Powell Says He Won't Make Fed Exit While Facing DOJ Probe

By Jon Hill

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that he will stay on as a board member of the central bank if he remains under U.S. Department of Justice investigation when his term as Fed chairman runs out this spring.

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8th Circ. Seems Skeptical About Nix Of Wells Fargo 401(k) Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Eighth Circuit appeared skeptical Wednesday of the reasoning behind a lower court's decision to toss a proposed class action alleging Wells Fargo's 401(k) forfeiture spending violated federal benefits law, but still expressed doubts about the case's viability.

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4th Circ. Says Bankruptcy Stay Trumps Arbitration Agreement

By Vince Sullivan

A split Fourth Circuit panel ruled Wednesday that requiring a consumer debtor to arbitrate credit card collection actions would interfere with the clear purpose of the federal bankruptcy code, upholding a pair of lower court rulings that found alleged automatic stay violations by Goldman Sachs Bank should be dealt with through bankruptcy adversary proceedings.

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Lawmakers Commit To April Crypto Bill Markup, Or Else

By Aislinn Keely

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., told attendees of a Wasington, D.C., crypto conference Wednesday that she's confident the Senate Banking Committee will mark up a bill to regulate crypto markets after the Easter break now that compromises on key issues including stablecoin yield are in the final stages.

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Capital One Beats Consumer Suit Over Discover Deal, Again

By Nadia Dreid

Capital One has persuaded a California federal judge once again to squash a suit brought by credit card users who say that the company's $35 billion purchase of Discover is bad news for them and ought to be unwound, but the court is giving the consumers one last chance.

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LA Driver Used $2M COVID Loan For Crypto, DOJ Says

By Jonathan Capriel

A Los Angeles man who allegedly took $2 million from federal COVID-19-related relief programs and used the money to fund cryptocurrency trading now faces money laundering, wire fraud and bank fraud charges, according to a Department of Justice announcement issued Wednesday.

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BofA Faces Suit Over Alleged $328M Crypto Ponzi Scheme

By Emilie Ruscoe

Bank of America NA is the latest financial institution to face claims it aided and abetted a $328 million Ponzi scheme allegedly operated by the now-criminally charged CEO of cryptocurrency investment firm Goliath Ventures.

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Ex-Execs Ask Justices To Review Ruby Tuesday Benefits Fight

By Emily Lever

Former Ruby Tuesday managers are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review their dispute alleging Regions Bank lost them $35 million in retirement plan benefits that were liquidated in bankruptcy, saying an appellate court erred in denying them monetary relief.

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Fla. Court Ends Ex-Bank CEO's Bid To Revive Contract Claims

By Carolina Bolado

A former bank CEO can't file another amended complaint against First Horizon Bank claiming he was set up as a scapegoat in the legal fallout of a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, a Florida appeals court ruled Wednesday.

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How To Wield The Clarity Act As A Litigation Defense Tool

The Clarity Act is being discussed as a future compliance statute, but for litigators it can be used as a present-day defense tool to strengthen fair‑notice framing, argue for forward‑looking remedies rather than punitive ones and reprice settlement leverage as statutory clarity approaches, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

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What Texas Anti-Boycott Ruling Means For ESG Landscape

A Texas federal court's recent ruling in American Sustainable Business Council v. Hegar that Texas' anti-ESG law is unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds will likely embolden legal challenges to similar laws in other states that have adopted fossil fuel boycott statutes, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: The Human Element

Law school teaches you to quickly apply intellect and logic when handling a legal issue, but every fact pattern also involves a person, making the ability to balance expertise with empathy critical to the growth of relationships with clients, colleagues and adversaries, says Rachel Adcox at Adcox Strategies.

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Analysis

Texas Biz Court's Likely Role In Patent Fights Becoming Clear

By Dani Kass

The Texas Business Court has released its first opinion exploring when intellectual property can be used to create jurisdiction, and attorneys say the decision involving state trade secret law offers insight into when patent matters can be pursued there.

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Conn. Justices Won't Hear Ex-Alex Jones Atty's Ethics Case

By Andrea Keckley

The Connecticut Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to the two-week suspension of Alex Jones' former lawyer, leaving intact an intermediate Appellate Court decision affirming the pared-down punishment surrounding his law firm's handling of Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre victims' personal information.

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Calif. Bills Would Reform Litigation Funding, Client Recruiting

By Emily Sawicki

Two new bills introduced to the California Assembly this week seek to impose reforms on the state's legal industry, including adding mandatory disbarment for attorneys convicted of felony "capping" — or illegally paying for client recruitment — and blocking corporate litigation funders from influencing cases.

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Senator Unveils Draft AI Bill Intended To Wipe Out State Regs

By Hailey Konnath

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on Wednesday released a draft of proposed legislation that would override a "patchwork" of state artificial intelligence regulations, touting the proposal as protecting "children, creators, conservatives and communities" and slamming the state regulations as hindering "AI innovation."

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Biotech Investor Blames Pierce Atwood For Messy Asset Sale

By Julie Manganis

A Ukrainian billionaire who was recently ordered to pay other investors in a failed genetic testing company more than $1.8 million in damages is blaming the Pierce Atwood LLP lawyers who advised him on what a court later found to be a "fundamentally unfair" forced asset sale.

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