OpenAI Fights Authors' Demand For Info On $1B Disney Deal

By Bonnie Eslinger

OpenAI urged a New York federal judge Thursday to reject a request from authors for details of its newly struck $1 billion licensing agreement with Disney, saying the terms are irrelevant to claims that the company unlawfully used the authors' copyrighted works, because the deal doesn't involve textual works.

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Ex-Dean Of 2 Law Schools Nominated To Lead NYCBA

By Andrea Keckley

The New York City Bar Association on Thursday announced the nomination of the former dean of the Fordham University School of Law and Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law to serve as its next president, elevating a prominent voice at the intersection of law and social welfare.

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US Atty In NY Northern District Serving Unlawfully, Judge Says

By Stewart Bishop

A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday held that the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York is unlawfully serving in his position, the latest in a string of rulings disqualifying prosecutors appointed by President Donald Trump.

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Harvey Weinstein In Plea Talks As 3rd NY Trial Looms

By Frank G. Runyeon

A lawyer for Harvey Weinstein said Thursday the former Hollywood movie mogul will consider pleading guilty to a third-degree rape charge after a New York judge denied his bid to toss a separate sexual assault conviction.

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Yankees Slugger Wins TM Battle Over 'Judge' Slogans

By Alex Lawson

The Federal Circuit has blocked a Long Island man from registering trademarks for judicial-themed slogans that had already been used by New York Yankees star Aaron Judge, upholding a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decision in the slugger's favor.

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Legal Services Atty Named Top NYC Human Rights Enforcer

By Grace Elletson

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has tapped a lawyer from a group that provides free legal services to low-income clients to spearhead the city's human rights enforcement body.

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Salt-N-Pepa Can't Keep Pushing Copyright Fight, Judge Says

By Elliot Weld

A New York federal judge on Thursday dismissed a case brought by Salt-N-Pepa seeking the copyrights for several of the hip-hop group's most popular songs against UMG Recordings Inc., saying none of the relevant agreements between the parties indicate that the group ever owned the copyrights at issue.

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NYAG Presses Instacart On Algorithmic Pricing Compliance

By Sarah Jarvis

The New York Attorney General's Office on Thursday sent a letter to Instacart requesting information about the online grocery shopping platform's compliance with a new state law on the use of algorithmic pricing following a report indicating users were being charged different prices for the same products.

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NY Mortgage Cos. Face New 'Equitable Access' Lending Rules

By Jon Hill

New York has finalized new rules that extend community-lending obligations to mortgage companies in the state, a move that officials said Thursday will promote regulatory parity and fairness as nonbank lenders outpace traditional banks in the mortgage market.

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Trader Gets Win On Subpoena Ahead Of Quant Secrets Trial

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge said Thursday that a California quantitative trader accused of stealing billion-dollar secrets from Headlands Technologies has issued an enforceable subpoena to the firm ahead of his July criminal trial and vowed to detail what information must be provided.

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States Fight To Block EPA From Wiping Out $7B Solar Funding

By Dorothy Atkins

A coalition of states urged a Washington federal district judge Thursday to preliminarily block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from cutting solar power grant programs, arguing that without an injunction the Trump administration could transfer $7 billion back to the Treasury and "we will be entirely out of luck."

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Aetna Must Cover Gender-Affirming Surgery, Conn. Court Told

By Aaron Keller

Two individuals from a proposed class of transgender women on Thursday urged a Connecticut federal judge to stop Aetna from refusing to cover gender-affirming facial reconstruction to treat severe depression, anxiety and, in one case, suicidal thoughts, saying the insurer committed sex discrimination while claiming the surgeries were purely cosmetic.

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Jewish Org.'s Counterclaims Trimmed In Abuse Coverage Row

By Hope Patti

A New York federal court significantly trimmed a Brooklyn-based Jewish organization's counterclaims against a group of Hartford insurers in a dispute over coverage for sexual abuse suits, finding most to be duplicative of the organization's sole remaining breach of contract claim.

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VW Can't Nix Bulk Of Tiguan Oil-Guzzling Defect Suit

By Mike Curley

A New Jersey federal judge on Thursday denied the bulk of Volkswagen Group of America Inc.'s bid to dismiss a proposed class action from drivers in seven states who say their 2022 and 2023 Tiguan vehicles have a defect causing them to consume oil, saying the complaint sufficiently states most of its claims under the seven states' laws.

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MLB.tv Gets Fans' Facebook Data-Sharing Suits Thrown Out

By David Steele

Subscribers to Major League Baseball's video streaming service could not support their claim that their personal data was knowingly and illegally shared with Meta, a New York federal judge has ruled, dismissing a trio of proposed class actions.

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Calif. Agency Secures Halt On Data Broker's Info Resales

By Allison Grande

A marketing firm that compiles and redistributes lists of people with serious health conditions has agreed to pay a $45,000 fine and stop selling California residents' personal information in order to settle the California Privacy Protection Agency's latest enforcement strike against a data broker for failing to register, the agency announced Thursday. 

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Fed. Circ. Says Crocs' Appeal Of Split ITC Loss Came Too Late

By Theresa Schliep

The Federal Circuit on Thursday rebuffed Crocs Inc.'s efforts to save its request for an import ban against companies it accused of importing footwear infringing its trademarks, finding the company was too late in challenging the mixed ITC ruling that generated two appeal deadlines.

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Odebrecht To Pay Investors $17.3M To End Bribe-Scheme Suit

By Katryna Perera

An investment firm and its affiliated trusts will receive over $17 million from Brazilian engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA and two subsidiaries to resolve, before a scheduled trial this month, a suit over an alleged far-reaching bribery scheme, with a New York federal judge ordering final judgment in the suit Thursday.

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Wolfspeed Securities Class Action Sent To NC Federal Court

By Vince Sullivan

A securities class action case against chipmaker Wolfspeed Inc. was transferred to North Carolina federal court Wednesday following a New York judge's order directing the movement of the consolidated investor suits over alleged misrepresentations about the company's financial projections.

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States Can't Block HPE Integration Amid Deal Review

By Matthew Perlman

A California federal court refused Thursday to bar Hewlett Packard Enterprise from further integrating with Juniper Networks while state enforcers raise objections to a U.S. Department of Justice settlement allowing the merger to move ahead.

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Azul SA To Canvas Market For $1.2B In Ch. 11 Exit Funding

By Alex Wittenberg

Brazilian airline Azul SA secured a New York bankruptcy judge's approval Thursday to hire investment banks to help search for alternatives to $1.2 billion in exit financing offered by its Chapter 11 lenders, about one month after the judge confirmed Azul's bankruptcy plan.

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NY Judge Backs Windfarm Award Against Vietnam Bank

By Joyce Hanson

A New York federal judge has granted an arbitral award petition favoring a Chinese company against a Vietnamese bank following a dispute over a crane lease for a windfarm project, rejecting arguments that the court lacked jurisdiction and the dispute belonged elsewhere.

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Fed. Circ. Backs Trade Court's Rejection Of Cheaper Duty Bid

By Jack McLoone

A Federal Circuit panel Thursday affirmed a U.S. Court of International Trade judge's determination that a Christmas ornament seller imported its Chinese-made goods to Canada with the intention of selling them in the U.S. and therefore isn't entitled to a cheaper duty rate.

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Leason Ellis Hires 9 Life Sciences Pros From Haley Guiliano

By Andrea Keckley

Leason Ellis LLP announced Thursday that it has hired nine professionals with backgrounds in the life sciences from Haley Guiliano LLP, a patent practice that originated as a spin-off from Ropes & Gray LLP.

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Greenberg Traurig Adds 2 Duane Morris Employment Pros

By Gina Kim

Greenberg Traurig LLP has brought on two Duane Morris LLP attorneys as its newest shareholders focusing on class action litigation, labor and employment and commercial litigation practices, adding them to the firm's offices in San Diego and Philadelphia. 

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Brief

Greenberg Traurig Adds Ex-Prosecutor In Long Island

By Emily Sawicki

Greenberg Traurig LLP has added a former assistant U.S. attorney as a shareholder in its litigation practice, bulking up the commercial litigation, government investigations and regulatory capabilities of its Long Island, New York, offices.

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What To Know About NY's Drastic 3rd-Party Practice Changes

Last month, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law establishing new time limits for the commencement of third-party actions, which will have dramatic effects on insurance defense practice, particularly cases involving construction site accidents or claims of premises liability, says Shawn Schatzle at Lewis Brisbois.

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ERISA Litigation Trends To Watch With 2025 In The Rearview

There were significant developments in Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation in 2025, including plaintiffs pushing the bounds of sponsor and fiduciary liability and defendants scoring district court wins, and although the types of claims might change, ERISA litigation will likely be just as active in 2026, say attorneys at Groom Law.

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Targeted Action, Rule Tweaks Reflect 2025 AML Priority Shifts

Though 2025’s anti-money-laundering landscape was characterized not by volume of penalties but by the strategic recalibration of how illicit finance risk is handled, a series of targeted enforcement actions signaled that regulators aren't easing off the accelerator, even as they refine the rules of the road, say attorneys at MoFo.

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Series

Muay Thai Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Muay Thai kickboxing has taught me that in order to win, one must stick to one's game plan and adapt under pressure, just as when facing challenges by opposing counsel or judges, says Mark Schork at Feldman Shepherd.

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New Assistant AG For Fraud Will Report To White House

By Courtney Bublé

Vice President JD Vance announced on Thursday the creation of a new assistant attorney general role for fraud, which will be overseen by him and the president.

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Calif. Judge Will Resign, Cop To Workers' Comp Fraud

By Lauren Berg

A California state judge has agreed to resign and plead guilty to a felony fraud charge after prosecutors alleged he knowingly hired a physician previously convicted of healthcare fraud to prepare medical reports to submit to the state's workers' compensation program, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

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Alito Recuses From Chevron, Exxon Coastal Pollution Case

By Keith Goldberg

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Thursday recused himself from considering Chevron and ExxonMobil's effort to place Louisiana pollution lawsuits stemming from the companies' World War II-era production in federal court, just days before the justices hear oral arguments in the case.

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Brief

House OKs $540M For Imperiled Legal Services Corp.

By Emily Sawicki

The "minibus" appropriations bill that the U.S. House of Representatives passed on Thursday includes a lifeline $540 million allocated toward the nonprofit Legal Services Corp. — representing a reduction of $10 million, or 3.6%, compared to fiscal year 2025's budget — whose funding the White House previously suggested should be slashed.

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La. Judge Is Senate's 1st Judicial Confirmation Of 2026

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 53-40 on Thursday to confirm former acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook to be a district judge in the Western District of Louisiana.

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