A watchdog overseeing United Auto Workers' kickback-scandal reforms told a Michigan judge Thursday that UAW President Shawn Fain and top officials obstructed his investigation into their plot to oust the secretary-treasurer by deleting more than 100 text messages, including one message comparing their plot's success to "epically [dunking] on another player in basketball."
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UAW Leaders Deleted Retaliation Plot Texts, Monitor Finds

By Dorothy Atkins

A watchdog overseeing United Auto Workers' kickback-scandal reforms told a Michigan judge Thursday that UAW President Shawn Fain and top officials obstructed his investigation into their plot to oust the secretary-treasurer by deleting more than 100 text messages, including one message comparing their plot's success to "epically [dunking] on another player in basketball."

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Compliance Chiefs' Enforcement Risks Didn't Ease Up In 2025

By Sarah Jarvis

The landscape for chief compliance officers' liability might relax a bit in the coming years as experts anticipate the Trump administration will rely less on a "failure to supervise" theory of liability that financial regulators used to target one chief compliance officer this year.

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Analysis

Top Trade Secrets Decisions Of 2025

By Ivan Moreno

The Ninth Circuit clarified the rules of engagement in trade secrets disputes with guidance on when confidential information must be precisely detailed during litigation, and jurors delivered a $200 million verdict against Walmart over product freshness technology. Here are Law360's picks for the biggest trade secrets decisions of 2025.

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Feature

The Biggest Rulings From A Busy Year At The 1st Circ.

By Chris Villani

The nation's smallest federal appellate panel punched above its weight in 2025, grappling with numerous suits against the Trump administration, high-profile criminal appeals, a $34 million legal fee bid and a hotly contested kickback law.

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Agita Over Piglets At Party Got Pharma Exec Axed, Suit Says

By Hayley Fowler

The U.S. arm of a Danish pharmaceutical company pushed out a director after he expressed concerns about using baby pigs for a photo op at the company's anniversary party knowing the animals would be euthanized after, a new federal lawsuit alleges.

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POLICY & REGULATION

New NJ Rules Combat AI And Housing Discrimination

By Elaine Briseño

The use of artificial intelligence in hiring practices is among the areas targeted by a sweeping new mandate enacted by New Jersey's Division on Civil Rights meant to shore up protections against discrimination.

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Trump Orders Loosening Of Federal Restrictions On Marijuana

By Sam Reisman

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that his administration would instruct federal agencies to loosen restrictions on cannabis via executive order, a historic acknowledgment from the executive branch that the drug has recognized medical uses.

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ENFORCEMENT

Feds Say PE Firm Founder Funded Wife's Co. With $50M Fraud

By Sydney Price

The managing partner of a New Hampshire-based private equity firm was indicted for allegedly fraudulently soliciting over $50 million in investments for purported health and wellness companies, using the money to support his personal image and wife's skincare brand instead of properly paying investors and employees.

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OCC Ends Citi Risk Management Resource Review Order

By Emilie Ruscoe

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Thursday formally ended a 2024 amendment to a previous consent order against Citibank over its risk management practices, with Citibank saying the relevant remediation programs are "nearly at target-state."

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Ex-Connecticut Utility Regulator Fined Amid Records Brawl

By Brian Steele

Connecticut's Freedom of Information Commission voted unanimously to fine the former chair of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority for the state agency's failure to comply with record requests from an Eversource subsidiary that has accused her of using her position illegally.

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LITIGATION

Unions Come Out Against Rail Giants' $85B Merger

By Chart Riggall

Two Teamsters unions representing a majority of organized workers at Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific came out in opposition this week to the companies' proposed $85 billion merger, arguing the deal would strangle railroads' competitive angle and drive down safety standards.

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Sprouts Grocery Brass Face Suit Over Rosy Growth Forecast

By Emilie Ruscoe

The brass of specialty grocery chain Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. face a shareholder derivative suit alleging they hid the risks of faltering consumer spending, and ended up overpaying by $26.5 million on stock buybacks ahead of an October sales growth miss that caused the company's share price to fall.

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LinkedIn Data Access Settlement Rejected In Antitrust Case

By Matthew Perlman

A California federal court refused to approve a settlement requiring LinkedIn to stop conditioning access to its data interface on rivals agreeing not to use the data for a competing professional social network, a deal that included no damages but up to $4 million in attorney fees.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Del. Dispatch: Key 2025 Corporate Cases And Trends To Know

The Delaware corporate legal landscape saw notable changes in 2025, spurred by amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, ubiquitous artificial intelligence fervor, boardroom discussion around DExit, record shareholder activism activity and an arguably more expansive view of potential Caremark liability, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

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How OECD Tax Update Tackles Mobile Workforce Complexity

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s recently updated model tax convention — a recalibration of international tax principles in response to an increasingly mobile workforce — should prompt companies to reevaluate cross-border operations, transfer pricing policies and tax controversy strategies, say attorneys at Eversheds.

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Reviewing 2025's Most Pertinent Wiretap Developments

2025 was a remarkable year in the world of web tracking wiretapping litigation, not only for the increased caseload but also because of numerous developing theories of liability, with disputes expected to continue unabated in 2026, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

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2025 Brought A New Paradigm For Federal Banking Regulation

A series of thematic shifts defined banking regulation in 2025, including a fundamental reform of prudential supervision, a strategic easing of capital constraints, steps to streamline merger reviews, and a new framework for fair access and entrants seeking to offer banking services, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

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Series

Nature Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Nature photography reminds me to focus on what is in front of me and to slow down to achieve success, and, in embracing the value of viewing situations through different lenses, offers skills transferable to the practice of law, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

$3.6B Hogan Lovells, Cadwalader Deal To Form Top 5 Firm

By Kevin Penton

Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft are planning to combine, creating what the firms say will be the world's fifth-largest firm by revenue, they announced Thursday.

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Fake Quotes In Pa. Patent Case Lead To Judicial Rebuke

By James Boyle

Two Barley Snyder attorneys have been directed to explain to a Pennsylvania federal judge how nonexistent quotes from cited cases appeared in a July filing, according to a recently published order that also denied a holiday light clip manufacturer's request for a temporary restraining order preventing a rival company from selling a similar product.

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Calif. AG, Bar Officials Fight Bid To Stop ABS Fee-Sharing Ban

By James Mills

Both the California attorney general and the California State Bar are opposing a California attorney's attempt to block a new law preventing fee-sharing with out-of-state law firms owned by nonlawyers set to go into effect on Jan. 1.

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Boies Schiller Must Face Fla. Fee Suit, Court Told

By Lynn LaRowe

In pushing back on a bid to toss a Florida state court lawsuit against Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and related defendants, a pharmaceutical mass tort law firm and other parties said the lawsuit outlines a clear breach of a nondisclosure agreement and interference with existing business relationships, making the complaint legally sufficient under Sunshine State law.

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Dems Offer Bill To Shine Light On High Court 'Shadow Docket'

By Ryan Boysen

Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to explain its "shadow docket" rulings, criticizing the high court for issuing "harmful, backwards decisions" that "impact millions of Americans' lives" but are often unaccompanied by a formal opinion.

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DC Circ. Told Transferred Ethics Suit Bolsters Newman's Case

By Adam Lidgett

Suspended Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman is contending that a decision in which an ethics complaint against a Fourth Circuit judge was transferred out of his home court bolsters her argument that her fellow circuit judges shouldn't have investigated her fitness to remain on the bench.

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Trump's Picks To Lead FDIC, CFTC Win Senate Approval

By Jon Hill

The U.S. Senate on Thursday signed off on two more of President Donald Trump's picks for top financial regulator jobs, confirming Travis Hill and Michael Selig as chairs of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, respectively.

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Senate Package Includes US Attorney, DC Judge Confirmations

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate confirmed 13 U.S. attorneys and three local judges for the District of Columbia as part of a nominations package confirmed 53-43 along party lines on Thursday.

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Chancery Sr. Magistrate Leaving Bench For Role As Neutral

By Rose Krebs

Delaware's Chancery Court will soon be losing its senior magistrate, as she is returning to private practice to serve as a professional neutral.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Advisors LLC

Alston & Bird

Ashurst LLP

Barley Snyder

Bathaee Dunne

Boies Schiller

Brown Law Firm

Burke LLP

Cadwalader Wickersham

Cooley LLP

Covington & Burling

Cowdery Murphy

Davis Polk

Dechert LLP

Eversheds Sutherland

Finnegan

Fried Frank

GessnerLaw

Greenberg Traurig

Gurewitz & Raben

HSF Kramer

Healy LLC

Hogan Lovells

Jenner & Block

K&L Gates

Korein Tillery

Kramer Levin

Lawson Huck

McDermott Will & Schulte

Orrick Herrington

Pendley Baudin

Perkins Coie

Proskauer Rose

Richards Layton

Saul Ewing

Sidley Austin

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Skadden Arps

Squire Patton

Taylor Wessing

Vicente LLP

Wachtell Lipton

Willkie Farr

Winston & Strawn

Wisner Baum

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Activision Blizzard Inc.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

American Arbitration Association

Apple Inc.

Arc Group World Wide Inc.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Avangrid Inc.

BlackRock Inc.

Bloomingdale's Inc.

Boyer Co.

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen

Burke Inc.

Cable News Network Inc.

Cars.com LLC

Citigroup Inc.

Comerica Inc.

Connecticut Natural Gas Corp.

Converse Inc.

Equity Services Inc.

Eversource Energy

Exxon Mobil Corp.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.

Gen Digital Inc.

George Washington University

Glass Lewis & Co. LLC

Google LLC

JetBlue Airways Corp.

KKR & Co. Inc.

Lex Machina Inc.

LinkedIn Corp.

LiveRamp

MSP Recovery

Meta Platforms Inc.

Microsoft Corp.

Mindbody Inc.

NBCUniversal Media LLC

Netflix Inc.

New Civil Liberties Alliance

Norfolk Southern Corp.

OpenAI OpCo LLC

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Papa John's International Inc.

Pharmacosmos A/S

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.

S&P Global Inc.

Salesforce.com Inc.

Sandoz International GmbH

Smart Approaches to Marijuana

Spirit Airlines Inc.

Sprouts Farmers Market LLC

State Bar of California

Stellantis NV

The Boeing Co.

The Conference Board Inc.

U.S. Bancorp

United Auto Workers

Walmart Inc.

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.

Zeughauser Group LLC

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Department of Justice

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Congressional Research Service

Delaware Court of Chancery

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Federal Reserve System

Federal Trade Commission

Financial Stability Oversight Council

Judicial Conference of the United States

National Institutes of Health

New Jersey Attorney General's Office

New York State Senate

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Surface Transportation Board

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

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

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Justice

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

U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

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

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

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

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

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

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi

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

U.S. District Court of the District of New Hampshire

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United Nations

United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana