Analysis

High Court's Tariff Ruling May Trigger Refunds, Reimposition

By Dylan Moroses

Importers are being advised to prepare for potential refunds in the event the U.S. Supreme Court rules President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs are unlawful, leaving questions about how a refund process might play out and whether the duties would be reimposed.

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Analysis

Hemp Policy At Crossroads After Government Reopening Bill

By Sam Reisman

Hemp industry advocates are pledging to use the one-year gap between enactment and implementation of the government funding agreement, which effectively recriminalized most hemp-derived THC products, to craft new regulatory legislation that stops short of a full ban.

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Analysis

Clean Energy Cos. Tap Private Cash To Beat Tax Credit Clock

By Keith Goldberg

Clean energy developers are increasingly looking to privately held investors to ensure they can do enough work to keep their projects fully eligible for tax credits that start phasing out next year, energy development attorneys told Law360.

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Interview

Ex-Judge Worries Top Court Will Be 'Timid' In Checking Trump

By Chris Villani

A Massachusetts federal judge who recently resigned to more openly speak out against the Trump administration told Law360 on Thursday he is concerned the U.S. Supreme Court will be unwilling to provide a constitutional check on presidential overreach.

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Judge Casts Doubt On Legitimacy Of Halligan's Appointment

By Jared Foretek

A federal judge in Virginia said Thursday that Attorney General Pam Bondi couldn't have reviewed the full transcript of the grand jury proceedings that netted an indictment of James Comey before ratifying the charges against the former FBI director because the U.S. Department of Justice didn't have them at the time.

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NY Gov't Ethics Watchdog Called To Testify Against AG James

By Andrea Keckley

The federal government subpoenaed the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government on Wednesday to testify in its case against New York Attorney General Letitia A. James.

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11th Circ. Limits $1M Payout For Sheriff In Parkland Shooting

By David Minsky

The Eleventh Circuit limited a Florida sheriff's office's responsibility to only $1 million in a lawsuit involving a 2018 high school mass shooting, saying its insurer must pay the excess damages to the victims and families who were impacted by the event, which left 17 people dead and several more injured. 

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Gov't Funding Deal Ends SNAP Benefits Battle

By Matthew Santoni

President Donald Trump's signing of a government funding bill Wednesday rendered moot lawsuits seeking to make his administration tap emergency funds for food assistance benefits, the administration told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday.

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Ga. Gov. Taps New Prosecutor After Prior's Feud With Judge

By Chart Riggall

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has tapped a Milledgeville attorney to take over a nearby solicitor general's post, after the prior prosecutor quit amid a Facebook feud with a state court judge and dueling allegations of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct.

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Minn. Chief Federal Judge To Take Semi-Retired Status In July

By Courtney Bublé

Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz of the District of Minnesota will take semi-retired status next summer, according to an update on Thursday from the federal judiciary.

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Del. US Atty Tapped For Acting Role After Interim Term Expires

By Jake Maher

Delaware's former interim U.S. attorney has been appointed acting U.S. attorney after the district court declined to keep her as the top federal prosecutor in the First State when her term expired.

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NJ Comptroller Slams 'Power Grab' For Oversight Powers

By Lynn LaRowe

The acting New Jersey comptroller said Thursday that plans to wrest investigatory powers from his agency and move them to a state commission that reports in part to Senate leadership is a "naked power grab" aimed to "weaken accountability, undermine oversight, and shield the powerful from scrutiny."

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DOJ Sues Newsom Over Prop 50 Redistricting Plan

By Bonnie Eslinger

California's voter-approved Proposition 50 plan for new congressional districts mandates "racial gerrymandering" in favor of Hispanic voters in violation of the equal protection clause, the U.S. Department of Justice alleges in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday against Gov. Gavin Newsom.

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Analysis

As Backlogged SEC Reopens, Attys Jostle To 'Get In Line'

By Jessica Corso

Thousands of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission employees who were sent home last month finally returned to their offices Thursday, and experts say it will likely take at least a month for them to catch up with a backlog of casework and submissions for initial public offerings.

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Fed Frees SocGen, ICBC From 2018 Enforcement Orders

By Sarah Jarvis

The Federal Reserve said Thursday it has lifted a pair of 2018 consent orders against Société Générale SA and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, ending long-running enforcement actions tied to alleged sanctions violations at the former and alleged anti-money-laundering deficiencies at the latter.

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Bank Regulators Preview Timelines For Planned Fintech Rules

By Aislinn Keely

Federal banking regulators say they're focused on executing their fintech rulemaking agendas in the coming months, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. planning to circulate a stablecoin licensing regime by year's end and the Federal Reserve intending to provide fintechs easier access to its payment rails by the close of next year.

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Robinhood Can't Block Hypothetical Mass. Gaming Liability

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday refused to preemptively shield Robinhood against hypothetical enforcement actions based on the financial platform's role in offering access to prediction market KalshiEX.

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SEC's Northeast Deputy Enforcement Head To Depart Agency

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that the deputy director of the enforcement division for the Northeast will leave the agency, following stints as the regional director of the New York office and acting deputy director of the enforcement division.

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OCC Must Deny Sony Bank's Crypto Charter Bid, Critics Say

By Jon Hill

Banking and community interest groups are urging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to reject Sony Bank's bid to charter a cryptocurrency-focused offshoot, warning it could exceed the agency's authority and risk skirting longstanding banking system safeguards.

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Brief

Feds Launch Interagency Crypto Scam Task Force

By Nadia Dreid

The FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice and D.C. federal prosecutors have teamed up to launch a task force that will focus on cryptocurrency scams the government says originate from criminal networks in Southeast Asia and bilk millions out of their digital currency each year.

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Fuel Excise Tax Is Most Used Carbon Measure, OECD Says

By Natalie Olivo

Fuel excise taxes are the most common measure aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report released Thursday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which noted that these provisions covered 24% of 79 countries' emissions in 2023.

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Presidential Firing Limits Needed At FERC, Justices Told

By Keith Goldberg

Former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission members on Thursday told the U.S. Supreme Court that overturning limits on the president's authority to fire certain agency officials could undermine FERC's independent oversight of the electricity and gas industries and harm companies and consumers.

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Chemours Urges 4th Circ. To Lift River Pollution Injunction

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The Chemours Co. FC LLC on Wednesday asked the Fourth Circuit to strike down an injunction blocking the company from continuing to discharge forever chemicals into the Ohio River.

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EV Makers Tell 1st Circ. Fuel Economy Rule Freeze Unlawful

By Linda Chiem

A coalition of electric vehicle manufacturers and suppliers told the First Circuit that the Trump administration has created a regulatory vacuum by refusing to enforce existing vehicle fuel economy standards, jeopardizing more than $100 million in compliance credits that are essential to the EV industry.

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Ex-FCC Members Say Carr's Abusing News Distortion Policy

By Nadia Dreid

Nearly a dozen former Federal Communications Commission officials — including seven once-commissioners — told the agency that it ought to repeal its news distortion policy "in full," accusing the head of the FCC of using the policy to police speech.

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Oregon Court Upholds $119M Value Of Office Building

By Sanjay Talwani

The owner of an Oregon office building, one of three contiguous structures serving as a corporate campus, did not show sufficient evidence to change the assessment of a local assessor, the state tax court said in upholding a $119 million valuation.

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Ohio Lawmakers OK Property Tax Valuation Process Changes

By Zak Kostro

Ohio would make changes to its process for adjusting proposed property values for tax purposes under a bill unanimously approved by state lawmakers and headed to Gov. Mike DeWine.

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Mass. Board Won't Limit Condo Value For Co-Op Member

By Sanjay Talwani

A Boston condominium owned by a cooperative was correctly assessed, a Massachusetts panel ruled in a decision released Thursday, declining to reduce the tax valuation to the amount the co-op's remaining shareholder said she could receive for her shares.

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'Antiquated' Mass. Condo Unit Overvalued, Tax Board Says

By Sanjay Talwani

A standalone condominium unit in Massachusetts was overvalued, the state Appellate Tax Board said in a decision released Thursday, agreeing with the owners that the property lacked the updates of those used for value comparisons by the local assessor.

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Wash. AG Introduces Unit To Fight For Worker Protections

By Irene Spezzamonte

Workers in Washington state could now turn to a new unit that will focus on enforcing protections and tackling wage theft, the state's attorney general announced Thursday, citing "a systematic dismantling of the U.S. Department of Labor."

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Arbitrator Relied On 'Character Assassination,' Court Told

By Carla Baranauckas

A former New Jersey schools superintendent urged a state appellate court on Thursday to vacate an arbitration award that ended his career, claiming that the arbitrator relied on "uncharged character assassination" and violated state law by admitting new allegations midhearing.

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FTC Fails To Block Doctors' Testimony In $945M Merger Case

By Bryan Koenig

A D.C. federal judge refused Thursday to bar a pair of outside doctors and consultants from vouching for Edwards Lifesciences Corp.'s planned JenaValve Technology Inc. acquisition, preferring to let the Federal Trade Commission contest their testimony in cross-examination and saying from the bench that he'll "make some popcorn."

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Google Sues Cybercriminals Over Global Phishing Scams

By Joyce Hanson

Google has sued foreign cybercriminals behind phishing scams that claim to represent the U.S. Postal Service and the New York City government's website, among others, accusing them of texting millions of Americans phony messages that lure them into providing their payment information and other personal data.

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Google Says Latest EU Probe Attacks Anti-Spam Efforts

By Matthew Perlman

Google said on Thursday that a new investigation launched by European enforcers into the tech giant's compliance with recently enacted rules for digital markets targets a practice designed to keep spam from infiltrating search results.

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Mich. Schools Sue Over Privacy Waiver In Funding Bill

By Danielle Ferguson

A group of school districts and leaders have sued the state of Michigan in state and federal courts, asking judges to bar the state from enforcing a portion of a recently passed school funding legislative package that would require schools to give up privacy privileges in mass casualty events to receive mental health or safety dollars.

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Injured Riders Ask Justices To Block NJ Transit's Immunity

By Carla Baranauckas

Three injured riders from Pennsylvania and New York asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject New Jersey Transit's bid to escape two negligence suits on interstate sovereign immunity grounds, arguing that the transit agency is legally distinct from the State of New Jersey and should not be insulated from being sued in courts outside the state.

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Transgender Troops Sue Air Force Over Lost Retirement Pay

By Elaine Briseño

Seventeen transgender service members are accusing the U.S. Air Force of unlawfully rescinding their retirement orders following President Donald Trump's executive order barring transgender people in the military, saying in a lawsuit that the move resulted in lost pay and benefits.

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Mobile Biz Asks Congress To Nix Military's Spectrum Right

By Christopher Cole

Congress needs to toss a provision wrapped into the Senate's version of the defense authorization bill that allows the military to reject certain spectrum allocations to the private sector, a top wireless industry advocate said Thursday.

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Latin American Trade Deals With US Include Zero Tariff Rates

By Dylan Moroses

Latin American countries including El Salvador, Guatemala, Ecuador and Argentina committed to nontariff reductions for U.S. producers in exchange for a zero tariff rate on many imports not readily available in the U.S., under details of framework trade agreements the White House unveiled Thursday.

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IRS Increases Retirement Fund Contribution Limits

By Asha Glover

The Internal Revenue Service on Thursday announced the increased limit for contributions to various retirement accounts, including upping the 401(k) limit to $24,500.

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Businessman Too Late To Challenge £5M Tax Evasion Penalty

By Josh White

A businessman's attempt to challenge a civil value-added tax evasion penalty of almost £5 million ($6.6 million) was refused because it was launched in breach of the time limit for appeals, a London tribunal ruled.

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Judge Denies NJ Lawmaker's Bid To Toss ICE Facility Charges

By Parker Quinlan

A New Jersey federal judge on Thursday refused to toss the criminal indictment filed against U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., following a confrontation with federal agents at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark.

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Colo. Judge Stays EB-5 Investor Visa Fee Hike

By Tom Lotshaw

A Colorado federal judge stayed part of a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rule that increased fees for EB-5 immigrant investor visas, ruling that the agency raised the fees before completing a required study.

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Fired Immigration Judges Share Concerns As Cases Pile Up

By Courtney Bublé

Fired immigration judges spoke on Thursday about their "crushing" backlog of cases, a buildup exacerbated by the Trump administration's elimination of their colleagues' positions.

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Judge Urged To Weigh Due Process In Alien Enemies Case

By Britain Eakin

Attorneys for men deported to a notorious Salvadoran prison under the Alien Enemies Act have urged a D.C. federal judge to take up their due process claims, saying the court can decide the issue in equity rather than through habeas.

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Chicago Sues Over DOJ's Immigration Terms For Safety Grant

By Celeste Bott

The city of Chicago sued the U.S. Department of Justice in Illinois federal court Wednesday, claiming it's imposed unlawful conditions on public safety grants that hold community policing funding hostage to the Trump administration's political agenda and saying it's the latest attempt to punish "sanctuary" jurisdictions.

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Judge Rejects NY Tribe's Bid To Revive Eel-Fishing Rights

By Crystal Owens

A New York federal judge won't reconsider a decision determining that members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation don't have aboriginal eel-fishing rights off Long Island free of state regulatory fees, saying their arguments lack merit and they can't point to any decisions or data that the court overlooked.

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Navajo Father Seeks $10M, Alleging Negligent Police Shooting

By Crystal Owens

A father is suing the federal government and a Navajo Nation police officer for $10 million in damages, alleging the officer negligently and fatally shot his adult son outside his family's home on the Navajo reservation after waiting too long to call for backup and not waiting until help arrived.

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FCC Looks To Avoid 'Red Flag' Reg Hurdles In Space

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission says it envisions a framework for the fast-growing space industry that rejects heavy-handed regulations, which a top official on Thursday likened to British 19th-century "red flag laws" putting the brakes on the early auto industry.

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Broadcasters Ramp Up Pressure To Limit C-Band Rework

By Christopher Cole

Broadcasters have long been concerned about relocating their satellites from the upper C-band airwaves, but they're even less pleased to see the scope of the Federal Communications Commission plan now that it's been released, according to a new filing.

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Calif. Sheriff's Atty Sanctioned Over Discovery In Hemp Suit

By Mike Curley

A California federal judge has sanctioned an attorney for a California county and its sheriff's office over bad faith conduct during discovery in a suit over 500 acres of bulldozed hemp crop, saying the attorney's arguments against the sanction show a fundamental misunderstanding of his obligations.

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What Narrower FinCEN Reporting Spells For Industry

As compliance costs soar, the potential slimming down of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regime is welcome news for banks, and would allow a shift in resources to ever-evolving cybercrime threats, say attorneys at Quarles & Brady.

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New NCAA Betting Policy Fits Trend Of Eased Restrictions

Allowing NCAA student-athletes to bet on professional sports fits into a decade-long trend of treating college athletes more like adults in a commercial system, but decreasing player restrictions translates to increased compliance burdens for schools, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

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How Nasdaq, SEC Proposals May Transform Listing Standards

Both Nasdaq and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have increasingly focused their recent regulatory efforts on small and foreign issuers, particularly those from China, reflecting an intention to strengthen the overall quality of companies accessing U.S. markets, but also potentially introducing a chilling effect on certain issuers, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

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Revisiting Jury Trial Right May Upend State Regulatory Power

Justice Neil Gorsuch’s recent use of a denial of certiorari to call for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit whether the Seventh Amendment jury trial right extends to states, building off last year's Jarkesy ruling, could foretell a profound change in state regulators' ability to enforce penalties against regulated companies, say attorneys at Sidley.

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Series

Building With Lego Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Building with Lego has taught me to follow directions and adapt to unexpected challenges, and in pairing discipline with imagination, allows me to stay grounded while finding new ways to make complex deals come together, says Paul Levin at Venable.

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Coalition Rips Trump Deputy AG's Claim Of 'War' With Judges

By Rose Krebs

A group of former federal judges on Thursday condemned what they called "inflammatory remarks" last week by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche detailing the U.S. Department of Justice's "war" with "rogue activist" judges.

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Anthropic Judge Rips Opt-Out Law Firm As 'Quick Buck' Ploy

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge on Thursday blasted Arizona law firm ClaimsHero Holdings LLC for encouraging authors to opt out of Anthropic PBC's $1.5 billion deal to end copyright infringement claims, saying it looks like the firm is "trying to trick people" for a "quick buck."

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Judge Halts Jackson Walker Secret Romance Settlements

By Adrian Cruz

A Texas federal judge has paused a number of settlements between Jackson Walker LLP and former clients, criticizing the firm for trying to undermine the U.S. Trustee's investigation into alleged malpractice stemming from a secret romance between a former partner and a bankruptcy judge.

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Jenner & Block Resolves $8M Fee Fight With Sierra Leone

By Gina Kim

Jenner & Block LLP and its former client Sierra Leone have resolved their fight over unpaid legal fees and allegedly fraudulent overbilling in the nation's underlying dispute with its iron ore mining concessionaire Gerald International Ltd., according to a minute order issued Thursday in D.C. federal court.

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Rumble Cites Judge's Longtime Friendship With Google VP

By Bryan Koenig

Rumble asked a California federal judge to consider recusal should the Ninth Circuit revive its antitrust lawsuit against Google, citing a yearslong friendship with Google's top in-house litigation chief that involved the judge officiating at her wedding and their ongoing participation in a fantasy football league.

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Pipe Maker Names 2nd Firm In Asbestos RICO Suit

By Emily Field

A Los Angeles pipe manufacturer has added Massachusetts-based Sokolove Law to its civil racketeering lawsuit in Illinois federal court accusing Simmons Hanly Conroy LLP and others of orchestrating a scheme to fill the law firms' coffers by bringing baseless asbestos claims, alleging the Sokolove firm acted to find the cases.

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