Finalized Trump Order Seeks Early Cyber Tests Of AI Models

By Allison Grande

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to push the developers of advanced artificial intelligence models to voluntarily share their systems with the federal government for pre-release cybersecurity testing, following changes to a previous draft that the president abruptly shelved last month due to concerns about its effect on innovation. 

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6th Circ. Weighs Mich. City's Pride Flag Policy

By Melanie Dorsey

A panel of the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday wrestled with whether a Detroit-area city's decision to bar rainbow Pride flags from its flagpoles while continuing to fly flags representing countries tied to residents' national origins was a lawful expression of government speech. 

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Senate Confirms Montana, Kansas Judges

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate confirmed judges Tuesday for Montana and Kansas, one of whom was the first judicial nominee of the second Trump administration to receive a "not qualified" rating from the American Bar Association.

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Ill. Judge's Suit Over MAGA Ouster Paused, But Not Tossed

By Ryan Boysen

A retired Illinois judge whose reinstatement was canceled over a pro-MAGA opinion column will have to sue the state Supreme Court justices in state court, a federal judge ruled Monday, saying the suit doesn't belong in federal court.

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Bipartisan Bill Would Modernize Court Records Systems

By Matt Perez

U.S. Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Tuesday jointly introduced the Open Courts Act, which they said would modernize the court records systems PACER and CM/ECF.

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DOJ Won't Move Forward With $1.8B Fund, Blanche Confirms

By Courtney Bublé

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers Tuesday, "we're not moving forward" with the controversial $1.8 billion settlement fund.

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Feds Blocked From Divesting Wyo. Facility Stewardship

By Rae Ann Varona

A Colorado federal judge ruled that a Wyoming supercomputing facility used for atmospheric research must stay under a consortium of 129 universities' care pending litigation over the National Science Foundation's decision to divest the consortium of stewardship, saying the NSF failed to explain its decision and effectively ignored public comments.

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NC Dem Lawmakers Introduce Gov't Transparency Bills

By Emily Sawicki

Democratic lawmakers in North Carolina on Tuesday introduced a trio of bills focused on governmental transparency, including a proposal to reform an "increasingly partisan and secretive" judicial standards commission and another to reinforce separation of powers, blocking the state's general assembly from infringing on the governor's authority.

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Exclusive

Cooley Launches Global Hearings Practice As Scrutiny Rises

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Cooley LLP has established a global hearings and inquiries practice to help companies prepare comprehensive strategies as they face increased regulatory scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions, the firm exclusively told Law360 on Tuesday.

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Justices Allow Ala. To Use 'Discriminatory' Map In Midterms

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday paused a lower court order requiring Alabama to hold this year's elections under a court-drawn map that gives Black voters a chance to elect two preferred congressional candidates, allowing the state to readopt a map that gives Black voters only one such opportunity. 

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'Citizenship Lists' For Mail Voting Worry Mass. Judge

By Carolyn Muyskens

A federal judge in Boston had tough questions on Tuesday for a lawyer defending President Donald Trump's executive order tightening mail voting rules, flagging concerns that voters could be disenfranchised by the changes.

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Michigan Tells Panel Absentee Ballot Restriction Too Stiff

By Susan Smiley

Counsel for the Michigan secretary of state urged a state appeals panel Tuesday to overturn the Republican National Committee's win of an injunction requiring absentee ballots with missing or mismatched identification tabs to be disqualified, arguing that tossing those ballots would disenfranchise voters.

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SEC Floats Strategic Plan For Next Four Years

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday said it plans to reevaluate how administrative proceedings operate and to write regulations governing the cryptocurrency industry, calling for public feedback as it put forth Chairman Paul Atkins' vision for running the agency over the next four years. 

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Feds Scrub 'Reputation Risk' From Raft Of Banking Guidance

By Jon Hill

Federal banking regulators said Tuesday that they are reissuing a slew of longstanding guidance documents to take out mentions of so-called reputation risk, the latest move in the Trump administration's push to eliminate bank examiners' use of the concept.

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Texas Crypto Group Ordered To Halt Unregistered Token Sales

By Sydney Price

The Texas State Securities Board announced it has entered an emergency order to halt a purported property group, its principals and an associated Texas resident from offering and selling unregistered and fraudulent tokenized real estate investments, saying the conduct "threatens immediate and irreparable public harm."

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Iran's Biggest Crypto Exchange Hit With US Sanctions

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Iran's largest crypto exchange and three other crypto platforms Tuesday for allegedly aiding the Iranian government and evading sanctions amid the Trump administration's efforts to put economic pressure on Iran.

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NY, EU Banking Agencies To Share Stablecoin Oversight Info

By Aislinn Keely

New York's Department of Financial Services and the European Banking Authority said Tuesday that they plan to share information about their respective supervision, monitoring and investigations of stablecoin issuers and markets under a new memorandum of understanding.

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Trump Admin Sued For Canceling Offshore Wind Lease

By Tom Lotshaw

A coalition of Northeast states urged a D.C. federal judge Tuesday to overturn the Trump administration's decision to cancel an offshore wind lease and reimburse its owner for nearly $800 million of oil and gas investments instead.

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Trump Rescinds 50-Year Off-Road Rules For Public Lands

By Crystal Owens

Environmental groups are decrying the Trump administration's decision to rescind orders that limited off-road vehicle use on national public lands, arguing the safeguards provided a common-sense framework for reducing conflicts among land users while protecting clean water, wildlife habitat and fragile landscapes.

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9th Circ. Won't Recharge Kids' Suit Over Trump's Energy EOs

By Rachel Riley

A Ninth Circuit panel refused Tuesday to revive a group of youths' legal challenge of President Donald Trump's executive orders spurring the use of fossil fuels to meet the country's energy needs, concluding the plaintiffs "can only speculate" that the orders will trigger agency decisions that ultimately intensify climate change.

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Wash. Panel OKs Challenges To Seattle's Comprehensive Plan

By Ben Adlin

A Washington state appeals panel Monday revived a pair of challenges to an environmental impact statement published as part of Seattle's comprehensive plan for the city's next two decades of growth, ruling that the challenges aren't barred by recent state laws encouraging the construction of more housing.

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Texas AG Investigates Bayer, PepsiCo For Glyphosate Residue

By Spencer Brewer

The Texas attorney general on Tuesday announced an investigation into glyphosate residue in food from major pesticide and food companies such as Bayer and PepsiCo, claiming some are sourcing food from foreign countries that may be contaminated with the substance.

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FCC Probes Changes In License Control At TV Network

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission has begun examining whether the licenses for 83 stations owned by Bridge News should be pulled as it pursues an investigation into possible violations of FCC rules requiring disclosure of changes in control.

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11th Circ. Raises Practicality Questions About Fla. Drag Law

By Kelcey Caulder

The full Eleventh Circuit grappled Tuesday with how a Florida law that criminalizes admitting minors to "adult live performances" like drag shows would square with the free speech rights, pressing the state on how to discern what's appropriate for patrons of different ages.

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Calif. Fights Federal Moves To Nix Its Truck Emissions Regs

By Ganesh Setty

California's air pollution regulator has told a federal judge that Congress and the Trump administration violated separation of powers and federalism principles by passing unlawful resolutions blocking state emissions regulations for heavy-duty trucks, arguing the regulations should still take effect.

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Kalshi Looks To Halt Minnesota Sports Prediction Market Ban

By Alex Lawson

Kalshi has moved to freeze the enforcement of a new Minnesota law barring prediction markets, telling a federal judge the company will face "acute" harm if it is unable to offer sports event contracts on its online platform.

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Congress Invites NFL's Goodell To Discuss Broadcast Deals

By David Steele

Congress has invited NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to testify about whether the broadcast packages for his league's games sufficiently serve consumers and comply with federal antitrust laws, an issue the U.S. Department of Justice also is investigating.

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Florida Judge Says He'll Wait For FTC In Horse-Doping Case

By David Minsky

A horse trainer urged a Florida federal court on Tuesday to rule that the Federal Trade Commission violated his right to a jury trial after he was fined and suspended for an alleged banned substances violation, although the presiding judge indicated that he'll wait for the agency's final action before handing down an order.

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'Tax 1st, Plan 2nd' School Funding Fee Unlawful, Panel Told

By Abigail Harrison

Counsel for two certified classes of residents and homeowners told a North Carolina state appeals court Tuesday that they should be handed a new jury trial, as a county neglected state statute when it extracted millions of dollars in impact fees from local families without a clear plan on how to spend those funds.

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DC Mayor OKs Appeal Process For Property Transfer Taxes

By Sanjay Talwani

Washington, D.C., would allow a new way to appeal the fair market value, used to calculate transfer and recordation taxes, of properties transferred for no or nominal consideration under legislation signed into law, subject to 30-day congressional review.

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Texas Biz Court Says Exxon Bonus Fight Isn't 'Internal Affairs'

By Elaine Briseño

The Business Court of Texas shifted the $5 million racial discrimination lawsuit of a former Exxon Mobil Corp. executive back to state district court, determining that no provision in the state's governing laws gives it jurisdiction over employment disputes.

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DOL Alternative Investing Pitch Draws Nearly 50K Comments

By Patrick Hoff

A U.S. Department of Labor proposal to expand retirement plans' access to alternative investments, such as private equity and digital assets, garnered over 47,000 comments, with investment industry groups seeking minor changes while Democratic attorneys general, unions and other critics warned that protections for savers could be weakened.

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Feds Argue NASA Union Local Can't Halt Library Shutdown

By Emily Brill

The union local representing workers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland shouldn't be allowed to join its parent union's lawsuit against the Trump administration, the administration is arguing, asking a D.C. federal judge to deny the local's attempt to intervene to save a NASA library.

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11th Circ. Affirms Ga. Concrete Bid-Rigging Conviction

By Matthew Perlman

The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a manager's conviction for conspiring to rig bids and fix prices for tens of millions of dollars in ready-mix concrete contracts in Georgia, after finding enough evidence of his participation in the scheme.

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Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Bryan Koenig

Nexstar and Tegna defended their merger from multiple challenges on both coasts, federal rail regulators said they need more information to review Union Pacific's proposed $85 billion purchase of Norfolk Southern and U.K. officials cut a deal allowing Getty Images to buy its rival Shutterstock.

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FCC Overstepping Authority In Device Denials, Hikvision Says

By Nadia Dreid

Congress didn't give the Federal Communications Commission the power to pull already authorized equipment off the market by placing it on the so-called covered list of equipment deemed to be a national security risk, Hikvision has told the D.C. Circuit.

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FTC Sues Supplement Co. Over Mental Health, Income Claims

By Mike Curley

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday sued dietary supplement brand Amare Global Holdings Inc. in California federal court, alleging it misleads buyers by falsely claiming its products can treat mental health issues, while also misleading prospective "brand partners" about how much they are likely to make under Amare's program.

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Feds Say Lejeune Plaintiffs Seek Billion-Dollar 'Windfall'

By Emily Field

The federal government has told a North Carolina federal court that Camp Lejeune litigants are trying to rewrite the 2022 federal law that allowed them to recover damages from their exposure to toxic water on the base to give them a "windfall" of billions of dollars.

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3rd Circ. Asks NJ To Define 'Unreasonable' Gunmaker Conduct

By George Woolston

The Third Circuit on Tuesday appeared skeptical of the state of New Jersey's position that The National Shooting Sports Foundation still lacked standing as it tries to renew its challenge of a Garden State law allowing it to sue gunmakers for endangering public safety, questioning what exactly is impermissible under broad statutory language like "unreasonable" conduct.

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Trump Taps Housing Finance Head For Intelligence Role

By Elaine Briseño

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday on Truth Social that he was naming Federal Housing Finance Agency head and political ally William Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.

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EU Parliament Trade Committee Advances US Trade Deal

By Jack McLoone

With a July 4 deadline set by President Donald Trump looming, the European Union moved one step closer to implementing its trade deal cutting tariffs — though with added guardrails — as a Parliament committee voted Tuesday to advance the legislation.

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Brazil Facing 25% US Tariff Over IP, Other 'Unfair Practices'

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. Trade Representative proposed hitting Brazil with a broad 25% tariff following a trade investigation that it says uncovered a slew of "unfair practices that imposed burdens on American businesses," including poorly enforced intellectual property rights and preferential tariffs.

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Trump Lowers Metals Tariff For Farm Equipment, HVAC

By Jack McLoone

President Donald Trump announced that he is cutting the tariffs on certain metal derivatives, such as agricultural equipment and some heating, ventilation and air conditioning products, to 15% from 25% following recommendations from the commerce secretary.

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US Pushes To Keep Trump Tariffs In Effect During Appeal

By Kevin Pinner

The Federal Circuit should maintain a pause on a lower court's order blocking President Donald Trump's temporary global tariffs with respect to Washington state and two businesses, the U.S. argued, saying the merits "lopsidedly" favor a stay during the government's appeal.

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Colorado Extends Conservation Easement Income Tax Credit

By Sanjay Talwani

Colorado is extending its conservation easement tax credit for five years under legislation signed by Gov. Jared Polis.

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Minn. Childcare Center Property Tax Break OK'd By Court

By Sanjay Talwani

A Minnesota childcare center was entitled to a property tax break as an educational facility, the Minnesota Tax Court said, rejecting a county's argument that the school did not meet a deadline for a filing with the county before appealing to the court.

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Analysis

Attys Worried Where ICE Will Draw Line In Asylum Crackdown

By Britain Eakin

Immigration attorneys are bracing for heightened scrutiny after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it would crack down on attorneys filing fraudulent asylum claims, expressing fears that the agency could blur the line between fraud and legitimate advocacy.

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Mass. Judge Says State Dept.'s Visa Pause Likely Unlawful

By Tom Lotshaw

A Massachusetts federal judge has blocked the U.S. Department of State from imposing a nationality-based immigrant visa pause on a Bangladeshi man seeking to come to the U.S. to support his elderly and ailing U.S. citizen father, ruling that the challenged pause is likely unlawful.

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Feds Ask 9th Circ. To Ax 'Outdated' Flores Migrant Kids Pact

By Dorothy Atkins

The Trump administration urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to end the 30-year-old Flores settlement governing the custody of detained immigrant children, arguing there have been "enormous" changes to migration patterns and the law, and federal courts should not be micromanaging the government's immigration practices by enforcing an "outdated policy preference."

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7th Circ. Fines Deported Migrant's Atty For ChatGPT Misuse

By Emily Sawicki

The Seventh Circuit has rejected a Mexican citizen's petition challenging an immigration court's removal order on the merits, while sanctioning his attorney $5,000 for filing two legal briefs "riddled with" fabricated quotes and case citations hallucinated by ChatGPT.

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Rwanda Loses $135M Claim Against UK In Failed Migrant Deal

By Joyce Hanson

The Permanent Court of Arbitration has denied Rwanda's $135 million (£100 million) claim against the United Kingdom after the U.K. scrapped a controversial migrant agreement saying it would pay the African country to take in asylum-seekers who originally appeared on British shores.

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FCC Starts New Auction Of Advanced Wireless Licenses

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission Tuesday began a congressionally mandated auction of Advanced Wireless Services spectrum across 48 states and multiple territories, reviving airwaves that have gone unlicensed for years.

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Windstream Looks To Transfer Miss. Rural Broadband Aid

By Nadia Dreid

Windstream is trying to shift its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund obligations in Mississippi to Uplink Internet, a telecom that is already based in the Magnolia State, and has asked for the Federal Communications Commission's blessing.

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LA Says DOJ's Pot Shift Can't Sway Dormant Commerce Case

By Sam Reisman

Los Angeles urged the Ninth Circuit on Monday to dispose of a dormant commerce clause challenge to the city's cannabis licensure program, saying the federal rescheduling of medical marijuana should not influence the case.

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Hemp Cos. Say DEA Overreached By Criminalizing HHC

By Sam Reisman

Two hemp companies are challenging a recent U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration rule that designated a hemp-derived psychoactive compound as a Schedule I substance, saying the agency's move was an unlawful overreach that contradicts Congress' legalization of hemp.

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30-Year Foreign Service Leader Joins Squire Patton In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Squire Patton Boggs LLP has hired the State Department's former acting assistant secretary for Near East Affairs, who was also the first U.S. special envoy for Yemen and throughout his more-than-30-year career with the agency held posts in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iraq and other countries.

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FinCEN World Cup Warning Raises Trafficking Risks For Cos.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent warning of human trafficking risks during the World Cup games signals heightened scrutiny ahead of the upcoming tournament, and suggests regulators increasingly expect businesses beyond financial institutions to maintain effective trafficking-risk controls, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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Opinion

Immigration Appeals Rule Would Prevent Meaningful Review

Justice Stephen Breyer’s book “Making Our Democracy Work” offers a useful lens through which to consider what is at stake for the Executive Office for Immigration Review's legitimacy as the government asks the D.C. Circuit to revive an interim final rule that would have fast-tracked decisions by Board of Immigration Appeals, says Tara Kennedy at Kennedy Law.

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Operational AI Washing: Dismantling Claims Before Discovery

Operational AI washing claims can be rebuffed before discovery extracts their true costs by turning the documentary record established in earnings calls and public disclosures into a layered defense, which can exploit the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act’s heightened pleading standards, say attorneys at Akerman.

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Opinion

SEC Must Clarify Crypto Guidance For Investment Advisers

Until the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission clarifies a conundrum created by recently issued guidance that classifies crypto tokens as digital commodities rather than securities, every registered investment adviser managing a digital commodity portfolio will be simultaneously compliant and exposed, says Nicole Trudeau at Wave Digital Assets.

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Why Nuclear Licensees Must Watch 2nd Circ.'s Holtec Review

In reviewing a New York federal court's preemption ruling concerning disposal of nuclear materials, the Second Circuit must confront the lower court's recognition of a purpose-based path to field preemption, which could be game-changing for nuclear material licensees, says Andrew Averbach at Womble Bond.

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2 'Rocket Dockets' And The Rules That Propel Them

The fastest civil trial courts in the country are currently in the Eastern District of Virginia and the Southern District of Florida, and their chief judges provide insights into the court rules that keep them ahead, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

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Milbank Raises Associate Pay Scale, Topping Out At $455K

By Kevin Penton

Milbank LLP is increasing associate pay by $10,000 to $20,000 annually, with new salary floors of $235,000 and pay reaching as high as $455,000 for more experienced attorneys, according to the firm.

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BigLaw Could Tap PE Money For Advantage In Talent Wars

By Ryan Boysen

BigLaw firms may soon partner with private equity to gain an edge in the talent wars, potentially reshaping the U.S. legal industry despite fears that the shift could corrode firms' cultures.

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Fox Rothschild Atty Censured Over $2.7M In Unapproved Fees

By Adrian Cruz

A New Jersey-based bankruptcy partner at Fox Rothschild LLP has been censured by the Supreme Court of New Jersey after she was found to have wrongfully disbursed over $2.7 million in fees to her former firms without approval.

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Chicago US Atty Report Denies Grand Jury Misconduct Claim

By Lauraann Wood

The Northern District of Illinois' top prosecutor sought to offer clarity Tuesday surrounding accusations of his possible interference with grand jury proceedings that preceded a criminal conspiracy indictment against six protesters, releasing a special report one defendant's attorney says raises more questions than it answers.

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Ex-McDermott, Venable Attys Sued Over Estate's $40M Tax Bill

By Dorothy Atkins

The estate of a successful dentist who died in 2017 sued McDermott Will & Schulte LLP, Venable LLP and two attorneys in California state court Monday, alleging they gave negligent legal advice in planning the dentist's estate causing it to owe the IRS $40 million in taxes and penalties.

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Dem AGs Slam Climate Science Removal From Judicial Guide

By Jack Karp

The federal judiciary's decision to strike a chapter on climate change from its guide to scientific evidence is misguided, partisan and "will impede the judiciary's ability to pursue truth," according to a Tuesday letter from nearly two dozen Democratic state attorneys general.

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Feature

AI Software Contracts Need Careful Review, Attys Are Warned

By Aaron Keller

Attorneys considering adopting artificial intelligence tools must ensure software contracts comply with data privacy laws, and firms should not be afraid to quiz software sales representatives, including by asking how long the software retains data, representatives from two law firms told Connecticut lawyers Tuesday.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Arias Sanguinetti's Mike Arias

By Joyce Hanson

When she was team captain with a track and field scholarship at the University of Southern California in the 1990s, Nicole Haynes was in good health and rarely had to see a doctor. So when she got a bad stomachache and her friends encouraged her to visit the USC health center, Haynes said she didn't have the right words to explain why her experience with Dr. George Tyndall had felt so invasive and wrong.

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