Federal

  • July 10, 2025

    10th Circ. Affirms Sentence in $1B Energy Tax Credit Scheme

    A leader of a renewable-energy scheme that illicitly sought $1 billion in tax credits failed to persuade the Tenth Circuit to overturn his conviction by arguing that jurors were biased when his lawyer was identified as having helped Michael Jackson beat child molestation charges.

  • July 10, 2025

    Texas Judge Partially Voids DOL's ERISA Rollover Rule

    A Texas federal judge partially invalidated an investment advice regulation from President Donald Trump's first administration involving employee retirement savings and rollover transactions, ruling the U.S. Department of Labor exceeded its authority when it handed down a new interpretation of federal benefits law.

  • July 10, 2025

    Trump Says 50% Copper Tariff Will Begin Aug. 1

    President Donald Trump said his new 50% tariff on copper imports will take effect Aug. 1, citing national security concerns.

  • July 10, 2025

    5 Employee Benefits Takeaways On The GOP Tax Bill

    Congressional Republicans' sweeping tax and policy bill, which President Donald Trump sought and then signed, contains multiple provisions that caught the attention of employee benefits and executive compensation attorneys, including new changes to high-deductible health plans and an employer-side deduction limit affecting highly compensated employees. Here are five takeaways from employee benefits and executive compensation attorneys on what's in — and out of — the GOP megabill.

  • July 10, 2025

    IRS To Rescind Digital Asset Broker Rules

    The Internal Revenue Service will revoke final regulations requiring brokers to report their digital asset sales, the agency said Thursday, following through on a congressional measure this year that called for their removal.

  • July 09, 2025

    Trump Slaps Brazil With 50% Tariff, Cites Bolsonaro Trial

    President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Brazilian goods sent to the U.S. can expect a 50% tariff starting in August, saying that the increased levy was in part due to Brazil's charges against its former president, Jair Bolsonaro.

  • July 09, 2025

    Honduran Woman Gets 21 Months In Prison For Payroll Fraud

    A Florida federal judge sentenced a Honduran woman to nearly two years in prison after she pled guilty to charges in a scheme to pay construction workers off the books to avoid paying payroll taxes and workers' compensation insurance premiums, resulting in a roughly $3.1 million loss, according to prosecutors.

  • July 09, 2025

    Metals Co. Owner Sentenced To Prison For $1.2M Tax Fraud

    The owner of a metal-coating business was sentenced to a year and a day in prison by a California federal court and must pay $1.2 million in restitution to the IRS after he admitted he failed to pay over taxes he collected from his employees.

  • July 09, 2025

    Gov't Wants Access To Bitcoin Investor's Wallet To Pay Tax

    A Texas federal court should compel an investor who concealed millions of dollars he earned in bitcoin by filing false tax returns to grant the government access to his digital wallet key in order to pay $1.9 million in restitution, the government said.

  • July 09, 2025

    IRS Expands Filing Exceptions For Certain Pass-Throughs

    The Internal Revenue Service is expanding domestic filing exceptions for certain pass-through entities with foreign investments, the agency announced Wednesday.

  • July 09, 2025

    Businesses, States Tell Fed. Circ. Trump's Tariffs Are Unlawful

    The U.S. Court of International Trade correctly determined President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs were improperly imposed under a law that makes no mention of the trade mechanism, a group of states and small businesses told the Federal Circuit, arguing that the duties should be limited under another law.

  • July 09, 2025

    5 Years Ago, The McGirt Ruling Reshaped Tribal Jurisdiction

    It was widely held for decades that Oklahoma had domain over criminal matters on tribal lands, but five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court turned that regime on its head, finding 19th century federal treaties with the Creek Nation that formed its reservation are valid — and, in turn, reestablishing 45% of the Sooner State as Indian Country.

  • July 09, 2025

    2nd Circ. Upholds Bookkeeper's Conviction In $7M IRS Fraud

    The Second Circuit has affirmed the conviction of a moving company's top bookkeeper for his role in a scheme that paid movers off the books and bilked the IRS of $7.7 million in taxes, defending a lower court's decisions to allow testimony from a cooperating witness and other evidence.

  • July 09, 2025

    Baker McKenzie Rehires Int'l Tax Pro As Principal Economist

    Baker McKenzie's former director of economics, who spent more than 15 years as an IRS assistant director in a division that focuses on cross-border tax issues, has rejoined the firm after working with EY.

  • July 08, 2025

    Trump Declares 50% Copper Tariff, Floats 200% Pharma Tariff

    President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will impose a new 50% tariff on copper imported into the U.S., while also raising the possibility of imposing a 200% tariff on pharmaceuticals.

  • July 08, 2025

    Tax Court Says IRS Offer In $57M Easement Case Isn't Binding

    A settlement offer the Internal Revenue Service said it mistakenly made to a partnership after rejecting its $57 million conservation easement deduction is not binding, the U.S. Tax Court said Tuesday, declining the partnership's request to enforce the deal.

  • July 08, 2025

    Tax Tipster's Whistleblower Claims Fail At DC Circ.

    Claims by a tax tipster that the U.S. Tax Court had jurisdiction over his case seeking to overturn the IRS' denial of a whistleblower award cannot move forward, the D.C. Circuit found Tuesday while entirely dismissing another case over a similar issue.

  • July 08, 2025

    11th Circ. Affirms Tax Fraud Conviction, 4-Year Sentence

    The Eleventh Circuit upheld a Georgia woman's tax fraud conviction and four-year-plus prison sentence, rejecting her claims that the judge overseeing her case was biased, that her lawyer was ineffective and that a hearing should have been held on whether she was competent to stand trial.

  • July 08, 2025

    Michigan Cos. Pay $1.9M To Settle PPP Loan Fraud Claims

    Four Michigan companies reached settlements worth a combined $1.9 million with the federal government to resolve claims they violated the False Claims Act by making false statements to get Paycheck Protection Program loans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • July 08, 2025

    High Court Allows Trump's Gov't Cuts And Restructuring

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled the Trump administration can move forward with its plans for large-scale layoffs and reorganizations at various federal departments and agencies, lifting a California federal judge's order that had paused the efforts while a legal challenge continues.

  • July 08, 2025

    Hospitality REIT Offloads Seattle Hotel In $145M Deal

    Braemar Hotels & Resorts sold a 369-room Seattle hotel for $145 million, a property first purchased in 2007 as part of a 51-property portfolio, the real estate investment trust announced Tuesday.

  • July 07, 2025

    Trump Orders Treasury To Restrain Solar, Wind Tax Credits

    President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Treasury Department on Monday to begin carrying out cuts and restrictions to the solar and wind production and investment tax credits that were mandated in the budget bill Trump signed Friday.

  • July 07, 2025

    Ex-Essential Oil Co. Manager Gets 6 Years For Fraud

    A former manager of an essential oils company was sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison Monday for his role in an embezzlement scheme that stripped his employer of more than $29 million and awarded him millions in kickbacks he hid from the IRS, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • July 07, 2025

    Countries Get August Ultimatum To Avoid US Tariff Hikes

    Goods entering the U.S. from numerous countries will face tariff hikes beginning Aug. 1 unless their governments commit to address trade concerns the U.S. has raised, according to letters President Donald Trump sent Monday.

  • July 07, 2025

    IRS Didn't Mislead Coke In $2.7B Pricing Case, 11th Circ. Told

    The IRS did not lure Coca-Cola to continue using a transfer pricing method only to suddenly declare it unlawful, as the beverage giant claims, the agency told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday in opposing the company's bid to reverse a ruling that added $2.7 billion to its tax bill.

Featured Stories

  • 5 Employee Benefits Takeaways On The GOP Tax Bill

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    Congressional Republicans' sweeping tax and policy bill, which President Donald Trump sought and then signed, contains multiple provisions that caught the attention of employee benefits and executive compensation attorneys, including new changes to high-deductible health plans and an employer-side deduction limit affecting highly compensated employees. Here are five takeaways from employee benefits and executive compensation attorneys on what's in — and out of — the GOP megabill.

  • Trump Order On Solar, Wind Credits Puts Industry On Heels

    Kat Lucero

    President Donald Trump threw a curveball to the energy industry by ordering the U.S. Department of the Treasury to take a hard line on which projects qualify for solar and wind tax credits under the new budget law, leaving practitioners uncertain about the scope of the restrictions.

  • 5 Years Ago, The McGirt Ruling Reshaped Tribal Jurisdiction

    No Photo Available

    It was widely held for decades that Oklahoma had domain over criminal matters on tribal lands, but five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court turned that regime on its head, finding 19th century federal treaties with the Creek Nation that formed its reservation are valid — and, in turn, reestablishing 45% of the Sooner State as Indian Country.

Expert Analysis

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Federal Construction Considerations Amid Policy Overhaul

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    The rapid overhaul of federal procurement, heightened domestic sourcing rules and aggressive immigration enforcement are reshaping U.S. construction, but several pragmatic considerations can help federal contractors engaged in infrastructure and public construction avoid the legal, financial and operational fallout, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Can Companies Add Tariffs Back To Earnings Calculations?

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    With the recent and continually evolving tariffs announced by the Trump administration, John Ryan at King & Spalding takes a detailed look at whether those new tariffs can be added back in calculating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — an important question that may greatly affect a company's compliance with its financial covenants.

  • A Look At DOJ's Dropped Case Against Early Crypto Operator

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    The prosecution of an early crypto exchange operator over alleged unlicensed money transmission was recently dropped in Indiana federal court, showcasing that the U.S. Justice Department may be limiting the types of enforcement cases it will bring against digital asset firms, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Despite Dark Clouds, Outlook For US Solar Has Bright Spots

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    While tariff, tax policy and bankruptcy news seemingly portends unending challenges for the U.S. solar energy industry, signs of continued growth in solar generating capacity and domestic solar manufacturing suggest that there is a path forward, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • Bill Leaves Renewable Cos. In Dark On Farmland Reporting

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    A U.S. Senate bill to update disclosure requirements for foreign control of U.S. farmland does not provide much-needed guidance on how to report renewable energy development on agricultural property, leaving significant compliance risks for project developers, say attorneys at Hodgson Russ.

  • Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

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    My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

  • IRS Should Work With Industry On Microcaptive Regs

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    The IRS should engage with microcaptive insurance owners to develop better regulations on these arrangements or risk the emergence of common law guidance as taxpayers with legitimate programs seek relief in the federal courts, says Dustin Carlson at SRA 831(b) Admin.

  • CARES Act Fraud Enforcement Is Unlikely To Slow Down

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    In the five years since the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the federal government has devoted massive resources to investigating CARES Act fraud — and all signs suggest the U.S. Department of Justice will continue vigorous enforcement in this area, say attorneys at Kostelanetz.

  • Spinoff Transaction Considerations For Biotech M&A

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    Amid current market challenges, boards and management teams of biotech companies can consider several strategies for maximizing value should a spinoff opportunity arise, but not without significant advance planning and careful implementation, particularly in cases that might qualify as tax-free, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

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    The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.