Feds Ask High Court To Unpause Corporate Transparency Law

By Jared Foretek

The federal government is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a Texas judge's injunction against the Corporate Transparency Act, telling the justices in a new application that the 2021 anti-money laundering law's compliance deadlines should take effect while the Fifth Circuit hears the full case.

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Analysis

Trump Transition Underway At Key Environmental Agencies

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

President-elect Donald Trump's landing team — tasked with aiding the upcoming transition in the White House — is busy gathering information to set the new administration on course to implement its priorities on day one.

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6th Circ. Overturns FCC Net Neutrality Rules

By Christopher Cole

The Sixth Circuit upended the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules Thursday, holding that commercial broadband providers cannot be regulated as telecommunications common carriers.

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FTC Asks 5th Circ. To Revive Noncompete Ban

By Lauren Berg

The Federal Trade Commission told the Fifth Circuit on Thursday the agency is authorized to make rules like the one that would ban enforcement of most employee noncompetes, arguing that a Texas district court took a "cramped view" of the agency's authority to promulgate rules that define unfair competition methods.

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Interactive Brokers Fined $2.2M Over 'Free-Riding' Monitoring

By Sarah Jarvis

Interactive Brokers LLC has agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle allegations from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that the firm failed to detect millions of so-called free-riding transactions in customers' cash accounts.

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Tesla Investors Appeal Chancery Rulings In Musk Pay Suit

By Jeff Montgomery

Three Florida-based Tesla Inc. stockholders have moved ahead with Delaware Supreme Court appeals aimed at Court of Chancery decisions that short-circuited the electric car company's 10-year, $56 billion compensation plan for Elon Musk and granted a $345 million cash award for class attorneys who won the decision.

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Ex-Bank Chair Asks 7th Circ. To Halt FDIC Enforcement Order

By Jon Hill

An Illinois community bank's onetime chairman has asked the Seventh Circuit for an emergency stay of professional sanctions ordered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. after an in-house proceeding that he argues was unconstitutional and wrongly decided.

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Vinco Ventures Chair Charged In Securities Fraud Conspiracy

By Lauren Berg

Florida federal prosecutors have charged the executive chairman of Vinco Ventures' board of directors with conspiracy to commit securities fraud over allegations that he made false statements to investors to artificially inflate the company's stock price.

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UBS To Pay $1.1M FINRA Fine Over Trade Confirmation Flubs

By Sydney Price

UBS Financial Services has agreed to pay the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority $1.1 million to settle claims that it failed to meet regulatory requirements for trade confirmations for over a decade.

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Barclays To Pay $1M Fine Over Net Capital Rules Violations

By Katryna Perera

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Barclays Capital $1 million to settle claims that the investment bank violated certain requirements of the self-regulatory organization's net capital rules between 2020 and 2021.

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Citi Unit Fined Over Analysts Who Didn't Take FINRA Exam

By Emilie Ruscoe

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. has agreed to pay $100,000 to resolve Financial Industry Regulatory Authority claims that three of its municipal securities research analysts authored hundreds of research reports without having taken their subject area's required exam.

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Terraform Founder Arraigned In NY, Denies $40B Crypto Fraud

By Pete Brush

Terraform Labs creator Do Kwon appeared Thursday before a Manhattan federal judge to deny charges that he orchestrated a $40 billion fraud on customers and investors who backed the cryptocurrency platform based on promises that it had real-world viability.

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Crypto Groups Challenge Decentralized Finance Broker Rule

By Asha Glover

Three cryptocurrency industry groups have teamed up to challenge a final U.S. Treasury Department rule implementing additional reporting requirements for decentralized finance brokers, telling a Texas federal court that the rule is unconstitutional and could destroy the industry.

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Crypto Scam Victim Says Fraudsters' Banks Ignore Red Flags

By Aislinn Keely

A California man who says he lost nearly a million dollars to a crypto "pig butchering" scam sued the alleged fraudsters and their banking partners, claiming the financial institutions ignored red flags and failed to conduct basic checks that would have revealed the scammers' actual business.

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Uber Can't Hold Off Seattle Driver Deactivation Law

By Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge denied Uber's bid to temporarily bar the city of Seattle from enforcing new app-based worker account deactivation rules against it, finding the day before the challenged ordinance took effect that the company is unlikely to succeed in its claims of a First Amendment violation.

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DC Kept Disabled People In Restrictive Care Too Long: Ruling

By Nadia Dreid

After 15 years of litigation, a D.C. federal judge ruled this week that the District of Columbia has been violating a federal law that prohibits the segregation of people with disabilities by refusing to remove people from Medicaid-funded nursing homes into less restrictive forms of care.

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Calif. Judge Ices Social Media Addiction Law For 30 Days

By Allison Grande

A California federal judge Thursday blocked the state from beginning its enforcement of a new law designed to bar online platforms from using algorithms to deliver addictive feeds to children, finding there was "great value" in giving the Ninth Circuit 30 days to consider his decision to largely uphold the measure. 

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Rep. Jordan Picks Wis. Lawmaker For House Antitrust Panel

By Jared Foretek

Republicans are moving to install a frequent critic of President Joe Biden's Federal Trade Commission at the head of the House of Representatives' antitrust subcommittee, naming Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., to the post Tuesday.

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Amazon Says FTC Stalling Discovery In Prime Sign-Up Suit

By Greg Lamm

Amazon said the Federal Trade Commission is stonewalling discovery efforts vital to showing that the agency knew a federal law protecting online shoppers from deceptive billing practices was vague, in an enforcement action accusing the e-commerce giant of duping customers onto signing up for Prime subscriptions.

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Tempur Sealy Ups Floor Space Promise In FTC Merger Case

By Bryan Koenig

Tempur Sealy is increasing its commitments to preserve floor space for rivals' mattresses in Mattress Firm stores, attempting to beat the Federal Trade Commission's merger challenge by extending the current floor space "slot" distribution after a Texas federal judge noted that prior commitments were below current allotments.

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IRS, Treasury Float Regs On Excise Taxes For Drugmakers

By Anna Scott Farrell

The IRS and Treasury proposed rules for charging excise taxes to drugmakers that refuse to negotiate drug prices with Medicare under requirements of the 2022 tax and climate law, saying the tax only would apply to manufacturers and importers that initially sell the drugs.

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NTIA Clarifies Use Of Broadband Funds For Alternative Techs

By Nadia Dreid

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has dropped more information to make the way forward clearer for states that want to use their federal broadband dollars to fund alternative means of connecting people, such as satellites.

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Ga. County Sues 3M, Daikin To Remove PFAS From Landfill

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia county has filed a lawsuit against 3M Co., Daikin America Inc. and several other manufacturers and users of so-called forever chemicals, alleging the sale and use of the toxic chemicals in carpet manufacturing has caused a "public-health crisis" across the northwestern part of the state.

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The 6 Most Significant FCRA Litigation Developments Of 2024

From a key sovereign immunity decision at the U.S. Supreme Court to a ruling on creditworthiness out of the Seventh Circuit, several important Fair Credit Reporting Act cases wound their way through the courts in 2024, each offering takeaways for both plaintiffs and defendants, say attorneys at Shipkevich.

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Lessons From The SEC's 2024 Crackdown On AI Washing

AI washing was the subject of increased scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2024 following a surge in the commercial adoption of generative artificial intelligence technologies in 2023, highlighting the importance of transparency, accuracy and accountability when communicating about AI, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

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How Changes In State Gift Card Laws May Affect Cos. In 2025

2024 state legislative movements around the escheatment of unused gift card balances and consumer fraud protections should prompt issuers to consider whether changes in company domicile or blanket cash-back policies are needed in the new year, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

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Series

Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.

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A Guide To Significant 2024 Data Broker Legal Developments

2024 saw notable developments in U.S. data broker regulation and enforcement, and this momentum will likely carry into 2025, despite hypothetical efforts to the contrary under the new administration, say attorneys at Frankfurt Kurnit.

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Lessons Learned From 2024's Top ADA Decisions

Last year's major litigation related to the Americans with Disabilities Act highlights that when dealing with accommodation requests, employers must communicate clearly, appreciate context and remain flexible in addressing needs, say attorneys at Dechert.

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Bonus Spotlight

Holland & Knight Matches BigLaw Bonuses In Major Markets

By Anna Sanders

Holland & Knight LLP announced associates in major U.S. markets will receive year-end and special bonuses matching those given by other BigLaw firms, with attorneys working in regional offices making smaller figures, according to a report.

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Biden Honors Del. Jurist For Role In Brown V. Board Ruling

By Jeff Montgomery

President Joe Biden issued a top civilian award, posthumously, to former Chancellor Collins J. Seitz of Delaware Chancery Court, father of the state's current chief justice, for his role in decisions woven into the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

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Clyde & Co. Merges With Dallas Insurance Boutique

By Emily Sawicki

Clyde & Co. LLP has announced a merger with Dallas boutique Tillman Batchelor LLP, expanding the global law firm's insurance capabilities in Texas amid its ongoing growth in North America.

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Taft Hired BCLP Comms Director Ahead Of Merger

By Andrea Keckley

Once its merger with Sherman & Howard LLC became effective at the start of the new year, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP announced Thursday it had hired Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner's former director of communications.

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AI Chatbots Will Transform Legal Scholarship, AI Chatbot Says

By Matt Perez

Generative artificial intelligence like OpenAI's ChatGPT software will redefine legal scholarship, according to a new paper primarily produced by the chatbot.

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States Debate High Court Solution To Election Map Catch-22

By Katie Buehler

Louisiana has implored the U.S. Supreme Court to decisively resolve litigation over its federal election map in one of three ways, suggesting the justices could toss the case on standing, decide the merits, or, preferably, find that federal courts have no role in refereeing redistricting disputes.

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Ex-GMU Prof.'s Accusers Say He Can't Prove $108M Damages

By Aebra Coe

Former FTC Commissioner Joshua Wright allegedly failed to provide information to back his $108 million defamation damages claim and then walked out of a deposition, according to a Virginia court filing by two former students whom Wright sued over their statements to Law360.

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Atty Wants Free Speech Suit Over Tenn. Court Rule Kept Alive

By Jack Karp

A free speech challenge to a Middle District of Tennessee rule barring attorneys from making "any extrajudicial statements" about cases in the district should be allowed to move forward since the court is not entitled to sovereign immunity, according to the Nashville civil rights lawyer behind the suit.

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Giuliani Says Memory Faulty In Meandering NY Contempt Row

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge mulled a bid to hold Rudy Giuliani in contempt of a $148 million defamation judgment Friday, during a day of sparring in which the former New York City mayor repeatedly told counsel for two defamed Georgia poll workers that he doesn't remember case details.

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Battling Berts: Judge Enjoins Ga. Law Firm In Trademark Row

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia federal judge Friday temporarily barred an Atlanta-based law firm from advertising and promoting its personal injury legal services through messaging like "If You're Hurt ... Call Bert!" and "If You're Hurt, Call Bert," ruling that it is too similar to another personal injury firm's trademarked slogan.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

How to deal with diversity, climate change and artificial intelligence are the key issues giving general counsel night terrors at the start of the new year. And in Delaware, the Chancery Court is allowing a stockholder suit to move forward against Fox Corp., related to its false reports of voting fraud in 2020.

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen Chris Eubank Jr. hit with a libel claim from a boxing promoter, a perfume boss face proceedings from his businesses following sanctions violations claims, and Israeli broadcasters file intellectual property claims against BT and Sky. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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