Analysis

Tariff Rulings Undercut Trump's Trade Authority, Dealmaking

By Dylan Moroses

U.S. trading partners have inadvertently found new leverage in tariff negotiations with the Trump administration after federal courts found several of the president's duties were improperly imposed, raising larger questions about future tariff authorization in the midst of a global trade spat.

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DC Court Blocks Trump's Tariffs As Overreach Of Power

By Kevin Pinner

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not empower the president to impose tariffs, the D.C. federal district court said Thursday, ruling that President Donald Trump's global levies are unlawful and barring his administration from enforcing them on two toymakers who challenged the policies.

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Analysis

Projects Get Some NEPA Relief, But How Much Is Unknown

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision limiting judicial review of environmental analyses of infrastructure projects, combined with the Trump administration's drive to ease approval processes, may boost developers' optimism — but the extent to which reviews can be narrowed remains unknown.

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Analysis

ICE Lost Benefit Of The Doubt In SEVIS Fights, Attys Say

By Britain Eakin

The Trump administration's inability to explain why numerous foreign students' visa records were terminated has landed the federal government multiple losses in courtrooms across the country, with federal judges unwilling to presume the government had a good reason for the cancellations.

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Analysis

3 Takeaways From The Judgments On Trump's Law Firm EOs

By Aebra Coe

Three federal judges have now weighed in on President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms, with each ruling in favor of the firms and deeming the orders unconstitutional. Here are three takeaways from the combined 227 pages of those judges’ conclusions.

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High Court Restores Federal Approval Of Utah Oil Railway

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the federal government's approval of a rail project intended to haul crude oil out of Utah's Uinta Basin.

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Interior OKs Utah Mine In First Fast-Tracked Energy Review

By MJ Koo

The U.S. Department of the Interior has greenlit a uranium and vanadium mine in southeastern Utah, the first to be approved under a new, expedited 14-day environmental review process.

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Split 9th Circ. Says Spa's Rule On Certain Trans Women Biased

By Gina Kim

A divided Ninth Circuit refused to reinstate a Korean spa's constitutional challenge against the Washington State Human Rights Commission and ordered it to rescind its policy denying admission to trans women without gender-affirming surgery, noting Thursday the policy violated state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

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Fed. Circ. Revives Trump Tariffs As It Weighs Appeal

By Natalie Olivo

The Federal Circuit temporarily reinstated President Donald Trump's global tariffs Thursday, a day after the U.S. Court of International Trade held that an emergency law did not give the president "unbounded authority" to impose the measures.

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Trump Names 4 Jurists, State AG Official For Fla. Judgeships

By Lynn LaRowe

President Donald Trump this week announced his nominations of four judges and a top official in the Florida Attorney General's Office to fill district judgeships in the Sunshine State's Middle and Southern Districts.

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DOJ Sidelines ABA From Vetting Trump's Judicial Picks

By Kevin Penton

The Justice Department plans to direct judicial nominees away from a long-standing vetting process by the American Bar Association, labeling it an "activist organization," according to a Thursday letter by Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

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Mich. Judge Faces Watchdog Complaint For Disparaging Boss

By Danielle Ferguson

A Michigan state judge made profane, disparaging comments about his chief judge during livestreamed proceedings and via emails to court employees and improperly used his position to help a judicial candidate, the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission said in a new complaint Wednesday.

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Brief

Justices Won't Undo Pa.'s Ability To Pull Voting Machines

By Matthew Santoni

Pennsylvania's Supreme Court won't undo a lower court's ruling that allowed the secretary of the commonwealth — the state's highest election official — to "decertify" voting equipment that was subjected to unauthorized third-party inspections during investigations of the 2020 election.

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Baltimore Drops CFPB Suit Amid Denials Of Defunding Plan

By Jon Hill

The city of Baltimore on Thursday moved to drop its lawsuit seeking to bar Trump administration officials from stripping unused funds from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, calling off the case while preserving the right to refile later.

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House Introduces CFTC-Focused Crypto Market Structure Bill

By Aislinn Keely

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced a long-awaited proposal to regulate crypto markets on Thursday that would establish a registration path at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and codify the boundaries of jurisdiction between commodities and securities regulators.

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Fla. Appeals Order To Monitor Indian River Manatees

By Carolina Bolado

Florida's Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday it is appealing an injunction requiring the agency to implement new manatee monitoring programs after a federal judge found it violated the Endangered Species Act by allowing wastewater pollution into the North Indian River Lagoon watershed.

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Kids Launch New Climate Case Over Trump Energy Orders

By Keith Goldberg

The U.S. government on Thursday was hit with a fresh lawsuit from youths alleging that federal energy policies harm their future by exacerbating climate change, specifically targeting President Donald Trump's executive orders aimed at boosting fossil fuels.

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Judge Favors Vanda But Seeks Deal Over Drug Approval

By Ali Sullivan

A D.C. federal judge on Thursday seemed ready to rule for Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. in its challenge to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's timelines for approving new drugs but asked both sides to first try negotiating remedies to resolve the dispute.

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Express Scripts Says Arkansas Can't Ban PBM Pharmacies

By Kellie Mejdrich

Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts sued the state of Arkansas in federal court Thursday, alleging that the state's recently enacted law banning PBMs from owning pharmacies in the state violated the U.S. Constitution and ran afoul of federal law governing military employee benefits.

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Drugstores Say Texas Flouted Rules To Update Pharmacy Regs

By Spencer Brewer

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores Inc. told the Texas Supreme Court that updates to statewide policy governing how pharmacies report drug prices flouted Texas rulemaking procedures, telling the state's high court that even if the updates were "good policy" they weren't lawful.

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Ex-USPTO Solicitor Says He's Against Squires Nomination

By Theresa Schliep

A former solicitor for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has come out against the nomination of John A. Squires to be the next director of the agency, saying in a letter Thursday that he's concerned about the nominee's desire to make existing patents stronger.

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Brief

Ex-Copyright Chief Wants Fast Ruling In Trump Firing Dispute

By Ivan Moreno

The fired director of the U.S. Copyright Office asked a D.C. federal court Thursday for expedited briefing in her lawsuit challenging her termination by the Trump administration, saying there is "a pressing need" to resolve the matter quickly.

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'Keyboard Terrorism' Against Officials Gets Colo. Man 3 Years

By Thy Vo

A Colorado federal judge Thursday sentenced a man to just over three years in prison for social media posts threatening to kill a state judge, the state's top election official and federal law enforcement, citing the seriousness of his "keyboard terrorism" in denying a plea for leniency.

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TikTok Can't Duck NY Suit Over Kids' Mental Health

By Jonathan Capriel

TikTok cannot escape claims brought by the state of New York accusing the social media platform of harming children's mental health, a state court ruled Thursday.

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DOJ Officially Files To Drop Boeing 737 Max Conspiracy Case

By Linda Chiem

The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday formally moved to drop its criminal conspiracy case against Boeing over the deadly 737 Max 8 crashes and asked a Texas federal judge to vacate the June 23 trial date, saying a $1.1 billion nonprosecution agreement is a meaningful resolution that holds the company accountable.

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DOT Calls States' EV Charging Funding Suit Premature

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Department of Transportation urged a Washington federal judge to reject an attempt by 16 states to block the Trump administration from cutting off funding for electric vehicle charging projects, saying their claims aren't yet ripe for review.

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Mich. Farmers Must Bring New Suit To Challenge Crop Policy

By Hope Patti

A group of Michigan dry-bean farmers can't challenge the Federal Crop Insurance Corp.'s reapproval of a crop revenue insurance program after remand, a federal court ruled, saying the farmers must initiate a new suit to challenge a remanded agency decision.

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OPM Injunction Looms For DOGE Chaos, As Court Floats Deal

By Frank G. Runyeon

A Manhattan federal judge hinted she may grant an injunction against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management related to what she called a "rushed, indeed chaotic, grant of access" to sensitive information for agents of the Department of Government Efficiency, before urging the government to hammer out a deal with the union plaintiffs.

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OPM Memos Push Changes In Federal Hiring Based on 'Merit'

By Lauren Berg

The Office of Personnel Management on Thursday issued two memos outlining plans for hiring federal workers based on merit, following President Donald Trump's executive orders declaring that the federal hiring system focuses too much on anti-discrimination and not enough on employees willing to serve the executive branch.

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Mass. Justices Revive Atty's Suit Against 'Spiteful' Colleagues

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' highest court Thursday revived part of a lawsuit brought by a former appellate court staff attorney who said he was intentionally undermined by supervisors, finding that he had made a reasonable showing that two of the three original defendants had demonstrated actual malice toward him.

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Brief

Senate Committee Sets June Hearing For Trump's EBSA Pick

By Benjamin Morse

The Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing in early June on President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration, according to a news release Thursday. 

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Texas Bars Some Property Tax Hikes Above Voter-OK'd Rates

By Zak Kostro

Texas will prohibit school districts from adopting property tax rates above voter-approved thresholds in response to a natural disaster if voters previously rejected a similar proposed rate increase, under a bill signed by Gov. Greg Abbott.

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Ore. Extends Tax Breaks For Affordable Housing Development

By Sanjay Talwani

Oregon will delay the expiration of three property tax breaks intended to help the development of affordable housing under legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek.

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Colo. Builder Slams 'Unconstitutional' Affordable Housing Fees

By Isaac Monterose

The city of Denver is unconstitutionally forcing homebuilders to contribute to an affordable housing fund before they can obtain development permits, a local developer said in a suit filed in Colorado federal court on Thursday.

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KC Royals Say Mortgage Deal Doesn't Imply Move To Kansas

By David Steele

The Kansas City Royals have made a third-party purchase of the mortgage on a potential site for a new ballpark in Overland Park, Kansas, but denied that the transaction meant the MLB team was moving from the city and state of Missouri that have been its home since launching in 1969.

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Fla. Judge Denies Trainer's Bid To Block Horse Racing Law

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge Thursday denied a horse trainer's bid to block enforcement of a horse racing law in his complaint challenging an anti-doping ban, ruling the trainer failed to show irreparable harm and that issues in his claim asserting a right to a jury trial aren't fully developed.

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Judge Challenges Visa's Bid To Dismiss DOJ Antitrust Suit

By Bryan Koenig

A New York federal judge on Thursday questioned whether Visa Inc. is inappropriately raising factual disputes in its motion to dismiss U.S. Justice Department claims that the company has illegally maintained a monopoly in the market for debit card networks.

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FTC Seeks To Push Amazon Antitrust Trial To 2027

By Rae Ann Varona

The Federal Trade Commission and Amazon on Wednesday fought over the agency's proposal to push back an antitrust trial into 2027 to account for the e-commerce giant's alleged efforts to obstruct discovery, with Amazon telling a Washington federal judge that it was the FTC that insisted on a burdensome discovery.

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Deere Says No Monopoly, Seeks End Of Right-To-Repair Suit

By Mike Curley

Deere & Co. is pushing to end a suit from the Federal Trade Commission and five states alleging it violated the Sherman Act by restricting access to its repair tools and services, saying it doesn't participate in the repair market so it can't have a monopoly.

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NYC Tour Bus Co. Asks Judge To Rethink Nixing Antitrust Suit

By Nadia Dreid

A New York City tour bus operator is once again in the position of trying to convince a federal court to revive the antitrust claims it has brought against several rivals, after a New York federal judge dismissed the second lawsuit the company has filed related to the same dispute.

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China Unicom Will Stay On FCC 'Covered List'

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission has dashed China Unicom's hopes of being removed from the agency's so-called covered list, a list of companies whose telecommunications equipment the FCC says poses an unacceptable risk to national security.

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Monsanto Won't Get Damages Offset In $100M PCB Tort Loss

By Rachel Riley

A Washington state judge has denied Monsanto's bid to reduce the latest $100 million verdict in a chemical poisoning tort series that's yielded more than $1 billion in punitive damages, concluding that the agro-chemical giant hid the health dangers of PCBs for decades in pursuit of profit.

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Big Oil Caused Woman's Heat Wave Death, Novel Suit Says

By Hailey Konnath

The daughter of a Seattle woman who died during a 2021 heat wave filed a first-of-its kind wrongful death suit in Washington state court Thursday against oil and gas giants — including BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell — alleging the companies knew for decades their fossil fuel products would one day "claim lives."

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Trump Pardons Twice-Convicted Former Conn. Governor

By Brian Steele

President Donald Trump has pardoned former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland, a one-time chairman of the Republican Governors Association, who resigned from office in 2004 and served two stints in prison for corruption and lying to federal election officials.

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Judge Keeps Block On Trump's Harvard Foreign Student Ban

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday said she will issue a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from ending Harvard University's ability to accept international students, even as the government moved to withdraw its original notice of termination and called the case "moot."

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Judge Orders Immigration Parole Programs To Resume

By Madeline Lyskawa

A Massachusetts federal judge ordered the Trump administration to resume processing applications for parole and benefits filed by noncitizens already in the U.S. under certain categorical parole programs, saying it's necessary to prevent irreparable harm.

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Fla. AG Says Letter To Cops Doesn't Rise To Contempt

By Carolina Bolado

Florida's attorney general told a federal judge on Thursday that a letter he sent to law enforcement agencies saying he could not force them to comply with a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of a state law criminalizing the entry of unauthorized immigrants did not rise to the level of civil contempt.

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Khalil Files FOIA On Fed Collusion With Anti-Palestinian Groups

By Madeline Lyskawa

Attorneys representing Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil submitted a Freedom of Information Act request on Thursday seeking communications between the Trump administration and anti-Palestinian groups they say targeted him before his arrest.

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IRS Delaying $11M Worker Tax Credit Payout, Hospital Says

By Anna Scott Farrell

A hospital forced to suspend its normal business as it responded to the COVID-19 pandemic told a Washington federal court Thursday that it's entitled to an $11.5 million tax refund for employee retention credits and that the IRS has failed to deliver the promised aid.

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Neb. Tribe Challenges Army's Repatriation Law Interpretation

By Crystal Owens

A Nebraska tribe has said the U.S. Army is introducing new errors into its Fourth Circuit arguments against efforts to repatriate the remains of two children from a Native boarding school cemetery in Pennsylvania, telling the appellate court the attempt to complicate a straightforward federal law should be rejected.

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SD Tribe Issues State Of Emergency Over Police Resources

By Joyce Hanson

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota has declared a public safety state of emergency on its reservation due to methamphetamine use and illicit drug trafficking, urging the federal government to give the tribe more law enforcement resources.

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Colo. Court Says No Immunity For Telecom From Injury Suit

By Thy Vo

Colorado appellate judges on Thursday ruled that a telecommunications provider lacked authority over a sidewalk where a cyclist was injured and can't be shielded from liability by a recreational use law, reversing a trial court decision in favor of the company.

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Don't Kill 'Crucial' FCC Wi-Fi Subsidy, House Lawmakers Told

By Christopher Cole

Dozens of groups urged lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday to preserve the Federal Communications Commission's off-campus wireless hot spot subsidy for schools and libraries after the U.S. Senate voted to gut the program created late in the Biden administration.

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Ore. Pot Regulator Will No Longer Require Labor Peace Pacts

By Sam Reisman

Oregon's cannabis regulator said Thursday that it would no longer enforce a voter-approved law requiring cannabis businesses to enter into labor peace agreements with their employees, following a federal judge's ruling that the law was preempted by federal policy.

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4 States' Enforcement Actions Illustrate Data Privacy Priorities

Attorneys at Wilson Elser examine recent enforcement actions based on new consumer data privacy laws by regulators in California, Connecticut, Oregon and Texas, centered around key themes, including crackdowns on dark patterns, misuse of sensitive data and failure to honor consumer rights.

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Fla. Bill May Curb Suits Over Late-Night Collections Emails

A recently passed Florida bill exempting email communications from the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act's quiet hours ban may significantly reduce frivolous lawsuits aimed at creditors and debt collectors who use email communications to collect outstanding balances from consumers, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

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State Tort Claims May Help Deter Bribes During FCPA Pause

As the U.S. pauses Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, companies that lose business due to competitors' bribery should consider using state tortious interference suits to expose corruption, deter illegal practices and obtain compensation for commercial losses, says Jason Manning at Levy Firestone.

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Google Ad Tech Ruling Creates Antitrust Uncertainty

A Virginia federal court’s recent decision in the Justice Department’s ad tech antitrust case against Google includes two unusual aspects in that it narrowly construed U.S. Supreme Court precedent when rejecting Google's two-sided market argument, and it found the company liable for unlawful tying, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

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Series

Brazilian Jiujitsu Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Competing in Brazilian jiujitsu – often against opponents who are much larger and younger than me – has allowed me to develop a handful of useful skills that foster the resilience and adaptability necessary for a successful legal career, says Tina Dorr of Barnes & Thornburg.

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Harvard Taps Paul Weiss High Court Litigator For Board

By Hailey Konnath

Kannon Shanmugam, a Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP partner and veteran U.S. Supreme Court litigator, has been selected to join the Harvard Corp. governing board, according to an announcement made Thursday.

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Influencer Hits Akin With Malpractice Suit Over Boxing Deal

By Lynn LaRowe

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and one of its Texas-based partners allegedly failed to understand California law in handling a financial dispute between a social media influencer and the company that hired him to participate in an amateur boxing competition, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in a Lone Star State federal court.

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For-Profit School Sued Over Thompson Coburn Leak Notices

By Emily Sawicki

A for-profit college operator is facing a proposed class action in Alabama federal court, alleging it failed to properly secure its data and notify students in a timely manner that its law firm, Thompson Coburn LLP, had been hit with a cyberattack causing a data breach of sensitive records.

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Investors Allege Manhattan Firm Aided $43M Ponzi Scheme

By Emma Cueto

A pair of investors filed suit against New York-based Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP and two of its former attorneys on Thursday, alleging that the midsize firm and the attorneys, who have since departed for Saul Ewing LLP, lied on behalf of a client who has since been charged with running a $43 million Ponzi scheme.

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Ex-Atty's Death In Colo. Jail Sparks Suit Over Medical Neglect

By Craig Clough

The family of a disbarred attorney imprisoned for felony theft sued three members of the medical staff at the prison where he died, alleging in Colorado federal court Wednesday their neglect resulted in Steven Bachar dying from cardiac arrest after he asked for days for proper medical attention.

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Calif. Justices Propose Tweaking Rules For Bar Examiners

By Emily Sawicki

The California Supreme Court has proposed changes to the administration of the state's troubled bar exam, circulating a slate of amendments designed to clarify the role of the Committee of Bar Examiners, including spelling out its duty to review and approve all questions used in the exam.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Grant & Eisenhofer's Beth Graham

By Tracey Read

Elizabeth "Beth" Graham, a San Francisco-based principal at Grant & Eisenhofer PA and a member of its executive committee, played a key part in negotiating a $600 million settlement in April 2024 for plaintiffs in litigation arising from the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment, earning her a spot among Law360's 2025 Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar.

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