SEC Eases Decades-Old Wall Street Analyst Restrictions

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to lift some restrictions imposed on large financial institutions over two decades ago in a crackdown on alleged conflicts of interests involving investment banks and their research analysts, agreeing with the banks that modification of the settlements was proper due to a 2015 rule that addressed the same problem. 

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Analysis

What To Do When Jurors Don't 'Trust The Science'

By Chris Villani

The pandemic and initiatives from the second administration of President Donald Trump challenging decades of established scientific norms have made science more politicized, and attorneys say picking a jury and presenting scientific evidence is increasingly challenging.

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Conservative Justices Probe 'Husk' Of FTC Firing Protections

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority pushed back Monday against the 90-year-old precedent permitting the removal only for cause of Federal Trade Commission members, and perhaps those serving other independent agencies, calling those safeguards a "dried husk" and wondering where to draw the line for protected agencies.

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Trump's 'Unlawful' Freeze Of Wind Projects Gets Blocked

By Hailey Konnath

A Massachusetts federal judge Monday blocked President Donald Trump's executive order indefinitely pausing permits for wind farm projects, ruling that the order was arbitrary and capricious and contrary to the law.

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7-Eleven To Pay $4.5M Penalty Over Fla. Gas Station Buy

By Rae Ann Varona

7-Eleven Inc. and its Japanese parent company will pay a historic $4.5 million penalty to settle the Federal Trade Commission's allegations that the convenience store giant bought a Florida gas station without first informing the FTC, in violation of a 2018 agreement, the agency announced Monday.

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CFPB's Vought Faces New Funding Suit, Hearing Demand

By Jon Hill

Consumer advocates are mounting a new attempt to force Trump budget chief Russell Vought to replenish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's dwindling funds, while Senate Democrats are calling for what they say is an overdue hearing on his work at the agency.

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Barclays Accused Of 'Vague' Account Closure Notifications

By Sydney Price

A Barclays PLC subsidiary was hit Sunday with a proposed customer class action in California federal court accusing it of illegally shutting down accounts and providing only vague explanations for the closures, allegations that echo claims of so-called debanking that have been in the national spotlight.

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Brief

Capital One To Pay $580K To End Mass. Debt Calls Claims

By Emilie Ruscoe

Financial services giant Capital One will pay $580,000 to resolve Massachusetts regulators' allegations that representatives of its recently acquired Discover Bank made more debt collection calls to Massachusetts borrowers than allowed under state law.

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OCC's Gould Responds To Crypto Trust Charter Concerns

By Aislinn Keely

The head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Monday expressed skepticism of banking industry concerns surrounding cryptocurrency trust charter applications, asserting in a speech that "innovation, competition, and fair access should always triumph over regulatory stagnation."

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Crypto Project Ondo Finance Says SEC Closed Inquiry

By Sarah Jarvis

Ondo Finance said Monday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ended an investigation into the crypto project without filing any claims, following similar announcements from multiple other crypto firms coinciding with the change of presidential administration earlier this year.

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Feds Ordered To Start Turning Over Climate Panel Documents

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to begin complying with a request by two environmental advocacy groups for records of an ad hoc panel convened by the U.S. Department of Energy, ahead of an anticipated decision to vacate a 2009 finding that greenhouse gases are endangering human health.

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EPA Wants Suit Over Refiners' Hydrogen Fluoride Use Tossed

By Tom Lotshaw

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked a California federal judge to throw out a suit aiming to force it to stop oil refineries from using hydrogen fluoride, saying the groups behind it rely on speculative hypotheticals to allege harm.

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EPA Asks Judge To Let Solar Energy Funding Cuts Stand

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told a Washington federal district court that its decision to freeze funding for a low-income solar energy program should stand while states pursue a lawsuit to free up the money.

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Ex-NY Gov. Aide's Mom Says Alleged FARA Cash Wasn't Dirty

By Stewart Bishop

The mother of a former top aide to New York governors Monday told a Brooklyn federal jury large amounts of cash she held were from legitimate sources, as opposed to prosecutors' claim it was tied to her daughter's alleged scheme to secretly further the People's Republic of China's interests.

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USDA Appealing Chilean Grape Fumigation Decision

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is appealing a D.C. federal judge's decision vacating a 2024 rule change that allowed Chilean table grapes to be imported into the country even if they hadn't been fumigated with methyl bromide to kill pests.

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High Court Wants Feds' Input On Health Workers' Vax Fight

By Anne Cullen

The U.S. Supreme Court asked Monday for the federal government's input on a group of religious workers' challenge to a pandemic-era New York state policy requiring healthcare providers to make their employees be vaccinated against COVID-19.

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App Maker Says 1st Amendment Bars AG's Removal Demand

By Ganesh Setty

The developer of an application allowing users to report sightings of immigration enforcement authorities accused U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Monday in D.C. federal court of violating his free speech rights by getting Apple to remove it.

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Confluence Health Refunds $1.8M Following Wash. AG's Probe

By Ben Adlin

Central Washington healthcare operator Confluence Health has refunded more than $1.8 million to low-income patients who paid for hospital care despite being eligible for financial assistance under the state's Charity Care Act, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown announced Monday.

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1st Circ. Keeps Planned Parenthood Funding Ban In Place

By Dan McKay

The First Circuit on Monday issued an administrative stay that temporarily keeps in place a ban on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, pausing a lower court's ruling.

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Hi-Tech Pharma, CEO Want New Trial In Feds' Fraud Case

By Chart Riggall

A health supplement company's CEO, who was largely acquitted of federal fraud and conspiracy charges last month, asked a Georgia federal judge Friday to toss the lone conviction he faced, arguing that allowing the charge to stand "would constitute a miscarriage of justice."

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EU Clears Mars' $36B Deal For Pringles Maker After Probe

By Matthew Perlman

European competition enforcers approved snack food and candy giant Mars Inc.'s planned $35.9 billion purchase of Cheez-It and Pringles maker Kellanova, after an in-depth review found the move would not give the combined company too much leverage over retailers.

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RealPage Asks To Block NY Rental Pricing Software Law

By Matthew Perlman

Property management software company RealPage is asking for a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of a New York law that prohibits building owners from using software to set residential rental rates while its case challenging the statute plays out.

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Amazon, UL Say Chinese Cos. Lied About E-Bike Safety Tests

By Ben Adlin

Amazon and product safety organization UL are accusing a number of Chinese firms of falsely promoting their electric scooters and e-bikes as certified by UL despite never actually having their products tested by the 131-year-old safety group.

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AT&T Joins SG's High Court Review Bid Despite 5th Circ. Win

By Christopher Cole

After winning a Fifth Circuit case involving fines from the Federal Communications Commission, AT&T has nonetheless agreed with the U.S. solicitor general that the U.S. Supreme Court should review the need for jury trials when the agency seeks certain penalties.

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Tax Court Rejects Telecom Co.'s $3M Bankruptcy Deductions

By Kat Lucero

A telecommunications company cannot deduct over $3 million as a loss tied to a subsidiary's bankruptcy proceedings, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Monday, holding that the amount must be reported as capitalized expenditures because both businesses share the same owners.

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Eversheds Adds Ex-SDNY Atty As Investigations Co-Leader

By Sydney Price

Eversheds Sutherland has added a former assistant U.S. attorney from the Southern District of New York to co-lead its corporate crime and investigations practice, the firm announced.

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New 'Waters' Definition Could Bring Clarity — And Confusion

Federal agencies have proposed a new regulatory definition of "waters of the United States," a key phrase in the Clean Water Act — but while the change is meant to provide clarity, it could spark new questions of interpretation, and create geographic differences in how the statute is applied, say attorneys at Bracewell.

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Steps For Cos. To Comply With Colo. Deceptive Pricing Law

Colorado's newly passed law protecting against deceptive pricing practices will take effect on Jan. 1, broadening the consumer protection framework and standardizing total price disclosure requirements across a variety of industries, and there are several steps businesses can take to comply, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

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Terrorist Label For Maduro Poses New Risks For US Firms

The State Department's recent designation of President Nicolás Maduro, and other Venezuelan government and military officials, as members of a foreign terrorist organization drastically increases the level of caution companies must exercise when doing business in the region to mitigate potential civil, criminal and regulatory risk, say attorneys at Freshfields.

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Where Things Stand At The CFPB As Funding Dries Up

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is on pace to run out of funding in the new year, threatening current and future rulemaking efforts, but a rapid series of recent actions still carries significant implications for regulated entities and warrants careful monitoring in the remaining weeks of the year, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

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How Bank-Fintech Partnerships Changed In 2025

The 2025 transition to the Trump administration, augmented by the reversal of Chevron deference in 2024, has resulted in unprecedented shifts, and bank-fintech partnerships are no exception, with key changes affecting a number of areas including charters, regulatory oversight and anti-money laundering, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

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Opinion

Horizontal Stare Decisis Should Not Be Casually Discarded

Eliminating the so-called law of the circuit doctrine — as recently proposed by a Fifth Circuit judge, echoing Justice Neil Gorsuch’s concurrence in Loper Bright — would undermine public confidence in the judiciary’s independence and create costly uncertainty for litigants, says Lawrence Bluestone at Genova Burns.

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Series

The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Getting The Message Across

Communications and brand strategy during a law firm merger represent a crucial thread that runs through every stage of a combination and should include clear messaging, leverage modern marketing tools and embrace the chance to evolve, says Ashley Horne at Womble Bond.

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US Lawyer Numbers Surge With Hefty 2024 Graduating Class

By Tracey Read

The number of U.S. lawyers showed marked growth for the first time since 2020, due to a 2024 graduating class that was nearly 12% larger than any other class since 2012, a study from the American Bar Association released Monday showed.

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Habba Resigns As Acting US Atty After DQ Ruling At 3rd Circ.

By Jake Maher

Alina Habba stepped down Monday as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey following a Third Circuit ruling that she was unlawfully appointed to the position, with the U.S. Department of Justice unveiling that a trio of officials will take on her responsibilities.

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Ex-Josh Cellars President Fights Gibson Dunn Withdrawal Bid

By Elliot Weld

The former president of the company behind the Josh Cellars wine brand disputed Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's version of events around his allegedly unpaid legal bills, saying he has questions about the reasonableness of the firm's charges, which must be arbitrated per his contract with the firm.

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Carlton Fields Steps Aside In 'Irreconcilable' Miss America Case

By Emily Johnson

A Florida federal judge allowed Carlton Fields and its attorneys on Monday to withdraw from representing the plaintiffs in a dispute over the ownership of the Miss America pageant, after the firm said "irreconcilable differences" drew it to ask to step down.

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Jury Expert Sues Atty For 'Pirating' Her Jan. 6 Venue Report

By Matt Perez

A New Hampshire defense attorney representing a defendant charged for crimes related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been sued in D.C. federal court for allegedly stealing a copyrighted study analyzing attitudes in the jury pool of the District of Columbia.

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Litigation Funder Says Attys Hid Deal To Evade $1.5M Payout

By Christine DeRosa

A Florida-based litigation funder has sued two California attorneys and a law firm, alleging they secretly settled a client's civil dispute and steered the money so they wouldn't have to repay over $1.5 million.

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Brief

Senators Kelly, Slotkin Set Up Legal Defense Funds

By Courtney Bublé

After appearing in a video encouraging members of the military and intelligence community to not follow illegal orders, Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., have established legal defense funds.

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Defense Bill Includes Protections For Retired Justices

By Courtney Bublé

The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 released Sunday night extends U.S. Supreme Court police protection for retired and former justices and their immediate family members.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court delivered a busy first week of December, featuring commercial disputes, post-closing merger and acquisition battles and renewed scrutiny of fiduciary conduct ranging from oil and gas investments to healthcare acquisitions. 

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