Federal
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June 03, 2025
WTO Useful For China Enforcement, US Trade Nominee Says
The U.S. should work with partners at the World Trade Organization to apply further trade pressure on China, making sure the country is complying with rules and trading fairly, a Skadden partner nominated by President Donald Trump to represent the U.S. at the WTO told lawmakers Tuesday.
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June 03, 2025
OECD Predicts Growth Slowdown From US Tariffs, Responses
Trade barriers — most notably U.S. tariffs and other countries' reciprocal measures — could result in a slowdown in global economic growth, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Tuesday, projecting a dip over the next two years.
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June 03, 2025
Senate Panel Advances Trump's Pick To Lead IRS
The Senate Finance Committee approved President Donald Trump's selection of former U.S. Rep. Billy Long to serve as commissioner of the IRS on Tuesday, sending the nomination to the full Senate.
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June 03, 2025
Irish Court Says US Co.'s Irish Units Not Owed Treaty Benefits
Three Irish subsidiaries cannot benefit from the U.S.-Ireland tax treaty's provision of equally favorable treatment between U.S. and Irish residents because their ultimate parent entity, a Delaware financial firm, is disregarded for U.S. tax purposes, Ireland's Court of Appeal said in a judgment.
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June 03, 2025
The Law360 400: A Look At The Top 100 Firms
A rebound in client work sent the nation’s largest law firms into growth mode last year, driving a wave of hiring, mergers and strategic moves that reshaped the top tier of the Law360 400. Here's a preview of the 100 firms with the largest U.S. attorney headcounts.
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June 03, 2025
Precedent Does Apply To $6.6M Microcaptive Case, Court Told
A captive insurance program operator challenging $6.6 million in tax fraud penalties told a Pennsylvania federal court that the government boldly and incorrectly claimed that the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling requiring a jury to make certain fraud findings doesn't apply to its case.
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June 02, 2025
Budget Bill Would Deepen Residential Solar's Woes
A Sunnova unit's bankruptcy declaration — the latest among dozens of solar companies that have struggled to stay afloat — adds to evidence of a floundering residential solar industry, which now faces further diminishing prospects under the federal budget reconciliation bill.
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June 02, 2025
1st Circ. Largely Backs Convictions For Cop Union Kickbacks
The First Circuit on Monday mostly upheld the convictions of a former Massachusetts state police union president and a Beacon Hill lobbyist who were found guilty of running a kickback scheme, but ordered new sentencing hearings for them after vacating some of the guilty findings.
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June 02, 2025
IRS Issues Interim Regs To Simplify Corp. AMT Determination
The Internal Revenue Service released temporary regulations Monday that offered a simplified method for large companies seeking to determine whether the 15% corporate alternative minimum tax applies to them, as well as penalty relief for those that underpaid the levy this year.
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June 02, 2025
Justices Urged To Reject Bid Disputing IRS Crypto Summons
The U.S. Supreme Court should not take up the case of a bitcoin investor who claimed the IRS violated his privacy when it seized his records from the cryptocurrency exchange, the government argued, saying the case is a poor vehicle for addressing concerns about digital-era transactions.
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June 02, 2025
4 Mass. Rulings You May Have Missed In May
Massachusetts judges grappled with accusations of fraud in the sale of a struggling life sciences company and gave the benefit of the doubt to a vendor who allegedly sold the state gallons of ineffective hand sanitizer, among other notable rulings last month.
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June 02, 2025
Tax Court Finds No Abuse By IRS In Rejecting Man's Tax Offer
The Internal Revenue Service did not abuse its discretion in rejecting a man's offer in compromise for the balance on a $400,000 tax bill, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Monday, saying the agency properly considered cash in the man's bank account and his current wages.
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June 02, 2025
Halliburton Wants IRS To Release Docs In $35M Tax Dispute
The Internal Revenue Service should be ordered to comply with Halliburton's discovery requests in a dispute over a $35 million deduction for payments the company said it made to a foreign government to protect its employees from harassment, the company told a Texas federal court.
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June 02, 2025
Tax Court Cuts $21M Off Former Ga. Quarry's Deduction Value
A donated 85-acre land plot in Georgia originally valued at nearly $22 million should have been valued around $193,000, the U.S. Tax Court found Monday, agreeing with the Internal Revenue Service.
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June 02, 2025
Vanguard, Investors Renegotiating After $40M Tax Deal Axed
Vanguard and investors have scrapped a $40 million class action deal in a case over surprise tax bills from a fund restructuring and will resume settlement discussions after a Pennsylvania federal judge recently found that the deal could have saddled investors with attorney fees.
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June 02, 2025
Feds Want 12½ Years For Ex-Ill. Speaker Convicted Of Bribery
Prosecutors are urging an Illinois federal judge to sentence former state House Speaker Michael Madigan to prison for 12½ years for bribery, conspiracy and fraud, saying his conduct adds "another sordid chapter to Illinois' storied reputation of corruption" while Madigan, armed with more than 200 letters of support, seeks only probation.
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June 02, 2025
Foley & Lardner Opens In Nashville With 3 Holland & Knight Attys
Foley & Lardner LLP has chosen Nashville as the location for its 27th office worldwide, bringing on three attorneys who had been at Holland & Knight LLP to work on regulatory, tax and transactional matters, the firm announced Monday.
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June 02, 2025
Ex-Atty In $7B Tax Fraud Tells 7th Circ. IRS Can't Collect
A former attorney sentenced to prison in connection with a $7 billion tax fraud told the Seventh Circuit that the Internal Revenue Service lacks the power to collect his court-ordered $371 million restitution, calling the agency's claims against him "wild and scurrilous."
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June 02, 2025
Ex-Par Funding CFO Sentenced To 5½ Years, Must Pay $303M
Joseph Cole Barleta, the last of the triumvirate behind the $404 million Par Funding investment scam to be sentenced, was handed a 66-month prison term Monday, along with a staggering $303 million restitution order.
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June 02, 2025
IRS To Hold Hearing On Sourcing Cloud Transaction Income
The Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Treasury Department will hold a hearing July 17 on proposed rules on the source of income from cloud transactions, they said Monday.
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May 30, 2025
Split 9th Circ. Won't Unblock Trump's Gov't Overhaul
A split Ninth Circuit on Friday refused to lift a California federal judge's preliminary block of President Donald Trump's executive order directing layoffs at federal agencies, handing a win to a coalition of unions, nonprofits and cities that argue the order exceeded the president's authority.
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May 30, 2025
US-China Trade Talks Could Resume After Stall Over Minerals
Stalled trade talks between the U.S. and China could resume with a phone call between the countries' leaders as early as this week, a Trump economic adviser said Sunday.
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May 30, 2025
Convicted Crypto Investor's Wife Says Gov't Can't Seize Funds
The wife of a bitcoin investor sentenced to prison for concealing millions of dollars from the IRS asked a Texas federal court Friday to stop the federal government from taking her money to help make up for $1 million in restitution stemming from his cryptocurrency sales.
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May 30, 2025
IRS Failed To Alert Thousands To Contractor's Data Breach
Approximately 12,200 letters the Internal Revenue Service sent to individuals and businesses whose tax information was stolen by a former agency contractor were undeliverable for issues such as not having complete addresses, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said.
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May 30, 2025
IRS Slow To Convert Nontax Forms To Digital, TIGTA Says
Only 12% of the Internal Revenue Service's 280 nontax paper forms that require one or more signatures have been converted to digital formats, though plans have been made to speed the process, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported.
Expert Analysis
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IRS Basis-Shifting Rule Poses Notable Reporting Obligations
While the IRS’ recently finalized rule requiring partnerships to report certain related-party basis adjustment transactions is narrower than originally proposed, taxpayers and their advisers will still need to comb through myriad transactions to comply, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering
Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.
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Litigation Funding Disclosure Debate: Strategy Considerations
In the ongoing debate over whether courts should require disclosure of litigation funding, funders and plaintiffs tend to argue against such mandates, but voluntarily disclosing limited details about a funding arrangement can actually confer certain benefits to plaintiffs in some scenarios, say Andrew Stulce and Marc Cavan at Longford Capital.
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Top Considerations For Insurance Companies In 2025
As insurance industry participants look to plan for the year, regulatory changes, climate-related challenges, the ongoing effects of social inflation and the potential for significant mergers and acquisitions will be among the key items for insurer boards and management to have on their radar, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Scope And Nature Of Judicial Relief Will Affect Loper's Impact
The practical result of post-Loper Bright rulings against regulatory actions will depend on the relief courts grant — and there has been controversy in these types of cases over whether the ruling is applied just to the parties or nationwide, and whether the action can be left in place while it's corrected, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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5 Ways To Create Effective Mock Assignments For Associates
In order to effectively develop associates’ critical thinking skills, firms should design mock assignments that contain a few key ingredients, from messy fact patterns to actionable feedback, says Abdi Shayesteh at AltaClaro.
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Congress Should Pass Sex Abuse Settlement Tax Exemptions
The proposed Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act would expand tax exemptions more clearly for sexual abuse cases, and finally remove the stigma around compensation for emotional and psychological damage, says Rocco Strangio at Milestone & Co.
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What's Next For Accounting Enforcement After SEC's Big 2024
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Trump administration will likely continue to focus enforcement efforts on many of the same accounting and auditing issues that it pursued over the past year — but other areas, such as ESG, internal controls and cryptocurrency cases, may fall out of focus, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year
Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.
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Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.
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5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025
Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
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Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win
Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.
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Small Biz Caught In Corporate Transparency Act Crossfire
Despite compliance being put on hold due to a nationwide preliminary injunction, small businesses have been caught in the middle of the legal battle over the Corporate Transparency Act — and confusion over the law's requirements could result in major penalties, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.