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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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

Conservative Groups Back DOJ As Amici In Law Firm EO Suits

By Emily Sawicki

Conservative groups are backing the Trump administration's attempts to revive executive orders targeting BigLaw firms, arguing in an amicus brief to the D.C. Circuit that Perkins Coie LLP had "unclean hands" for its part in what they called the "Russiagate hoax."

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Winston & Strawn Sanctioned For Trying To 'Make Up Facts'

By Dani Kass

A California federal judge sanctioned Winston & Strawn LLP on Monday for making up facts and otherwise misrepresenting the record in contract litigation over its client's app being removed from Apple's platform, then separately dismissed the case on the merits.

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Don't 'Grimace, Nod, Laugh': Judge Breyer Slams Musk's Attys

By Bonnie Eslinger

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer scolded Elon Musk's Quinn Emanuel counsel during a hearing Monday ahead of closing arguments in California litigation alleging that Musk tanked Twitter's stock to get out of his $44 billion acquisition deal, saying he wouldn't "sit here and watch lawyers grimace, nod, laugh in court."

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Pro Se Litigant Lawyered So Well He Owes $1.8M, Judge Says

By Dorothy Atkins

A Michigan federal judge ruled Monday that a pro se defendant must pay software-maker Dassault Systemes $1.8 million in fees for willfully infringing its software copyrights to train design students, while commending the pro se litigant's professionalism during 15 years of litigation for rivaling and exceeding many licensed attorneys.

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Analysis

Excitement, Tinged With Skepticism, Over AAA's AI Arbitrator

By Caroline Simson

The American Arbitration Association caused a stir last fall when it introduced its AI Arbitrator for documents-only construction cases, and even though lawyers say they're excited about the tool's possibilities — and that of artificial intelligence in arbitration in general — so far, many have been reluctant to be the first to take that plunge.

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Boris Epshteyn Targeted Over Trump Bid To 'Coerce' BigLaw

By Lauren Berg

Lawyers, law professors and retired judges led by two nonprofits urged the New York state courts' ethics committee on Monday to investigate Boris Epshteyn's involvement in President Donald Trump's efforts to "intimidate and coerce" BigLaw firms into pro bono agreements with the administration.

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Trump To Get 5th North Carolina Federal Court Vacancy

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump will get another judicial vacancy to fill in North Carolina with U.S. District Judge William L. Osteen Jr. of the Middle District of North Carolina recently announcing he will take senior status.

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Paralegal Calls Full Lewis Brisbois Arbitration Unenforceable

By Adrian Cruz

A former Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP paralegal has told a Florida state judge that the firm shouldn't be able to force her into arbitrating her claims against it because a number of the alleged actions took place after she was terminated from her job.

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Democrats Push DOJ To Investigate Noem For Perjury

By Courtney Bublé

Democrats have referred the departing U.S. secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem, to the Department of Justice for a perjury investigation following her recent congressional testimony.

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Mass. Justices Won't Boost Pay For Court-Appointed Attys

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' highest court on Monday declined a request to let state judges offer higher hourly rates to induce attorneys to accept court-appointed cases, a proposal meant to alleviate a shortage of appointed counsel in two of the state's busiest counties.

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Ga. Panel Says Minister Can't Rep His Church In Tax Case

By Chart Riggall

The Georgia Court of Appeals said Monday that nonattorneys can't be allowed to represent unincorporated associations in court, backing a trial court's dismissal of a minister's bid to represent his church in a property tax dispute with his home county.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket last week featured disputes including an $83.75 million settlement tied to a renewable energy merger, fraud claims in a fertilizer company acquisition and a developer's fight for control of a major Philadelphia redevelopment project.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Ally Financial Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

American Arbitration Association

American Bankers Association

Anthropic PBC

Apollo Global Management LLC

Apple Inc.

Bank Policy Institute

Bank of America Corp.

Barclays PLC

Blockchain Capital LLC

Boston University

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.

Burke Inc.

Cantor Fitzgerald LP

Capital One Financial Corp.

Chambers and Partners

Clearing House Payments Co. LLC

Consumer Bankers Association

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc.

Daimler AG

Dassault Systemes SE

Democratic National Committee

Deutsche Bank AG

Discover Financial Services Inc.

DoorDash Inc.

Edible Arrangements LLC

Electronic Transactions Association

Exxon Mobil Corp.

Ford Motor Co.

General Motors Co.

General Motors Financial Co. Inc.

Illinois Bankers Association

Illinois Credit Union League Inc.

Intel Corp.

International Centre for Dispute Resolution

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Lettire Construction Corp.

London Court of International Arbitration

MasterCard Inc.

Microsoft Corp.

Nasdaq Inc.

Navy Federal Credit Union

Nikola Corp.

OneMain Holdings Inc.

Pantera Capital Management LP

Pioneer Natural Resources Co.

Pivot Energy

Priority Responsible Funding

Public Counsel

RRE Ventures

RealPage Inc.

SolarWinds Corp.

State Bank of India

TerraForm Power Inc.

The Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

The Boeing Co.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

TikTok Inc.

Toronto-Dominion Bank

Twitter Inc.

Verdesian Life Sciences LLC

Volkswagen AG

WisdomTree, Inc.

Workday Inc.

YouTube Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Alioto Law Firm

Bartlit Beck

Boies Schiller

Brown Hay

Cahill Gordon

Cavendish Partners

Cleary Gottlieb

Clement & Murphy

Cooley LLP

Cotchett Pitre

Covington & Burling

DAC Beachcroft

David Boies

Day Pitney

Edwards Henderson

Ellenoff Grossman

Fennemore

Freshfields

Garland Samuel & Loeb

Glen J. Dunn & Associates

Goldberg Weprin

Goodwin Procter

Gordon Rees

Harness IP

Jenner & Block

Jones Day

Kirkland & Ellis

Lash Goldberg

Latham & Watkins

Law Offices of Lawrence G. Papale

Leach & Walker

Levin-Epstein & Associates

Lewis Brisbois

Lowenstein Sandler

Michael Best & Friedrich

Munger Tolles

Nedeau Law Firm

Norton Rose

O'Melveny & Myers

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Pullman & Comley

Quinn Emanuel

Reichman Jorgensen

Robbins Alloy

Rubin Rudman

Schulten Ward

Sidley Austin

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Skadden Arps

Snell & Wilmer

Sullivan & Cromwell

Susman Godfrey

Troutman

Venable LLP

Wachtell Lipton

Weiss LLP

Wiley Rein

William J. Olson PC

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

Winston & Strawn

Wollmuth Maher

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Committee for Public Counsel Services

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Delaware Court of Chancery

Executive Office of the President

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Federal Judicial Center

Federal Trade Commission

Food and Drug Administration

Georgia Court of Appeals

Georgia Supreme Court

Illinois Attorney General's Office

National Institute of Standards and Technology

New York Attorney General's Office

New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services

New York State Empire State Development

North Carolina General Assembly

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

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

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

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

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

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

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 Washington

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

UK High Court