'You Sound Like Tobacco Cos.,' 9th Circ. Judge Tells Tech Atty

By Dorothy Atkins

A Ninth Circuit judge expressed doubts Wednesday about a tech trade group's effort to preliminarily block California from enforcing a new law barring platforms from using algorithms to deliver addictive feeds to children, telling the group's counsel that social media might be worse than a carcinogen and "you sound like the tobacco companies."

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Signal Steals The Show At Cybersecurity Oversight Hearing

By Nadia Dreid

Democrats and Republicans faced off Wednesday morning at a House Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs hearing over how to prevent state-sponsored cyberattacks, crossing swords over whether Democrats were "politicizing" the hearing by bringing up the recent Signal app leak of plans to attack targets in Yemen.

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Evolve Bank Reaches $11.8M Deal Over 2024 Data Breach

By Katryna Perera

Evolve Bank & Trust, a prominent fintech partner bank, has agreed to an $11.8 million settlement to resolve claims in a consolidated suit that it failed to properly protect customers' private information and notify them following a cyberattack last year.

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Calif. Panel Questions Hacking Case Against Ex-Prosecutor

By Rachel Scharf

A California appeals panel probed Wednesday whether criminal charges were properly brought against a former top prosecutor at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for improperly using confidential sheriff's deputy files, with one judge observing that the case applies an "awfully broad understanding" of a hacking statute.

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At AI Hearing, House Lawmakers Seek Regulatory Balance

By Jared Foretek

Lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee grappled with how antitrust regulators should approach the artificial intelligence industry Wednesday, with Republicans and industry advocates warning that heavy-handed enforcement could thwart America's lead in the industry and Democrats wondering what had changed from when AI leaders sought more governmental guardrails.

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Jailed IRS Leaker Says Judge 'Predetermined' Sentence

By Anna Scott Farrell

The IRS contractor imprisoned for leaking thousands of tax returns, including those of President Donald Trump, to national media outlets asked the D.C. Circuit to rescind his sentence, saying a federal judge held off-the-record meetings that revealed her determination to deliver the maximum punishment.

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Experian Says CFPB Suit Is Too Late, Too Flawed To Proceed

By Jon Hill

Experian asked a California federal court Tuesday to throw out a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lawsuit accusing it of mishandling consumer credit reporting disputes, arguing the case is an overblown, untimely "attempt to legislate through enforcement."

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Microsoft Ad Platform Allows Illegal Surveillance, Suit Says

By Greg Lamm

Microsoft has been targeted in a proposed class action that alleges it uses software and an advertising and analytics platform to illegally track sensitive private information and the browsing histories of hundreds of millions of people in violation of federal and California privacy laws.

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Zoll Gets Parts Of Data Breach Class Action Tossed

By Elliot Weld

A Massachusetts federal judge released Zoll Medical Corp. from some claims brought by a proposed class of medical device customers whose personal data was released after two ransomware attacks, but kept alive claims of negligence, unjust enrichment and others.

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Walgreens Ignoring Requests To Stop Emails, Suit Says

By Julie Manganis

Walgreens floods customers' inboxes with "incessant spam" and ignores any attempt to unsubscribe from the retailer's mailing list, according to a proposed class action filed in Massachusetts state court.

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Orthodontic Software Co. Hit With Data Breach Class Action

By Kelcey Caulder

An orthodontic software company has been hit with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court over a November data breach in which the names, birth dates, medical records, insurance information, payment card data and Social Security numbers of its clients' patients were stolen by hackers.

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Series

Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw

The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.

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Echoing EEOC, Red State AGs Target Law Firms Over DEI

By Patrick Hoff

A dozen Republican state attorneys general on Thursday urged 20 law firms to fork over information the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requested last month about their workplace diversity practices, doubling down on the acting EEOC chair's claim that those practices may be unlawful.

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Analysis

Adams Case Threatens NY Southern District's 'Supremacy'

By Phillip Bantz

The controversial end to New York City Mayor Eric Adams' historic criminal corruption prosecution could threaten the Southern District of New York's privileged status within the Justice Department and its leverage over other districts when it comes to vying for the lead on high-profile cases, experts say.

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Senate Confirms Trump Nominee For Solicitor General

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 52-45, along party lines, on Thursday to confirm Dean John Sauer, a former personal attorney of President Donald Trump, to be solicitor general of the United States.

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US Trustee Wants Jackson Walker Cases In District Court

By Rick Archer

The U.S. Trustee's Office has renewed its call for a district court trial over whether Jackson Walker LLP should return millions in fees for failing to disclose an ex-partner's romance with a bankruptcy judge, saying all the questions in the case should be tried in one venue.

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Judge OKs Toss Of FCPA Case Against Ex-Cognizant Execs

By Carla Baranauckas

A New Jersey federal judge on Thursday granted the federal government's bid to end the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case against two former executives of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., ending a legal battle that was beset by delays throughout its six-year run.  

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'No Serious Question' Federal Firings Broke Law, Justices Told

By Katie Buehler

Federal employee unions and advocacy groups urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to reject the Trump administration's bid to pause a California court order reinstating tens of thousands of probationary workers fired from six agencies, arguing the government can't escape self-inflicted harms brought on by its allegedly unlawful actions.

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DC Circ. Steps In To Pause CFPB Order As Judge Denies Stay

By Jon Hill

A D.C. Circuit panel on Thursday put a temporary, limited hold on a federal judge's preliminary injunction barring further cuts at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, even as the judge herself largely denied a Trump administration bid to stay it for appeal.

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11th Circ. Urged To End For-Cause Firing Of Tax Court Judges

By David Minsky

A widow and former licensed practical nurse urged the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday to eliminate a code provision that only allows for-cause removal of U.S. Tax Court judges — saying it restricts presidential power — or else declare the provision unconstitutional because the Tax Court isn't a part of the executive branch.

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Ex-Weil Atty To Co-Lead Sidley's Employee Benefits Team

By Andrea Keckley

Sidley Austin LLP said Wednesday that a former Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP partner will co-lead its employee benefits and executive compensation practice from New York.

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Pick For DC's US Atty Exits Roles To Prepare For Confirmation

By Courtney Bublé

The nominee for U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Ed Martin, has made his law firm inactive and resigned from other roles in preparation for his confirmation.

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CFTC Taps New Acting Head Of Market Oversight Division

By Sarah Jarvis

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced Wednesday that its Division of Market Oversight will be headed on an acting basis by a longtime employee of the derivatives market regulator who helped start the division's Market Intelligence Branch.

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