Analysis

AGs' Win Over Live Nation Leaves DOJ Watching From The Side

By Bryan Koenig

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.'s across-the-board trial rout by 34 state attorneys general underscores the ascendancy of state antitrust enforcers looking to fill perceived enforcement gaps left by the U.S. Department of Justice during President Donald Trump's second term.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Acting ICE Head Todd Lyons To Leave Agency At End Of May

By Rae Ann Varona

Acting Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons is set to leave the agency, new U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed Thursday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

White House Again Ordered To Stop Ballroom Construction

By Hailey Konnath

A D.C. federal judge on Thursday clarified his injunction blocking construction on the White House ballroom project, amending his order to specifically stop construction on all aboveground construction but allowing for construction of national security facilities beneath it.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Taps Ret. Rear Admiral Schwartz As New CDC Chief

By Rae Ann Varona

President Donald Trump on Thursday nominated Dr. Erica Schwartz, a retired rear admiral who served in the U.S. Coast Guard and as deputy surgeon general in the first Trump administration, to be the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's next director.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Pa. Justices Eye New Approach For 'De Facto' Juvenile Lifers

By Matthew Santoni

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court seemed open Thursday to subjecting "de facto life sentences" for juvenile offenders to additional scrutiny, though several justices hypothesized that heinous crimes could still carry long prison terms if a court weighed all the necessary factors.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NJ US Atty's Office Turmoil Doesn't Nix Conviction, Judge Rules

By Carla Baranauckas

A federal judge on Thursday rejected a New Jersey criminal defendant's attempt to dismiss his conviction and disqualify the state's top federal prosecutor, holding that the appointment of the current U.S. attorney complies with federal law and that any earlier defects in leadership do not warrant dismissal.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NJ Justices To Weigh Municipal Counsel Conflict Of Interest

By Carla Baranauckas

The New Jersey Supreme Court has agreed to review a state ethics opinion that bars attorneys from simultaneously serving as corporation counsel to a municipality and general counsel to a regional fire and rescue agency that the municipality helps fund, setting an expedited briefing schedule.

5 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Calif. Lawyer Sues Over State Bar Investigations

By Andrea Keckley

A California trial lawyer claimed in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday that he has been unfairly investigated by the state bar since 2019, alleging the office "illegally prioritizes revenue-generation over protection of the public."

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judiciary Panel Loves Paralegal's Idea To Modernize Briefs

By Jeff Overley

An Arizona paralegal's unsolicited idea for overhauling a procedural rule governing the format of briefs found a surprisingly enthusiastic audience Thursday at a federal judiciary meeting, where prominent officials and attorneys voiced strong interest and agreed to explore the concept in earnest.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Kalshi Rejects Returning Enforcement Case To State Court

By Susan Smiley

Prediction market platform Kalshi contends that a suit brought against the company by Michigan's attorney general alleging violations of state gambling laws should stay in federal court and not be remanded to state court.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

CFTC's Selig Pushes Back On Lawmakers' Staffing Concerns

By Aislinn Keely

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig on Thursday dismissed lawmakers' concerns that his agency may be understaffed for a widening mandate that includes policing prediction markets, and insisted he won't delay rulemaking while he waits for the president to appoint other commissioners.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

2nd Circ. Says Animal Groups Can't Challenge Swine Rule

By Hailey Konnath

The Second Circuit on Thursday held that a trio of animal welfare groups don't have the standing to fight the U.S. Department of Agriculture's revised practices for inspecting pigs at slaughterhouses, ruling that none of the groups have shown they are likely to be harmed by the rule.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feds Can't Block Hawaii's Suit Against Oil, Gas Companies

By Mike Curley

A Hawaii federal judge has dismissed with prejudice a suit from the U.S. government aiming to block the state from suing oil and gas companies on climate change-related claims, finding the government's complaint fails to establish any of the elements of standing.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FERC Aims For June To Act On DOE Data Center Grid Plan

By Keith Goldberg

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday said it will act by the end of June on a controversial U.S. Department of Energy proposal to standardize grid hookup procedures for data centers and other electricity-hungry facilities, two months later than the DOE had requested.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DC Circ. Ponders If FERC Mistakenly Rejected PJM Deal

By Nadia Dreid

PJM transmission owners faced a skeptical D.C. Circuit Thursday, as aside from saying their arguments were properly preserved in an appeal of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejecting a plan they worked out with regional grid operator PJM Interconnection, they also had to defend the arguments themselves.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Del. River Regulator Says It Lawfully Extended LNG Permit

By Gautama Mehta

The Delaware River Basin Commission and the developer of a proposed liquefied natural gas export terminal asked a New Jersey federal court to toss a suit alleging the commission wrongly renewed a construction permit for a second time, saying the dispute rests on differing grammatical interpretations.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

HHS Defends ACA Overhaul Against Cities' Challenge

By Jared Foretek

The Health and Human Services Department is defending sweeping changes to the Affordable Care Act marketplace against attacks from three cities, asking a Maryland federal judge to grant summary judgment and allow the agency to shorten open enrollment, institute tighter income checks and charge a reenrollment verification premium.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

USPTO Ends COVID Patent Appeals Program

By Adam Lidgett

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has decided to end a program launched five years ago that aimed to prioritize and fast-track ex parte appeals of rejections on patent applications for inventions related to combating COVID-19.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Foreign Truckers Sue Over 'Catastrophic' License Ban

By Britain Eakin

Nineteen foreign truckers sued the federal trucking regulator and Florida's motor vehicle agency over a federal rule barring roughly 200,000 noncitizen truckers from getting commercial driver's licenses, saying those with valid federal work permits are being left in the lurch.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NYC Suit Alleges $1.3M Illegal Short-Term Rental Scheme

By Isaac Monterose

A New York City landlord and several of his relatives and associates made over $1.3 million from an illegal short-term rentals scheme that involved hosting an illegal number of guests, the city alleged Thursday in New York state court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Seattle's COVID-Era Tenant Protections Face Appellate Skeptic

By Rachel Riley

A Washington state appellate judge pushed back Thursday on Seattle's defense of COVID-19-era tenant rights ordinances, observing that the plaintiff landlord may have a stronger Fifth Amendment takings claim than usual because of the "unique" situation of "six regulations passed within a short time period."

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-ByteDance Exec Fights Perjury Sanction At 9th Circ.

By Bonnie Eslinger

A former ByteDance executive urged the Ninth Circuit Thursday to revive a suit he filed against the TikTok owner after he was fired, saying the case should've been heard in state court and a federal judge had no jurisdiction to order terminating sanctions after finding he perjured himself.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feds Can't Hide Records Of FEMA Cuts, Labor Coalition Says

By Braden Campbell

The government has upended discovery rules by blanketly shielding records of cuts at the Federal Emergency Management Agency from public view, a labor-led coalition challenging the cuts told a California federal judge.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOL Benefits Chief Pressed On Labor Secretary's Conduct

By Kellie Mejdrich

The head of the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm faced tough questions from House Democrats at an oversight hearing Thursday, fielding questions about the labor secretary's on-the-job conduct as well as the DOL's take on mental health parity enforcement. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fla. Panel Upholds Ex-Worker's Postclaim Arbitration Deal

By David Minsky

A Florida state appellate panel on Wednesday barred a woman from pursuing sexual discrimination allegations against her former employer in court, saying she agreed to arbitrate her claims in a settlement that followed her initial U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge. 

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Google Says EU Search Data Sharing Plan Raises Concerns

By Matthew Perlman

Google has pushed back after European enforcers outlined how they expect the company to share its search data to comply with its obligations as a gatekeeper in the search engine market, saying the measures raise privacy and other concerns.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Dems Call On Watchdog To Probe DOJ Antitrust Work

By Jake Maher

A group of Democratic federal lawmakers this week called on the U.S. Department of Justice's acting inspector general to investigate the possibility that lobbying has led to misconduct in the department's antitrust work, including the DOJ's recent surprise settlement with event ticketing giant Live Nation.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Equity Residential Cuts $56M Deal In RealPage MDL

By Katryna Perera

A Chicago-based real estate investment trust has reached a $56 million settlement in a sprawling, multidistrict antitrust class action that claims the REIT and multiple landlords used property management software company RealPage Inc.'s revenue management software for rent price-fixing.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

San Diego Alleges Fire Truck-Makers Attempted Monopoly

By Elaine Briseño

San Diego has alleged in a federal lawsuit that fire truck manufacturers REV Group and Oshkosh Corp., along with private equity firm American Industrial Partners, orchestrated an anticompetitive scheme to consolidate the market and charge municipalities across the nation inflated prices.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Citizens Group Says 27 States Are Eyeing AI Chatbot Laws

By Joyce Hanson

Twenty-seven U.S. states are looking at passing laws to make artificial intelligence companies face liability claims in civil suits if they fail to protect consumers who interact with chatbots, while another three states have already enacted protections, according to a citizens group's new legislative tracker.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Conn. Justices Nix Asbestos Widow's 'Double Recovery' Bid

By Aaron Keller

A town and a state agency are entitled to a lien on private asbestos litigation settlements in cases of combined work and home exposures, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Thursday, blocking a widow from obtaining through lawsuits and worker compensation claims what one justice dubbed a possible "double recovery."

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Minn. Charges ICE Agent With Assault Over Traffic Gun Threat

By Lauren Berg

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent is facing felony assault charges in Minnesota after local prosecutors say he tried to illegally bypass a highway traffic jam and then pointed his duty weapon at two people in another vehicle, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office announced Thursday.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Higher Ed Group Seeks Fees After Beating DOE Research Cap

By Julie Manganis

An organization of public and private research universities has asked a Massachusetts federal judge to award attorney fees and costs in a successful challenge to a U.S. Department of Energy limit on reimbursements for indirect costs of grant-funded research, the third such request since last fall.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

ITC Told Wrongly Claimed Patent Fee Discounts Sink Chip Suit

By Ryan Davis

Semiconductor company Everspin Technologies Inc. has asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to end a memory chip patent suit against it by Avalanche Technology Inc., saying Avalanche's patents are unenforceable because the company wrongly claimed a "small entity" discount on patent fees for years.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Texas Judge Vacates IRS' Steep Microcaptive Reporting Rule

By Anna Scott Farrell

A Texas federal judge vacated a tax code regulation designating microcaptive insurance transactions as listed transactions subject to deep scrutiny and hefty penalties, saying the Internal Revenue Service didn't prove that they are mostly for tax avoidance and not really for insurance.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ky. Conforms To Fed. Tax Changes, Nixes Tax Threshold

By Michael Nunes

The Kentucky General Assembly overrode the governor's veto of a bill that eliminates its sales tax nexus transaction threshold, levies sales tax on data brokering services and will conform the state's tax code with some provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

IRS Proposes Regs For $2K Gambling Reporting Level

By Kat Lucero

The IRS unveiled proposed regulations Thursday to implement a higher threshold of $2,000 for when gambling businesses must report payouts to the government — including winnings from bingo, keno and slot machines — reflecting changes in the 2025 budget law.

Proposed Rule attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

ICE Ordered To Stop Work On Maryland Detention Center

By Grace Dixon

A Maryland federal court blocked the Trump administration from continuing construction work to convert an existing warehouse into an immigrant detention center while a challenge brought by the state under federal environmental regulations plays out.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Doubts Broad Shift In Immigration Hearing Access

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge appeared unconvinced Thursday by a human rights group's claim that the public is getting less access to immigration court hearings in Minnesota during the second Trump administration.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

ICE Chief Says Shutdown Still Hurts Despite Billions

By Courtney Bublé

The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Congress Thursday that the agency is feeling the effects of the ongoing partial government shutdown, even though the agency received billions of dollars for much of its current operations.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Nebraska Inmates Sue Over Access To Native Religious Area

By Crystal Owens

Two Indigenous men are asking a federal court to block a Nebraska Department of Corrections' 60-day ban on access to a religious space within a Lincoln prison yard, arguing that the policy is keeping roughly 60 inmates from practicing essential elements of their faith.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

US, Okla. Tribes Fight DAs' Stay Bid In Jurisdiction Row

By Crystal Owens

Three tribal nations and the federal government are asking a district court to reject a request by two Oklahoma district attorneys to stay a jurisdictional challenge until another dispute with a Tulsa County prosecutor is resolved by the Tenth Circuit, arguing that the appeal is not likely to prevail.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FCC To Seek Carriers' Views On Connection Rule Revamp

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission will soon ask key stakeholders, including local phone carriers, for their input on an agency plan to overhaul interconnection rules that govern how the nation's communications networks are linked, FCC Chair Brendan Carr said Thursday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FCC Urged To Keep 60 MHz In C-Band Airwaves For Satellites

By Christopher Cole

A public advocacy group has told the Federal Communications Commission it's a good idea to reserve at least 60 megahertz of spectrum in the upper C-band for satellite services as it ponders how big a chunk to auction for wireless.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Telecom Tower Builder Fights Ga. County's Project Rejection

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A telecommunications tower builder has sued Georgia's Clayton County after officials rejected its construction request over risk of harm to the community, saying the county's denial lacked evidence for its reasoning.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

8th Circ. Weighs Link Between Cannabis Use And Danger

By Sam Reisman

An Eighth Circuit panel weighing a man's conviction for owning a firearm as an unlawful marijuana user appeared inclined Thursday to reject his Second Amendment challenge and rule that his violent actions warranted the charge as it was applied to him.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Employer Tips As Calif. Law Rewrites Retention Pay Rules

California's recent enactment of A.B. 692 disrupts how employers structure sign-on bonuses, retention payments and other incentives tied to continued employment, but employers that adjust their compensation strategies can attract and retain talent while managing their compliance risks, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

What Cos. Should Look For As Minn. Plans PFAS Product Ban

As regulators finalize rulemaking for Minnesota's sweeping restrictions on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in consumer and commercial products, manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers should pay attention — especially to how the pathway for essential use exemptions ends up being defined, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Adapting To The Shift Toward Ex Parte Patent Challenges

As recent U.S. Patent and Trademark Office developments shift the patent challenge landscape, challengers will need to reconsider long-held assumptions about forum selection for validity challenges, and patent owners should prepare to defend against more ex parte filings, say attorneys at Marshall Gerstein.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Isshin-Ryu Karate Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My involvement in martial arts, specifically Isshin-ryu, which has principles rooted in the eight codes of karate, has been one of the most foundational in the development of my personality, and particularly my approach to challenges — including in my practice of law, says Kaitlyn Stone at Barnes & Thornburg.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Another Record-Breaking Year For NY Lobbying: Watchdog

By Andrea Keckley

The amount of money spent on lobbying in New York state reached a new high — again — in 2025 despite lower dollar amounts from that year's top spenders, a state ethics and lobbying watchdog said Thursday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen Aston Martin file an appeal in a row with Chinese carmaker Geely over its winged logo for London black cabs, Ineos sue Ben Ainslie's America's Cup team for a £180 million ($244 million) boat, White & Case face a claim from two energy storage companies, and a golf tour company bring a claim against Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund after the fund invested in its rival.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Alaska-Hawaiian Merger Judge Mulls DQ Over O'Melveny Ties

By Craig Clough

The parties in a consumer lawsuit challenging Alaska Airlines' 2024 acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines have been notified that the federal judge recently assigned to the case intends to disqualify himself unless they sign a waiver over one of his retirement accounts being tied to O'Melveny & Myers LLP, which is representing Alaska Airlines.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

New data found that some companies are being wary during the 2026 proxy season by negotiating deals behind closed doors rather than allowing shareholders to vote on issues. In the meantime, a report showed that the higher annual rate growth for outside counsel fees that began in 2022 has become the new normal. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Winston & Strawn LLP leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a New York federal jury found that Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary harmed competition in the live entertainment sector by willfully monopolizing ticketing services.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

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.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

Balancing The Scales: Juror Bias, First For Revenge Porn Law

By Orlando Lorenzo

The California Supreme Court tossed the conviction and death sentence in a double slaying over the trial court's failures to investigate claims of juror bias, and an Ohio man is believed to be the first person in the nation convicted under a federal law intended to battle revenge porn.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »