Analysis

Judiciary Stuck In AI Rulemaking Rut As Attys, Judges Protest

By Jeff Overley

Judiciary efforts to enact rules for the artificial intelligence age are mired in concerns about burdens on litigators, the tensions between burgeoning technology and snail-paced policymaking, and how to even define AI. And despite vivid examples of AI's risks, officials are inching toward mothballing the prominent project.

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'Our Bad': Feds' First Step Act Argument Surprises Justices

By Phillip Bantz

Some U.S. Supreme Court justices considering a First Step Act case Monday appeared caught off guard by a government lawyer's argument that the defendant's impending release from prison renders the appeal moot.

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Justices Probe Late Defense In Ex-Aide's Pregnancy Bias Suit

By Anne Cullen

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday closely scrutinized the procedures governing late-raised legal defenses amid a former political aide's fight to reinstate her pregnancy discrimination lawsuit, with some justices hinting that the case should be sent back down for review under a different federal rule set.

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5th Circ. Skeptical Chinese Citizens Have Right To Texas Land

By Spencer Brewer

A Fifth Circuit panel wants to know if Chinese citizens who wish to purchase property in Texas are arguing that everyone in the world has a constitutional right to do so, asking Monday if people globally "have the right to be treated as U.S. citizens for purposes of purchasing property in Texas."

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Judge Orders Chicago US Atty To Testify In Misconduct Probe

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge has ordered Chicago's top federal prosecutor and three assistant U.S. attorneys to testify under oath about potentially false statements made to her in a now-dismissed criminal conspiracy case against anti-ICE protesters, saying Monday that the government's shifting explanations about communications with DOJ leadership suggest prosecutors misled the court about outside involvement in the prosecution.

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BigLaw Attys Step Up To Help Voters In Midterm Elections

By Jack Karp and Lynn LaRowe

Attorneys from several BigLaw firms are volunteering across the country to make sure voters don't run into problems casting their ballots or having those ballots counted in Tuesday's midterm elections.

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High Court Rejects Trump's Bid To Set Aside 20K Calif. Ballots

By Bonnie Eslinger

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday quickly denied the Trump administration's request to set aside 20,000 California mail-in ballots that the federal government claims were sent to noncitizens.

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Union, Groups Challenge Trump's 'Noncitizen' Ballot Demand

By MJ Koo

A labor union and two voter advocacy groups have asked a Washington federal court to stop President Donald Trump's administration from pressuring state election officials to set aside ballots from about 400 registered voters federal agencies believe are or were noncitizens.

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Analysis

AI Agents Raise Stakes For Banks As Legal Fights Loom

By Jon Hill

As major banks move to keep artificial intelligence agents from accessing customer accounts, financial services attorneys say the growing use of these tools in financial transactions could test the limits of existing consumer protection laws and set the stage for litigation.

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50 Cos. Object To Listing On OKX Tokenized Stock Venue

By Aislinn Keely

Fifty publicly traded firms including Goldman Sachs, Microsoft and Nvidia have directed the tokenized stock trading venue OKXICE not to list blockchain-based forms of their shares, according to the crypto platform's latest disclosure.

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XAI Fails To Dodge Miss. NAACP Pollution Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

A Mississippi federal judge denied X.AI Corp.'s bid to dismiss an NAACP citizen suit alleging that the company has unlawfully installed and operated dozens of polluting natural gas-fired turbines to power its Colossus 2 data center.

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DC Circ. Questions Lack Of Carbon Plan For Gas Terminal

By Jared Foretek

Judges on the D.C. Circuit on Monday pressed attorneys for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the company behind a natural gas export terminal and pipeline in South Texas on why they walked away from a connected proposal for carbon sequestration near the project without explanation.

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Fuel Groups Say Courts Must Stay Out Of Calif. Waiver Fight

By Ganesh Setty

Groups representing the natural gas and oil industry urged the D.C. Circuit to reverse preliminary injunction rulings over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's procedural move sending certain Clean Air Act waivers for California to Congress, arguing that judicial review is barred.

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Energy Co. Says Toad Listing Ignores Key Geothermal Data

By Joyce Hanson

A Nevada geothermal company seeks an early win in its D.C. federal court suit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's listing of the Dixie Valley toad as an endangered species, arguing that the agency hasn't considered the best available scientific and commercial data.

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Copyright Board Rejects UPS Logo Registration Bid

By Adam Lidgett

The U.S. Copyright Office Review Board has ruled that UPS can't register a copyright for its brown-and-gold shield logos, finding that they weren't creative enough to warrant copyright protection.

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More Amicus Briefs Flood NYT, OpenAI Copyright Case

By Theresa Schliep

Actors, writers groups, advocacy organizations, law professors and current and former political leaders weighed in on the OpenAI copyright multidistrict litigation in New York federal court, with some arguing that fair use does not protect the artificial intelligence developer, while others contended that training models on copyrighted works was all above board.

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Carroll Asks High Court To Skip Trump Defamation Appeal

By Elliot Weld

Writer E. Jean Carroll has asked the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear President Donald Trump's appeal of an $83.3 million jury verdict finding that he defamed her after she accused him of sexual assault, saying Trump waived his presidential immunity argument.

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FCC Stops Broadcasters' Workforce Diversity Data Collection

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Federal Communications Commission will once again stop collecting workforce diversity data from the broadcast industry.

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Ferry Cos. Say Mackinac Island Hid Rate-Freeze Facts

By Susan Smiley

Two Michigan ferry operators asked a federal judge on Friday to compel city of Mackinac Island officials to submit to depositions, accusing the city of blocking access to historical ferry rate data and key interpretations of a franchise agreement.

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D.C., Virginia Sue To Block Trump's 250-Foot Arch

By Jared Foretek

Washington, D.C., and Virginia have teamed up in a new bid to stop President Donald Trump's planned 250-foot arch just east of Arlington National Cemetery, claiming in a lawsuit that the project lacks required congressional approval.

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NTSB Defeats Ex-Member's Race Bias Suit Over Removal

By Patrick Hoff

A D.C. federal judge shut down a former National Transportation Safety Board member's lawsuit alleging he was unlawfully removed by President Donald Trump because he's Black, pointing to the U.S. Supreme Court's June decision concluding that presidents have unlimited authority to fire members of independent agencies.

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Groups Urge Justices To Take Up Capital Group ERISA Fight

By Kellie Mejdrich

Several employee benefits trade groups urged the U.S. Supreme Court Monday to review a Ninth Circuit ruling that refused to force arbitration of a retirement plan dispute against an investment management company, arguing the case could resolve a circuit split on the scope of relief under federal benefits law.

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5th Circ. Weighs Law Student's Kirk Comment Discipline

By Spencer Brewer

A Fifth Circuit panel wanted to know what harm a former Texas Tech law student is currently experiencing as she seeks to overturn a disciplinary action related to statements she made allegedly celebrating Charlie Kirk's death, saying Monday the alleged harm seemed "speculative."

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Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission caused a pair of playground equipment makers to abandon their planned merger, Canadian enforcers upended a deal for the Green Giant brand in the country and state attorneys general reached settlements for several regional deals.

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BlackRock, State Street Get State AG Coal Suit Trimmed

By Sarah Jarvis

BlackRock and State Street have pared down a lawsuit by Republican state attorneys general accusing them of driving up coal prices, but a Texas federal judge let stand claims brought by Iowa and Nebraska on behalf of their resident electricity consumers.

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NJ Parents' Suit Challenging Storing Baby DNA Gets Tossed

By Dorothy Atkins

A New Jersey federal judge tossed a proposed class action Friday challenging the Garden State's practice of keeping newborn babies' residual blood spots without parental consent, finding the parents haven't alleged viable Fourth or Fourteenth Amendment claims, in part because the state agreed to destroy the blood spots at issue.

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Calif. AG Hits Lyft With $1.8M Fine For Opt-Out 'Barrier'

By Allison Grande

Lyft has agreed to pay $1.8 million and overhaul its mechanism for consumers to stop the sale of their data through its mobile app in order to resolve the California attorney general's claims that the company's existing opt-out process was too "cumbersome" and created a "barrier" to consumers exercising their privacy rights. 

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Judge Tosses DOJ's Harvard Admissions Data Suit For Now

By Carolyn Muyskens

A federal judge Monday threw out a lawsuit alleging Harvard University is withholding admissions data from the Trump administration, finding the government failed to take certain required steps before hauling the school into court.

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FCC Clears More Drones, Inverters, Robots From Covered List

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Federal Communications Commission has cleared several foreign-produced products for sale in the U.S., exempting certain uncrewed aircraft systems, advanced robotic devices and power inverters from the Covered List, which restricts foreign-made devices for national security reasons.

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Xbox Buyer's Microsoft Tariff Refund Suit Sent To Arbitration

By Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge said Monday that an Xbox buyer must arbitrate his claims that Microsoft unjustly pocketed refunds meant for consumers after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration's global tariff regime, citing an arbitration pact described by the console's packaging and included documents.

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5th Circ. Keeps UPS Death Suit In Texas Federal Court

By Mike Curley

The Fifth Circuit has reversed an order sending a woman's wrongful death claims against United Parcel Service Inc. back to Texas state court, finding the district judge should have allowed UPS to fix a procedural defect rather than remanding on their own accord.

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Teachers Union Sues Ed. Dept. Over Loan Forgiveness Delays

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The American Federation of Teachers and nine borrowers sued the U.S. Department of Education, saying it is illegally blocking forgiveness of federal student loans for individuals who have worked in public service.

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Analysis

Maine's Canada Trade Exemption May Ride On Midterms

By Dylan Moroses

The fate of Maine's relief from the trade war between the U.S. and Canada may lie in the balance of Tuesday's midterm election results, a dynamic that shows how trade policy can be influenced by the political winds, experts said.

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Trump To Remove Rwanda, South Africa From Trade Deal

By Asha Glover

President Donald Trump intends to remove Rwanda and South Africa from a trade preference program for African countries, according to a statement released by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Monday.

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Fed. Circ. Probes Mattress Data In Indonesia Duty Dispute

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. Department of Commerce should be required to explain why it inconsistently approached data that contains impossibilities from an Indonesian exporter of mattresses during an antidumping duty investigation, counsel for domestic mattress importers and manufacturers told the Federal Circuit on Monday during oral arguments.

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IRS Donor Reporting Rule Violates 1st Amendment, Court Told

By Zak Kostro

The IRS' nonprofit donor disclosure rule violates organizations' and donors' First Amendment rights, a privacy group told a D.C. federal court, saying the rule is subject to a heightened level of judicial scrutiny that the government cannot overcome.

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Tax Court Denies IRS Bid To Revisit Easement Case Ruling

By Zak Kostro

The U.S. Tax Court said Monday it won't reconsider a September opinion finding a partnership's petition was filed late because of circumstances beyond its control, saying the court has already addressed the IRS' arguments that it improperly excused the lateness of the conservation easement suit.

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Split Full 9th Circ. Backs Block On ICE Voter Fraud Probe

By Dorothy Atkins

A Ninth Circuit majority kept in place Friday a panel's recent ruling refusing to pause an injunction blocking U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from carrying out a "surge initiative" to question individuals in nine states about their voter status, while seven judges criticized the panel's opinion in dissent.

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9th Circ. Won't Extend Block On Venezuela TPS Ruling

By Tom Lotshaw

The Ninth Circuit denied the Trump administration's request to block a district court order that stymied its cancellation of a temporary protected status extension for Venezuela and is set to snap back into effect after a U.S. Supreme Court stay of the order expires this week.

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DOJ Loses Bid To Revive Voter Roll Checks Ahead Of Election

By Lauren Berg

A Washington, D.C., federal judge Monday refused to pause her order striking down the U.S. Department of Justice's new policy of collecting states' unredacted voter information to cross-check voter rolls against immigration databases while it appeals her decision.

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Feds Blocked From Rushing Childrens' Asylum Proceedings

By Rae Ann Varona

A Maryland federal judge has blocked the government from carrying out policies that legal groups allege provide inadequate asylum interview notices for unaccompanied minors and make it harder to reschedule interviews, saying the policies likely flout the law and will irreparably harm the noncitizen children.

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HHS Says Wash. Has No Stake In Noncitizen Medicaid Fight

By Rachel Riley

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is fighting Washington state's bid to join a legal challenge to the Trump administration's attempts to withdraw federal Medicaid funding for certain noncitizens receiving supplemental security income, arguing Friday the state has pointed to "speculative downstream effects" of the targeted policy.

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Trump Admin Seeks Revival Of Blocked Fixed-Term Visa Rule

By Ganesh Setty

The Trump administration has told a Massachusetts federal court that its currently blocked final rule setting firm duration limits on foreign student and press visas is critical for national security, while education groups and labor unions said the court's prior analysis "needs no retreading."

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ICE Says Calif. Detention Facility Meets Improvement Order

By Madeline Lyskawa

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement urged a California federal judge to reject immigrant detainees' claims that it's failing to abide by a preliminary injunction requiring humane conditions and independent monitoring at a detention facility in the Mojave Desert. 

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Broadview 6 'Deflection' Ousted Chicago's FBI Head, Suit Says

By Lauraann Wood

Chicago's former FBI head claimed Monday in federal court that he was forced to retire from the local field office once U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros mounted a political pressure campaign "to deflect from his own malfeasance" that turned a criminal protest prosecution against six individuals into an "unprecedented disaster."

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Lawmakers Urge Trump Admin To Stop Afghan Deportations

By Rae Ann Varona

A group of 66 lawmakers Monday urged the Trump administration to immediately cancel any flights deporting Afghans and Iranians, saying that deporting both Afghan allies who supported U.S. troops and those critical of Iran's government could very well end in the deportees' deaths.

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Contractor Says SBA Suspension Relied On Deceptive Video

By Elaine Briseño

A tribally owned contractor urged a D.C. federal court to temporarily halt its suspension by the Small Business Administration from government contracting, arguing misconduct allegations against it stem from a "salacious" video published by a far-right influencer wearing a wig.

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USDA Appoints Tribal Advisory Members To Ag Panel

By Joyce Hanson

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it has appointed four members to its tribal advisory committee and is seeking nominations for another eight people to serve on the panel that advises the USDA's secretary on matters related to Indian affairs.

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FCC To Vote On Extending Rural Broadband Support Fund

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission wants to extend the Connect America Fund's alternative cost model by another two years instead of letting it sunset at the end of the year.

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Reform But Don't Gut FCC Subsidies, Rural Telecoms Say

By Christopher Cole

Rural telecom providers say the Universal Service Fund needs reforms to run more smoothly, but they cautioned the Federal Communications Commission against structural changes that could disrupt the program.

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FCC Grants 1st Router Security Waiver Aimed At Onshoring

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission's staff has granted a partial waiver from its rules restricting the sale of foreign routers in the U.S., saying it's the first exemption for routers based on onshoring jobs as one of the public interest benefits.

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A Defense Attorney Playbook For Challenging Flock Evidence

As law enforcement continues to bring charges based on evidence from Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers, defense counsel should consider four key categories for discovery requests and motions to compel such evidence, says Tamar Lerer at the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender.

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Opinion

A Capital Markets Agenda For The New Congress

When the 120th Congress convenes in January, it should place capital markets issues near the top of its to-do list, with a focus on legislation that can make the public company model more competitive, says David Kaufman at Thompson Coburn.

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9th Circ. Waters Ruling Shows Sackett's Ripple Effects

The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Inland Empire Waterkeeper v. Corona Clay demonstrates that the U.S. Supreme Court's "waters of the U.S." ruling in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can reopen cases already tried to verdict, thus changing expectations around citizen suits and stormwater enforcement in California, says Jacob Lubarsky at Rogers Joseph.

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FTC Highlights Path To Preserve Board Rights In A Rival Co.

The Federal Trade Commission's move to add key guardrails permitting firearms manufacturer Beretta to retain two directors as it takes a 25% stake in competitor Ruger illustrates how parties may maintain board rights in certain circumstances without running afoul of Section 8 of the Clayton Act, say attorneys at Davis Polk.

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Logistics Update: Handling Iran War Supply Chain Limitations

The war in Iran is straining global logistics by introducing practical, commercial, legal and claims limitations for both operators and customers — so all supply chain participants must understand the resulting legal issues, and how to respond to them, says Jonathan Todd at Benesch.

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Brief

Winston Taylor, DLA Piper Match Milbank Pay Scale

By Tracey Read

Two more BigLaw firms have opted to match the new associate salary scale set by Milbank LLP in June.

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NY State Bar Says Attys Can't Bill Time Saved By AI

By Andrea Keckley

The New York State Bar Association has told lawyers not to bill clients for the time they saved by using artificial intelligence, or for the time it took to learn a new AI tool.

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Interview

SEC's Top Cop On Building A 'Nimble' Enforcement Division

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has lost hundreds of enforcement employees and seen significant restructuring of its regional offices over the past two years, but the Division of Enforcement's director said that hasn't stopped him from building a "nimble" program that is focused on more than just the number of cases filed.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week allowed a stockholder claim over R1 RCM Inc.'s $8.9 billion buyout to proceed, while investors in Meta Platforms Inc. sued to block a stock restructuring they say would let CEO Mark Zuckerberg sell billions of dollars in shares without giving up control of the company.

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