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
Will Trump Pardon Ghislaine Maxwell?
Republican members of the House Oversight Committee are reportedly debating a deal to grant a full presidential pardon to convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange for her cooperation in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Proponents argue the arrangement would secure Maxwell’s testimony, which they believe could exonerate former President Donald Trump from any wrongdoing linked to Epstein. Critics, including committee chair James Comer and Rep. Robert Garcia, denounce the proposal as a cover‑up that disregards survivors’ trauma. The debate underscores deep partisan splits and raises questions about the Department of Justice’s independence under the Trump administration.
Regulatory Review: Andrographis, Caffeine Warning, Biotics and More
Regulators across several markets are tightening rules for dietary supplements and natural health products. Australia’s TGA is consulting on removing Andrographis from its low‑risk ingredient list after anaphylaxis reports, while the EU continues to block probiotic health claims and has...
Ninth Circuit Weighs in on Cemex – But Ultimately Sidesteps the Real Fight
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the National Labor Relations Board’s traditional Gissel bargaining order against Cemex Construction Materials Pacific after the company engaged in hallmark unfair labor practices during its organizing campaign. While the court easily applied established Gissel standards, it...
Boing Boing, April 23, 2026
The U.S. Department of Justice announced a surprising schedule shift, moving cannabis from the same classification as heroin to a tier aligned with over‑the‑counter pain relievers like Tylenol with codeine, yet it remains illegal under federal law. In parallel, Anthropic’s...
Results May Vary, But Reporting Shouldn’t: FDA Sends a Not-So-Gentle Reminder on ClinicalTrials.gov Compliance
On March 30, 2026, the FDA emailed more than 2,200 sponsors and investigators linked to over 3,000 clinical trials that have not posted required results on ClinicalTrials.gov or failed quality‑control review. The agency reminded that results must be posted within...
Thomson Reuters Report Shows Almost 50% of Corporate Legal Departments Adopt AI
The Thomson Reuters Institute’s 2026 State of the Corporate Law Department Report finds that almost half of corporate legal teams have rolled out AI across the entire department. Yet fewer than one‑in‑five are measuring AI’s return on investment, highlighting a...
LexisNexis and Luminance Unite AI to Transform Enterprise Contract Workflows
LexisNexis and Luminance announced a strategic alliance that embeds LexisNexis’s Protégé AI into Luminance’s contract analysis platform, giving corporate legal departments instant access to over 220 million verified legal documents. The integration promises end‑to‑end contract review and deeper legal research within...
Payslip and Deloitte Accelerate Global Payroll Centralisation Amid EU Pay‑Transparency Rules
Payslip and Deloitte unveiled a joint initiative that now automates over 1.3 million payslips a year across 125+ countries, processing roughly €5 billion ($5.5 billion) in payroll. The partnership, marking its two‑year anniversary, aims to meet tightening EU pay‑transparency directives with a unified,...
Roblox Pays $36 Million to Settle Child‑Safety Lawsuits with Three States
Roblox has agreed to pay $35.78 million to settle child‑safety lawsuits filed by West Virginia, Alabama and Nevada. The deal forces the gaming platform to roll out mandatory age verification, restrict chat for minors and fund safety initiatives, marking a watershed...
TI Communities Faces Dual Lawsuit Over Biometric Timekeeping and Wage Violations
A complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois accuses property‑management firm TI Communities of violating the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act and wage‑and‑hour laws through its facial‑scan timekeeping system. The case underscores how biometric attendance...
Law Firms Lose Diversity Mandates as Corporations Pull Back
Microsoft and Meta have quietly discontinued the most concrete diversity incentives they imposed on outside counsel, a trend first highlighted by Bloomberg Law. The retreat marks a reversal of earlier client‑driven pressure that forced law firms to staff teams with...
Four Influencers in ASIC Crosshairs as Crackdown Widens
Australia’s securities regulator, ASIC, has sent warning notices to four social‑media influencers and placed 15 others under review for allegedly providing unlicensed, "guaranteed return" financial advice on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. The move targets a surge of...
Petual Secures $20 Million to Automate Enterprise Audit and SOX Compliance
Petual, an AI‑driven audit and compliance startup, announced a $20 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, Cowboy Ventures and Elad Gil. The funding will accelerate product development and expand go‑to‑market efforts for its platform that claims...
Freshfields Expands AI Partnership with Anthropic Across Global Offices
Freshfields Bering has broadened its collaboration with Anthropic, deploying the firm’s Claude generative‑AI models across all of its global offices. The move positions Freshfields among the first major law firms to embed a single AI platform firm‑wide, raising both efficiency...
Trump DOJ Limits Efforts to Safeguard States From Election Crimes
The Justice Department has dismantled its centralized election‑threat response hub, ending mandatory election‑law training for federal prosecutors and cutting off state officials’ access to DOJ threat briefings. Coordination is now dispersed to 93 US attorneys, many appointed by President Trump,...
NYC Ends Waymo Robotaxi Pilot, Raising Caution for City AV Rollouts
New York City terminated its eight‑vehicle Waymo robotaxi pilot on March 31, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani indicating no plans to restart the test. The decision arrives as rival firms Zoox and Tesla push expansions into other U.S. markets, underscoring a split...
Stop Sending Humans to an AI Gunfight
Regulators across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia demand rigorous third‑party due diligence, yet many vendors now rely on AI to generate compliance and security reports, including fabricated SOC 2‑style assurances. This forces risk teams to manually review AI‑produced documents, creating bottlenecks and...
Bedrock Data Extends ArgusAI Governance to Google Vertex AI, Unifying AI Data Controls
Bedrock Data announced today that its ArgusAI governance platform now supports Google Vertex AI Search and Dialogueflow, enabling a single policy model for AI agents across Amazon Bedrock, Snowflake Cortex AI, ChatGPT Enterprise and Google's AI services. The move aims...
DLA Piper Votes to Dissolve Verein
DLA Piper announced it will dissolve its Swiss verein structure and replace it with a single global limited‑liability partnership that sits above the existing US and International LLPs. The new entity will be led by Frank Ryan as global chair...
Federal Judge Rules Michigan’s Warrantless Liquor Inspections Unconstitutional
Federal Judge David Lawson ruled that Michigan's statute permitting suspicionless, warrantless inspections of liquor‑licensed businesses violates the Fourth Amendment. The decision in Generis Entertainment, LLC v. Donley rejected the state's claim that such searches are justified by regulatory authority, finding...
Response to Michal Barzuza’s “Nevada V. Delaware”
A coalition of Nevada officials and over twenty legal scholars issued a public response to Michal Barzuza’s revised paper “Nevada v. Delaware,” arguing that the draft misrepresents Nevada corporate law. The response highlights omitted Nevada Supreme Court decisions, multimillion‑dollar settlements,...
Evening Update: Citizenship on Trial - Trump’s Quiet Push to Redraw Who Belongs
The Trump administration has quietly re‑activated a long‑dormant “moral character” provision that allows the Department of Justice to revoke U.S. citizenship for naturalized individuals deemed to have engaged in extremist or criminal conduct. The policy, announced in a limited internal...
United Kingdom to Enact Smoking Ban Only for Those Who Are Not Yet Legal Adults
The UK Parliament approved a bill that will permanently prohibit the sale of tobacco to anyone born in 2009 or later, effectively creating a “smoke‑free generation.” The measure applies to all four nations of the United Kingdom and will take...
LonRes Launches New Service to Help Agents Meet New Rules
LonRes has introduced Rental Checker, a data‑driven tool that supplies achieved rent benchmarks to help letting agents justify rent increases under the upcoming Renters’ Rights Act. The service, initially covering prime London lettings, lets agents input property details and receive...
Calif. AG Rob Bonta: ‘Red Flags Everywhere’ on Paramount/WBD Merger
Paramount Pictures announced a $110.9 billion equity acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal that still requires state-level approval in California. Attorney General Rob Bonta warned that the merger faces “red flags everywhere,” citing concerns over consumer pricing, employee wages, and market competition....
Watchdog Group: Michigan Secretary of State Enforcing Laws She Wrote Herself
In this episode, host Dave interviews Patrice Johnson, founder of Michigan Fair Elections and Pure Integrity Michigan Elections, about a flurry of new election rules issued by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in early 2025. Johnson explains that roughly 40...
Michigan Group Questions 40 New Election Rules From Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson
Michigan election watchdog Michigan Fair Elections warned that Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has rolled out roughly 40 new election rules, six weeks after announcing her gubernatorial bid. The provisions touch voter registration, poll‑book data retention, roll maintenance, and poll‑challenger...
WGA Warns Warner‑Paramount Merger Would Be Disastrous
WGA statement on Warner shareholders approving Paramount deal: The proposed merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery would be a disaster for writers, the entertainment industry, consumers, and the country. While shareholders approved this deal today, this merger is far from...
Texas, Florida, Utah and Others Stockpile Gold Bars as Inflation Hedge
Texas, Florida, Utah and Wyoming have enacted laws to purchase and store gold bars, aiming to protect state savings from persistent inflation and soaring federal spending. The moves come as gold prices sit above $4,700 an ounce and the national...
Opponents Amend Lawsuit to Halt Oak Flat Copper Mine Land Swap
Apache Stronghold and religious‑rights advocates have filed an amended lawsuit seeking to overturn the U.S. Forest Service’s land exchange that would enable Resolution Copper’s Oak Flat project. The filing argues the swap violates Indigenous religious freedoms and could devastate a...
FBI Director Kash Patel Sues The Atlantic for $250 Million, Sparking Press‑freedom Debate
FBI Director Kash Patel has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, alleging false claims about his conduct. The filing coincides with the launch of Objection, an AI‑driven media‑tribunal startup, and has ignited a clash...
Nintendo Sued Over Trump‑Era Tariff Refunds and Switch Price Hikes
Nintendo of America is confronting a proposed class‑action lawsuit in Washington state, accusing the company of retaining government tariff refunds while it raised Switch prices by $5‑$10 during the 2025‑26 Trump‑era tariffs. Plaintiffs seek restitution for buyers who paid inflated...
CVS Health Fights Tennessee FAIR Rx Act that Could Shutter 134 Pharmacies
CVS Health is challenging the Tennessee FAIR Rx Act, a law that would bar companies from owning both a pharmacy benefit manager and a pharmacy. The company says the measure could force the closure of up to 134 CVS pharmacies,...
Diego Pavia's Legal Battle Raises 2026 Draft Timing
The big sports law question for the 2026 NFL Draft: When will Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia—who began what has become more than 70 eligibility lawsuits against the NCAA to extend their time as college athletes—be drafted?
Shein and Temu Hit With Lawsuits Demanding Customers Get Their Tariff Money Back
Shein and Temu are facing coordinated class‑action lawsuits alleging they overcharged U.S. shoppers after the Trump administration imposed IEEPA tariffs that later were ruled unconstitutional. Bloomberg tracked price spikes of up to 377%, far exceeding the actual tariff cost. The...
Compliance Startup Delve Tied to New Vercel Data Breach via Context AI Client
Compliance firm Delve, already under fire for alleged audit fraud, is now linked to Vercel's latest data breach after its former client Context AI was used as an entry point. The incident underscores how trusted certification vendors can become supply‑chain...
Tether Freezes $344 Million of USDT on Tron After OFAC Request
Tether froze more than $344 million of USDT on the Tron blockchain after the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control flagged two wallets for illicit activity. The action, the largest of its kind for the stablecoin issuer, underscores mounting compliance...
Rights Groups Condemn Conviction of Two UK Palestine Solidarity Activists
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other NGOs condemned the UK courts’ conviction of Palestine Solidarity Campaign director Ben Jamal and Stop the War Coalition vice‑chair Chris Nineham. Both were found guilty of breaching protest guidelines during a January 2025...
Humm Group Limited: Takeovers Panel Finds Humm Breaches Undertaking
The Australian Takeovers Panel has ruled that Humm Group Limited breached the undertaking it gave when acquiring shares in a proposed transaction. The breach stemmed from Humm exceeding the 5% ownership threshold without the required public disclosure and failing to...
Trump Sues DOJ for $230 Million over Coup Prosecution
Don't forget Trump's $230 million lawsuit against the Justice Department because they prosecuted him for trying to overthrow the government
Lawyer Denies Involvement in Alleged ‘Suspicious Circumstances’ in $410M Inheritance Dispute Within Late Malaysian Billionaire Lim Goh Tong’s Family
A Malaysian court heard a dispute over the $410.4 million estate of Lim Siew Kim, the youngest daughter of late Genting founder Lim Goh Tong. Lawyer Low Beng Choo, who drafted three successive wills, denied any wrongdoing and asserted the final April 2022 will reflects the deceased’s wishes....
Set Boundaries, Use Waivers to Avoid Blame
This is too common. I usually just say no - and if they push it I make them sign something that states we’re not responsible for the poor performance that may result. Usually they get the idea.
25-1134 - Trupia V. Onvoy LLC Et Al
A lawsuit titled Trupia v. Onvoy LLC et al was filed in the Western District of Oklahoma under docket number 25‑1134. The plaintiff, Trupia, is suing Onvoy LLC and additional defendants over alleged contractual violations. The case was entered into...
A Rumour, a Lynching in India and a Long Wait for Justice
In August 2018 two strangers – businessman Abhijeet Nath and musician Nilotpal Das – were lynched by a mob in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district after a WhatsApp rumor labeled them child kidnappers. Eight years later a sessions court convicted 20 of...
25-402 - USA V. Yuan Et Al
The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma has docketed case 25-402, titled USA v. Yuan et al. The filing, dated April 22 2026, is listed on the official govinfo portal, which provides public access to the case’s documents...
Intimidation Is the New Voter Suppression
The Justice Department has filed 384 denaturalization referrals against naturalized U.S. citizens, the largest batch ever recorded. Federal law permits revoking citizenship only for fraud, sham marriages, or concealed disqualifications, and each case requires a full evidentiary hearing before a...
Treasury Chief Says Smarter AML Starts With Better Identity
Treasury Assistant Secretary Jonathan Burke told a House subcommittee that the U.S. AML framework must evolve to keep pace with faster, digital payments and sophisticated fraud. He urged a shift from volume‑driven alerts to risk‑based supervision, emphasizing better digital identity...
26-289 - Singh V. Grant
The federal case Singh v. Grant (docket 26‑289) has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. The case’s docket and related filings are now publicly accessible through the Government Publishing Office’s GovInfo portal. Users...
25-927 - Mitchell Et Al V. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company Et Al
A lawsuit titled Mitchell et al v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company was filed in the Western District of Oklahoma in 2026, docket number 25‑927. The plaintiffs, identified as Mitchell and co‑defendants, allege that State Farm mishandled insurance claims,...
Rising Contacts Raise Concerns About Electronics and Whitegoods Sector Compliance with Consumer Guarantee Rights
Consumer guarantee complaints to the ACCC jumped 20% in 2025, topping 38,000 cases, with roughly 70% involving electronics and whitegoods. The sector generated the most reports, prompting the regulator to flag compliance as a 2025/26 priority. The government is moving...