U.S. companies were a major driver of a global M&A rebound in the first quarter of 2026, with domestic dealmaking surging to its strongest start in four years and outpacing global growth amid lower borrowing costs and a "Made in America" policy push, according to a first-quarter Mergermarket report.
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TOP NEWS

US Outpaces Global M&A Amid 'Made In America' Push

By Al Barbarino

U.S. companies were a major driver of a global M&A rebound in the first quarter of 2026, with domestic dealmaking surging to its strongest start in four years and outpacing global growth amid lower borrowing costs and a "Made in America" policy push, according to a first-quarter Mergermarket report.

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Trade Court Mulls Economic Basis For Trump's Global Tariffs

By Dylan Moroses

U.S. Court of International Trade judges heard oral arguments Friday on President Donald Trump's order imposing temporary global tariffs under the Trade Act, pressing attorneys for both sides on whether the White House can invoke the economic conditions specified by the law.

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Sens. Urge CFTC To Probe 'Unusual' Oil Trading Patterns

By Rae Ann Varona

U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., called on the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to investigate "unusual trading patterns" in oil futures that took place right before President Donald Trump announced talks with Iran, including the recently announced ceasefire.

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House Dems Push To Halt Russian Oil Sales, Adopt Sanctions

By Elaine Briseño

Two U.S. Democratic representatives have introduced a bill to reverse the Trump administration's decision to authorize the sale of Russian oil, arguing Russia will use the proceeds to fund its war against Ukraine.

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POLICY & REGULATION

First Phase Of Tariff Refund System To Launch April 20

By Anna Scott Farrell

The first phase of an electronic system allowing U.S. importers to claim refunds for tariffs paid under the global regime struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court will launch April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Friday.

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OIL AND GAS

Oil Co. Says Chevron Can't Stall $24M Suit For Arbitration

By Tom Lotshaw

A Venezuelan oil services provider has asked a Texas federal judge to deny Chevron Corp.'s push to pause a $24 million payment dispute suit for arbitration, characterizing the energy giant's arguments as "nonsense" based on mischaracterizations.

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Colo. Oil Co. Accuses Landfill Firms Of Easement Violations

By Ganesh Setty

An oil and gas company has accused two landfill operators of breaching their agreement allowing it exclusive use of part of their property for well operations, telling a Colorado state court it could lose tens of millions of dollars.

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Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen the owner of an oil tanker stuck in the Strait of Hormuz sued by an energy company and an insurer, law firm Boodle Hatfield LLP and two Serle Court barristers sued by a group of Winston Churchill's great-grandchildren, and Welsh Water hit with a fresh class action over polluted rivers.

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UTILITIES AND POWER

CleanChoice Accused Of Gouging Illinois Electric Customers

By Tom Lotshaw

A Chicago man hit CleanChoice Energy Inc. with a proposed class action accusing the company of fleecing tens of thousands of Illinois electricity customers out of millions of dollars in total through deceptive rate promises and exorbitant charges.

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Battery Recycler Files Ch. 11 With $143M+ Debt

By Emily Lever

Massachusetts-based battery recycler Ascend Elements has filed for Chapter 11 in Texas with upward of $143 million in debt, saying it is hard up on cash at its early stage of development and needs to reorganize to meet its long-term goals.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Steps To Maintain War Insurance Amid Middle East Conflict

To ensure they are adequately protected from war-related risk, companies affected by the escalating conflict in the Persian Gulf should consider how their war insurance coverage interacts with financing structures, lease obligations and commercial risk allocation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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Calculating Damages In IEEPA Tariff Refund Litigation

To calculate damages in the spate of refund litigation triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision invalidating tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the central question will be how to determine where in the supply chain their economic burden ultimately came to rest, say analysts at Charles River Associates.

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Opinion

Futures Market Anonymity Now Presents A Structural Problem

Following anomalous trading on prediction markets just before major recent policy announcements from the Trump administration, many have called on Congress to act, but the problem is not primarily a statutory gap — it is a structural one, built into the self-regulatory model that governs futures exchanges, says Tamara de Silva at De Silva Law Offices.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

DLA Piper Defeats Fired Associate's Claims Of Pregnancy Bias

By Pete Brush

A federal jury in Manhattan declined to award damages Monday to a former associate who says DLA Piper unlawfully fired her after she announced she was pregnant, absolving the BigLaw firm hours after tense closing arguments.

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Q&A

Former Pardon Atty Says Trump's Clemency Grants Hurt DOJ

By Phillip Bantz

Former U.S. Department of Justice pardon attorney Liz Oyer spoke recently with Law360 about how the pardon process has changed, the impact the shift might have on the DOJ and how the system could be reformed.

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DOJ Urges DC Circuit To Revive Trump EOs Targeting Firms

By Alison Knezevich

The D.C. Circuit should individually review each section of President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting four law firms, allowing certain portions to stand if others are blocked, the U.S. Department of Justice argued in a new filing urging the court to revive the measures.

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Analysis

The Justices Had Their Say On Immunity. Is A DC Jury Next?

By Chris Villani

The limits of presidential immunity are once again set to be tested after a D.C. federal judge ruled President Donald Trump must face civil claims over the Jan. 6, 2021, riots, clearing the way for trial and potentially another high-stakes appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Meta Pulls Some Attys' Social Media Addiction Ads

By Rachel Rippetoe

After losing a bellwether trial last month in one of a slew of cases from plaintiffs who claim to have been harmed by social media, Meta has begun removing ads from attorneys seeking clients with similar claims.

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Brief

EEOC To Produce Law Firm DEI Letter Records By May 15

By Kelcey Caulder

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a federal court Monday that it would give two law professors documents related to 20 letters the agency sent to law firms over their purported diversity, equity and inclusion practices by May 15.

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Morgan & Morgan Sued Over Firing Amid Nevada Expansion

By Emily Sawicki

Personal injury titan Morgan & Morgan is facing allegations from a former firm attorney in California state court alleging the Golden State lawyer was pressured to file suits in neighboring Nevada despite having an inactive law license and no experience practicing there, and was then harassed and wrongfully fired over the filings.

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Atty Says Ogletree Can't Litigate Against Her In 2 Similar Cases

By Adrian Cruz

A Georgia attorney said Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC should be disqualified from serving as defense counsel in a discrimination suit she's working on while simultaneously litigating against her on behalf of her ex-employer in a similar matter.

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NJ Man Who Sought To DQ US Atty Leadership To Plead Guilty

By Gina Kim

A criminal defendant who joined a pending bid to disqualify assistant U.S. attorneys overseeing the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey and escalated a constitutional challenge to its leadership structure told a federal judge Saturday he plans to plead guilty in his drug case. 

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket this past week featured a mix of high-stakes settlements, fast-moving deal litigation, governance disputes and a notable post-trial ruling involving fraud-tainted loans.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

ADT Inc.

Alvarez & Marsal Holdings LLC

American Tort Reform Association

Ares Management Corp.

Ascend Elements Inc.

BC Partners

Barclays PLC

Basic Fun Inc.

Boston Scientific Corp.

British Broadcasting Corp.

Burke Inc.

CME Group Inc.

CRA International Inc.

Cable News Network Inc.

Chevron Corp.

Chewy Inc.

CleanChoice Energy Inc.

Comcast Corp.

Costco Wholesale Corp.

Coterra Energy Inc.

Devon Energy Corp.

EssilorLuxottica

Extraction Oil & Gas Inc.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.

Financial Times Group Ltd.

Illinois Brick Co.

Ingerman

Instagram Inc.

Investments Ltd.

Learning Resources Inc.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Michigan State University

Microsoft Corp.

National Storage Affiliates Trust

People's Insurance Company of China

Perma-Fix Environmental Services Inc.

PetSmart Inc.

Ping An Insurance

Project Management Ltd.

Public Storage

Solicitors Regulation Authority Ltd.

Tata AIG General Insurance Co.Ltd.

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Virtu Financial Inc.

WSP Holdings Ltd.

Waste Connections Inc.

YouTube Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

AVA Law Group

Binnall Law Group

Birketts LLP

Boodle Hatfield

Browne Jacobson LLP

Burges Salmon

CMS Cameron McKenna

Campbell Johnston

Clarke Willmott

Clement & Murphy

Clifford Chance

Cooley LLP

DLA Piper

Day Pitney

De Silva Law Offices

Dhillon Law Group

Fieldfisher

Finkelstein Blankinship

Gibson Dunn

Hogan Lovells

Holland & Hart

Hull McGuire

Jenner & Block

K&L Gates

Kennedys Law LLP

Keoghs LLP

Kirkland & Ellis

Latham & Watkins

Leigh Day

Mayer Brown

Mishcon de Reya

Morgan & Morgan PA

Morgan Lewis

Munger Tolles

Nabarro LLP

Nixon Peabody

Norton Rose

Ogletree Deakins

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Pinsent Masons

Saul Ewing

Selendy Gay

Serle Court

Shakespeare Martineau

Sherin & Lodgen

Sokolove Law

Sperling Kenny

Stevens & Bolton

Susman Godfrey

TLT LLP

Ward Hadaway

Wigdor LLP

Wikborg Rein

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

Wittels McInturff

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Companies House

Delaware Court of Chancery

Energy Information Administration

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Executive Office of the President

Federal Reserve System

Los Angeles Superior Court

Office of Foreign Assets Control

Oregon Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office

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

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

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

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

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

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

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

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

U.S. International Development Finance Corp.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

UK High Court

UK Ministry of Justice

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia