Analysis

Trump AI Push Runs Up Against Cost, Enviro Concerns

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

President Donald Trump's push to rapidly build infrastructure for the booming artificial intelligence industry could drive up energy costs in markets supporting data center growth and even hit roadblocks if state and local governments resist new developments.

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Trump Says AI Needs Free Content For Global Competition

By Ivan Moreno

President Donald Trump has expressed support for letting large language model developers use copyrighted material for training their systems without payment, saying during the unveiling of his artificial intelligence action plan that licensing requirements would impede the technology's progress and give China an unfair advantage.

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Trump Admin Sues NYC To Block Sanctuary Policies

By Rae Ann Varona

The Trump administration on Thursday filed suit in New York federal court seeking to bar New York City from enforcing policies it alleges amount to "intentional sabotage" of federal immigration enforcement and thus violate the U.S. Constitution's supremacy clause.

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Jeanine Pirro's Nomination Advances To Full Senate

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted out seven U.S. attorney nominations Thursday, which include Jeanine Pirro, former Fox News host and New York state judge, and four others who had to be revoted on after Democrats walked out of last week's meeting over objections to how the consideration of controversial Third Circuit nominee Emil Bove was being handled.

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Alina Habba Says She Is Now Acting US Atty In NJ

By Lauren Berg

Alina Habba posted on social media Thursday that she is now the acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, two days after the federal district court declined to extend her tenure in the interim position.

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3rd Circ. Rules Philly Injection Site Equals Religious 'Person'

By Carla Baranauckas

A nonprofit battling government resistance to its planned safe drug injection site in Philadelphia can qualify for religious freedom protections, the Third Circuit said in a precedential opinion on Thursday, reasoning the organization meets the definition of a "person" practicing religion.

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Glass Lewis Sues Texas Over Proxy Advisory Restrictions Law

By Sarah Jarvis

Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis & Co. LLC sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday over a recently passed state law that it argues requires the firm to "publicly condemn itself" when its advice for clients reflects certain viewpoints the government disfavors.

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Ky. Clerk Seeks To Overturn Marriage Equality Ruling

By Danielle Ferguson

A Kentucky clerk who made international headlines for refusing to issue marriage licenses in protest of the legalization of same-sex marriage asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to overturn its 2015 marriage equality decision after she unsuccessfully tried to shake a civil judgment against her.

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Mich. House, Secretary Of State To Mediate Subpoena Fight

By Carolyn Muyskens

Michigan House Republicans and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson must attend mediation to try to resolve a lawsuit the House filed to enforce a subpoena for election training materials, a judge has ordered.

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Brief

Senate Tees Up Vote On Emil Bove To 3rd Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 50-48 on Thursday to tee up the confirmation of Emil Bove to the Third Circuit, which will likely happen next week.

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Trump Ally's Fund Firm Sues Powell Over Meeting Secrecy

By Katryna Perera

An investment firm led by a supporter of President Donald Trump sued Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and several members of the Federal Open Market Committee on Thursday, demanding public access to monetary policy meetings, saying that for the last 50 years, the committee has illegally held every one of its meetings behind closed doors.

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NCUA Board Members 'Glad To Be Back' Amid Trump Fight

By Jon Hill

The National Credit Union Administration officials who were ousted this spring by President Donald Trump took part Thursday in their first board meeting since a federal judge reinstated them just two days earlier, even as the court fight for their jobs continues.

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Fintech Orgs. Urge Trump Admin To Back Open Banking Rule

By Aislinn Keely

A coalition of fintech and crypto industry groups on Thursday called on the Trump administration to defend the open banking rule in an ongoing legal challenge after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sided with banking trade groups to argue the data-sharing mandate exceeded its authority.

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FERC Chair Bids Goodbye At Last Monthly Meeting

By Madeline Lyskawa

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie presided over his final monthly open meeting on Thursday, after President Donald Trump nominated Vinson & Elkins LLP energy regulatory counsel Laura Swett to fill the Republican commissioner's seat.

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Green Groups Cleared To Join EV Funding Freeze Challenge

By Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge will let the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations enter a multistate lawsuit against the federal government seeking to preserve funding for new electric-vehicle charging infrastructure, concluding the groups have a significant interest in protecting the project funds.  

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Trump Admin Asks Justices To Stay Block On NIH Grant Cuts

By Rae Ann Varona

The Trump administration on Thursday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to stay a district court's preliminary injunction so that the National Institutes of Health can resume terminating $783 million in grants, saying the lower court, under a recent high court ruling, lacked jurisdiction to make the government pay the grants.

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Analysis

AI Rollout At USPTO Has Attys Foreseeing Stronger Patents

By Ryan Davis

As the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office incorporates more use of artificial intelligence in patent examination, attorneys predict the technology could lead to stronger patents in the future, especially for designs, though it may make the process more challenging for applicants.

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FCC Signs Off On Skydance's $8B Acquisition Of Paramount

By Hailey Konnath

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday gave the green light to Skydance Media's controversial $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global and its subsidiaries, including CBS' parent company, setting aside concerns that the deal will hurt competition.

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More Sinclair Stations Reach Consent Decrees On Kid TV Ads

By Carolina Bolado

Broadcasters in three states reached consent decrees with the Federal Communications Commission following a wider enforcement action against Sinclair Broadcast Group over Hot Wheels commercials aired during a children's Hot Wheels program in violation of FCC rules.

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Judge Blocks Crypto REIT From Collecting Rent In Detroit

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Michigan state judge has barred a cryptocurrency-based real estate investment firm and affiliates from collecting rent at hundreds of Detroit properties until it brings them into compliance with city code.

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DC Council Sets Vote On Revised Commanders Stadium Deal

By David Steele

The Washington, D.C., City Council will vote next Friday, Aug. 1, on a revised version of the proposal to build a stadium for the Washington Commanders at the site of its previous stadium, Council Chair Phil Mendelson announced Thursday.

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Va. County Board OKs Luxury, Mixed-Use Towers Project

By Isaac Monterose

A three-tower, 970,000-square-foot luxury, mixed-use development project in Rosslyn, Virginia, recently received entitlement approval from the Arlington County Board, the project's developer Penzance announced Thursday.

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DOL Relaunches Employer Self-Audit FLSA Program

By Daniela Porat

The U.S. Department of Labor relaunched an employer self-audit program Thursday that supports employers that seek to resolve potential wage violations and avoid litigation — an initiative from the first Trump administration that was popular among employers.

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EU Probes If KKR Gave 'Incorrect Or Misleading' Merger Info

By Bryan Koenig

European Union antitrust enforcers announced an investigation Thursday into whether KKR & Co. Inc. provided "incorrect or misleading information" as part of the review of its $23.7 billion acquisition of NetCo that received unconditional approval last year.

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Encore Series, Philadelphia Orchestra End Antitrust Spat

By Gina Kim

Encore Series, formerly the Philly Pops, and the Philadelphia Orchestra ended their two-year-old litigation centered on allegations of anticompetitive conduct and breach of contract over live symphony concerts in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, according to a notice Thursday in federal court. 

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Groups Say Google Shirks EU Mandate To Allow App Deletion

By Bryan Koenig

Advocacy groups asked European Union antitrust enforcers on Thursday to investigate Google's parent company, Alphabet, accusing the technology giant of "an open attempt to circumvent" EU law requiring designated technology "gatekeepers" to permit users to uninstall apps easily.

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NY Court Bars Monitoring Of Domestic Violence Survivors

By Marco Poggio

A New York state appellate court held Thursday that the Family Court acted unlawfully in placing a mother under the supervision of New York City's child welfare agency just because she has experienced domestic abuse, further curtailing a controversial practice that's already banned elsewhere in the state.

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Split 9th Circ. Affirms Block Of Calif. Ammunition Regulation

By Hailey Konnath

A split Ninth Circuit panel Thursday affirmed a lower court's finding that California can't require gun owners to undergo background checks before buying ammunition, ruling that the law runs afoul of the Second Amendment in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in Bruen.

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Nonprofits Secure TRO In Challenge To New HUD Grant Rules

By Lauren Berg

A Rhode Island federal judge Thursday granted a temporary restraining order to a coalition of nonprofit groups challenging new conditions for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants that target diversity, equity and inclusion programs; abortion access; and transgender individuals.

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EU Prepared To Impose €93B In Tariffs On US Goods

By Josh White

The European Commission voted Thursday to impose tariffs on €93 billion ($109 billion) worth of U.S. goods if no trade deal is reached by August as the two sides continue negotiations.

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5th Circ. Says Deportation Waiver Did Not Violate Due Process

By Spencer Brewer

A split Fifth Circuit panel found that an unauthorized immigrant did not have his due process rights violated when he signed a form that waived his right to judicial review, saying in a Wednesday opinion that a conviction of an aggravated felony did not violate his rights.

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Navy Takes Ariz. Border Land For Immigration Enforcement

By Nate Beck

The U.S. Department of the Interior said it turned over about 285 acres of land along the border with Mexico to the U.S. Navy for three years so the military can set up an enforcement area as part of the Trump administration's efforts to prevent illegal immigration.

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Rubio Memo Still A Threat Despite Injunction, Khalil Says

By Britain Eakin

Mahmoud Khalil told a New Jersey federal judge Wednesday that the Trump administration's bid to stay an injunction that bars his removal, if successful, would leave him at risk of removal under the very grounds the court prohibited.

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Wash. AG Sues Contractor To Keep Benefits Data From Feds

By Rachel Riley

Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown launched a lawsuit in Evergreen State court on Thursday seeking to block a fintech contractor from providing the federal government with the private details of food assistance benefit recipients, saying the Trump administration intends to use the data for its "mass deportation project."

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Feds Say 9th Circ. Order Supports Nixing Delay Of TPS End

By Britain Eakin

The U.S. Department of Justice told the Ninth Circuit it can hear an immediate appeal of a district court's decision postponing the Trump administration's termination of temporary protected status for Venezuelans, citing a recent decision from the appeals court narrowing an injunction in a separate case.

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Madigan Confidant Gets 2 Years For Role In ComEd Bribery

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge sentenced a lobbyist for Commonwealth Edison to two years in prison Thursday for his role in forging a "crucial connection" between the utility and his longtime friend, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, and acting as Madigan's mouthpiece in a scheme to illegally influence the powerful politician to support ComEd's legislative agenda.

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High Court Hits Pause On 8th Circ. Voting Rights Order

By Crystal Owens

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday paused an Eighth Circuit order to vacate two North Dakota tribes' challenge to two of the state's voting laws that they allege will silence the state's Indigenous voters and disenfranchise millions across seven Midwestern states.

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NY Regents Say Court Already Ruled On Native Mascot Ban

By Elaine Briseño

The New York State Board of Regents has told a federal judge the opponents of a ban on Native American mascots cannot rehash issues already settled by the court, while an advocacy organization has argued that tossing the lawsuit based on precedent would silence the very group the new rule seeks to help.

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New FCC Auction Criticized For Lack Of Tribal Window

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission pushed ahead with a new auction of the airwaves Thursday, but its rejection of a tribal "priority" window led to criticism from one FCC member.

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FCC Inserts New Deadlines Into Pole Attachment Rules

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission passed a set of rule changes Thursday morning aimed at making pole attachment regulations less of a thorn in everyone's side and hopefully speeding up the deployment of broadband.

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FCC Sheds Rules For Older Tech As Axing Other Regs Proceed

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday jettisoned some older rules applying to technologies that have fallen out of general use and asserted the power to wield an expedited procedure in the future to get rid of other rules it deems outdated.

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Texas Hemp Group Blasts New Legislative Proposal

By Jonathan Capriel

A Texas hemp industry advocate has slammed a second effort by the state Senate to ban all consumable products containing THC, saying residents want "smart, responsible regulation," not "prohibition."

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Curaleaf Unit Sues Illinois Regulators Over Growhouse Permit

By Jonathan Capriel

A subsidiary of cannabis giant Curaleaf, Compass Ventures Inc., is suing the Illinois Department of Agriculture for refusing to allow the company to expand its Montgomery County cannabis cultivation center with a 42,000-square-foot "hoop house," claiming the agency allowed at least two rivals to build similar structures in the past.

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NC Urges 4th Circ. Not To Block Vape Regs During Appeal

By Mike Curley

North Carolina officials are urging the Fourth Circuit to deny a bid by vape interests to block enforcement of a new state vaping regulation while they appeal their case, saying the plaintiffs have already tried, and failed, three times to show they deserve an injunction.

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Trump Air Emissions Carveouts Cloud The Regulatory Picture

President Donald Trump's new proclamations temporarily exempting key U.S. industries from air toxics standards, issued under a narrow, rarely-used provision of the Clean Air Act, will likely lead to legal challenges and tighter standards in some states, contributing to further regulatory uncertainty, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

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How Cos. In China Can Tailor Compliance Amid FCPA Shifts

The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently updated Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement guidelines create a fluid business environment for companies operating in China that will require a customized compliance approach to navigate both countries’ corporate and legal systems, say attorneys at Dickinson Wright.

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SEC, FINRA Obligations In Changing AI Regulatory Landscape

Despite the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent withdrawal of its proposed artificial intelligence conflict rules, financial regulators remain focused on firms developing the correct AI compliance framework, as well as continuously testing and supervising them to ensure they're fit for purpose, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

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Open Banking Is On Ice As CFPB Seeks To Toss Its Own Rule

Even as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's efforts to toss its open banking rule play out in Kentucky federal court, it remains statutorily required to effectuate consumer access to data, raising questions about how it would replace the previously finalized standard, say attorneys at Cooley.

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How To Increase 3rd-Party Preissuance Patent Submissions

Attorneys Marian Underweiser and Marc Ehrlich, who helped draft the America Invents Act, discuss changes that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office could potentially implement to facilitate its hopes for increased participation in front-end patent challenges.

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7 Ways Employers Can Avoid Labor Friction Over AI

As artificial intelligence use in the workplace emerges as a key labor relations topic in the U.S. and Europe, employers looking to reduce reputational risk and prevent costly disputes should consider proactive strategies to engage with unions, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

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How Property Insurers Serve As Climate Change Harbingers

Thomas Dawson at McDermott discusses the role that U.S. property insurers may play in identifying and assessing climate risk, as well as in financing climate change adaptation projects, in light of global warming and shifting geopolitical realities.

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Opinion

DOJ's HPE-Juniper Settlement Will Help US Compete

The U.S. Department of Justice settlement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise clears the purchase of Juniper Networks in a deal that positions the U.S. as a leader in secure, scalable networking and critical digital infrastructure by requiring the divestiture of a WiFi network business geared toward small firms, says John Shu at Taipei Medical University.

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Series

Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

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Courts 'Turning Up The Heat' On AI Fake Citation Sanctions

By Emily Sawicki

As the volume of sanctions orders resulting from attorneys' use of faulty citations blamed on artificial intelligence continues to rise, federal judges are beginning to pivot from financial sanctions to more creative means of disciplining lawyers, including targeting their professional reputations in ways that could really hurt.

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Trump Admin Making Another EO Appeal, Targeting WilmerHale

By Jack Karp

The Trump administration is appealing a D.C. federal judge's ruling that President Donald Trump's executive order targeting WilmerHale amounts to a "staggering" assault on the First Amendment, according to a notice filed Friday.

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Will Tom Girardi's Wardrobe Mishap Help His Appeal?

By Craig Clough

When once-legendary attorney Tom Girardi's pants fell down as he finished testifying in his defense, the judge had to decide: Was this a desperate bid to feign incompetence and avoid prison for stealing client funds, or just an accident by an 86-year-old man with dementia? And if it really was an accident, does it now give Girardi a shot at winning his appeal and overturning his sentence?

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Former Jan. 6 Prosecutor, 2 Other Ex-DOJ Employees File Suit

By Rose Krebs

A former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol has filed a federal lawsuit along with two other ex-Department of Justice employees alleging they were unlawfully fired.

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Epic Defends Apple Antitrust Injunction After Birthright Ruling

By Dorothy Atkins

Epic Games has told the Ninth Circuit the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in litigation challenging President Donald Trump's birthright citizenship executive order should not affect a nationwide injunction and civil contempt order issued in its antitrust case over Apple's App Store policies, arguing Apple misread the high court's precedent.

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11th Circ. Calls Dismissal Of Ga. Bar Bias Suit 'Indefensible'

By Chart Riggall

An Eleventh Circuit panel appeared all but certain Friday that it would revive a Georgia attorney's race bias suit against the state's bar association, calling a federal district court's dismissal of her claims that the bar has a two-tiered disciplinary system "indefensible."

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Podcaster At Fees Hearing Blames His Atty For Sanctions

By Zach Dupont

A podcaster accused of spreading lies that a former Dominion Voting Systems Inc. executive rigged the 2020 election blamed his lawyer Friday for his noncompliance with the Colorado federal court, accusing the attorney of "malpractice" and "negligence."

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Dentons Stalling Discovery In Terraform Ch. 11, Court Told

By Alex Wittenberg

The bankruptcy plan administrator for failed cryptocurrency platform Terraform Labs has accused Dentons US LLP of blocking his discovery requests in an attempt to secure final approval of some $25 million in fees, saying the law firm is seeking to "run out the clock" to dodge an investigation into its role in Terraform's collapse.

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Veteran CFPB Enforcement Atty Heads For The Exit

By Jon Hill

A longtime Consumer Financial Protection Bureau litigator told a Virginia federal court on Friday that she is leaving after more than a decade at the agency, becoming the latest departure at the regulator as its future under the Trump administration remains in limbo.

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Legal Org Urges DC Circ. To Reject Trump's Tariff Powers

By Anna Scott Farrell

The D.C. Circuit should affirm a ruling that sided with toy makers and blocked President Donald Trump from using an international economic law to impose emergency tariffs because the law does not give the president the authority he claims, a legal organization argued.

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Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen the owner of a £6 million ($8 million) mansion once rented by Adele sue real estate consultants Strutt & Parker, Romanian-Australian mining investor Vasile Frank Timis bring a claim against reputation and privacy firm Schillings, and a Chinese businessman bring a legal action against his former lawyer over an alleged £12.5 million mortgage fraud.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

Glass Lewis brought a lawsuit against Texas over a measure it claims requires the proxy advisory firm to "publicly condemn itself" when its advice for clients reflects certain viewpoints the government disfavors. Meanwhile, a new proposed class action alleges Boeing employees on long-term disability leave missed out on a $12,000 bonus distributed after workers ratified a union contract. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Jones Day and DLA Piper lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Federal Circuit overturned a more than $125 million judgment against Medtronic's CoreValve unit for infringing a Colibri Heart Valve LLC patent.

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