Today's Legal Pulse
Biden sues DOJ to block release of interview audio
President Biden filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the Department of Justice from publishing an audio interview, arguing the release would be improper. The action has sparked political commentary, including remarks from former President Trump.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader clear final merger hurdles
Crystal Bar: Contempt Application Against Litigant and Its Lawyers Struck Out
The High Court dismissed a contempt application filed by Bargain Busting Ltd against Shenzhen SKE Technology Ltd and its counsel, finding no public‑interest justification. The underlying dispute concerns trademark rights to “CRYSTAL BAR” for vape products, with the UK Intellectual Property Office ordered to proceed with BBL’s registration. Judge Paul Matthews cautioned that contempt proceedings are being over‑used as a tactical weapon, draining judicial resources and undermining fair access to courts. A related appeal on a preliminary injunction involving freedom of expression is now before the courts.
“Mom’s Damages Claim Over Trans-Student Notification Revived”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit revived a lawsuit filed by a mother seeking damages after her child’s school notified parents about a transgender student’s use of gender‑aligned facilities. The lower district court had dismissed the claim,...
The 14th Amendment Adopted Birthright Citizenship, by Ediberto Roman
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara, a case that asks whether the President can end birthright citizenship through an executive order. Conservative scholars argue the 14th Amendment’s “subject to the jurisdiction” language limits citizenship...
ESG Ratings Regulation – Commission Adopts Delegated Acts on Fees and Penalties
On 24 April 2026 the European Commission adopted two delegated regulations that flesh out the EU ESG Ratings Regulation. One sets out the exact fee structure ESMA will charge ESG rating providers, detailing fee types, amounts and reimbursement mechanisms for competent authorities....
Reserve Bank of India Cancels Licence of Paytm Payments Bank Limited
The Reserve Bank of India has revoked the banking licence of Paytm Payments Bank Limited, effectively barring it from any banking activity. The RBI cited detrimental management practices and non‑compliance that harmed depositor interests. While the bank can still process...
#725 Making Digital Government Accessible with Rebecca Bond and Kristin Stitcher
In this episode, GovLove host Tony Thompson talks with former DOJ disability‑rights attorneys Rebecca Bond and Kristen Stitcher about the newly released ADA Title II interim final rule that extends website and mobile‑app accessibility deadlines for large public entities to April 26, 2027...
Officers Awarded $14.6M After Jury Finds LAPD Retaliated Against Them for Reporting Training Safety Issues
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury found that the LAPD retaliated against four officers who raised safety concerns at the department’s Edward M. Davis firearms training facility, awarding them nearly $15 million in damages. The officers, senior firearms instructors and veteran...
Merck Announces Expiration of Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Waiting Period to Acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Merck announced that the Hart‑Scott‑Rodino antitrust waiting period for its pending acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals expired at 11:59 p.m. ET on April 23, 2026. The company’s cash tender offer, launched on April 7, proposes to buy each Terns share for $53 in cash, less...
FRESH Act of 2026 Explained: FDA, GRAS Reform and Industry Pushback
The FDA Review and Evaluation for Safe, Healthy and Affordable Foods Act of 2026, known as the FRESH Act, would overhaul the agency’s food‑ingredient regime by creating a new “common food ingredients” category, mandating a public GRAS notification system, and...
Court Extends Detention of Aviation Official, Reliance Exec in Bribery Case
An Indian court extended the pre‑trial detention of Deputy Director General Mudavath Devula of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Reliance Industries senior vice‑president Bharat Mathur until May 6. Both are accused of accepting a $16,000 bribe to expedite drone...
Expanding the Frontier of Legal Agentic Work: GPT-5.5 Support in Clio Work and Vincent
Clio announced that every Clio Work and Vincent user will be upgraded to OpenAI’s new GPT‑5.5 model. In internal testing the model achieved an 87.2% benchmark score, outpacing GPT‑5.4 and other frontier models. The upgrade delivers roughly 20% better citation...
Burlap & Barrel Awaits Trade Court Ruling as Judges Weigh Limits on Presidential Tariff Power
Burlap & Barrel, backed by the nonprofit Liberty Justice Center, has taken the Trump administration’s Section 122 tariffs to the U.S. Court of International Trade, arguing the law’s narrow 1970s intent makes the tariffs illegal. The case, merged with a parallel...
No-Fly Zone: Why AI Doesn’t Need Helicopter Regulation
The White House’s AI Action Plan adopts a light‑touch stance, directing the FTC to prioritize innovation rather than impose sweeping rules. The DOJ’s recent settlement with RealPage demonstrates that algorithmic pricing is not automatically deemed illegal under antitrust law. Both...
U.S. District Court Swipes Banking Industry Group’s Effort to Block Illinois’ Law Banning Interchange Fees on Tax and Tips
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled that the National Bank Act does not preempt Illinois' Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA), leaving the state’s ban on interchange fees for taxes and tips intact. The court granted...
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Adversarial Advocates: Batohi Withdraws From Nkabinde Inquiry Citing ‘Hostile Environment’
Former National Prosecuting Authority head Shamila Batohi has formally withdrawn from the Nkabinde Commission, which is examining Gauteng DPP Andrew Chauke's fitness for office. Batohi, who initiated the probe, left the inquiry in December after describing the process as hostile...
Rap Lyrics Were Used to Help Send a Man to Death Row. It’s Not the First Time
Prosecutors used a 19‑year‑old notebook of rap lyrics to secure a death‑penalty verdict against James Broadnax, a Black Texas defendant. Researchers have identified more than 700 instances where rap lyrics have been admitted as evidence across 40 states over the...
Court Will Consider Whether Trump Administration Properly Revoked Protected Status for Syrians and Haitians
On April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Mullin v. Doe, challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti and Syria. Federal district judges in Washington and New York have blocked...
New Zealand Passed a Generational Smoking Ban in 2022, But Repealed It Before It Went Into Effect
New Zealand’s coalition government has scrapped a world‑first generational smoking ban that would have barred anyone born after January 2009 from purchasing cigarettes. The repeal, driven by a deal with New Zealand First, aims to preserve roughly $600 million USD in tobacco revenue for...
DOJ Alleges That U.S. Defense Contractor Bribed Kurdish Official In Connection With Jet Fuel Contracts
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to seize a Beverly Hills mansion allegedly purchased with $30 million derived from a scheme that defrauded the Defense Logistics Agency. The scheme involved Virginia‑based defense contractor DGC International paying...
Navigating the Future of US Options Markets: Takeaways From the SEC Roundtable
On April 16, the SEC convened a roundtable of exchanges, market makers, broker‑dealers, clearing firms, academics and regulators to examine whether the U.S. options market’s regulatory framework is keeping pace with its rapid growth. While commissioners praised the market’s strength,...
Bill Reintroduced to Overhaul Front-of-Pack Food Labels, Ingredients Lists
The Food Labeling Modernization Act was reintroduced in the House by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, aiming to overhaul front‑of‑package nutrition labels and ingredient lists that haven’t been updated since the 1990s. The bill would require a...
US v Heppner: The End of "Just a Prompt" And Emerging IP Risk - Part 1 of the AI...
The U.S. Court of Appeals in United States v. Heppner ruled that documents generated with a commercial generative‑AI tool and shared with counsel are not shielded by attorney‑client privilege or the work‑product doctrine. The decision hinges on the fact that...
Cybersecurity Meets Geopolitics at Top EU Court
Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta issued a non‑binding advisory opinion in the Elisa Eesti v Estonia case, concluding that EU law permits member states to exclude hardware and software from telecom networks when the supplier is deemed a national‑security risk. The opinion validates...
Proton CEO Warns Age‑verification Mandates Could Kill Online Anonymity, Reshape Digital Ads
Proton founder‑CEO Andy Yen warned that worldwide pushes for mandatory age verification will end online anonymity, a change that could upend data‑driven advertising. At the same time, the VPN Trust Initiative cautioned the UK’s child‑safety consultation could strip essential privacy...
California Courts Will Begin Tracking ICE Arrests at Their Facilities
California’s Judicial Council approved a rule that, beginning in June, obliges the state’s 58 trial courts to collect and publish detailed data on any civil arrests made on courthouse grounds, including those by ICE agents. The mandate follows a sharp...
‘Superhighways for Child Sexual Abuse’: California Lawmakers Seek Tougher Rules for Big Tech
California Democrats Assembly members Maggy Krell and Buffy Wicks have introduced AB 1946, a bill that would allow the state to sue social‑media platforms for failing to detect or remove child sexual abuse material. The legislation mandates bi‑annual child‑safety audits, a...
FTC, US Anesthesia Partners Reach Settlement in Texas Price Collusion Case
The Federal Trade Commission reached a confidential settlement with U.S. Anesthesia Partners (USAP), a private‑equity‑backed anesthesia provider, over allegations it consolidated the Texas market and raised prices. USAP denied wrongdoing but agreed to settle to avoid costly litigation, while the...
$30K FMLA Retaliation Case: DOL Finds Worker Was Forced Out
The U.S. Department of Labor ruled that the University of Tennessee violated the Family and Medical Leave Act by forcing an employee on approved intermittent leave to resign, rather than terminating them outright. The university also failed to provide the...
Circle and Tether at the Epicenter of U.S. Stablecoin Act 2026 as Regulation Challenges USDT $180B Liquidity Stronghold
Tether’s USDT still dominates the stablecoin market with about 60% share and roughly US$180 billion in on‑chain liquidity, but its lead is eroding as regulators favor Circle’s USDC. Since late 2023, USDC supply has surged 220%, driven by its compliance with...
Video Summary: Southern Poverty Law Center
The blog post asserts that a recent federal indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is merely the "tip of the iceberg" in a broader left‑wing campaign to undermine conservative voices. It frames the indictment as part of an...
EU to Classify ChatGPT as Very Large Search Engine
And that can bring more oversight -> European Commission Moving to Classify ChatGPT as ‘Very Large Online Search Engine’ Under Digital Services Act "The DSA mandates applying the designation of Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE) or Very Large Online Platform...
Freeman on the Land Gets Six‑month Contempt Sentence
The High Court just sentenced a "freeman on the land" to six months for contempt of court, for breach of a planning injunction. He was lucky not to also get a contempt charge for his behaviour in court. https://t.co/OCOCTedbca
![[Video] Daily Compliance News: April 24, 2026, The New Calculus on Self-Disclosure Edition](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://jdsupra-static.s3.amazonaws.com/profile-images/og.2237_4849.jpg)
[Video] Daily Compliance News: April 24, 2026, The New Calculus on Self-Disclosure Edition
The Daily Compliance News edition for April 24, 2026 curates four headline‑making compliance stories. An ex‑RBS banker was sentenced to prison for bribery, while Malaysia’s king is set to appoint a new head of the anti‑corruption agency. U.S. regulators are intensifying scrutiny...
On the State Department Memorandum “Operation Epic Fury and International Law”
On April 21, 2026 State Department Legal Adviser Reed Rubinstein issued the Trump administration’s longest public legal memorandum defending Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. war against Iran. The memo argues the conflict is part of an ongoing armed war and that the...
FCA Finfluencer Crackdown: What Firms Must Change to Comply
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has intensified its crackdown on illegal financial promotions by finfluencers, identifying 1,267 unlawful adverts that reached over 2.3 million accounts. The regulator now treats social‑media promotions as a core compliance function, demanding firms prove that...
Trump “Not Happy” With Prediction Markets – Says World Is a “Casino” As Special Forces Soldier Arrested for Insider Trading...
Federal prosecutors have charged Army Special Forces master sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke with using classified information about the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to earn more than $400,000 on Polymarket, a crypto‑based prediction market. The CFTC...
Sebi Eases FPI Settlement Norms, Allows Netting of Funds in Cash Market to Cut Costs, Improve Efficiency
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has introduced a net‑settlement framework that lets foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offset cash flows for outright transactions in the cash market. Under the new rule, buy and sell positions in a single...
Trump's Supreme Court Is the Most Anti-Voting Rights Court in 70 Years
A Washington Post analysis finds the Supreme Court reshaped by Donald Trump’s three appointees to be the most anti‑voting‑rights bench in seven decades. Between 2020 and 2024 the Court’s civil‑rights success rate fell to 44%, and conservatives backed voting‑rights protections...
![[Podcast] Is the Sky Falling? IP Rights Under the New FAR and DFARS](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://jdsupra-static.s3.amazonaws.com/profile-images/og.16056_1548.jpg)
[Podcast] Is the Sky Falling? IP Rights Under the New FAR and DFARS
The latest revisions to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) were dissected in a Wiley Rein podcast, revealing that the anticipated sweeping reforms to contractors' intellectual property (IP) and data rights are modest. While...
New Jersey Man Sentenced To 42 Months For $9 Million Fraud
Arsen Lusher, a 49‑year‑old New Jersey resident, was sentenced to 42 months in prison for a multi‑year wire‑fraud scheme that duped more than 20 investors out of nearly $9 million. The scheme, presented as a profitable trucking business, raised about $40 million,...
The ESA’s Joint Committee Highlights Digitalisation, Cyber Resilience and Sustainable Finance as Key Priorities of 2025
The European Supervisory Authorities’ Joint Committee released its 2025 Annual Report, highlighting digitalisation, cyber‑resilience and sustainable finance as top priorities. The report details the rollout of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) to harden cyber defenses, tighter rules for sustainable‑finance...
Southfield Couple Pleads Guilty in $1.2M Pandemic Fraud Conspiracy
Catherine Spidell‑Ferguson pleaded guilty to a $1.2 million Paycheck Protection Program fraud scheme, joining her husband D’Angelo Ferguson who earlier admitted to submitting three bogus PPP applications. The couple used falsified income statements and payroll records to secure the loans. The...
United States Prevails in Wrongful Death Lawsuit Alleging Excessive Force by Border Patrol
U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia ruled that Border Patrol agents acted lawfully in the fatal shooting of smuggler Silvestre Estrada, rejecting claims of excessive force. The court found the agents' use of deadly force reasonable after Estrada accelerated toward...
Convicted Felon Illegal Alien Convicted for Unlawfully Being in United States
A federal jury convicted 36‑year‑old Mexican national Luis Alberto Banda Acosta of illegal reentry after two prior removals, following a three‑day trial in Bryan, Texas. Deliberations lasted less than three hours, and the court set sentencing for June 30. Banda faces...
OCR Announces Settlements of Four Ransomware Investigations that Affected Over 427,000 Individuals
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights announced settlements with four HIPAA‑covered entities after ransomware breaches that exposed the protected health information of more than 427,000 individuals. Regional Women’s Health Group, Assured Imaging, Consociate Health...
AI-Native Law Firm Index Hits 40 Listings
The AI Firm Index, launched by Lupl co‑founder Matt Pollins, has reached 40 listed AI‑native law firms, up from 23 a year ago. These firms are built around AI‑enabled intake, pricing, delivery, and team structures, often redesigning the client journey...
China’s Maritime Code Revision a ‘Substantive Change’ for Cargo
The revised Article 295 of China’s Maritime Code, effective 1 May, expands Chinese court jurisdiction over cargo contracts that transit Chinese ports, even when parties have selected foreign law. It codifies the practice that Chinese law governs carriage contracts lacking explicit jurisdiction...
Newsmax Renews Antitrust Battle Against Fox News in Florida Court
Newsmax has refiled its federal antitrust lawsuit against Fox Corporation and Fox News Network in the Southern District of Florida after a Wisconsin judge transferred the case, criticizing earlier forum‑shopping tactics. The 39‑page complaint alleges Fox uses carriage agreements that...
Sanctions Uncertainty Looms Over Iran's World Cup Participation
Would be interesting to know how sanctions will work in the event of the Iranian national team participating. Entities in the US contracting with the Iran's football federation could be accused of sanctions busting. Will there be special exemptions to...
Senators Push Forward to Make Hot Rotisserie Chicken Available to SNAP Recipients
A bipartisan group of senators introduced the Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act to amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, allowing SNAP recipients to purchase hot rotisserie chicken. The bill adds “hot rotisserie chicken” to the definition of eligible food,...