A top U.S. banking regulator is seconding the banking industry's call for the Seventh Circuit to block Illinois' tax and tip swipe-fee ban, arguing a lower-court judge missed the "forest for the trees" in ruling the state-law restrictions are enforceable against banks it oversees.
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

OCC Calls For Preemption Of Ill. Swipe-Fee Law At 7th Circ.

By Jon Hill

A top U.S. banking regulator is seconding the banking industry's call for the Seventh Circuit to block Illinois' tax and tip swipe-fee ban, arguing a lower-court judge missed the "forest for the trees" in ruling the state-law restrictions are enforceable against banks it oversees.

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BofA Reaches Deal In Epstein Enabling Class Action

By Sarah Jarvis

Bank of America has reached a settlement in principle with a plaintiff who accused it in a proposed class action of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes, according to a Monday court filing.

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Panel Skeptical Of Billionaire Vik's Win Over Deutsche Bank

By Brian Steele

The Connecticut Appellate Court on Monday scrutinized the complex timeline of a 13-year multinational litigation, seeming to doubt that Deutsche Bank AG could be blocked from suing billionaire Alexander Vik and his daughter for allegedly tanking the price of an asset sale.

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State AGs Sue OneMain Over Expensive Loan 'Add-Ons'

By Matthew Santoni

Thirteen states and their attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit against OneMain Financial and its associated companies over its alleged practice of charging customers for "add-ons" to their loans like insurance programs without disclosing the extra interest that comes with them.

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High Court Urged Not To Review VRDO Class Cert.

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Supreme Court was urged not to review a Second Circuit decision upholding a class certification ruling in a $12 billion antitrust case over municipal bonds, with the class telling the justices the lower court properly analyzed the supporting expert evidence.

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SEC Enforcement Head Resigns After 7 Months

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday that its enforcement director, Margaret "Meg" Ryan, has resigned from the agency after nearly seven months on the job.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Sen. Warren Probes Auto Lenders On Military Borrower Rates

By Ganesh Setty

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee's top Democrat pressed major auto lenders for underwriting information on military service members, noting they pay higher rates on average while statutory lending protections for service members exempt many auto loans.

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ENFORCEMENT & COMPLIANCE

Amazon Prime Parallels Threaten Doxo's Bid To Beat FTC Suit

By Rachel Riley

Online bill pay platform Doxo fought uphill at a hearing Monday in Washington federal court to beat the Federal Trade Commission's claims it misleads consumers, with the judge noting that Amazon.com Inc. had made some of the same arguments in the FTC's lawsuit targeting its Prime subscription program and lost.

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LITIGATION

Capital One's $5B Brex Purchase Must Be Blocked, Judge Told

By Katryna Perera

A group of consumers wants a California federal judge to bar Capital One's proposed $5.15 billion acquisition of fintech company Brex, arguing it violates antitrust laws, after the group's first bid to halt the bank's purchase of Discover Financial Services failed. 

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EB-5 Investors Land Class Cert. In TD Bank Escrow Suit

By Emilie Ruscoe

A Manhattan federal judge has certified a class of EB-5 immigrant investors who claim TD Bank improperly released nearly $50 million of their funds from escrow, which allegedly caused the money to go missing and scuttled their efforts to seek visas. 

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Discovery Moves Ahead In $7M Bulgarian Gas Project Feud

By Joyce Hanson

A federal magistrate judge has declined to pause discovery pending arbitration in an Illinois-based community bank's litigation seeking to determine the proper owner of $7 million it's holding in escrow for a Bulgarian natural gas construction project, saying he is not convinced a stay is warranted.

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Edible Arrangements Wins Sanctions, Beats Ex-COO's Claims

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia federal judge struck the answer filed by Edible Arrangements' former chief operating officer and his company as a sanction for bad faith discovery conduct, finding they hid key evidence about millions in vendor checks deposited into a personal account.

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DEALS

4 Firms Guide Crypto Firm Abra's $750M SPAC Merger

By Nate Beck

Cryptocurrency platform Abra said Monday that it will go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company in a deal advised by four firms that's based on a $750 million valuation for Abra.

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WisdomTree Snags Atlantic House In $200M Deal

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Financial services company WisdomTree Inc. on Monday announced plans to acquire London-based Atlantic House Holdings Ltd., in a deal worth roughly $200 million that was built by three law firms.

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BANKRUPTCY

Bronx Project Facing Sale Hits Ch. 11 To Probe 'Treachery'

By Nate Beck

The developer of a 900-unit housing project in the Bronx that was awarded a $55 million state grant in October has filed for bankruptcy to stop a foreclosure sale, blaming what it called "treachery" in the transfer of a senior mortgage, in the second such filing the company brought in recent months.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Compliance Takeaways Amid Increased Auto Finance Scrutiny

Recent supervisory focus on consumer protection in auto finance by agencies such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. provides meaningful signals regarding areas of heightened regulatory scrutiny for lenders, including data accuracy, AI risk management and vendor oversight, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

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How Cos. Should Prepare For NY RAISE Act Compliance

With the New York Responsible AI Safety and Education Act taking effect March 19, state regulators will expect subject artificial intelligence governance policies to understand whether appropriate safeguards and protocols are in place to prevent or mitigate discriminatory or adverse outcomes by frontier models, says Michael Paulino at Gordon Rees.

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The Benefits Of Choosing A Niche Practice In The AI Age

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly accessible, lawyers with a niche practice may stand out as clients seek specialized judgment that automation cannot replicate, but it is important to choose a niche that is durable, engaging and a good personal fit, says Daniel Borneman at Lowenstein Sandler.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Chief Justice Says Personal Attacks On Judges 'Got To Stop'

By Katie Buehler

Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday condemned the personal attacks on federal judges that have become increasingly common during President Donald Trump's second term in office — and that are often launched by the president himself — and defended the daily work of the judiciary. 

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Deals In Jackson Walker-Judge Affair A 'Dilemma,' Judge Says

By José Luis Martínez

A Texas federal judge ordered three of Jackson Walker LLP's former bankruptcy clients Tuesday to explain by next month what would happen to money from potential vacaturs or sanctions against the law firm if the estates close after their contested deals get approved.

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NJ Judge Boots Prosecutor, Orders US Atty Trio's Testimony

By Jack Karp

A New Jersey federal judge on Monday questioned whether Alina Habba is still running the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office during a heated hearing where the jurist tossed a supervisory prosecutor from his courtroom and ordered testimony from the trio of attorneys who assumed Habba's responsibilities.

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Reed Smith Launches In Boston With 12 Attys From 7 Firms

By Tracey Read

Reed Smith LLP has launched its first office in Boston with 12 lawyers from White & Case, Goodwin Procter, McDermott Will & Schulte, Morrison Foerster, Kirkland & Ellis, Weil Gotshal & Manges and K&L Gates, the firm announced Tuesday.

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'No Disrespect' But Law Prof Mom Not SBF's Atty, Judge Says

By Lauren Berg

A federal judge in Manhattan cautioned retired Stanford Law School professor Barbara Fried, the mother of convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, that she cannot make filings on behalf of her son in his bid for a new trial, saying she has not filed an appearance with the court.

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Indiana Firm Drops Quintairos Prieto 'Mass Exodus' Suit

By Adrian Cruz

Less than a month after suing Quintairos Prieto Wood & Boyer PA for allegedly causing a "mass exodus" of attorneys, Indiana-based Kopka Pinkus Dolin PC has chosen to dismiss the matter, according to a recent court filing.

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Comer Subpoenas AG Bondi Over Epstein Investigation

By Courtney Bublé

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, issued a subpoena on Tuesday for Attorney General Pam Bondi over the committee's investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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Senate OKs Conservative Think Tank GC As Louisiana Judge

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 51-45 on Tuesday to confirm Anna St. John, president and general counsel of the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, as a U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

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IP Atty Appeals Order Requiring OK To File EDTX Patent Suits

By Lauren Berg

Intellectual property attorney William Ramey is asking the Federal Circuit to overturn a Texas district judge's sanctions order requiring him to seek the court's permission before filing patent suits in the future, saying the judge relied on the wrong evidence in finding the attorney failed to conduct presuit investigations.

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Lawmakers Want More Oversight For Antitrust Settlements

By Matthew Perlman

Democratic lawmakers proposed legislation Tuesday that would give courts more power to review settlements reached in government antitrust cases, after the U.S. Department of Justice recently cut a pair of controversial deals, including with Live Nation last week.

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NJ Justices Create Attorney Readmission Board

By Jake Maher

New Jersey's highest court announced Tuesday it formally established a new body charged with overseeing readmissions of disbarred lawyers through changes to the state's standards for attorney conduct.

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Pot Co. Escapes Potency Suit, Judge Warns Plaintiff Firm

By Jonathan Capriel

MariMed and other cannabis companies beat claims they intentionally mislabeled their products to sidestep Illinois THC potency limits, with a federal judge highlighting the string of consumer-led suit losses and warning counsel to "heed the strong and universal concerns about the plausibility of their legal theories."

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Analysis

Prediction Markets Have Opened Compliance 'Pandora's Box'

By Phillip Bantz

The burgeoning prediction market has exploded the definition of what qualifies as confidential corporate information that employees could misuse for personal gain, leaving companies scrambling to update internal policies and guidelines, compliance experts say.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Ally Financial Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

American Bankers Association

Anthropic PBC

Apollo Global Management LLC

Bank Policy Institute

Bank of America Corp.

Barclays PLC

Barron's

Blockchain Capital LLC

Boyer Co.

Burke Inc.

Cantor Fitzgerald LP

Capital One Financial Corp.

Chambers and Partners

Cisco Systems Inc.

Clearing House Payments Co. LLC

Consumer Bankers Association

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc.

Deutsche Bank AG

Discover Financial Services Inc.

DoorDash Inc.

Edible Arrangements LLC

Electronic Transactions Association

Ford Motor Co.

General Motors Financial Co. Inc.

Hamilton Lincoln

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.

Illinois Bankers Association

Illinois Credit Union League Inc.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Juniper Networks Inc.

Learning Resources Inc.

Lettire Construction Corp.

LinkedIn Corp.

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.

London Court of International Arbitration

MasterCard Inc.

Microsoft Corp.

Nasdaq Inc.

Navy Federal Credit Union

Nikola Corp.

OneMain Holdings Inc.

Pantera Capital Management LP

RRE Ventures

SolarWinds Corp.

Stanford University

State Bank of India

Strike LLC

The Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

TikTok Inc.

Toronto-Dominion Bank

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.

WisdomTree, Inc.

Workday Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Alioto Law Firm

Bartlit Beck

Boies Schiller

Brown Hay

Bryan Cave

Cahill Gordon

Cavendish Partners

Cleary Gottlieb

CohenMalad

Covington & Burling

DAC Beachcroft

David Boies

Day Pitney

Dentons

Edwards Henderson

Ellenoff Grossman

Fennemore

Garland Samuel & Loeb

Glen J. Dunn & Associates

Goldberg Weprin

Goodwin Procter

Gordon Rees

Haynes Boone

Jackson Walker LLP

Jones Day

K&L Gates

Kirkland & Ellis

Kopka Pinkus

Krizner Group

Latham & Watkins

Law Offices of Lawrence G. Papale

Levin-Epstein & Associates

Lowenstein Sandler

McCloskey Roberson

McDermott Will & Schulte

Michael Best & Friedrich

Morrison & Foerster

Nedeau Law Firm

Norton Rose

O'Melveny & Myers

Paul Weiss

Pullman & Comley

Quinn Emanuel

Quintairos Prieto

Ramey LLP

Reed Smith

Reichman Jorgensen

Robbins Alloy

Rusty Hardin

Saul Ewing

Schulten Ward

Shapiro Arato

Sidley Austin

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Skadden Arps

Snell & Wilmer

Sullivan & Cromwell

Susman Godfrey

Venable LLP

Wachtell Lipton

Weil Gotshal

Weiss LLP

White & Case

Wiley Rein

WilmerHale

Winston & Strawn

Wollmuth Maher

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Federal Reserve System

Federal Trade Commission

Food and Drug Administration

Illinois Attorney General's Office

Illinois Supreme Court

National Institute of Standards and Technology

New Jersey Supreme Court

New York Attorney General's Office

New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services

New York State Empire State Development

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court