Trump Selects McKinsey CLO For Commerce Department GC

By Hailey Konnath

President Donald Trump on Monday nominated McKinsey & Co.'s Chief Legal Officer Pierre Gentin to serve as the next general counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, according to congressional records.

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OpenAI Judge Rips Musk's 'Broad' Bid To Block For-Profit

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge indicated Tuesday she'll likely deny Elon Musk's bid to preliminarily block OpenAI Inc. from transitioning into a for-profit enterprise, criticizing Musk's filings for being vague and broad and saying she'll toss some claims, while adding "something is going to trial in this case."

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Analysis

External Revenue Service Could Help Solve Unpaid Duty Issue

By Dylan Moroses

President Donald Trump's call for a new agency designed to collect trade revenue, billed as the External Revenue Service, may be more than a flashy concept and could tackle lingering inefficiencies associated with duty collection, experts say.

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SEC Could Greenlight Crypto Trading Under New Task Force

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new crypto task force could bless the trading of certain tokens on nonregulated exchanges as the industry awaits agency rulemaking or legislation setting out the new rules of the road for crypto, the task force's leader said Tuesday in a statement laying out her agenda.

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DLA Piper Partner To Testify At Cognizant Evidence Hearing

By Elliot Weld

Prosecutors told a New Jersey federal judge Tuesday that the managing partner of DLA Piper's Houston office will testify at a Feb. 18 evidentiary hearing in a criminal bribery case against two former executives of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., which tapped the law firm for an internal investigation into the alleged corrupt scheme in India.

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Analysis

Pushing The Envelope In Climate Law: Murder Charges

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

Climate change legal advocates are pointing to wildfires in Los Angeles, hurricanes in the Southeast and a regulation-averse presidential administration as evidence that local prosecutors should begin going after fossil fuel companies with criminal charges — up to and including homicide.

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Sen. Banking Chair Sets 100-Day Dash For Crypto Legislation

By Aislinn Keely

Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., said Tuesday that he intends to pass crypto legislation out of his chamber in the first 100 days of the new administration with the help of a working group composed of committee chairs in both chambers of Congress.

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Sens. Hawley, Sanders Pitch 10% Cap On Credit Card Rate

By Bonnie Eslinger

Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced bipartisan legislation Tuesday that would hold President Donald Trump to his campaign promise of a 10% credit card interest rate cap.

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Coinbase Taps BigLaw Firms In Bid To End Crypto 'Debanking'

By Aislinn Keely

Crypto exchange Coinbase urged regulators Tuesday to clarify that banks can offer crypto custody and execution services, submitting a letter featuring a report from three BigLaw firms asserting that federal laws and regulations already allow banks to wade further into digital asset activities.

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Trump Taps GOP Senate Staffer For Treasury Bank Policy Role

By Jon Hill

President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Luke Pettit, a senior adviser to Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and former Federal Reserve policy analyst, to become the U.S. Department of the Treasury's top bank policy official.

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Wells Fargo Clears 2 More Consent Orders Amid Rehab Efforts

By Jon Hill

The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that Wells Fargo & Co. has exited a pair of mortgage-related consent orders from more than a decade ago, another step forward in the banking giant's regulatory rehabilitation efforts.

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Javice's Texts About Elizabeth Holmes Not Fair Game For Trial

By Pete Brush

Frank founder Charlie Javice's sympathetic texts about healthcare-sector fraudster Elizabeth Holmes won't be seen by the jury hearing charges that the education startup executive faked data to dupe JPMorgan into a $175 million acquisition, a Manhattan federal judge said Tuesday.

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Brief

JBS Inks $83.5M Deal Over Ranchers' Beef Price-Fixing Claims

By Nadia Dreid

One of the nation's biggest meat producers has reached an $83.5 million deal to end claims it conspired with others in the industry to suppress the price ranchers are paid for raising feeder cattle.

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Delta Accused Of Copyright Infringement For Software Use

By Andrea Keckley

Delta Air Lines is facing a copyright infringement lawsuit in Georgia federal court for allegedly authorizing Broadcom-owned software development company CA Technologies' DX NetOps software to be used on nearly 15,000 more devices than permitted under their licensing agreement.

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Ex-Meta Marketing Director Alleges Sex Bias, Retaliation

By Bonnie Eslinger

A former Meta marketing director sued the tech giant in federal court Monday for sex discrimination and retaliation, saying despite her "distinguished" 15 years working to grow the company, she was treated differently than male peers, chastised for complaining about bias and discrimination, and booted after taking mental health leave.

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5th Circ. Backs Biden's Gov't Contractor Wage Hike

By Emmy Freedman

The Fifth Circuit upended on Tuesday a ruling that blocked an executive order increasing the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 per hour, saying former President Joe Biden acted within his authority when he put forward the regulation because it was intended to promote economy and efficiency.

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LinkedIn Shares Users' Info With Meta And Adobe, Suit Says

By Gina Kim

LinkedIn has been hit with a proposed class action in California federal court alleging it illegally shared with Meta and Adobe personal information belonging to its LinkedIn premium subscribers who watched online training courses on its LinkedIn Learning platform without their knowledge or permission.

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Norfolk Southern Hit With 'Toxic Nightmare' Derailment Suit

By Ryan Harroff

Hundreds of Ohio and Pennsylvania residents affected by the fallout of the Feb. 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern train derailment have accused the rail company, government agencies and several businesses of downplaying the ongoing harm of the incident, marking one of the latest lawsuits filed on or near the two-year milestone.

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Del. Justices Nix Fairness Ruling In TripAdvisor Nevada Move

By Jeff Montgomery

Citing in part aversion to "speculative litigation," Delaware's Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed a ruling that kept in play potential stockholder damage claims in connection with the proposed reincorporation in Nevada of TripAdvisor and its parent, finding that business judgment deference should govern the court challenge.

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NLRB Attys Won't Address Member Removal In 5th Circ. Row

By Braden Campbell

National Labor Relations Board attorneys told the Fifth Circuit that they won't defend NLRB members' firing protections at a Feb. 5 hearing on the agency's constitutionality in the wake of the president's removal of a board member and appointment of a new acting prosecutor.

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Ex-SDNY Criminal Division Chief Joins Debevoise

By Rose Krebs

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP announced Tuesday that it has hired the former chief of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York's Criminal Division to bolster its white collar and regulatory defense group.

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DOJ Criminal Division Leader Joins White & Case's DC Shop

By Jack Rodgers

White & Case LLP announced on Tuesday it was growing its white collar team with the addition of partner Brent Wible, who told Law360 Pulse that it was time for him to step back into private practice following a five-year stint with the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Georgia Gov. Taps Executive Counsel Amid Staff Changes

By Chart Riggall

A former Atlanta corporate attorney has been tapped as the new executive counsel for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, filling the shoes of Kemp's former top lawyer, who is leaving the office to serve as general counsel for the Georgia Hospital Association, the governor's office said Tuesday.

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A Halftime Analysis Of DOJ's Compensation Pilot Program

The U.S. Department of Justice appears to consider the first half of its three-year pilot program on compensation incentives and clawbacks to be proceeding successfully, so companies should expect prosecutors to emphasize the program and other compliance-related considerations early in investigations, say attorneys at Debevoise.

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How Cos. Can Prepare Now For SEC E-Filing System Changes

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's amendments to the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system are designed to improve access to and management of EDGAR accounts, and with the March 24 effective date fast approaching, and the transition requiring significant coordination, companies should begin planning now, say attorneys at Debevoise.

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Losing A Motion To Dismiss Ruling Isn't Necessarily The End

A recent Delaware Court of Chancery ruling, that the Manti Group had not demonstrated any conflicts of interest favoring private equity fund operator The Carlyle Group, serves as an important reminder that a decision on a pleading motion is not the end of the story, say attorneys at Sidley.

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The Tides Are Changing For Fair Access Banking Laws

The landscape of fair access banking laws, which seek to prevent banks from denying services based on individuals' ideological beliefs, has shifted in the last few years, but a new presidential administration provides renewed momentum for advancing such legislation against the backdrop of state efforts, say attorneys at Latham.

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Drug Cartels' Terrorist Label Raises Litigation Risk For Cos.

President Donald Trump's planned designation of some Latin American drug-trafficking groups as foreign terrorist organizations creates an additional and little-noticed source of legal exposure: U.S. civil litigation risk involving terrorism claims by victims of those groups, say attorneys at Covington.

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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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Senate Confirms Pam Bondi To Be AG

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 54-46 on Tuesday to confirm Pam Bondi to be attorney general.

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'Is This A Joke?' Judge Denies Atty Fees For Grocery Patrons

By Bryan Koenig

A California federal judge had so little tolerance for shoppers claiming victory and seeking attorney fees from the abandoned Kroger-Albertsons merger that in tossing their motion and underlying lawsuit he noted with incredulity, "Plaintiffs are actually making these arguments."

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Haynes Boone Adds 7-Atty Seward & Kissel Team In NY

By Christine DeRosa

Haynes Boone has grown its fund finance and securitization practices with the addition of seven attorneys from Seward & Kissel LLP, including the head of the firm's asset securitization and CLO practice group.

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Former Conn. US Attorney Returns To McCarter & English

By Christine DeRosa

Vanessa Roberts Avery, who recently stepped down as U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, has returned to her roots as a business litigator at McCarter & English LLP in Hartford, Connecticut.

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Analysis

Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

By Jeff Overley

February is off to a rip-roaring start in several circuits, and there's plenty more action ahead, including a moment of truth for judiciary policymaking that has managed to anger both the defense and plaintiffs bars. We'll explore all that in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing, which also includes an appellate quiz pegged to recent presidential news.

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Trump Picks AG Paxton Atty For Homeland Security Dept.

By Catherine Marfin

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's special counsel, who is also a former member of President Donald Trump's reelection campaign, has been tapped for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Paxton announced Tuesday.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2025 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2025 editorial advisory boards.

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