Analysis

New Chinese Lobbying Law Raises Q's For DOD Contractors

By Madeline Lyskawa

Defense contractors are struggling to navigate a new law that bars the Pentagon from contracting with companies that hire lobbyists for Chinese military companies, given the statute's broad definition of lobbying activities and lack of clarity surrounding its implementation.

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Analysis

Trump's AI Cyber Directive Leaves Cos. Guessing At Upside

By Allison Grande

A recent executive order intended to boost the security of advanced artificial intelligence systems hinges on developers voluntarily making their models available to the government for prerelease testing, but lingering questions about the potential trade-offs of this exchange raise doubts about the ultimate effectiveness of this model.

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CVS To Pay $36.5M To Settle States' Insulin FCA Suits

By Hailey Konnath

CVS has agreed to shell out $36.5 million to put to rest a handful of False Claims Act suits from states and the federal government, which allege the pharmacy chain submitted fraudulent Medicaid claims after giving patients more insulin than they were prescribed and lying about refill timelines.

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DOL Adds Child Labor, Tip Credit Regs In Latest Rule List

By Max Kutner

The U.S. Department of Labor unveiled an updated agency rule list that contains newly announced plans for child labor and tipped worker changes and provides updated time frames on previously announced proposals.

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Brief

FCC Unveils Location Map For Alaska Mobile Funding

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission on Monday released the first locations in Alaska for which the agency is willing to provide subsidy funds to see them set up with mobile service as part of the billion-dollar Alaska Connect Fund.

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DOD, Humana Seek Toss Of $270K Tricare Coverage Row

By Gianna Ferrarin

The U.S. Department of Defense and a Humana unit urged a D.C. federal court to toss allegations that they wrongfully denied Tricare coverage for a minor's inpatient mental health treatment, arguing the minor's parents lack standing because they weren't billed for the treatment at issue.

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Feds Say No Funds Went To Work At Lummi Burial Site

By Nadia Dreid

The government told a federal court in Washington state Monday it wants out of a lawsuit brought by the Lummi Nation over a federally funded broadband project that disturbed the remains of the tribe's ancestors, saying it never officially approved the construction activities or released any funds for it.

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6th Circ. Affirms Late Forfeiture Order Despite Court Blunder

By Elizabeth Daley

A Sixth Circuit panel has upheld a Kentucky federal court's order requiring a veteran convicted of stealing government funds to forfeit more than $108,000, even though the lower court did not impose forfeiture until months after the sentencing hearing.

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Contractor Says Former Exec's Gender Bias Claim Belongs In Va.

By Patrick Hoff

A defense contractor urged a Colorado federal court to toss a female former executive's gender bias claim alleging she was fired for reporting a male manager's $1.9 million fraud scheme, arguing the claim belongs in Virginia because her employment stemmed from that state and the company is based there.

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Brief

Diagnostic Co.'s Oversight Reforms Deal Gets Final OK

By Sydney Price

A California federal judge has given final approval to a deal ending shareholder derivative claims that diagnostics company CareDx's executives and directors damaged the company by concealing its scheme to inflate its testing services revenue.

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GAO OKs NASA's Ax Of Bid For $20B Deals Over Missing Info

By Elaine Briseño

The U.S. Government Accountability Office said NASA was justified in eliminating an aerospace company from a competition for up to $20 billion in IT contracts, saying the company's proposal failed to verify compliance with industry standards for combating cybersecurity threats.

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Analysis

After Tense Terms, Hints Of High Court Harmony With Circuits

By Jeff Overley

Following several U.S. Supreme Court terms teeming with reversals and rebukes of lower appeals courts, the justices this term found fault less often with rulings by circuit judges, who are likely becoming better attuned to the conservative supermajority, attorneys say.

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Analysis

The Moments That Shaped The Monsanto Decision

By Cara Bayles and Steven Trader

U.S. Supreme Court justices forged unusual alliances when they ruled a federal statute preempts claims Monsanto failed to warn consumers its Roundup weed killer may cause cancer. Oral arguments provided insights on the 7-2 outcome, highlighting issues the jurists were grappling with and showcasing rationales that found their way into the opinion.

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Feature

The Funniest Moments Of The Supreme Court's Term

By Jeff Overley

When one of the U.S. Supreme Court's most talkative members suddenly struggled to speak, the atmosphere at oral arguments grew increasingly anxious — until the justice deadpanned that it was an advocate's golden opportunity to avoid a grilling.

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Blank Rome Sued Over Breach Allegedly Affecting 57K People

By Steven Lerner

An attorney with Blank Rome LLP was tricked into uploading sensitive files to an external Google Drive account, allegedly exposing private information belonging to more than 57,000 individuals, according to a proposed class action accusing the law firm of inadequate cybersecurity safeguards and delayed breach notification.

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Richards Layton Faces Possible Sanctions Over AI Errors

By Rose Krebs

Richards Layton & Finger PA and one of its attorneys have been directed by the Delaware Court of Chancery to show why they should not be sanctioned for a brief submitted with "hallucinated legal propositions" generated by artificial intelligence and for not taking steps to remediate those errors.

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Partnership Docs Sealed In Clifford Chance Clawback Spat

By Ryan Boysen

A federal judge has sealed the partnership agreements that two ex-Clifford Chance LLP practice group heads who jumped to Sidley Austin LLP included in their lawsuit challenging a nearly $6 million clawback demand, after Clifford Chance claimed the tactics put it at a competitive disadvantage. 

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Murdaugh Fights Clerk's Bid To Ax Jury-Tampering Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A former court clerk found to have interfered in Alex Murdaugh's murder trial cannot escape civil claims over the tampering, the disgraced attorney told a South Carolina federal court, stating in an opposition that the clerk cannot argue her way out of the state Supreme Court's finding that she tampered with the jury.

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DOJ Looks To Block ABA's Trump Adviser Subpoenas

By Jack Karp

The American Bar Association cannot demand documents and deposition testimony from a Trump adviser in its lawsuit over the Trump administration's executive orders targeting law firms, since any communication between a presidential adviser and the chief executive is privileged, the government has told a New York federal court.

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Roc Nation Calls Out Alleged AI Citations In Fat Joe Case Brief

By Andrea Keckley

Roc Nation LLC has told a New York federal judge that plaintiff Terrance Dixon's opposition brief filed in a pending Rule 11 sanctions fight should be struck down in part because it includes what the company alleges are fabricated quotations attributed to real judicial decisions.

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Kasowitz Sued Over College Antisemitism Settlement Fees

By Adrian Cruz

A group of Columbia University students who reached a settlement with the school over alleged antisemitism on campus accused Kasowitz LLP of wrongfully taking over $6 million from the deal and engaging in "self-dealing and misappropriation."

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Split 5th Circ. Backs Bond Hearings For Immigrant Detainees

By Ganesh Setty

The Fifth Circuit has limited its recent decision permitting the federal government to subject unauthorized immigrants to mandatory detention without bond, finding such individuals are still entitled to an eventual bond hearing under their Fifth Amendment due process rights.

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GOP Bill Would Cement DOJ Fraud Division In Federal Law

By Courtney Bublé

A pair of House Republicans are looking to put a congressional stamp of approval on the new fraud division in the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Judge Says No To Amicus On Attorney Privilege In FTC Case

By Nadia Dreid

A defense bar advocacy group will not get a chance to weigh in on the FTC's antitrust case against Amazon over allegations the e-commerce behemoth used attorney-client privilege to hide evidence from discovery after a Washington federal judge declined to hear from the group.

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Nadine Menendez's Attys Rebuked For Medical Disclosures

By Carla Baranauckas

A New York federal judge rebuked Nadine Menendez's attorneys on Monday for publicly filing a request to delay her surrender date that included "extensive intimate details" of her medical condition, calling the disclosure "astonishing" and ordering the parties to refile a redacted version by Wednesday.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week handled disputes involving arbitration, corporate control, advancement rights, freeze-out mergers and insolvent company wind-downs.

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