7th Circ. Halts Release For Hundreds Of Ill. ICE Detainees

By Celeste Bott

The Seventh Circuit on Thursday halted a Chicago federal judge's order requiring the release of hundreds of immigrants arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying the Trump administration was likely to succeed in arguing he should have conducted individual determinations about whether their arrest violated a consent decree it had previously entered in the case.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Printing Co. Defends Trial Win In $265M ESOP Sale Dispute

By Lauraann Wood

A printing company's directors and employee stock ownership plan trustee say the Seventh Circuit should back their win over accusations they illegally undersold the company into private equity for $265 million, arguing the trial court correctly decided their interests were "perfectly aligned" with plan participants' interests.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

20 States Sue Trump Admin Over $100K H-1B Visa Fee

By Rae Ann Varona

A coalition of 20 states, led by the California attorney general, sued the Trump administration Friday to challenge a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications, saying the fee goes against Congress' intent for the work visa program.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

1st Circ. OKs Barring Medicaid Planned Parenthood Coverage

By Hailey Konnath

A First Circuit panel on Friday upheld the Trump administration's ban on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, vacating a lower court's order that would've kept in place Medicaid reimbursements for Planned Parenthood clinics in 22 states.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

Real Estate Recap: Empowering NYC Nonprofit Buyers

By Real Estate Authority Staff

Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including attorney reactions to a New York City a bill that would give nonprofits the opportunity to buy certain residential buildings.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Steel Co. Strikes Pollution Deal, Resolving Enforcement Suit

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

A Chicago steel forging facility will upgrade its pollution control systems to settle claims it violated its air quality permit and state environmental law, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said Friday.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Buyers Fight To Save Potency Suit Against Pot Co. Cresco

By Jonathan Capriel

A proposed class of consumers urged an Illinois federal judge to reject cannabis giant Cresco Labs' bid to end a lawsuit accusing it and its subsidiaries of mislabeling their products to get around state-mandated THC potency limits, arguing that their claims are not preempted by state law but "reinforce it."

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Receivership Law May Streamline Real Estate Sales In Illinois

The Illinois Receivership Act, which goes into effect Jan. 1, provides much-needed clarity on the issue of receivers' sales of commercial real estate and will make the process easier for parties including receivers, special servicers and commercial real estate lenders, say attorneys at Troutman.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Next Steps For Orgs. Amid Updated OpenAI Usage Policies

OpenAI's updates to its usage policies, clarifying that its tools are not substitutes for professional medical, legal or other regulated advice, sends a clear signal that organizations should mirror this clarity in their governance policies to mitigate compliance and liability exposure, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Opinion

Supreme Court Term Limits Would Carry Hidden Risk

While proposals for limiting the terms of U.S. Supreme Court justices are popular, a steady stream of relatively young, highly marketable ex-justices with unique knowledge and influence entering the marketplace of law and politics could create new problems, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bonus Spotlight

Axinn Veltrop's Bonuses Reach Up To $240K

By Andrea Keckley

Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider LLP is giving out bonuses of up to $240,000 for its associates, according to an in-house memo seen by Law360 Pulse.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Watchdog Sues White House For Records On Law Firm Deals

By Emily Sawicki

A Washington-based nonprofit watchdog has sued the Trump administration, seeking records related to deals BigLaw firms struck to provide an estimated nearly $1 billion worth of pro bono legal services to further the administration's priorities, following the president's executive orders to withhold security clearances and investigate the firms.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

2025 Sees State Courts Diverge From Federal Criminal Norms

By Brandon Lowrey

Some of this year's most notable criminal appellate rulings homed in on differences between state and federal constitutional protections against the most serious punishments, with movement in Michigan, bucking the trend in Wyoming, and an ambiguous but potentially earthshaking decision out of Texas.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

US Atty Nominee For Wyo. Was Outside Capitol On Jan. 6

By Courtney Bublé

One of President Donald Trump's U.S. attorney nominees, who was on the U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021, and recently told senators he still thinks "there were imperfections" in the 2020 election process, has been advanced toward Senate confirmation.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Del. US Atty Resigns Citing 'Politics,' Successor Appointed

By Rose Krebs

The acting U.S. Attorney for Delaware said Friday that she is resigning, citing "a highly politicized, flawed blue-slip tradition" for nominees and saying she "fully" supports her first assistant, who has been appointed by a federal judge to succeed her.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Dems Demand Release Of 2nd Jack Smith Report

By Courtney Bublé

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday demanding she release the second volume of former special counsel Jack Smith's report on President Donald Trump's retention of classified documents after he left office the first time.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Alex Jones Atty's Pared-Down Suspension Upheld On Appeal

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut appeals court on Friday upheld the two-week suspension of former Alex Jones lawyer Norm Pattis, agreeing that a trial court judge was within her discretion to bench the attorney over his law firm's handling of Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre victims' medical records.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Shake-Up Keeps Criminal Tax Meetings, Ex-Official Says

By Kat Lucero

The U.S. Department of Justice — despite recently eliminating its Tax Division as part of a broad restructuring — continues to meet with practitioners representing clients who may face federal criminal tax charges, the former division chief said Friday.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Wash. Justices Retroactively Lower Bar Exam's Passing Score

By Ben Adlin

As Washington state is preparing to transition to a new bar exam, its Supreme Court has ordered a retroactive adjustment to the current exam's minimum passing score, making an estimated hundred-plus law school graduates who narrowly failed in recent years newly eligible for admission to practice law.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen Shell hit with a climate change claim from 100 survivors of a typhoon in the Philippines, London Stock Exchange-listed Oxford Nanopore bring legal action against its co-founder, and the editors of Pink News sue the BBC for defamation following its investigation into alleged sexual misconduct at the news site.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

President Donald Trump issued an executive order to review the influence that proxy adviser firms have, and law firms saw a 9.8% increase in compensation expenses along with a similar increase in billable rates. ​These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Ninth Circuit handed Epic Games Inc. a partial win by mostly affirming an injunction blocking Apple Inc. from charging developers "prohibitive" commissions on iPhone app purchases made outside its systems.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

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.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »