikely To Revive Verizon Tower Suit

By Julie Manganis

Justices on Massachusetts' highest court appeared unlikely to second-guess a local health board's decision to drop an enforcement action against Verizon over perceived health effects from a cell tower after the telecom filed suit.

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Rural Carriers Upset Over FCC's AT&T Deal Approval

By Christopher Cole

Wireless carriers serving rural regions are dismayed at the Federal Communications Commission's staff decision this week to approve AT&T's $1 billion spectrum license deal with UScellular, saying it relies on flawed market analysis.

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Pot Co. Says Ill. Agency's Tech Glitch Led To Loan Denial

By Jonathan Capriel

A Chicago-area cannabis cultivator claims it lost out on millions of dollars in loan forgiveness due to a glitch in an Illinois-run website and a state agency's arbitrary decision prohibiting the grower an opportunity to refile, according to a lawsuit filed in Cook County court.

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Dem Lawmakers Push Equity-Focused Cannabis Reforms

By Sam Reisman

A group of Democratic Congress members on Thursday unveiled a proposed U.S. House of Representatives resolution urging Congress to push policies strengthening equity in the state-regulated marijuana markets and for the U.S. to encourage international drug reform.

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Nixon Peabody Hires Cybersecurity Atty For Boston Office

By Joyce Hanson

Nixon Peabody LLP has added to its cybersecurity and privacy team in Boston with a newly hired attorney from Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, saying she focuses on privacy, governance, risk, compliance and public policy matters.

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Series

Preaching Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Becoming a Gospel preacher has enhanced my success as a trial lawyer by teaching me the importance of credibility, relatability, persuasiveness and thorough preparation for my congregants, the same skills needed with judges and juries in the courtroom, says Reginald Harris at Stinson.

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Opinion

California Vapor Intrusion Policy Should Focus On Site Risks

As California environmental regulators consider whether to change the attenuation factor used in screenings for vapor intrusion, the most prudent path forward is to keep the current value for screening purposes, while using site-specific, risk-based numbers for cleanup and closure targets, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.

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What Trump's Scientific Discovery AI Order Will Mean For Cos.

Although private organizations will not see an immediate change in their compliance obligations from President Trump's recent executive order establishing a government effort to use artificial intelligence to accelerate scientific discovery, large enterprises and critical infrastructure operators will face pressure to demonstrate that their AI practices are comparable, says Shawn Tuma at Spencer Fane.

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10th Circ. Decision May Complicate Lending In Colorado

The Tenth Circuit's decision last month in National Association of Industrial Bankers v. Weiser clears the way for interest rate limits on all consumer lending in Colorado, including loans from out-of-state banks, potentially adding new complexities to lending to Colorado residents, say attorneys at Manatt.

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New Drug Ad Regs Could Lead To A Less Informed Public

A federal push to mandate full safety warnings in pharmaceutical advertising could make drug ads less appealing for companies to air, which in turn could negatively affect consumers' health decisions by removing an accessible information source, say Punam Keller at Dartmouth College and Ceren Canal Aruoba at Berkeley Research Group.

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Bonus Spotlight

Cahill Gordon Offers Associates 'Super Bonus' Of Up To $200K

By Anna Sanders

Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP won't just match BigLaw's prevailing scale for year-end bonuses — the firm will also reportedly offer outsized special bonuses, or super bonuses, up to $200,000 for high-performing associates.

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Judge Nixes Hagens Berman's Recusal Bid After DOJ Referral

By Emma Cueto

Two days after referring powerhouse plaintiffs firm Hagens Berman to the U.S. Department of Justice for alleged misconduct, a Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday dismissed the firm's request that he recuse himself from the long-running product liability suit, calling the firm's arguments "absurd."

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Analysis

Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

By Jeff Overley

Is the False Claims Act constitutional? Will Mark Zuckerberg be deposed in high-profile privacy litigation? Did a major drugmaker's shenanigans cost investors nearly $7 billion? That's a small sample of the intriguing legal questions we're exploring in this preview of December's top appellate action.

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NY Law Firm Files Ch. 11 After Hostile Takeover Allegations

By Ben Zigterman

A New York law firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief a week after its creditors filed involuntary Chapter 7 liquidation petitions and more than a month after the firm's founder accused the creditors of a hostile takeover of his firm.

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Google Fights Unlockd's Judge Recusal Bid In Antitrust Case

By Christine DeRosa

Google is opposing a move by Unlockd Media seeking the recusal of U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. in an antitrust lawsuit in California federal court, arguing that the judge's close relationship with Google's vice president for litigation and discovery doesn't require him to step away from the case.

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Fla. Judge Admits To Ethics Breach Over Bogus Recording

By Madison Arnold

A Florida state judge has admitted to an unintentional violation of the state's judicial ethics code over her publicly sharing a fabricated recording of a chief judge disparaging another judge during her 2024 election campaign.

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