DHS Ordered To Restore $233M Grants To 'Sanctuary' States

By Chris Villani

A Rhode Island federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate $233 million in funding to immigration "sanctuary jurisdictions," finding the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had illegally terminated the grants for political reasons.

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Chicago Mayor Allows $16.6B Budget Without Head Tax

By Maria Koklanaris

Chicago's mayor said Tuesday that he will neither sign nor veto the City Council's $16.6 billion budget, which does not contain the $33-per-employee monthly tax on larger employers he sought, meaning it will take effect without his signature.

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Justices Deny Trump's Bid To Send Nat'l Guard To Chicago

By Rae Ann Varona & Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration cannot deploy National Guard troops into Chicago to aid federal immigration enforcement, saying President Donald Trump didn't show he was permitted to federalize the National Guard under a statute he had relied on.

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Analysis

20 Years Later: How A Pink House Reshaped Takings Law

By Aaron Keller

The U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 holding in the controversial eminent domain case Kelo v. New London remains intact despite multiple challenges to urban development projects, but its unpopularity has spurred most states to spend the past 20 years reshaping their land-taking laws.

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Top Illinois Decisions Of 2025

By Celeste Bott

State and federal courts have handed down rulings in Illinois cases this year that made clear plaintiffs must allege concrete injury for common law standing, narrowed the scope of the federal anti-kickback statute and laid out a new standard for certifying collective actions.

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OCC Wants To Preempt State Mortgage Escrow Interest Laws

By Hailey Konnath

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has unveiled a pair of proposals aiming to, among other things, preempt state laws requiring banks it regulates to make interest payments for escrow accounts connected to certain types of residential mortgage loans, calling it a "critical tool for reducing unnecessary burden."

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7th Circ. Revives Sales Reps' Pay Bias Suit Against Waste Co.

By Grace Elletson

The Seventh Circuit reinstated a pay bias suit Tuesday from two medical waste sales representatives who claimed their male colleagues unfairly received higher base salaries, finding they cast doubt on the company's sex-neutral justifications for the disparity.

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Chicago Firm Taps Ex-Prosecutor For White Collar Practice

By Lauraann Wood

Chicago law firm Goldberg Kohn has tapped a former federal prosecutor to not only lead and build a new white collar practice but also assist its commercial litigation and whistleblower-focused false claims groups.

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3 Key Trends For The Legal Industry In 2025

By Tracey Read

Executive orders, updated office attendance policies and private equity interests were three top issues that shaped the industry this year.

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ITC Atty's 1st Kids' Book Imagines A Santa-Less Christmas

By Dani Kass

Michelle Klancnik, assistant general counsel at the U.S. International Trade Commission, spends her days looking into when imports should be banned for violating intellectual property rights, but outside work, she​'s focused on one big question: What would happen if Santa took a year off?

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Ex-Oura CEO Pushes To DQ Quinn Emanuel In Firing Suit

By Emily Sawicki

The onetime CEO of fitness tracker company Oura Health is pushing to disqualify Quinn Emanuel from representing the smart ring maker in his compensation suit, telling a San Francisco federal judge that he shared confidential information when he consulted with the firm about his claims prior to filing suit.

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NYC Bar Issues Opinion On AI Use For Recording Client Calls

By Tracey Read

The New York City Bar Association's Professional Ethics Committee has issued an opinion addressing how the New York Rules of Professional Conduct impacts the use of artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and create summaries of conversations in audio and video calls between attorneys and their clients.

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Ex-DOJ Employees Fight Gov't Bid To Toss Their Firing Suit

By Bonnie Eslinger

An ex-assistant U.S. attorney and two other former Justice Department employees urged a Washington, D.C., federal court on Tuesday to deny the government's motion to dismiss their lawsuit claiming they were unlawfully fired, arguing an internal government employment board isn't appropriate for their cases and is controlled by President Donald Trump.

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Top Delaware Chancery Cases Of 2025: A Year-End Report

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court closed out 2025 amid a period of institutional uncertainty, as landmark cases addressing fiduciary duty, executive compensation, board oversight and the limits of equitable power unfolded against the backdrop of sweeping legislative changes to the Delaware General Corporation Law.

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Hub Hires: Cooley, Morgan Lewis, Nixon Peabody

By Chris Villani

The end of the year marked the beginning of new chapters for plenty of Boston attorneys, as Cooley added more than 30 professionals to its life sciences team, Morgan Lewis snagged an intellectual property partner, and Nixon Peabody beefed up its cybersecurity practice.

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