Analysis

FTC To Narrow Data Privacy Scope As Uncertainties Loom

By Allison Grande

The Republican-led Federal Trade Commission is poised to pursue a data privacy agenda focused on established harms and statutory authorities rather than ambitious rulemaking, although the recent firing of two commissioners casts doubt on the long-term viability of these actions and the future of a crucial transatlantic data transfer pact.

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Judge Rules Google Monopolized Ad Tech In 2nd Win For DOJ

By Bryan Koenig and Matthew Perlman

A Virginia federal judge on Thursday handed the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division its second seminal win against Google, ruling that the search giant has illegally monopolized markets for display advertising placement technology.

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Sandberg Says FTC Market View Makes No Sense In Meta Case

By Bryan Koenig

Meta Platforms' former longtime board member and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg pushed back Thursday on crucial Federal Trade Commission arguments trying to shape the market the social media giant is accused of monopolizing, criticizing a friends and family definition the FTC is using to exclude TikTok as a competitor.

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CFPB Mass Layoffs Resume, Hitting All Corners Of Agency

By Jon Hill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's acting Director Russell Vought moved Thursday to resume mass firings at the agency, prompting a scramble from its employee union to head off a torrent of pink slips terminating the vast majority of the agency's workforce.

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DC Circ. Refreezes EPA Climate Grant Funds

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The D.C. Circuit has paused a federal court's order directing Citibank to start disbursing funds to nonprofits undertaking climate change projects that were appropriated by Congress to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the Biden administration.

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CFPB Will Cut Examinations By Half In Broad Retreat: Memo

By Jon Hill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to cut back sharply on its policing of nonbank financial firms, slash examinations and pull back on its use of fines as part of a dramatic shift in supervisory and enforcement priorities outlined in a new internal memo.

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Musk Blames Twitter Investors For 'Languish' In Case

By Sarah Jarvis

Elon Musk on Thursday pushed back against a trial schedule proposed by a class of former Twitter investors in litigation accusing the right-wing billionaire of intentionally tanking the social media platform's stock price, saying the investors have caused the case to "languish."

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Hidden Road Nabs Broker-Dealer Approval After Ripple Deal

By Aislinn Keely

Prime brokerage platform Hidden Road announced Thursday that it's received a broker-dealer license from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, hot on the heels of a deal that will see Ripple Labs acquire the firm for $1.25 billion.

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Polymarket Operator To Pay Fine Over Binary Options Claims

By Aislinn Keely

The Ontario Securities Commission said Thursday that the operators of prediction market platform Polymarket have agreed to a 200,000 Canadian dollar ($144,456) penalty over allegations it served Ontario customers despite the jurisdiction's ban on binary options.

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Feds Say Estonians Won't Be Deported Before Fraud Sentence

By Elliot Weld

Prosecutors told a Washington federal judge Thursday that they had secured approval for "deferred action" from the Department of Homeland Security on potential immigration proceedings against two Estonian men awaiting sentencing for a cryptocurrency fraud scheme.

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Ill. Sen. Planned To Report Red-Light Camera Exec, Jury Hears

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois state senator accused of taking a bribe to help a red-light camera company testified Thursday that he "didn't have a chance" to report his questionable interactions closer to when they occurred in summer 2019, but he intended to raise his concerns later that fall.

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Former FAA Contractor Pleads Guilty In Foreign Agent Case

By Tom Lotshaw

A former Federal Aviation Administration contractor accused of providing solar industry and aviation information to Iran pled guilty Wednesday to conspiring to act and acting as a foreign government agent without giving prior notification to the U.S. attorney general.

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Lawmakers Probing Fire Truck Manufacturing For PE Harms

By Courtney Bublé

A bipartisan pair of senators has launched an investigation into the alleged adverse effects of private-equity driven consolidation in the multibillion dollar fire truck industry.

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Tribal Members Fight Bid To Transfer Canadian Tariff Dispute

By Crystal Owens

Four members of Montana's Blackfeet Nation are fighting a motion by the federal government to transfer their bid to block several Trump administration orders and proclamations imposing tariffs on Canadian goods, arguing there's no legal basis for the move to the U.S. Court of International Trade.

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AFL-CIO, Unions Can Pursue Some DOGE Access Claims

By Beverly Banks

The AFL-CIO, unions and advocacy groups may pursue allegations that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency lacks the power to access data from the U.S. Department of Labor and other federal agencies, a D.C. federal judge ruled while tossing some claims under federal administrative and privacy law.

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Arkansas Bans PBMs From Owning Pharmacies

By Patrick Hoff

Pharmacy benefit managers operating in Arkansas will soon be prohibited from owning pharmacies in the state after Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill that lawmakers say is meant to minimize conflicts of interest and safeguard patients.

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NJ Says Discord Misled Public About Messaging App's Safety

By George Woolston

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin alleged in a complaint Thursday that popular messaging app Discord has misled kids and parents for years about the app's safety, leaving children vulnerable to harassment, abuse and sexual exploitation.

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NC Hospital Operator Can't Escape AG's Merger Suit Yet

By Ryan Harroff

A North Carolina Business Court judge rejected HCA Healthcare's bid for a partial win in state Attorney General Jeff Jackson's compliance suit reviewing the company's 2019 purchase of another hospital system, ruling that the purchase agreement's language is too ambiguous to decide the matter without further discovery.

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Harvard Says No Grounds For IRS To Deny Tax-Exempt Status

By Asha Glover

Harvard University said Thursday that there is no legal basis to rescind its tax-exempt status amid an investigation by President Donald Trump's administration into whether the university has violated the terms of that status.

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Globalstar Pushes For Feds' OK On Mobile Satellite Plan

By Christopher Cole

Globalstar is pressing its bid for the Federal Communications Commission to approve its plan for a U.S. mobile satellite service using licensed spectrum in what's known as the "Big LEO" band.

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Think Tank Urges FCC To Drop $4.5M Fine Against Telnyx

By Christopher Cole

A think tank claimed Thursday the Federal Communications Commission went too far when floating a nearly $4.5 million fine against a telecom for alleged robocall violations and that due process concerns call for rescinding the penalty.

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Robocall Arb. Denied Despite Alleged Recording Of Consent

By Jared Foretek

A federal judge declined to force a Tennessee man into arbitration in his suit accusing a health insurance brokerage of making illegal robocalls, ruling that the plaintiff had created enough doubt to get to trial.

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NY Judge Scrubs Groups' Anti-Congestion-Pricing Claims

By Linda Chiem

A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday rejected claims from local residents and community groups alleging New York's revised congestion pricing tolls wrongfully discriminated against out-of-state commuters and unfairly benefited public transit riders instead of roadway users.

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How Calif., NY Could Fill Consumer Finance Regulatory Void

California and New York have historically taken the lead in consumer financial protection, and both show signs of becoming even more active in this area during the second Trump administration amid an enforcement pullback at the federal level, say attorneys at Sidley.

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Assessing Market Manipulation Claims In Energy Markets

Today's energy markets are conducive to sudden price changes, breakdowns in pricing linkages and substantial shifts in trading patterns, so it's necessary to take a holistic view when evaluating allegations of market manipulation, say Maximilian Bredendiek, Greg Leonard and Manuel Vasconcelos at Cornerstone Research.

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How Plan Sponsors Can Mitigate Risk In PBM Contracts

A recent lawsuit in New York federal court alleges that JPMorgan caused exorbitant prescription costs by mishandling the pharmacy benefit manager arrangement, adding to a growing body of Employee Retirement Income Security Act fiduciary breach litigation and affirming that fiduciaries must proactively manage their healthcare plan vendors, say attorneys at Hall Benefits Law.

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Lessons From Pa. Wiretapping Class Action Dismissal

A recent wiretapping class action in Pennsylvania federal court resulting in the dispositive dismissal of the action provides key insights on how online notice and consent can be leveraged to directly address and mitigate legal risks and class action liability exposure, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

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Keys To Regulatory Diligence In Life Sciences Transactions

Conducting effective regulatory due diligence for life sciences deals requires careful review of a target company's activities, and separate sets of considerations for commercial and pipeline products, says Anna Zhao at GunnerCooke.

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Tracking The Evolution In Litigation Finance

Despite continued innovation, litigation finance remains an immature market with borrowers recieving significantly different terms as lenders learn to value cases, which firms need a strong handle on to ensure lending terms do not overwhelm collateral value, says Robert Wilkins at Lightfoot Franklin.

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Series

Volunteer Firefighting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While practicing corporate law and firefighting may appear incongruous, the latter benefits my legal career by reminding me of the importance of humility, perspective and education, says Nicholas Passaro at Ford.

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WilmerHale, Feds Dispute Reach Of Trump Order Against Firm

By Jack Karp

WilmerHale and the U.S. Department of Justice traded salvos in the BigLaw firm's challenge to President Donald Trump's executive order targeting it, with the firm and the government offering "starkly different" versions of what's at stake in the dispute.

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Ex-Katten Partner Hits Firm With $67M Age Bias Suit

By Lauren Berg

A former Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP partner launched a $67 million discrimination lawsuit against his one-time firm in New York federal court, alleging he was pushed out of the aircraft-finance practice group, pressured to resign and then fired because of the firm CEO's "stereotyped views of lawyers in their 60s."

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Joel Katz, Music Law's Longtime Power Broker, Dies At 80

By Chart Riggall

Joel Katz, the powerful music industry lawyer who co-founded Greenberg Traurig LLP's media and entertainment practice and helped bring the firm to the Atlanta market, has died at the age of 80, Law360 confirmed Friday.

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Sunoco Accused Of Age Bias By Ex-Chief Counsel

By Gina Kim

A former chief counsel for Sunoco LP sued her ex-employer in Texas state court Wednesday, alleging she was denied promotional opportunities and later terminated due to her age, while also accusing the company of replacing attorneys older than 50 with significantly younger attorneys with less experience.

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How They Won It

How Manatt Beat A Crypto Trader's 'Code As Law' Defense

By Aislinn Keely

After a crypto user exploited a software bug to create millions of dollars' worth of new tokens from a blockchain network, a Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP team defeated his claim to the tokens — and won an award worth millions — by showing that faulty code can't stand in for rule of law.

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Justices Temporarily Block Removals Under Wartime Law

By Britain Eakin

The U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday ordered the Trump administration to halt removals of alleged Venezuelan gang members detained in Texas under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, pending further input from the court.

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High Court's Pause Of Removals Was 'Premature,' Alito Says

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision early Saturday morning to prohibit the Trump administration from using a 1798 wartime law to remove alleged Venezuelan gang members detained in northern Texas to an El Salvadoran prison was hasty and premature, Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a dissent joined by Justice Clarence Thomas.

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Ex-DOJ Atty Convicted In 1MDB Case Ordered Disbarred In NY

By Craig Clough

A New York appellate court ordered Wednesday that a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney be disbarred due to his felony conviction as part of a sprawling, billion-dollar fraud scandal connected to 1Malaysia Development Berhad and Fugees founder Pras Michél.

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Judge Nixes Feds' DQ Bid In Migrant Kids Legal Funding Case

By Ryan Boysen

A California federal judge has denied the Trump administration's bid to remove her from a lawsuit challenging funding cuts that prevent attorneys from representing child migrants, ruling her employment at one of the plaintiffs nearly seven years ago doesn't undermine her impartiality.

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PTAB Judge Heads To Boutique, Citing Return-To-Office Order

By Andrew Karpan

An outgoing Patent Trial and Appeal Board judge based in Austin, Texas, tells Law360 that President Donald Trump's return-to-office order was a "significant factor" in her decision to return to private practice, joining boutique patent firm Smith Baluch LLP as a partner.

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Judiciary Faces Security Risks Amid Spending Freeze

By Courtney Bublé

The federal judiciary is warning congressional appropriators that funding shortfalls could threaten courthouse security.

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Wis. Sens. Renew Bipartisan Judicial Nomination Commission

By Courtney Bublé

The Republican and Democratic senators from Wisconsin announced Friday they are renewing their bipartisan commission to recommend U.S. attorney and judicial nominees to the president.

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Up Next At High Court: Preventive HealthCare & LGBTQ Books

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in five cases this week, including disputes over the constitutionality of a task force that sets preventive healthcare coverage requirements, a school district's introduction of LGBTQ-themed storybooks and whether parties can establish standing based on harms affecting third parties. 

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Google and its chief legal officer have now lost two major antitrust cases to DOJ prosecutors after a federal judge ruled Thursday the search engine monopolized markets and servers related to display advertising. Meanwhile, a new study shows companies are disclosing their business risks, and how they are trying to mitigate those risks, amid changing tariffs and the uncertainty of the U.S.-China trade war. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Schlichter Bogard LLC and the University of Virginia School of Law Supreme Court Litigation Clinic lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court revived a class action from Cornell University workers who said their retirement plans were saddled with excessive fees.

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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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