Analysis

How Trump's Ga. Allies Could Walk Back Their Guilty Pleas

By Phillip Bantz

If any of President-elect Donald Trump's four co-defendants who secured early plea deals in the Georgia election meddling prosecution regret their decisions now that scandal has engulfed the case and Trump is returning to the White House, they might have some long shot options left on the table.

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Analysis

How Linda McMahon As Dept. Of Ed Head May Impact Sports

By David Steele

World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder and former CEO Linda McMahon could affect the sports world in a number of ways if confirmed as Secretary of Education, with legal experts watching areas like Title IX policy and whether she'll get involved in ongoing litigation involving the NCAA.

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Analysis

Better, Faster, Stranger: What Attys Think Of Our AI Future

By Chris Villani

Law firms are increasingly embracing the use of artificial intelligence, wary of its limitations but enchanted by its potential to transform the practice of law through smaller headcounts and cheaper litigation.

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Up Next At The High Court: Transgender Care, Holocaust Art

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will return to the bench Monday for its December arguments session, which will include blockbuster questions about the constitutionality of state laws banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors and whether Hungary can be held liable for property stolen during World War II.

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Biden Administration Adds 65K Additional H-2B Work Visas

By Elliot Weld

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it has created a temporary rule to add 64,716 additional temporary H-2B work visas for the third year in a row to be doled out to businesses struggling with staffing issues. 

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Texas Backs Off Title X Suit On Contraceptives To Minors

By Yeji Jesse Lee

Federal health officials are no longer enforcing a rule in Texas that tied funding to contraceptive access for minors, Texas officials told a court Tuesday as it asked to dismiss a suit it had filed against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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North Carolina Federal Judge Whitney To Take Senior Status

By Jared Foretek

U.S. District Judge Frank DeArmon Whitney will take senior status in the Western District of North Carolina on Sunday.

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Trump Nominees Receive Bomb Threats, Feds Say

By Frank G. Runyeon

Some of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet appointees and administration nominees were targeted with "numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents," federal law enforcement officials said Wednesday, confirming reports from Trump's transition team.

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Rikers Faces Federal Takeover As NYC Held In Contempt

By Frank G. Runyeon

A Manhattan federal judge found New York City and its corrections department in civil contempt for failing to fix the "unconstitutional danger" for inmates at Rikers Island, indicating a receivership is the solution.

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Analysis

SEC Exempts More Debt Securities From New Trading Rules

By Tom Zanki

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is relieving broker-dealers who quote unlisted stocks from increased information-gathering requirements that would have also applied to many fixed-income securities, a development attorneys say will prove welcome for debt issuers.

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5th Circ. Reverses Treasury's Block Of Crypto Mixer

By Katryna Perera

The Fifth Circuit has rejected the government's blacklisting of Tornado Cash for "its role in laundering virtual currency for malicious cyber actors," saying the cryptocurrency service's immutable smart contracts, or lines of privacy-enabling software code, are not "property" and are therefore unownable and cannot be blocked under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

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Arkansas Can't Bring Suit Against Crypto Miner For Now

By Aislinn Keely

An Arkansas federal judge has temporarily barred state officials from taking action against a Chinese-born U.S. citizen's crypto mining operation after he challenged the investigation against him and the laws underpinning it as discriminatory and unconstitutional.

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CFPB Fights Student Loan Servicer's Bid To Pause Deal

By Matthew Santoni

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has told a Pennsylvania federal court that student loan servicer Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency shouldn't get to pause its work fulfilling a settlement just because a third party had appealed a separate deal with the loan holders.

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Elon Musk Targets CFPB With Call To 'Delete' Agency

By Dorothy Atkins

Billionaire Elon Musk has called for abolishing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, writing on his social media platform X — formerly known as Twitter — that the government should "Delete CFPB" and "there are too many duplicative regulatory agencies."

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Wash. Appeals Court Slams Brakes On Lucid EV Dealerships

By Rachel Riley

Automaker Lucid can't sell its electric vehicles directly to Washington consumers, a state appellate court has ruled, agreeing with regulators that granting the company the necessary license would violate a state law designed to protect car dealers from unfair competition from manufacturers.

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EPA Asks DC Circ. To Keep Emissions Rules In Place

By Ali Sullivan

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is defending its strict new emissions limits for cars, trucks and vans against a legal challenge from red states and industry groups, telling the D.C. Circuit that the Clean Air Act grants federal regulators authority over both gas-powered and electric vehicles.

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EPA Mercury Rule Is Fatally Flawed, DC Circ. Told

By Madeline Lyskawa

Republican-led states and fossil fuel industry groups fired back at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent defense of its rule strengthening standards for mercury and other toxic air emissions at power plants, telling the D.C. Circuit the agency misinterpreted the Clean Air Act's pollution reduction goals.

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Texas Tells 5th Circ. EPA Botched Ozone Compliance Orders

By Madeline Lyskawa

The state of Texas called on the Fifth Circuit to vacate part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency action requiring the state to revise its plan addressing "moderate" nonattainment of ground-level ozone standards for the Dallas, Houston and San Antonio areas, in light of the cities' upgrade to "serious" nonattainment.

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Calif. Law Means FERC Must Yank Grid Perk, 9th Circ. Told

By Keith Goldberg

California officials and several municipal utilities have backed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's revocation of a grid incentive for Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for voluntarily belonging to a regional transmission organization, telling the Ninth Circuit that FERC is properly following state law.

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Brief

Illinois Top Court Will Decide Fate Of $7B Power Line Permit

By Keith Goldberg

The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to review a lower court's decision striking state utility regulators' approval to build part of the $7 billion Grain Belt Express high-voltage transmission line.

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Atty Censured For Posts Criticizing Town Council Clients

By Thy Vo

A Colorado attorney has been publicly censured for taking to social media to criticize a town council that hired him to conduct an investigation, according to a disciplinary opinion that said the lawyer betrayed the confidence of his former clients by disclosing information he learned during the investigation.

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Fla. Judge Halts School Board Depos In Book Ban Suit

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge ordered a partial stay that temporarily halts depositions of Escambia County School Board members in a First Amendment challenge to a ban on certain books, but deferred staying the entire case until an appeal before the Eleventh Circuit is resolved.

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Insurer To Pay Conn. City $1M For Stolen COVID Funds

By Hope Patti

The insurer for the city of West Haven, Connecticut, will pay more than $1 million to offset losses caused by the theft of federal COVID-19 relief funds by a former state representative and city employee, according to a press release.

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DOL Sued For OSHA Info In NJ Amazon Warehouse Deaths

By Carla Baranauckas

The U.S. Department of Labor has been hit with a lawsuit by a labor advocate seeking records related to investigations of three deaths at Amazon.com Inc.'s "notoriously hazardous warehouses" in New Jersey in 2022, saying the agency failed to comply with Freedom of Information Act deadlines.

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Myman Greenspan Accused Of Wrongfully Firing Assistant

By Emily Sawicki

Motion picture and television law firm Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light LLP used a "transparent pretext" to illegally fire an assistant who had a health condition and was over the age of 50, according to a suit alleging wrongful termination in California state court.

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Roundup

3 Argument Sessions Benefits Attys Should Watch In Dec.

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the federal government's constitutional challenge to Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors, the Ninth Circuit will weigh if Idaho can ban abortions even in emergencies, and the D.C. Circuit will wade into a pension withdrawal liability fight. Here are three argument sessions benefits attorneys should keep an eye on in December.

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Google Wants 9th Circ. To Undo Play Store Ruling In Epic Row

By Hailey Konnath

Google has pressed the Ninth Circuit to reverse an injunction forcing it to allow third-party app distribution on its Play Store, arguing that the lower court's ruling will "directly undercut Google's efforts to compete against Apple and the iPhone."

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Data Cos. Lose Challenge To NJ Judicial Privacy Law

By Jake Maher

A federal judge has ruled that the New Jersey judicial privacy and security measure known as Daniel's Law is constitutional, handing a defeat to a large group of data brokers accused of illegally posting judges' names and addresses online.

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GM, Cruise Say DPA Has No Bearing On Securities Fraud Suit

By Linda Chiem

General Motors and its driverless car unit Cruise LLC have told a Michigan federal judge that Cruise's deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice over a San Francisco pedestrian accident doesn't help investors in a proposed securities fraud class action.

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Lawmakers Ask DOD To Ground Ospreys For Safety Probe

By Elliot Weld

Three Democratic lawmakers from Massachusetts wrote to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin asking him to ground V-22 Osprey aircraft so a series of safety and design issues, which have led to fatal crashes, can be investigated and addressed.

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Alcohol Council Says Trump Tariffs May Harm US Consumers

By Elaine Briseño

The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States expressed concern over President-elect Donald Trump's plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico, two of its largest trading partners, ultimately hurting the American consumer.

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Ex-FBI Informant In Biden Case Wants Tax Charges Separate

By Anna Scott Farrell

A former FBI informant accused of making fake criminal accusations against President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, told a California federal court that new tax evasion charges against him should remain separate because the two cases are unrelated.

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Menendez Says Evidence Error Means Automatic New Trial

By Cara Salvatore

Former Sen. Bob Menendez told a federal judge Wednesday that it's "unavoidable" that he is owed a new trial after prosecutors' recent admission that they gave jurors evidence that had been excluded.

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NC Tribe Demands Apology Over Senator's Floor Remarks

By Crystal Owens

A North Carolina tribe is demanding an apology from one of the state's U.S. senators, who they say recently launched "an emotional tirade" on the Senate floor, targeting hundreds of tribal leaders and organizations with baseless accusations in a bid to push a bill through to federally recognize the Lumbee Tribe.

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Judge Says City Can't Block Washington Tribe's ER Shelter

By Crystal Owens

A federal judge on Wednesday granted a Washington tribe's bid to block the city of Toppenish from preventing it from operating a 24-hour emergency cold weather shelter, saying upcoming freezing weather would cause irreparable harm and warrants the service.

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Cable Biz Urges FCC To Scrap Customer Service Reg Plan

By Christopher Cole

The cable lobby says the Federal Communications Commission should drop plans for new customer service rules on the industry because it lacks legal authority to impose the requirements.

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Brief

FCC Refers T-Mobile, UScellular Deal To Team Telecom

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission has referred T-Mobile's anticipated $4.4 billion purchase of wireless operations from United States Cellular Corp. to the committee that vets foreign investment in the U.S. telecom market.

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Brief

FCC Warns Some ISPs Still Advertising Internet Subsidy

By Christopher Cole

Some internet service providers are still advertising discounts on service through the Affordable Connectivity Program even though it ended in June, the Federal Communications Commission has warned consumers.

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Neb. Judge Rejects Challenge To Medical Pot Legalization

By Jonathan Capriel

Efforts to upend ballot measures that legalized medical marijuana in Nebraska have failed, after a Nebraska state judge ruled the secretary of state couldn't show in his challenge that a considerable number of signatures to qualify for the ballot were invalid.

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Congressional Dems Urge Biden For More Cannabis Reform

By Sam Reisman

Congressional Democrats are urging President Joe Biden to use his executive authority to take further action on marijuana reforms during the waning weeks of his administration.

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Amid Claims Of Bias, DEA To Kick Off Historic Pot Hearing

By Sam Reisman

The Drug Enforcement Administration's administrative law tribunal will hold a preliminary hearing Monday on the U.S. Department of Justice's proposal to relax restrictions on marijuana, kicking off a historic process that has already been marked by allegations of agency bias.

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5 Ways SEC's Crypto Approach Could Change Under Trump

Given the Trump campaign's procrypto stance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could take a number of different approaches to crypto policy in the next administration, including pausing registration-only enforcement actions and proposing tailored rules that take into account the differences between crypto-assets and traditional securities, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

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How CFIUS' Updated Framework Affects Global Investors

The recent change to the monitoring and enforcement regulations governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will broaden administrative practices around nonnotified transaction investigations, increase the scope of information demands from the committee and accelerate its ability to impose mitigation on parties, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

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The Challenges Of Abandoned Retirement Plans In Ch. 7

The Department of Labor's rule for unwinding retirement accounts when plan sponsors file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy was intended to alleviate trustees' administration issues, but practical challenges, like unresolved fee and identification matters, could hinder its implementation, say David Goodrich at Golden Goodrich and Nancy Simons at Stretto.

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Mayer Brown, Gibson Dunn Match Milbank Bonuses

By Anna Sanders

Mayer Brown LLP and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP joined a chorus of other BigLaw firms in doling out extra cash for associates, matching the year-end and special bonuses set by Milbank LLP, according to media reports.

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High Court Bar's Future: Deputy Solicitor General Brian Fletcher

By Katie Buehler

Principal Deputy U.S. Solicitor General Brian H. Fletcher is the legal equivalent of the coveted five-tool baseball player, who uses his unique intellect to dissect complex issues, quickly develop theories and arguments and level with skeptical U.S. Supreme Court justices, former colleagues and court watchers say.

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Citi Gets TRO On Banker Accused Of Poaching Atty Clients

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge on Tuesday granted Citibank NA's request for a temporary restraining order against one of its former bankers who it alleges jumped to a rival with confidential information on law firm and attorney clients, but denied the request regarding a second banker as "too speculative."

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

President-elect Donald Trump announced that a King & Spalding LLP international trade partner is his choice for U.S. trade representative. Meanwhile, the new general counsel for the largest federal employees' union is expected to fight any attempts to cut government jobs, which the new administration has threatened to do.

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Hub Hires: Goodwin Procter, Morgan Lewis, Foley Hoag

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts firms bolstered their white collar, intellectual property and regulatory practices with November hirings, including a former federal prosecutor who oversaw a massive kickback prosecution.

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