Analysis

Feds Put Heat On Foreign Data Transfers With Sweeping Rules

By Allison Grande

The U.S. Department of Justice's unexpected guidance and brief enforcement reprieve on a national data security program intended to curb foreign access to Americans' sensitive data has handed companies some welcome breathing room, but the strong interest that federal enforcers have shown in the topic means that businesses can't afford to delay compliance efforts.

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Texas AG Lands $1.4B Data Privacy Settlement With Google

By Hailey Konnath and Catherine Marfin

Google has agreed to shell out $1.375 billion to resolve a pair of suits from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over how the tech giant tracked and collected user data including geolocation, incognito-mode searches and biometric data, according to a Friday announcement.

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Analysis

Clients Rely On Enviro Attys' Know-How On Rocky Reg Turf

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The Trump administration's deregulatory agenda, staff reductions and funding threats are creating instability for industries that rely on environmental permits and communities reliant on pollution protections, leading law firms to dig deeper into their wealth of experience to better advocate for clients.

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Calif. Judge Blocks Trump's Gov't Reorganization, Job Cuts

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked federal agencies and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from carrying out President Donald Trump's directive to reduce the government workforce, saying the president doesn't have the constitutional or statutory authority "to reorganize the executive branch."

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SEC's Crypto Retreat Warrants Court Scrutiny, Crenshaw Says

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's lone Democratic member called on courts to "take a long hard look" at the agency's reversals in crypto enforcement matters in a scathing dissent of the agency's settlement with blockchain firm Ripple Labs, which she argued "undermines" earlier court decisions in the case.

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FINRA To Tweak Some Off-Channel Supervision Obligations

By Sarah Jarvis

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has said it will modify the supervision plans undertaken by some firms that signed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission settlements over their failure to keep records of so-called off-channel communications, after the SEC refused to redo some deals reached before 2025.

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Google AI Fixes Are About Tomorrow, DOJ Tells Judge

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Department of Justice closed out a D.C. federal court trial seeking to force Google to sell the Chrome browser and prop up rival search engines, with expert testimony arguing Friday that the proposed search monopolization remedies should include artificial intelligence, regardless of what generative AI is like today.

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Analysis

Justice Souter Was An Unexpected Force Of Moderation

By Brandon Lowrey

Justice David Souter, who saw the high court as a moderating force apart from the messiness of politics, subverted the expectations of liberals and conservatives alike during his 19 years on the bench.

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Analysis

A Look At David Souter's Most Significant Opinions

By Brandon Lowrey

The retired Justice David Souter defied simple definition, viewed as a staunch conservative until he co-wrote an opinion upholding abortion rights in 1992. He did not hew to partisan lines, but reshaped the civil litigation landscape and took an unexpected stand in an extraordinarily close presidential election.

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Analysis

Souter's Clerks Remember Him As Humble, Kind And Caring

By Jack Karp

Former clerks of retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter are heartbroken over the death of a man many of them remember more for his conscientiousness, humility, kindness and disdain for the spotlight than for his undeniable brilliance as a jurist.

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Interview

Hiker And 'Raconteur': Atty Recalls 50-Year Bond With Souter

By Chris Villani

Behind a towering legal legacy was a man who loved to hike mountains, could recall details of things he read decades ago and was always there for those he cared about, a New Hampshire attorney said as he reflected on a lifelong friendship with U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

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Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter Dies At 85

By Jimmy Hoover and Katie Buehler

Retired Justice David H. Souter, who served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1990 to 2009, has died at 85, the court announced Friday. 

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BDO Urges Justices To Hear 'Crucial' Auditor Fraud Case

By Jessica Corso

BDO USA LLP is petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case that the firm warns could have "devastating" consequences for public companies' auditors, arguing in a Friday filing that the Second Circuit created a "dangerous precedent" by reviving a lawsuit brought by AmTrust Financial Services Inc. shareholders. 

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Wells Fargo Execs Sued In Del. Over 'Sham' Diversity Efforts

By Jeff Montgomery

A Wells Fargo stockholder launched a derivative suit on Friday in Delaware's Court of Chancery seeking damages from 17 of the banking giant's directors and officers for potentially billions in costs tied to alleged "sham" diversity-focused recruitment and hiring initiatives.

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McKernan Out As Trump's CFPB Pick, In For Treasury Role

By Jon Hill

President Donald Trump will pull Jonathan McKernan's nomination to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and tap him instead for a top domestic finance job at the U.S. Treasury Department, a White House official confirmed to Law360 on Friday.

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CFPB's Vought Set To Ditch Dozens Of Guidance Docs

By Jon Hill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's acting Director Russell Vought is withdrawing dozens of the agency's interpretive rules, policy statements and other guidance documents dating back to 2011, according to a Federal Register draft notice filed Friday.

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Webull Fined $1.6M Over Lax Influencer Ad Oversight

By Sarah Jarvis

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Webull Financial LLC $1.6 million for allegedly failing to properly monitor or preserve influencers' social media communications about the firm and for not maintaining a sufficient supervisory system for those ads or the disclosure of certain filings for customers.

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Feds Rebut Disclosure Delay Claims In Crypto Mixer Case

By Aislinn Keely

Federal prosecutors on Friday fired back at claims they suppressed evidence from the indicted co-founder of crypto mixing service Samourai Wallet, arguing they went beyond what was required when they recently disclosed an "informal conversation" where Treasury employees cast doubt on one of the subsequent charges.

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Ex-Goldman Banker Leissner Urges Lenient 1MDB Sentence

By Elliot Weld

A former Goldman Sachs partner who pled guilty to his role in the 1MDB scandal and testified at his onetime colleague's trial has asked a Brooklyn federal judge to spare him prison time, saying the reputational harm is punishment enough and that he may be extradited to Malaysia to face charges there.

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Ex-Meinl Bank CEO Extradited To US On $170M Odebrecht Rap

By Stewart Bishop

The former CEO of Austrian lender Meinl Bank AG was extradited from the U.K. and pled not guilty Friday to money laundering charges, stemming from allegations that he helped Odebrecht SA hide $170 million in funds used to bribe officials around the world and defraud the Brazilian government. 

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Roundup

Employment Authority: Biden-Era Wage Rules Tumble

Law360 Employment Authority covers the biggest employment cases and trends. Catch up this week with coverage on what Biden-era wage and hour rules the U.S. Department of Labor has stopped enforcing, what a quorum at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission would look like under Trump and how a union is using unconventional methods to organize video game workers. 

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FTC Says Amazon Hid Doc Calling Bezos 'Dark Arts Officer'

By Rae Ann Varona

The Federal Trade Commission has urged a Seattle federal court to impose punitive sanctions on Amazon in the commission's lawsuit accusing the e-commerce giant of trapping consumers into Prime subscriptions, saying Amazon withheld tens of thousands of documents in bad faith by baselessly claiming the documents were privileged.

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More Conn. Dentists Reach Kickback Deals With AG, Feds

By Brian Steele

Connecticut state and federal authorities have reached more settlements in an ongoing investigation of dentists and dental practices paying kickbacks to patient recruiters, inking deals with providers based in Norwalk worth nearly $650,000, the attorney general's office said Friday.

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Former Executive Of Car Dealer Group Can't Duck FTC Suit

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge has refused to toss a lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission and the state of Illinois over claims that a former executive of a car dealership group oversaw deceptive trade practices that defrauded thousands of customers, saying he was unconvinced by the "underdeveloped and scattershot" arguments for dismissal.

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Family Denies Knowledge Of $81M Tax Avoidance Scheme

By Anna Scott Farrell

The government's claims that members of a deceased theater businessman's family knew or should have known their company stock sale was part of an $81 million purported tax avoidance scheme are baseless, the family members said in a filing in New York federal court.

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'Proud' Judge Says No Prison For $1.3B Tax Fraud Witnesses

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia federal judge handed down a pair of what he called "stunningly lenient" no-prison sentences Friday to two brothers who served as key cooperating witnesses in a first-of-its-kind federal case against a sprawling, $1.3 billion tax fraud scheme.

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Advocates Upset As Trump Targets 'Woke' Digital Equity

By Christopher Cole

Broadband deployment advocates protested a Trump administration move to zero out the Digital Equity Fund, a $2.75 billion program to improve digital literacy skills, in a cost-cutting move at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

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EPA Broke Trust Duty In $16M Ovintiv Settlement, Court Told

By Crystal Owens

A Utah tribe says negotiations between the U.S. government and Ovintiv USA Inc. over a $16 million Clean Air Act consent decree ignored federal protocol and harmed its sovereign interests, telling a federal court that its members will disproportionately suffer from the impacts of energy mineral production.

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Energy Group Backs States' BlackRock Coal Investments Suit

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

An energy industry advocacy group backed Texas and several other states' claims that BlackRock Inc. and other investment groups took advantage of their large holdings in publicly traded energy companies to drive up coal prices.

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Interior Dept. Says $2.8M Drilling Royalty Order Is Lawful

By Keith Goldberg

The U.S. Department of the Interior said that a lower court correctly affirmed a $2.8 million drilling royalty order issued to Devon Energy Corp., telling the Tenth Circuit that there's no merit to the company's arguments that the order is flawed.

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Roundup

Real Estate Recap: 'Preposterous' Rule, MoFo On Debt, Big 4

By Real Estate Authority Staff

Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including attorney views of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule affecting real estate, one BigLaw leader's insights into new debt funds, and what the four largest brokerages said about 2025's first quarter.

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What Banks Should Note As Regulators Plan To Nix CRA Rule

While federal bank regulators’ recently announced intent to rescind a Biden-era Community Reinvestment Act final rule will loosen the framework for evaluating banks’ lending, service and investing activities, the decision means industry innovations and changes will remain unaddressed, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

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Mitigating Import Risks Around Southeast Asian Solar Cells

The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent final determinations in its antidumping and countervailing duty investigations into solar cells produced in certain Southeast Asian countries make it important for U.S. purchasers to consider risk mitigation strategies, including modifying supply chains and contractually assigning import responsibilities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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AT&T Decision May Establish Framework To Block FCC Fines

The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in AT&T v. FCC upends the commission's authority to impose certain civil penalties, reinforcing constitutional safeguards against administrative overreach, and opening avenues for telecommunications and technology providers to challenge forfeiture orders, say attorneys at HWG.

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Fines Against Apple, Meta Set Digital Markets Act Precedent

The European Commission's recent fines against Apple and Meta, the first under the Digital Markets Act, send a clear message that the act's reach and influence on regulatory thinking is global, say lawyers at Waterfront Law.

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Reassessing Corporate Separateness After Explosion Of LLCs

Following the dramatic increase of limited liability companies in the U.S., the Corporate Transparency Act's enactment and the Trump administration's subsequent narrowing of that law, it's worth revisiting the underlying legal principles that govern shell companies in order to remedy the problems that initially motivated the CTA, says Jeff Newton at Omni Bridgeway.

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Series

Playing Guitar Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Being a lawyer not only requires logic and hard work, but also belief, emotion, situational awareness and lots of natural energy — playing guitar enhances all of these qualities, increasing my capacity to do my best work, says Kosta Stojilkovic at Wilkinson Stekloff.

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McDermott, Schulte Roth Unveil Plans To Join For $2.8B Firm

By Marialuisa Taddia

McDermott Will & Emery LLP said Friday that it was wrapping up a deal to join forces with Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP to create a law firm with more than $2.8 billion in global revenue, the latest merger in an increasingly competitive legal landscape.

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More BigLaw Partners Back Jenner & Block In EO Suit

By Emily Sawicki

The number of BigLaw partners publicly backing litigation against the federal government over executive orders targeting firms continues to grow, as a group representing more than 800 partners and members of major U.S. law firms has filed an amicus brief in support of Jenner & Block.

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Why Rule Of Law Actions Can Help Ease Anxieties

By Aebra Coe

As anxieties soar across the profession amid attacks on law firms and the rule of law, taking action can be a strong antidote to ease stress and foster a sense of meaning and well-being, according to panelists who spoke Thursday during an Institute for Well-Being in Law event.

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Analysis

From Fox News To DOJ: This Is The Next Interim DC US Atty

By Courtney Bublé

Former Fox News host and judge Jeanine Pirro will soon take the helm of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia after more than a decade at the network where she was a figure in high-profile defamation cases.

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Calif. Bar Seeks Provisional Licenses And More For Exam Snafu

By Emily Sawicki

California Bar trustees voted on Friday to ask the state Supreme Court to grant provisional licenses to the hundreds of applicants who did not pass the tumultuous February bar exam, which was rife with technical, proctoring and procedural issues.

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Analysis

Immigrants Find Workers' Rights Behind Bars

By Daniela Porat

Immigration detainees are bringing about a sea change in workers’ rights behind bars, chipping away at the assumption that people in civil detention or in prison fall outside the reach of minimum wage laws and protections against forced labor.

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Analysis

Working While Caged: The Fight To End Forced Prison Labor

By Marco Poggio

Inmates battling wildfires are just the tip of the iceberg in a largely invisible workforce of more than 800,000 people who work for meager pay while incarcerated. Civil rights lawyers, advocates and some elected officials are pushing to change the legal framework that enables prison labor practices, which many trace back to American slavery and the 13th Amendment.

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Nonprofits Urge More Money For Judge Security Amid Threats

By Ryan Boysen

Good government groups on Friday urged lawmakers to increase judicial security funding amid a wave of violent threats against judges, and to reject proposals that "undercut the judiciary's independence" like stripping judges of contempt powers and the ability to issue national injunctions.

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Tufts Student Wins Bail As Judge Cites Free-Speech Concerns

By Julie Manganis

A Vermont federal judge on Friday ordered the immediate release of a Tufts University doctoral student taken into custody outside her home in March by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying Rümeysa Öztürk had raised "very substantial claims of due process and First Amendment violations" by the government.

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Sandy Hook Families Want Alex Jones To Pay Up Amid Appeal

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut appeals court should not extend a stay on the enforcement of a $1.3 billion judgment against bankrupt Infowars host Alex Jones while he brings his case to the U.S. Supreme Court, the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims said in opposition to his pending motion, arguing that his newly raised constitutional claims are late and meritless.

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen a subsidiary of State Street Corp. sue British sports betting giant Entain, Manolete Partners and HSBC tackle action just weeks after signing a £17 million revolving credit facility agreement, and a commercial fraud claim launched by EFG Bank against Mirabaud & CIE.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

Stories in corporate legal news in the past week include a Fifth Circuit order affirming in part and reversing in part a Texas federal court's decision in a wrongful termination suit against Southwest Airlines, in which in-house attorneys were ordered to undergo "religious liberty training."

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Winston & Strawn LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Jones Day lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after an Illinois federal judge held in a bellwether case in multidistrict litigation that Abbott Laboratories isn't liable for the death of a baby who consumed Similac baby formula.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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