SEC Official Floats Using AI In Adviser-Retail Investor Chats

By Sarah Jarvis

The director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's investment management division said Tuesday that funds and advisers could one day use artificial intelligence agents to communicate with retail investors about what's contained in fund disclosure documents.

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Musk Can't Dodge SEC's Twitter Share Buy-Up Suit

By Jessica Corso

A Washington, D.C., federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Elon Musk cannot escape a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit accusing him of failing to timely disclose large Twitter share purchases made before he took the company private for $44 billion.

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Analysis

4 Things To Know As DOL Pitches Transparency For PBMs

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor's proposal to require pharmacy benefit managers to give employer-provided health plans detailed information on fees and compensation is a welcome development, benefits attorneys on both sides of the bar say. Here, Law360 looks at four things to know about the proposed regulations.

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Calif. Privacy Agency Taps Meta Alum To Head New Audits Unit

By Allison Grande

The California Privacy Protection Agency on Tuesday announced the creation of a new Audits Division to assess companies' compliance with the state's consumer data privacy framework and named the most recent director of public policy at social media giant Meta Platforms Inc. to lead the unit.

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Ex-BofA Banker Cops To Role In Medicare Fraud Scheme

By Gina Kim

A former Bank of America banker copped to a money laundering conspiracy charge Tuesday in New York federal court in connection with a transnational scheme that made over $8 billion in fraudulent Medicare claims for glucose monitors and urinary catheters that were medically unnecessary, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Wash. Justices To Review Restaurant's $1M COVID Penalty

By Rachel Riley

The Washington State Supreme Court has decided to take up a restaurant's appeal of nearly $1 million in fines that regulators imposed against the eatery for offering indoor dining services during the COVID-19 pandemic, in violation of the governor's emergency proclamation.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2026 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2026 editorial advisory boards.

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Analysis

OCC Urged To Scrap Escrow 'Giveaway' To Banks

By Jon Hill

Consumer advocates are urging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to abandon proposals they say would let national banks unfairly profit off homeowners' escrowed money, warning the plan unlawfully revives a rejected deregulatory playbook.

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Ex-Fed Adviser Acquitted Of Espionage Conspiracy Charge

By Lauren Berg

A Washington, D.C., federal jury Tuesday acquitted a former senior adviser to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors of conspiring to steal confidential data for Chinese intelligence.

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Trump Admin Can't Gut CFPB Off The Books, DC Circ. Told

By Sarah Jarvis

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's employee union has urged the full D.C. Circuit to uphold a lower court order blocking sweeping cuts at the agency, arguing the Trump administration's legal theory for lifting the order would allow officials to dismantle an agency so long as they don't "put it in writing."

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Ex-SPAC CEO Cops To Defrauding Lottery.com Investors

By Emilie Ruscoe

The former CEO of a blank check company that took Lottery.com public pled guilty on Tuesday to securities fraud over charges that he schemed to inflate the revenue of the lottery products platform by means including a $9 million round-trip transaction.

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SEC Tosses Biden-Era Case Against Wyoming Crypto Co.

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has walked away from an attempt to block the issuance of a pair of digital tokens offered by a Wyoming-based company, saying that changes in federal policy toward the cryptocurrency industry necessitated an end to the administrative proceedings.

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Trump's Iron Ore Pollution Exemption Is Unlawful, Enviros Say

By Tom Lotshaw

Environmental groups asked a D.C. federal judge to overturn a Trump administration decision to exempt low-grade iron ore processing facilities from new emission standards for mercury and acidic gases, alleging the president abused a provision in the Clean Air Act.

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FERC Members Say High Court Helped Speed Up Gas Reviews

By Keith Goldberg

The U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision last year that curtailed federal environmental reviews has translated to faster Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approvals of gas infrastructure projects, commissioners told a congressional energy panel Tuesday.

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SNAP Case 'Tip Of The Iceberg' In Anti-Fraud Effort, Feds Say

By Carolyn Muyskens

Four Massachusetts defendants were charged Tuesday with collecting more than $1 million in fraudulent food and unemployment benefits in what the state's top federal prosecutor called part of a broader U.S. Department of Justice initiative to root out fraud in government benefit programs.

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Convicted Oil Trader To Remain Free On Bond During Appeal

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut federal judge Tuesday ruled that an oil trader convicted of overseas bribery can remain free on bond while he appeals his Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money-laundering convictions, saying a new trial might be possible if the Second Circuit finds fault with her jury instructions.

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5th Circ. Unsure Child Online Safety Law Tramples Speech

By Spencer Brewer

A Fifth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Tuesday of a tech media trade group's stance that a Mississippi internet safety law is unconstitutional, suggesting that the challenged statute may not implicate speech. 

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DOJ, AGs Lodge Cross-Appeal Over Google Search Remedies

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice and state enforcers on Tuesday launched an appeal of a D.C. federal judge's scaled-back remedies in their case targeting Google's search monopoly, after the tech giant filed its own appeal to knock out the penalties.

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En Banc 5th Circ. Wipes Out Airline Fees Disclosure Rule

By Hailey Konnath

The full Fifth Circuit on Tuesday vacated a Biden-era rule requiring airlines to more clearly disclose add-on fees upfront, this time holding that the U.S. Department of Transportation's failure to properly consider public comments warrants doing away with the rule altogether.

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1st Circ. Pushes For Settlement In Mass. 'Right-To-Repair' Suit

By Chris Villani

The First Circuit suggested Tuesday that major automakers and the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office should work together to resolve a suit over compliance with a state law requiring open access to vehicle telematics systems.

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Mass. AG Sues Bitcoin ATM Co. For Allegedly Enabling Scams

By Carolyn Muyskens

A major bitcoin ATM operator is facing allegations from the Massachusetts attorney general's office that it does little to prevent customers from falling prey to cryptocurrency scams as it profits from the transactions, in a new complaint filed on Tuesday.

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FCC Says 8th Circ. Media Ruling Clears Path For Deals

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission made it clear Tuesday that broadcasters have more leeway to own two leading stations in a local market following the Eighth Circuit's toss last year of the agency's long-standing bar on owning more than one major network affiliate in a single market.

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Brief

FCC Hunting For New Cyber Trust Mark Administrator

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission will give companies more time to get their bids in to serve as the new administrator of the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark program, after the first one quit in December.

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IRS Floats Clean Fuel Credit Rules With Foreign Restrictions

By Kat Lucero

The Internal Revenue Service released long-awaited proposed regulations Tuesday clarifying how domestic transportation fuel producers can qualify for the clean energy fuel tax credit under changes made by Republicans' 2025 budget law, including new foreign restrictions on business owners and feedstock sources.

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House Dems Press Bessent About IRS Retirement Pay Delays

By Asha Glover

Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee demanded answers Tuesday about substantial delays in processing retirement applications for Internal Revenue Service employees who participated in the government's deferred resignation program.

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OCC's Ex-Chief Of Enforcement Joins Morgan Lewis In DC

By Katryna Perera

A former acting director of enforcement at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has joined Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP's financial regulatory and enforcement litigation and investment management practices in Washington, D.C., marking his first move into private practice following an extensive career in public service.

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Thompson Hine Adds 6 Financial Services Attys In Chicago

By Tracey Read

Thompson Hine LLP has expanded its Chicago office with a six-attorney securities litigation and regulatory enforcement team from UB Greensfelder LLP.

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How Selig May Approach CFTC Agricultural Enforcement

As the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission begins a new chapter under recently confirmed Chairman Michael Selig's leadership, a look back at the agency's actions in agricultural markets over the past six years sheds light on what may lie ahead for enforcement in the area, say attorneys at Latham.

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Can OCC State Banking Law Preemption Survive The Courts?

While two December proposals from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency seek to foreclose pending consumer litigation against national banks related to residential mortgage lending, it's unclear whether this aggressive approach will withstand judicial scrutiny under the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 rulings in Cantero and Loper Bright, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

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Limiting Worker Surveillance Risks Amid AI Regulatory Shifts

With workplace surveillance tools becoming increasingly common and a recent executive order aiming to preempt state-level artificial intelligence enforcement, companies may feel encouraged to expand AI monitoring, but the legal exposure associated with these tools remains, say attorneys at MoFo.

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4 Lessons From FTC's Successful Bid To Block Edwards Deal

The Federal Trade Commission's recent victory in blocking Edwards Lifesciences' acquisition of JenaValve offers key insights for deals in life sciences and beyond, including considerations around nonprice dimensions and clear skies provisions, say attorneys at Orrick.

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Paul Weiss' Karp Steps Back After Epstein Email Revelations

By Hailey Konnath and Aebra Coe

Longtime Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP chair Brad S. Karp has resigned from his leadership role, the firm announced Wednesday, a move that comes after the U.S. Department of Justice released numerous emails between Karp and Jeffrey Epstein.

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Baker McKenzie To Downsize Business Professional Jobs

By Tracey Read

Baker McKenzie, which has a legal services hub in Tampa, Florida, is in the process of downsizing business professionals' jobs, a firm spokesperson confirmed to Law360 Pulse on Wednesday.

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Ex-DLA Piper Partner Aims To Toss Claim He Raped Associate

By Jack Karp

Allegations that an ex-DLA Piper partner raped a former Boston-based associate in Delaware in 2022 should be tossed since the Massachusetts state court the case was filed in has no jurisdiction over the Delaware claim, according to the accused former partner.

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Goldstein Accountant Admits Tax Return Errors

By Jared Foretek

A star government witness and the top outside accountant for SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein and his law firm admitted to making mistakes on Goldstein's tax returns and offering the grand jury erroneous testimony, under cross-examination in the U.S. Supreme Court lawyer's tax fraud trial Wednesday.

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Analysis

Clemency Was 'Broken' Long Before Trump. Can It Be Fixed?

By Phillip Bantz

President Donald Trump has transformed what has historically been a bureaucratic process for seeking federal pardons and commutations into a more freewheeling affair with few clear rules — and no easy solutions for reform, experts say.

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Wachtel Missry Settles Liability In $26M Atty Malpractice Case

By Emily Sawicki

A dispute over who is liable for a former Wachtel Missry LLP partner's alleged exploitation of an elderly client has been settled on the eve of trial, while the Brooklyn federal judge declined to consider recusing himself despite "inadvertently" meeting with the firm's founding partner before the matter was fully put to rest.

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Ex-Fox News Host Decries Judge Pick's Arbitration Stance

By Courtney Buble

Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox News anchor and a leading advocate for ending forced arbitration of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace, has come out against a federal judicial nominee for Louisiana for her past comments on the issue.

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Trump Bid To Move NY Appeal Faces 'Fatal' Error, Judge Says

By Frank G. Runyeon

A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday repeatedly aired doubts that President Donald Trump can upend the pending New York state appeal of his hush-money conviction by moving the case to federal court.

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