Mass. Court-Appointed Attys Hit 'Boiling Point' Over Low Pay

By Julie Manganis

Hundreds of private attorneys in Massachusetts who are paid by the state to represent indigent defendants and others have stopped accepting new court-appointed cases over complaints about low pay, putting the system on what one veteran advocate called "the verge of imploding."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Blue States Back Harvard In $2.2B Funding Freeze Fight

By Ryan Harroff

A coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia filed a brief supporting Harvard University's bid for a pretrial win in its challenge to the Trump administration's move to freeze $2.2 billion in funds, telling a Massachusetts federal judge that the president's attacks on universities are "an attack on the states themselves."

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

States Sue To Block 23andMe From Selling DNA Data In Ch. 11

By Dorothy Atkins

A bipartisan coalition of 28 attorneys general has sued 23andMe Inc. in Missouri bankruptcy court seeking to block the genetic-testing company from auctioning off its 15 million customers' personal genetic information without their explicit consent in its ongoing Chapter 11 proceeding.

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

Edward Jones Among 5 Firms Paying $9.3M Over Inflated Fees

By Zach Dupont

Edward Jones, TD Ameritrade and three other wealth adviser firms have reached a $9.3 million settlement with the North American Securities Administrators Association after having been accused of overcharging fees for small-dollar investors.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Wind Farm Pause Has Stalled Projects, Judge Hears

By Keith Goldberg

A coalition of blue states and industry advocates told a federal judge on Tuesday that the recent mothballing of a New Jersey offshore wind project exemplifies the damage being inflicted by the Trump administration's unlawful decision to pause wind farm permitting.

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

IT Co. Urges 1st Circ. To Affirm It's Blameless For Data Breach

By Elizabeth Daley

An information security technology company urged the First Circuit on Tuesday to affirm that it isn't liable for a 2018 data breach that exposed confidential information of more than 277,000 of the medical device maker's patients, arguing that the insurer assignee of the device maker had no valid points.

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

Brief

DHS Unit Has Until Friday To Show Parole Changes Are Live

By Britain Eakin

A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday gave the Trump administration until Friday to confirm that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has resumed adjudicating immigration benefits requests for a class of noncitizens granted entry through humanitarian parole.

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

Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Katryna Perera and Jeff Montgomery

Delaware's Court of Chancery showed new resistance to suits alleging corporate weaponizing of advance notice bylaws, and a new report highlighted the high fees that attorneys are cashing in on in Delaware courts compared to the federal court system. Several new suits were also filed concerning allegedly under- or overvalued sales and acquisitions being pushed through.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Biopharma Co. Unit Hopes To Shed Empty Facilities In Ch. 11

By Isaac Monterose

A subsidiary of biopharmaceutical manufacturer National Resilience Holdco Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection Tuesday in Delaware bankruptcy court with a reorganization plan involving shutting down offices, manufacturing sites and labs it described as "underutilized."

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

Skadden Guiding Brown & Brown On $9.8B Accession Buy

By Al Barbarino

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP is advising Brown & Brown Inc. on a nearly $10 billion agreement to purchase Accession Risk Management Group Inc., the companies disclosed in a joint statement Tuesday. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Calif. Bar Exam Fiasco Shows Why Attys Must Disclose AI Use

The recent revelation that a handful of questions from the controversial California bar exam administered in February were drafted using generative artificial intelligence demonstrates the continued importance of disclosure for attorneys who use AI tools, say attorneys at Troutman.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

ABA 'Surprised And Disappointed' By DOJ Shunning

By Courtney Bublé

The American Bar Association on Tuesday defended its long-standing process for reviewing judicial nominees and said Attorney General Pam Bondi was wrong to call the group an "activist organization."

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

Analysis

Feds Reboot FCPA Agenda With Narrower Enforcement Focus

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday released new and tightened guidelines for enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act after a four-month pause on such prosecutions, centering prospective investigations on situations that affect U.S. competitiveness and national security as well as transnational cartels.

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

Top CFPB Enforcer Quits Over 'Devastating' Agency Pullback

By Jon Hill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's top enforcement official resigned Tuesday, saying she can no longer effectively do her job under leadership that "has no intention to enforce the law in any meaningful way."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judiciary Panel Advances New Rules On Amici, AI, Subpoenas

By Jeff Overley

The federal judiciary's top policy panel Tuesday propelled revamped rules regarding numerous hot legal topics, including artificial intelligence, "dark money" groups bankrolling amicus briefs and the subpoena powers of courts and defense counsel.

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

NJ Rep. LaMonica McIver Indicted Over ICE Facility Incident

By Hailey Konnath

U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver has been charged with forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers during her inspection of a Newark, New Jersey, immigration detention facility last month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Wis. Judge Can't Wield Immunity For Obstructing ICE, DOJ Says

By Lynn LaRowe

The U.S. Department of Justice has urged a Wisconsin federal judge to reject a state court judge's argument that judicial immunity blocks her prosecution for allegedly obstructing an ICE arrest at a Milwaukee courthouse, saying that while judges may be immune from civil liability for official acts, they are not shielded from prosecution for supposedly criminal conduct.

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

State Chief Justices Blast Plans To Cut Legal Services Corp.

By Hailey Konnath

A coalition of 37 state Supreme Court chief justices have asked federal lawmakers to reject President Donald Trump's plans to eliminate the Legal Services Corp., arguing that the "justice system is hobbled when citizens are deprived of legal counsel."

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

House Conservatives Push Senate To 'Rein In' Judges

By Courtney Bublé

House conservatives are imploring their Senate counterparts to do more to "rein in" federal judges with the budget reconciliation package.

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

SEC's Investment Management Chief Greiner To Leave Agency

By Tom Zanki

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission veteran Natasha Vij Greiner is stepping down as the director of the agency's investment management division, ending a nearly 24-year career serving the SEC in multiple roles, regulators announced Tuesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Key Insights On Looming Fair Use Rulings In AI Cases

By Ivan Moreno

Two California federal judges have indicated they are inclined to find that using copyrighted material to train artificial intelligence systems is transformative, which usually means that copying a work is fair, but that may not let Meta Platforms and Anthropic off the hook in separate lawsuits.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »