Analysis

Sue To Stop AI Armageddon? Not So Fast, Attys Say

By Y. Peter Kang

As executives at leading artificial intelligence companies increasingly assert that their own technology could one day pose an existential threat to humanity, a natural question follows: If the risk is real, can anyone sue to stop it before disaster strikes?

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Analysis

For Single-Party FTC, Easier Suits May Come With A Cost

By Bryan Koenig

The Federal Trade Commission has ditched its historical multimember, multiparty ethos for a one-party regime in which fewer dissents might make it easier for Chairman Andrew Ferguson to pursue his agenda, but it also forecloses the potential "moderating influence" that comes with winning broad buy-in from commissioners of two parties.

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Weaponization Fund Plaintiffs Say Discovery Ruling Was Right

By Jared Foretek

Plaintiffs suing over the Trump administration's once-proposed "anti-weaponization fund" are telling a Virginia federal judge to reject the U.S. Department of Justice's objections to a magistrate judge's discovery order, accusing the administration of stonewalling their requests and urging prompt discovery production.

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Senate Confirms Kirkland Partner To Texas Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 49-45 on Thursday to confirm Kasdin Miller Mitchell, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, to serve as a U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Texas.

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10th Circ. Debates Bid To Revive Colo. Atty Fee Law Challenge

By Rachel Konieczny

Colorado residents and community watch groups urged the Tenth Circuit on Thursday to revive their constitutional challenge against a Colorado law that mandates attorney fee awards to local governments in certain land use disputes, fielding court questions on the case's reviewability and whether sovereign immunity applies.

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AI Flubs, More Secure PACER Get Judiciary Forum Spotlight

By Jeff Overley

Misuse of artificial intelligence tools and a "state-of-the-art" revamp of electronic dockets in federal cases were among the hottest topics Thursday at a major meeting of judiciary leaders, who also heard a lawmaker warn of eroding trust in the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Michigan Court Pilot Aims To Aid Unrepresented Litigants

By Susan Smiley

The Michigan Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it is launching a pilot project, based on recent reforms in Utah and Arizona, that will allow trained nonlawyers to provide in-court support to people who cannot afford a lawyer in civil cases.

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Tech Co. Settles Suit Over Flawed NC Digital Court System

By Andrea Keckley

A putative class of individuals who alleged they were wrongfully arrested or detained due to glitches in North Carolina's electronic court system has settled its federal lawsuit against Tyler Technologies, the software developer behind the new digital court system, according to a notice filed Wednesday.

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Republicans Move Trump's CFPB Pick Ahead To Full Senate

By Jon Hill

President Donald Trump's latest pick to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moved closer to confirmation Thursday as Republican lawmakers voted to advance his nomination to the U.S. Senate floor.

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FDIC Pitches Plan For Faster Bank Merger Reviews

By Jon Hill

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. moved Thursday to revamp its procedures for vetting bank mergers, floating a package of proposed changes that could speed up the agency's reviews for many transactions and lead to fewer getting held up over competition concerns.

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SEC Issues Innovation Exemption For Tokenized Stock Trading

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday unveiled its long-awaited innovation exemption, permitting certain crypto projects and liquidity providers to support tokenized stock trading for a five-year period without registering as exchanges or dealers.

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Judge Finds NM PFAS Label Likely Violates First Amendment

By Elaine Briseño

A New Mexico federal judge temporarily blocked the state from requiring manufacturers to place a PFAS label on any product intentionally made with forever chemicals, finding the groups opposed to the mandate likely have First Amendment grounds to challenge it.

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Wash. High Court Strikes Down Natural Gas Voter Initiative

By Rachel Riley

The Washington State Supreme Court has invalidated a voter-approved initiative barring local governments and building code officials from adopting rules to discourage natural gas use, ruling in a 6-3 decision Thursday that it violates a provision of the state constitution limiting legislative measures to a single subject.

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EPA Sued Over Power Plant Greenhouse Gas Rule Repeal

By Keith Goldberg

Environmental and public health groups on Thursday sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its repeal of greenhouse gas emissions standards for power plants, accusing the agency of renouncing its legal obligation to tackle climate change-related pollution from the power sector.

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Ex-Conn. Utility Regulator Defends Appeal Of FOIA Fine

By Brian Steele

Former Connecticut utility regulator Marissa P. Gillett has asked a state court not to toss her appeal of a $2,500 fine imposed on her by the Freedom of Information Commission for failure to comply with a records request from Eversource Energy, disagreeing with the commission that her case is now moot because the agency paid the fine and underwent FOIA training.

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Ore. Judge Denies HHS' Attempt To Amend Gender Care Order

By Dan McKay

An Oregon federal judge on Thursday rejected the Trump administration's bid to narrow an earlier order that voided a policy declaration central to the government's crackdown on gender-affirming care for minors.

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DC Judge Scolds Feds Over Delays In VLSI's FOIA Fight

By Craig Clough

A D.C. federal judge on Thursday granted the government a second extension to respond to VLSI's summary judgment motion in litigation over redactions to a "whistleblower" report, but chastised the feds over a "lack of prioritization and commitment" to the court's deadlines.

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Industry Groups, IP Attys Back High Court PTAB Denials Case

By Theresa Schliep

The bar association for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, a group of intellectual property law attorneys and others have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to scrutinize the discretionary denial policies of current U.S. Patent and Trademark Office leadership.

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Meta's Slow Content Reviews Not Biggest Concern, Jury Told

By Cara Salvatore

Meta's longtime content policy czar testified Thursday in New Mexico's data privacy trial that leaving up some violating posts for days while they underwent extra review was "less of a concern" than the mistake of pulling down an acceptable post by a high-profile account.

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Ex-FCC Leaders Call ABC Probe Attack On Free Speech

By Christopher Cole

A bipartisan group of former top officials at the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday urged a D.C. federal court to put a halt to the agency's ongoing probe of ABC's Disney-owned stations, calling it an attack on free speech.

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Watchdogs Sue Trump Over Early Truth Social Post Access

By Jared Foretek

Two government watchdog groups are suing President Donald Trump and other high-ranking officials, claiming that their sale of early access to Trump's policy-focused Truth Social posts violates the First and Fifth amendments and only serves to enrich the president and his social media platform.

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Brief

Cruz, Markey Urge Senate To Pass Bill On AM Radio In Cars

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., have called on the Senate to advance the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act following its passage in the House of Representatives.

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Rail Giants Point To Shipper Support For $85B Merger

By David Aaro

Droves of companies that rely on freight in their daily business have recently thrown their support behind Union Pacific Corp.'s planned $85 billion merger with Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern Corp. in filings with a federal board being asked to approve the tie-up.

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NY Urges 2nd Circ. To Stop DOT Push To End Congestion Pricing

By Linda Chiem

New York transportation agencies have urged the Second Circuit to shut down the Trump administration's continued efforts to eliminate congestion pricing, saying the federal government doesn't have free rein to renege on cooperative agreements without justification.

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1st Circ. Lets HUD Shift $1.3B In Homelessness Aid

By Carolyn Muyskens

A First Circuit panel said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development may redirect $1.3 billion in homelessness funding from programs that focus on permanent housing to those supporting temporary shelter and assistance, finding the Trump administration likely was not required to go through a notice-and-comment procedure.

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Minn. Homeowner Asks Justices To Undo Costs Order

By Sanjay Talwani

A self-represented Minnesota homeowner's effort to throw out tax court order recovering a county's litigation costs in a property valuation dispute will go before the state Supreme Court, according to a writ of certiorari filed Thursday.

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DOJ Touts 'Substantial' Ad Tech Fix, Leaves Room For Appeal

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Department of Justice walked a fine line between hailing a Virginia federal judge's newly unsealed decision ordering Google to open up its advertising placement technology dominance, and leaving open the possibility of appealing the judge's accompanying rejection of its request for a breakup.

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7th Circ. Questions Illinois' Out-Of-State Liquor Delivery Ban

By Lauraann Wood

The Seventh Circuit seemed unsure Thursday whether it should back a district court decision tossing two wine collectors' constitutional claim against an Illinois law barring out-of-state retailers delivering alcohol to in-state customers, questioning the state's underlying reasoning for the ban.

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DOJ Official Says Political Appointees Play Antitrust Role

By Matthew Perlman

Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. on Thursday defended the role political appointees play in enforcing antitrust laws, saying it would be "blatantly unconstitutional" if U.S. Department of Justice leadership merely deferred to unelected officials.

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EU Antitrust Chief Says AI Competition Mitigates Risk

By Matthew Perlman

Europe's top antitrust enforcer raised concerns Thursday about the need to regulate artificial intelligence companies, while a top U.S. official said enforcers need to hear more about potential collaborations on AI safety before deciding if they're problematic.

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SpaceXAI, Apple Must Show Texas Judge Antitrust Deal Terms

By Dorothy Atkins

A Texas federal judge has ordered Elon Musk's companies and Apple Inc. to provide him with a copy of their recent settlement for in-camera review after OpenAI Inc. demanded to look over the agreement and argued its terms may undermine the antitrust allegations SpaceXAI LLC is still pursuing against OpenAI.

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T-Mobile Can't Challenge Ruling That It Broke Wash. Data Law

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A Washington state judge said he will not reconsider his finding that T-Mobile committed more than 722,000 violations of a state data breach notification law.

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Oil Giants, Estate Agree To End Heat Wave Death Claims

By Ben Adlin

The daughter of a Washington woman who died in a 2021 heat wave has agreed to drop claims against oil giants Chevron, Shell, BP and Phillips 66, according to motions filed Tuesday and Wednesday in King County Superior Court.

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Wash. Sheriff's Office Faces $27M Claim Over Fatal Stabbing

By Ben Adlin

A Washington sheriff's office was hit with a $27 million tort claim Thursday alleging a deputy wrongfully killed a DUI suspect by stabbing him 17 times with a personal, "unauthorized" dagger during a May 2025 confrontation in a testing room at a Washington State Patrol station.

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Trump Bars Canadian Goods From US Gov't Procurement

By Rae Ann Varona

President Donald Trump has signed a presidential memorandum directing agencies to identify and "take steps" to remove Canadian goods from U.S. government procurement as a response to Canadian measures limiting U.S. companies' access to the northern neighbor's government procurement markets.

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FAR Council Releases Second Batch Of Regulatory Changes

By Madeline Lyskawa

The Trump administration released a second batch of proposed rules Thursday as part of its effort to streamline the Federal Acquisition Regulation, covering everything from commercial products and services to contract negotiations.

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Judge Nixes DEI Conditions For Federal Education Funds

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal judge Thursday found the U.S. Office of Management and Budget cannot stipulate education research funding on rooting out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, but declined to force the government to spend certain education funds before they expire this month.

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NIH Grant Terminations Violate First Amendment, Court Told

By Gianna Ferrarin

The National Institutes of Health is violating the First Amendment by terminating research grants based on policies aimed at suppressing "disfavored" viewpoints on gender identity, climate change and a host of other topics, researchers told a California federal court in a proposed class action suit.

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Canada Commits To Trade Initiatives With EU, Southeast Asia

By Dylan Moroses

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday committed to work with European Union officials to enhance the trading relationship between the bloc and Canada as the country's top trade official is scheduled to visit major partners in Asia in the coming days to advance negotiations on trade agreements.

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Brief

Commerce Orders Duties On Algerian Steel Rod Imports

By Jack McLoone

Imports of carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Algeria will be subject to a countervailing duty after the U.S. Department of Commerce finalized its determination Thursday that the imports are benefiting from government subsidies.

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Judge Nixes Workers' Bid To Halt IRS Withholding Rules

By Zak Kostro

A Texas federal judge dismissed two workers' claims that the Internal Revenue Service's income tax withholding regulations resulted in employers overdeducting taxes from their employees' paychecks, finding that federal law bars the workers' bid to prevent tax collection.

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Colo. $2B Graduated Tax Proposal Faces Signature Challenge

By Sanjay Talwani

A proposal to cut Colorado income tax rates for most earners, raise rates for high earners and raise $2 billion annually failed to gather the signatures needed to reach the state's November ballot, a lawsuit against state election officials charges.

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Electricity Tax Rules Kept In Irish EU Reg Draft, Over Protests

By Kevin Pinner

The Irish government, currently leading the Council of the European Union, kept rules requiring tax rates on electricity to be no less favorable than those on natural gas in its revision of a draft EU regulation, despite some member states' objections, according to a document obtained Thursday by Law360.

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Trump Withdraws ICE Nominee Schroyer After Senate Delay

By Britain Eakin

The White House announced Thursday that it withdrew President Donald Trump's nomination of former Oklahoma state trooper Lance Schroyer to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after his nomination stalled in the Senate.

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Calif. Judge Holds Off On Sanctioning ICE Amid GEO Talks

By Tom Lotshaw

A California federal judge deferred imposing sanctions on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday after the agency said it's working to give monitors access to health records for detained immigrants at a facility where the judge has twice ordered conditions to be improved.

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DHS Says Western Hemisphere Asylum Claims Are Meritless

By Britain Eakin

U.S. Department of Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival sent a letter to the American Immigration Lawyer's Association this week warning that attorneys who file frivolous asylum applications will be "subject to penalties."

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Feds Resist Release Guarantee For Unlawfully Deported Man

By Elaine Briseño

Immigration officials and attorneys for asylum seekers disagreed on the conditions required for the return from El Salvador of an unlawfully deported man, with the government refusing to guarantee the man will not be held in detention upon his return.

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Ex-Conn. Budget Official Flees US Before Corruption Sentence

By Aaron Keller

Former Connecticut budget official Konstantinos Diamantis slipped out of the United States before learning his fate on federal corruption charges by driving to Florida, taking a boat to the Bahamas, and flying to London, apparently using a Greek passport he was not supposed to possess, attorneys revealed in court Thursday.

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Tribe Says HHS Defied High Court On Contract Funding

By Joyce Hanson

A California tribe has sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Indian Health Service in Washington, D.C., federal court, accusing them of unlawfully slashing about $2.37 million in contract support costs to less than $100,000.

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AT&T Seeks To End Biz Landline Service In 34 States, DC

By Nadia Dreid

AT&T is continuing its quest to end legacy copper line service across the United States, this time asking the Federal Communications Commission for permission to end traditional phone service for businesses in 34 states and Washington, D.C.

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Groups Seek 4.4 GHz Revamp, But Clash On Exclusive Use

By Christopher Cole

Top wireless carriers and shared-spectrum advocates issued reports this week saying the government needs to set the 4 gigahertz band on a path toward industry use, but are at odds on whether to set aside the airwaves for full-power exclusive licenses.

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Tenn. Prosecutor Immune In $850K Hemp Seizure Suit

By Mike Curley

A Tennessee federal judge has dismissed a hemp distributor's claims against a district attorney general over 216 pounds of hemp that was seized, then destroyed, following a 2023 traffic stop, finding he has prosecutorial immunity.

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How GCs Can Assess The Risks Of Emerging AI Laws

Amid a swirl of momentous legislative activity aimed at regulating artificial intelligence, general counsel must return to first principles when determining whether new laws will apply and whether the company’s use could cause regulators to subject it to additional regulation, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

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IRS Notice Helps Bridge Carbon Capture Reporting Gap

Recent guidance that extends a safe harbor for taxpayers claiming Section 45Q carbon capture credits provides a temporary reporting method that may keep viable projects moving while the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Environmental Protection Agency address future reporting standards, says Peter Lowy at Nelson Mullins.

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A Road Map To Modernizing Clinical Lab Regulations

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' recent request for comments on potential changes to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments provides an early indication of where CLIA is headed, and the operational, compliance, reimbursement and enforcement issues those changes will create, says Jose Vela at Clark Hill.

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Senior Lawyers Survey: Tell Us About Your Career

How are senior lawyers adapting to evolving career paths and emerging technologies? Share your perspective in this five-minute survey.

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Analysis

Attys 'Itching' To Join Congressional Probes Of Trump Admin

By Phillip Bantz

Efforts to recruit high-powered lawyers to Capitol Hill to potentially lead congressional committee probes into the various dealings of President Donald Trump's administration are gaining momentum as Democrats push to retake control of Congress in the quickly approaching midterm elections.

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Ex-DOJ Chief Lambastes 'Abuses Of Power' In Goldstein Case

By Jeff Overley

The U.S. Department of Justice constantly made false statements in its criminal case against famed appellate advocate Tom Goldstein, and his convictions must be erased because "prosecutorial misconduct pervaded every stage of the proceedings," a former DOJ prosecutor told the Fourth Circuit.

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Roundup

Taxation With Representation: Davis Polk, Latham, Sullivan

By Zak Kostro

In this week's Taxation With Representation, a group backed by Michael Dell's family office and Sequence Holdings acquires a majority interest in The Baldwin Group, May Mobility merges with a blank check company, and Infineon Technologies sells its memory chip business to Winbond Electronics.

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Ex-Wis. Judge Keeps License Amid ICE Conviction Appeal

By Ryan Boysen

The ex-Wisconsin judge convicted of obstructing an ICE arrest will remain an attorney in good standing while she appeals, after the Supreme Court of Wisconsin declined to suspend her law license.

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Richards Layton Litigator Selected For Chancery Seat In Del.

By Rose Krebs

A Richards Layton & Finger PA attorney has been nominated by Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer to serve on the bench of the nationally important Chancery Court, a venue that adjudicates some of the biggest corporate law cases.

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Judge Questions Whether 'Lawfare' Fund Fight Is Really Moot

By Jared Foretek

A Virginia federal judge seemed unlikely to toss a challenge to the Trump administration's nixed "Anti-Weaponization Fund" and tax audit immunity for the Trump family Friday, saying she worries the fund could be revived in a different form down the road.

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Chief US District Judge In SC To Take Senior Status Oct. 1

By Courtney Bublé

Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy Cain of the District of South Carolina has informed the president that he will be taking semiretired status on Oct. 1, according to an update posted Friday by the federal judiciary.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

Starbucks settled a high-profile discrimination suit with Florida over its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, agreeing not to use race- or sex-based goals in hiring and promoting. And the SEC floated changing how publicly traded companies seek shareholder input, including promising to end one pathway for shareholders to place their proposals on corporate ballots. These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Reed Smith Defends Docs Production In Ex-Atty's Bias Suit

By Jake Maher

Reed Smith LLP urged a New Jersey court on Thursday to reject an "impulsive" motion from a former attorney suing it for gender discrimination seeking to strike its answer and affirmative defenses.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Schemery Zicolello leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Third Circuit panel ruled that police cannot conduct warrantless strip searches outside of jails or prisons absent consent or an emergency.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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