Today's Legal Pulse
UK pushes commonhold reform to boost housing supply
The Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill proposes abolishing leasehold and mandating new homes be sold as commonhold, tying the change to a target of delivering 1.5 million homes annually—the highest since 1968. The model remains untested, with fewer than 25 developments and unresolved issues around dispute resolution.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader clear final merger hurdles
Nexstar Accused Of Having It Both Ways In Dueling Court Fights
Public interest groups, led by Democracy Forward Foundation and Free Press, have asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to unwind the pending Nexstar‑TEGNA merger. They allege the FCC is deliberately stalling its statutory duty to review Media Bureau orders related to the deal. The brief seeks either an immediate FCC action or a suspension of the case while a California district court’s preliminary injunction remains in effect. The merger would combine two of the nation’s largest broadcast owners, raising antitrust and media‑diversity concerns.
California Fines Yotta $1M for Deceiving Savers
California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation fined Yotta Technologies $1 million for falsely marketing its prize‑linked savings accounts as fully FDIC‑insured. Internal communications reveal Yotta executives privately doubted the reliability of Synapse, the banking‑as‑a‑service partner that held customer funds, yet...
Key Evidence Ruled Admissible in Luigi Mangione’s State Murder Trial
New York Judge Gregory Carro ruled that the 3D‑printed pistol and a notebook seized during Luigi Mangione’s December 2024 arrest are admissible in his state murder trial for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The judge found the inventory...
Orrick Looks Ahead with Next-Gen Hires
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe announced the addition of Clayton Holland as a partner in its Houston office, bolstering the firm’s public‑finance team. Holland, a Chambers‑ranked lawyer, arrives with five years in the Texas Attorney General’s office and a track record...
Attorneys General Seek Crackdown On Customized Pricing
Sixteen state attorneys general, led by New York and Tennessee, have asked the Federal Trade Commission to regulate personalized pricing in online food delivery, requiring platforms to disclose the consumer data used and any price differences from public listings. Consumer...
What Biglaw Can Learn From Corporate Legal Ops
At the recent CLOC Global Institute in Chicago, in‑house legal operations professionals highlighted gaps in how Biglaw firms engage with corporate clients. Attendees urged outside counsel to recognize legal ops teams, involve them early, and align on budgeting, timelines, and...
Cooley Reinforces Leading Privacy Practice for Major Tech Companies
Cooley announced that Meredith Halama and Katie Cramer have joined its global cyber/data/privacy group as partners, bolstering the firm’s ad‑tech privacy practice. Both lawyers come from Perkins Coie, where Halama co‑chaired the privacy and security practice and Cramer built a...
K-ID Launches AI-Powered Compliance Tool Aimed at Speeding Global Game Launches | Exclusive
k-ID introduced Neimo MCP, an AI‑powered compliance intelligence platform that integrates directly into developer tools such as Claude, OpenAI’s Codex and Manus. The system draws on a database covering more than 200 jurisdictions and over 2,000 regulatory sources, delivering real‑time...
Tenet Hospitals, Leapfrog Spar over Legal Fees in Hospital Ratings Case
Tenet Healthcare’s five Florida hospitals are asking a federal court to compel The Leapfrog Group to pay nearly $10.5 million in attorney fees after a judge ruled Leapfrog unfairly lowered their safety grades. The hospitals argue the fees are needed to...
Understanding Production Agreements in the Music Industry
Production agreements are contracts where a production company provides recording facilities, industry connections, and managerial support in exchange for a share of an artist’s earnings and rights to their music. While they can accelerate an artist’s break‑into‑the‑market by leveraging the...
Retirees Confront Rising Debt and Garnishment Threats as Bankruptcy Options Gain Attention
A surge in debt lawsuits against seniors is exposing retirees to wage garnishment and bank levies, even as Social Security benefits remain largely protected. Bankruptcy filings can trigger an automatic stay that halts most collection actions, but exemptions vary by...
Study Finds Most Enterprises Lack Trusted Contract System of Record
Sirion and WorldCC released a joint research report showing that the majority of enterprises still manage contracts as disconnected files rather than a trusted system of record. The survey of more than 170 global organizations highlights a critical data gap...
Class‑Action Lawsuit Accuses Hisense Smart TVs of Acting as Chinese‑State Surveillance Devices
Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise has filed a class‑action suit in the U.S. Northern District of California against Hisense USA, claiming the company's smart TVs use automated content recognition to record audio‑visual data every 500 ms and transmit it...
New Zealand Moves to Shield Polluters by Amending Climate Tort Law
New Zealand’s government announced plans to amend the Climate Change Response Act, prohibiting tort claims for climate‑damage losses. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the change will give businesses legal certainty, while environmental advocates warn it shields polluters from accountability.
Podcast Explores What Makes a Law Firm Worth Buying in a Changing Legal Market
Osprey Approach released episode 32 of its “Empowering Law Firm Leaders” podcast, featuring Ambire Advisory founder Abby Winkworth. The conversation delves into what truly drives value in modern law firms amid rising private‑equity interest. Winkworth stresses that growth metrics alone don’t equal...
Some Thoughts On Harvey’s Launch of ‘LAB,’ An Open-Source, Long-Horizon Benchmark for Legal AI Agents
Harvey, now valued at $11 billion, launched the Legal Agent Benchmark (LAB), an open‑source framework to assess AI agents on long‑horizon legal tasks. The initial version offers over 1,200 tasks across 24 practice areas, evaluated against more than 75,000 expert‑written rubric...
TalkingTech Podcast with Harvey: How AI Agents Are Changing Legal Work—And Why It Matters Now
The TalkingTech Podcast with Harvey highlighted the emergence of AI agents that can plan, reason, and execute multi‑step legal tasks autonomously, moving beyond simple automation. On the Harvey platform, hundreds of use cases—from document checks to full‑draft generation—are already in...
The OpenAI Lawsuit Became a Master Class in What Not to Put in Writing
A California jury rejected Elon Musk’s lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI, and a judge later upheld the verdict. The two‑week trial aired hundreds of internal emails, texts and diary entries, revealing Musk’s threats, Greg Brockman’s billionaire‑ambition notes, and Mira...
The Prosecution of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Tradition of Citizen-Led Investigation
The Department of Justice indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on wire fraud, false statements, and money‑laundering charges, alleging the nonprofit used donor money to pay informants embedded in extremist groups. The indictment claims more than $3 million was spent...
Popular YouTuber MrBeast Hit with Employment Lawsuit Alleging FMLA Violations and ‘Toxic’ Workplace
Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, faces a lawsuit from former head of Instagram Lorrayne Mavromatis alleging FMLA violations, wrongful termination, gender discrimination and a toxic workplace culture. The complaint details pressure to work during labor, a 10‑hour shift three weeks...
Rethinking a Supreme Court Principle Used to Undermine the Voting Rights Act
The Supreme Court’s April 2026 decision in Louisiana v. Callais ignored the long‑standing Purcell principle, allowing a last‑minute suspension of the state’s congressional primary and reshaping the election timeline. The ruling nullified Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act without citing...
STB Issues Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Pleading Regs
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to revisit 49 CFR 1104.13, which currently prohibits filing a reply to a reply, known as a rebuttal. During its 2025 listening sessions, legal practitioners urged the Board...
Shipping to or From China..?? Read How the New Chinese Maritime Code Could Affect You
China’s revised Maritime Code took effect on May 1, 2026, marking the first major overhaul of its shipping law since 1993. The new Code, particularly Article 295, forces contracts that involve loading or discharge in Chinese ports to follow Chinese carriage rules, reshaping...
Dali Disaster in Baltimore Legal Saga Set to Run
The state of Maryland secured a $2.25 billion settlement with the owners of the container ship Dali after it demolished the Francis Scott Key Bridge, killing six workers. Legal experts warn that the settlement may only address the state’s claim, while...
SEC Announces Settled Order for Insider Trading Charges in Connection with Semrush Acquisition
On November 19, 2025 Adobe announced its agreement to acquire Semrush, sending Semrush shares up 74% in pre‑market trading. The SEC charged Nipun Kumar Jami, who learned the deal from his Adobe‑employed spouse, with insider trading after he bought call...
PayPal Pays $30 Million to Settle DOJ DEI Probe
PayPal has agreed to a $30 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve an investigation into its Economic Opportunity Fund, a DEI‑focused program for Black and minority‑owned businesses. The deal requires the payments giant to waive fees for...
Court to Hear Sex Discrimination Case Case Next Term
The Supreme Court placed a new Title IX case on its 2026‑27 docket, asking whether school employees can sue for sex discrimination under the federal education law. At the same time, it sent two Voting Rights Act Section 2 challenges back to...
Dentons Hires Baker McKenzie Team to Launch Hong Kong IP Practice
Dentons has launched an intellectual‑property practice in Hong Kong by hiring three senior lawyers from Baker McKenzie. Loke‑Khoon Tan will lead the IP and technology practice, Dominic Edmondson joins as a senior consultant on data‑privacy and AI, and Maria Joannides Smith heads the...
"Instead, Claude Just Made Up More Stuff"
In the Brooks v. Lowes Home Centers case, attorney Mark Wilkins used the AI model Claude to draft a brief. The AI generated fabricated citations, which a law clerk uncovered. Wilkins submitted the corrected AI output without further review, prompting...
BC Supreme Court Sets Aside Its Prior Production and Preservation Orders Against Binance
The British Columbia Supreme Court dismissed a petition against Binance Holdings Ltd., setting aside earlier production and preservation orders after determining it lacked in‑personam jurisdiction. The court found the petitioner had failed to disclose material facts about Binance’s 2023 withdrawal...
The Download: Musk V. Altman, Smart Glasses for Warfare, and Google I/O
Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI was thrown out because the claim was filed after the statute of limitations, leaving the substantive question of OpenAI’s nonprofit‑to‑for‑profit transition unanswered. The verdict clears a legal hurdle for OpenAI as it prepares for a...
Plaintiff's Immigration Concerns Don't Justify Pseudonymity
Magistrate Judge JoAnna Gibson McFadden denied Jane Doe’s request to proceed pseudonymously in her employment‑discrimination suit against Amazon.com Services. The judge held that Doe’s immigration‑status concerns do not outweigh the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure’s presumption that parties must be...
40 | Choosing Software M&A Counsel: What Founders Should Know Before Their Exit
In this episode, Mike Lyon and guest Mike Greco discuss how software founders should select M&A counsel when preparing to sell or raise capital. They emphasize hiring a transaction‑focused lawyer with deep SaaS/AI experience, in‑house tax and IP specialists, and...
Prompts Generated by an Expert Are Discoverable, Court Rules: EDiscovery Case Law
In Conservation Law Foundation v. Shell Oil, a Connecticut magistrate ruled that AI prompts used by expert witness Dr. Naomi Oreskes are discoverable under Federal Rule 26(b). The court rejected the plaintiff’s claim that the prompts were protected by a...
Fixed Recoverable Costs in Professional Negligence Claims: Making Earlier Calls
The introduction of Fixed Recoverable Costs (FRC) is reshaping professional negligence litigation by demanding earlier, more disciplined case assessment. Claimants must now front‑load tightly scoped expert opinions on breach, causation and quantum to determine realistic net recoveries before substantial costs...
Building the AI-Ready Legal Team
Legalfly will host a webinar on June 11 featuring senior legal solutions engineer Stephanie Adriaens, who will explain how legal teams can lay the operational groundwork for AI‑assisted contract review. The discussion will cover selecting the right contracts, centralising template libraries,...
Legora and Datasite Launch Generative AI-Powered Due Diligence Platform
Legora announced a partnership with virtual data‑room provider Datasite to embed generative AI due‑diligence tools into the Legora platform. The integration lets users pull documents from Datasite VDRs and run AI‑driven analysis without leaving the workflow, preserving existing data permissions.
Justice Dept. Launches $1.776 Billion Anti‑weaponization Fund After Trump IRS Settlement
The Justice Department announced a $1.776 billion “anti‑weaponization” fund to compensate individuals who claim they were politically targeted, as part of a settlement that ends former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS. Democrats and watchdog groups denounce the move as...
Tuesday Talk*: Settlement Or Fraud Upon The Court?
Trump’s attorneys filed a Rule 41 voluntary dismissal with prejudice, labeling the action as a dismissal rather than a settlement. The Department of Justice simultaneously announced a $1.776 billion Anti‑Weaponization Fund sourced from the Judgment Fund, which critics describe as a slush‑money...
Shielding Against Money Laundering: AML Regulations for Stablecoins Uncovered
Stablecoins are gaining mainstream traction, prompting regulators worldwide to tighten anti‑money‑laundering (AML) rules. Issuers, exchanges, and custodians must adopt risk‑based AML programs that include robust KYC, customer due diligence, and transaction monitoring. Recent U.S. guidance and FATF standards emphasize that...
PRA Publishes Dear CEO Letter on the Prudential Treatment of Tokenised Assets, Stablecoins, and Other Cryptoasset Exposures
On 18 May 2026 the Prudential Regulation Authority issued a new Dear CEO letter updating its prudential expectations for tokenised assets, stablecoins and other crypto‑asset exposures. The guidance reaffirms the 2022 risk‑control and Pillar 1/2 frameworks, maintains a 100 % capital charge for unbacked crypto,...
Congress Is Scrambling to Regulate Prediction Markets
Congress is rushing to regulate online prediction markets after a series of insider‑trading scandals, with more than a dozen bills introduced in 2026 but none yet passed. The latest proposal, Rep. Ritchie Torres' Campaign Funds Integrity Act of 2026, would...
Investigation Into Suspected Anti-Competitive Conduct by Google in Ad Tech
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened a Chapter II investigation in May 2022 into Google’s dominance across the ad‑tech stack, alleging the company favours its own services in online display advertising. In September 2024 the CMA issued a statement...
New Zealand Moves to Ban Tort Liability for Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Damage
New Zealand’s government announced plans to amend the Climate Change Response Act to bar tort liability for climate‑change damages, targeting claims over flooding, wildfires, drought and sea‑level rise. The change would pre‑empt the high‑profile Smith v Fonterra case, which is set for...
Survey on the EU Legal Framework for Health Data and Data Driven Health Technologies
The European Commission's DG CNECT, together with PwC EU Services, has launched a targeted survey running from 13 May to 22 May 2026. It seeks practical input from researchers, developers, regulators and other stakeholders on accessing and reusing health data while complying with...
Walk Through: June, AI-Driven Case Management
June, an AI‑driven case management and legal automation platform, showcased its end‑to‑end workflow in a recent AL TV walkthrough. The demo highlighted a unified interface that guides cases from intake through closure, while autonomous AI agents handle routing, deadline tracking,...
What Leads to Renegotiation?
Renegotiation typically stems from imperfect contracts or changed circumstances. The article outlines three reasons contracts fall short—limited foresight, cost constraints, and uncertain judicial interpretation—and cites market shifts like price drops or new technology as triggers. It then offers pre‑emptive and...
ASIC Continues Crackdown on Auditors’ Annual Statements
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced a renewed crackdown on registered company auditors who fail to lodge their annual statements. Auditors are required to file these statements within a month of their registration anniversary, but ASIC says compliance...
UPC ADR: Arbitration, Mediation and Expert Determination
The Unified Patent Court’s Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre (PMAC) will begin operations on 2 June 2026, offering independent mediation and arbitration services from seats in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and Lisbon, Portugal. PMAC’s rules allow proceedings to be held at either seat or...
The Changing World of Mediation: From Golf Balls to AI
The mediation profession has evolved from typewriters and early PCs to Zoom‑based virtual sessions, and now AI is reshaping the field. AI tools such as transcription services, large language models, and emotion‑recognition software are already augmenting mediators’ workflows, offering rapid...