Today's Legal Pulse
Biden sues DOJ to block release of interview audio
President Joe Biden has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to prevent the Department of Justice from publishing an audio recording of his interview. The action, reported by Axios and TIME, aims to keep the interview confidential amid political controversy.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader clear final merger hurdles
Worker Says WMATA Demoted Her, Kept Her Alleged Attacker on the Job
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) faces a lawsuit from former communications agent Kamryn Duckett, who alleges she was assaulted at her desk in January 2025 and that the agency’s response was inadequate. She claims WMATA delayed its internal investigation for six months, failed to enforce a restraining order, and demoted her from a Level 19 to a Level 18 role. The alleged assailant was convicted of misdemeanor assault but remained on WMATA’s payroll. Duckett resigned in August 2025, describing her exit as constructive termination.
Flat‑Fee Startup Legal Costs Half Expected, Save Money
A founder came to me expecting a $50,000 legal bill for his seed raise. The actual number was $25,000. Flat fee. He'd been putting off contacting a lawyer because of a number he made up in his head. And he's not the...
Key Takeaways: How Regulatory Exclusivity, PTA, PTE, and Double Patenting Shape Pharmaceutical Lifecycle Value
The recent Sterne Kessler webinar dissected how FDA regulatory exclusivities, patent‑term adjustment (PTA), patent‑term extension (PTE) and obviousness‑type double patenting (ODP) intersect to shape a drug’s lifecycle value. Regulators can grant exclusivity periods that outlast patent terms, while PTA can add...
Australian Regulators Come Together on Privacy, Online Safety
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner have signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate privacy and online‑safety enforcement. The MoU formalises information‑sharing on the Privacy Act, Online Safety Act and emerging AI risks, and designates...
Union Fires 72-Year-Old Officer After 48 Years, Lawsuit Alleges
Michael Dalpiaz, a 72‑year‑old International Union, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) officer with 48 years of service, filed a lawsuit on April 22, 2026 alleging he was terminated after refusing a roughly 20% salary reduction tied to a pension‑back‑pay error. Dalpiaz...
Claude Legal Is Here, and It’s Worth a Closer Look
Anthropic launched the Claude Legal plugin in February 2026, bringing its Claude AI directly into legal workflows via the Claude CoWork desktop app. The tool handles document review, contract drafting, and research, delivering accurate case citations and strategic insights without requiring...
Florida Fund Manager Hits WCEP with Fraud Suit over SpaceX '0/0' Pitch
A Florida fund manager, Megacap Capital, has filed a federal fraud lawsuit against West Coast Equity Partners II, alleging the sponsor misled investors with a “0/0” fee pitch for SpaceX pre‑IPO shares. Megacap claims WCEP concealed a markup that lowered...
DOJ Rescheduling Medical Cannabis May Reignite Bank Interest
The Department of Justice issued a final order moving FDA‑approved and state‑approved medical cannabis products to Schedule III, marking the first step toward fully rescheduling the plant. The move eliminates the Section 280E tax restriction for Schedule III substances, allowing cannabis companies to...
Unauthorized Streaming of Foreign TV Programming Dishes up Copyright Infringement Liability
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a judgment for DISH Network, confirming its exclusive U.S. rights to stream five Arabic‑language TV channels owned by MBC FZ LLC. The court held that MBC’s U.S. copyright registrations create a statutory presumption of ownership, classifying...
Pay up, per Party Litigation Stipulation
The Federal Circuit revived key portions of VLSI Technology’s patent case against Intel, overturning the district court’s extraterritoriality rulings for both method and apparatus claims. The court accepted a 70% U.S. nexus stipulation as binding for infringement analysis and reinstated...
Why Truckers Should Care About DOL’s Latest Proposal on Joint Employers
The U.S. Department of Labor released a proposed rule redefining joint‑employer status, reviving a framework first introduced under the Trump administration. The rule focuses on vertical relationships—relevant to trucking firms that contract with fleet operators—and outlines four non‑hierarchical factors (hiring/firing,...
Delaware Court Affirms Dismissal of Retaliation Claim over Mental Injury
A Delaware Court of Chancery upheld the dismissal of an employee's retaliation claim tied to a mental‑injury lawsuit. The plaintiff alleged the employer retaliated after she reported a workplace injury that caused psychological harm, but the court found insufficient evidence...
HB1543 Rulemaking Update: CR-102 Filed
On April 9, 2026 the Washington State Department of Commerce filed CR‑102 for the HB1543 clean‑building rulemaking, posting the proposed rules and the CR‑102 form on the Clean Buildings website. The rulemaking includes a Small Business Economic Impact Statement and sets an...
Record Labels’ $2B+ Copyright Lawsuit Against Verizon Jointly Dismissed in Wake of Supreme Court’s Cox Ruling
A joint stipulation filed on April 22 dismissed the $2 billion‑plus copyright lawsuit that Universal Music Group, Sony Music, Warner Music and ABKCO had brought against Verizon. The dismissal, entered with prejudice, bars the labels from refiling and follows the U.S. Supreme...
Funding Extremism? Please.
The Justice Department indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on wire‑fraud charges, alleging the nonprofit used donor money to pay informants inside extremist groups. The blog argues the indictment contains no specific false statement, no identified donor, and no...
Silicon Valley Showdown: Narrative Power Trumps Money
WWE of Silicon Valley — Elon / OpenAI Trial is about Narrative Power, Not Money
Jones Act Blocks Daily US Oil Trades, War Needed
This could happen every day if the Jones Act didn't exist. Instead, it takes a WAR to let US companies trade with each other.
Experts Say Trump Inflated His Deregulation Numbers, but His Process Changes Are Here to Stay
Regulatory scholars agree the Trump administration overstated its deregulation achievements, inflating ratios by counting guidance, dead rules and other sub‑regulatory actions. The 10:1 directive—requiring agencies to repeal ten rules for every new one—produced a reported 129 deregulatory actions per new...
NRF Opposes FCC Push to Onshore English‑Speaking Call Centers
The National Retail Federation @NRFnews sends letter to @FCC maintaining its hostility toward @BrendanCarrFCC effort to onshore call centers and staff them with individuals proficient in English ... https://t.co/iqjYd7nn5Q https://t.co/gvFQROHcGV
Skillz Secures $420M Court Victory, CEO Interview Included
Our story on Skillz' $420 million victory in court now includes an exclusive interview with Skillz CEO Andrew Paradise and a statement from Papaya Gaming. https://t.co/AVy6jicCYb
Lawfare Live: The Trials of the Trump Administration, April 24
Lawfare will host a live webinar on April 24 at 4 pm ET featuring editor Benjamin Wittes and senior editors Eric Columbus, Anna Bower, Roger Parloff, plus public‑service fellow Troy Edwards. The panel will update listeners on the Justice Department’s investigation into...
NYC Considers Regulating Self-Checkout
New York City councilmember Amanda Farias introduced legislation to curb self‑checkout abuse by limiting each transaction to 15 items and mandating at least one employee for every three self‑checkout lanes. Retailers that fail to comply would face fines of $100...
Missouri State Faces Lawsuit over Bias Response Policy
Missouri State University is being sued by the conservative group Defending Education, which claims the school's bias response policy infringes on First Amendment rights and forces self‑censorship. The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction and a declaration that the policy is...
Justices Reject Certain Protections for Contractors in War Zones
The Supreme Court in Hencely v. Fluor rejected the notion of absolute immunity for military contractors operating in war zones. Justice Thomas wrote that state tort claims are not preempted because Fluor’s actions violated federal instructions, distinguishing the case from...
Federal Court Refuses to Quash Application Alleging TD Bank Breached PIPEDA by Withholding Records
Canada's Federal Court rejected three motions by a former TD Bank employee and denied the bank’s request to dismiss the privacy‑law application. The applicant alleges TD breached the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) by withholding records related...
Nebraska High Court Upholds Reduced Award in Union Pacific Injury Case
The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed a $287,600 award to a Union Pacific employee who injured her ankle, despite a jury finding she was 95% at fault. The justices ruled the jury correctly applied comparative‑fault reductions under the Federal Employers’ Liability...
Proposed Federal Law Aims to Address Femicide, Keep Kids Safe From Predators
Canada’s Justice Department introduced the Protecting Victims Act (Bill C‑16), a sweeping overhaul of the Criminal Code aimed at tackling femicide, coercive control, non‑consensual deepfakes and modern child‑exploitation offenses. The bill would elevate murders involving gender‑based violence to first‑degree murder...
Risky Meme Trading Is Back. A Trading Rule Change May Have Lit the Fuse
Retail investors are reviving meme‑stock trading as the SEC scrapped the pattern‑day‑trader rule, removing the $25,000 equity floor. The change coincides with an April rally in risk assets, partly driven by an Iran cease‑fire, prompting speculative bets in companies like...
Kafka’s Hypothetical Market Strikes Again: The DSPs’ Latest Move to Silence Songwriters by Throwing GMR Out of Phonorecords V
Streaming platforms Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Pandora and Google have filed a joint motion to exclude Global Music Rights (GMR) from the Phonorecords V proceeding that sets compulsory mechanical royalty rates. GMR represents marquee songwriters such as Drake, The Weeknd and Bruno Mars,...
Court Imposes $140 Million Judgment in FTC Timeshare-Exit Crackdown
A federal court ordered a central operator of an alleged timeshare‑exit scheme to pay a $140 million judgment and imposed a permanent industry ban. The FTC’s dual remedy—monetary relief and a lifetime exclusion—marks one of the most severe enforcement actions in...
Healthcare AI Firm Sued Over Alleged Unlawful Disclosures of Genetic Data
Tempus AI, a publicly traded healthcare‑AI company, faces multiple class‑action lawsuits alleging it collected and disclosed genetic test results from Ambry Genetics without proper consent. Plaintiffs claim Tempus used Ambry’s genetic database to train its machine‑learning models, violating privacy protections....
Judge Converts TRO to Preliminary Injunction, Vacates May Hearing
NEW: The Arizona federal judge in the Kalshi/CFTC v. AZ prediction markets lawsuit will be converting the TRO granted to the CFTC into a preliminary injunction after the parties submit proposed language, vacates PI hearing scheduled for May 6th. https://t.co/Lc4JPo30wX
JLMI – Call for Papers – Issue No. 1/2027
The Journal of Law, Market & Innovation (JLMI) announced its inaugural 2027 issue, slated for March release, dedicated to the securitisation of supply chains for critical raw materials. The theme links energy security with the green transition, examining how trade...
Michigan Supreme Court Orders Review of State’s 24% Cannabis Tax
The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered the Court of Appeals to re‑examine the state’s newly enacted 24% wholesale cannabis tax. The tax, passed with bipartisan backing, is projected to generate about $420 million annually for road projects. Critics argue the revenue...
Valuation at Heart of Hedge Fund Tax Petition
Hedge Fund Head Petitions IRS on Charitable Contributions. If a "timely contemporaneous written acknowledgment and the qualified appraisal appropriately applied discounts... the central issue is likely to be valuation.” Great @TaxNotes A.J. Collins article https://t.co/s8CLOi8syQ
Cole-Frieman & Mallon 2026 Q1 Update
Cole-Frieman & Mallon (CFM) was ranked a leader in the 2026 Chambers Global USA Hedge Funds category, highlighting its deep expertise in hedge funds and crypto. The SEC and CFTC issued a joint interpretation that classifies crypto assets into five...
Spanish Sports Streamers Face Potential €750,000 Fines for Regulatory Non-Compliance
A new AVC Audiovisual Compliance study of 65 over‑the‑top sports streaming platforms in Spain finds most are breaching the General Audiovisual Communication Law. Non‑compliance areas include missing legal disclosures, inadequate age‑verification for minors, and weak content‑security that enables piracy. Regulators...
Karnataka Govt Mulls Policy To Legalise Bike Taxis
The Karnataka government is weighing a policy to legalise bike‑taxi services while simultaneously filing a special leave petition in the Supreme Court to overturn a High Court judgment that lifted the ban. The state argues the High Court overstepped by...
Hiltzik: A Judge Labels RFK Jr.'s Attack on Transgender Care 'Unlawful' And an Act of 'Cruelty'
Federal Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai in Oregon struck down Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s December 18 declaration that threatened to cut Medicaid and Medicare funding for hospitals offering gender‑affirming care to minors. The decision, part of a lawsuit filed by 19...
New Briefing Note: The New ‘ODSE Regime’ for English Men’s Football
The Football Governance Act 2025 introduces a new Owners, Directors and Senior Executives (ODSE) regime for clubs in England’s top five men’s leagues. The Independent Football Regulator will enforce detailed disclosure, governance and compliance standards on club leadership. Clubs must...
Council Issues ‘I’ Item Note on PSD3
On 23 April 2026 the EU Council issued an ‘I’ Item Note on the draft Payment Services Directive 3 (PSD3) and the accompanying Payment Services Regulation (PSR). The Council simultaneously published final compromise texts for both the Directive and the...
Today’s Podcast Episode: NYC DCWP at the Forefront of Consumer Protection: A Conversation with Commissioner Sam Levine
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) is intensifying its consumer‑protection agenda under Commissioner Sam Levine, leveraging Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Executive Orders 9 and 10. The agency has just released a proposed “click‑to‑cancel” rule aimed at curbing subscription‑trap practices...
Social Media Criticizes PayPal as Having Partnered with SPLC, Now Accused of Funding Extremist Groups
The Southern Poverty Law Center has been indicted by the DOJ for allegedly funneling over $3 million to extremist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nation. The nonprofit, which raises more than $100 million annually, is accused of wire fraud, false...
Colleague Appointed to Alberta's Court of King's Bench
I am absolutely thrilled (and a bit sad) to share the news that my friend, @UAlbertaLaw colleague, and co-author @ericadams99 has been appointed to the Court of King's Bench in Alberta. Wishing you all the best in your new role,...
AI Safety PACs Should Be More Transparent About Who’s Funding Them
Public First Action, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, has funneled at least $5.5 million into three AI‑focused super PACs while keeping most donors anonymous. The group’s only publicly disclosed donor is Anthropic, which contributed $20 million earmarked for non‑election activities. By using a dark‑money...
NASA’s Next‑Gen Lunar Spacesuit Delayed to 2031, Threatening Artemis 4
NASA’s Office of Inspector General says the agency’s single‑source contract with Axiom Space will not yield a flight‑ready lunar spacesuit until 2031, three years after the planned Artemis 4 landing. The delay stems from a risky firm‑fixed‑price contract model and the...
US House Committee Advances FISH Act
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved the Fighting Illegal Seafood Harvests (FISH) Act, a bipartisan effort to curb illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The legislation creates a blacklist that would bar offending foreign vessels from U.S. ports...
I2c to Join Nacha Payments 2026 Panel on Navigating Legal Risk in Embedded Finance
i2c Inc. announced that its General Counsel, Meredith Carlo, will speak on a panel at Nacha’s Smarter Faster Payments 2026 conference in San Diego. The session, titled “Embedded Finance and ‘Payments‑as‑a‑Service’ Models: Navigating Legal Risk,” will examine contractual, compliance and oversight...
SEC Likely to Keep P1 Million Minimum Capital for Lending
The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to retain the P1 million (≈ $18,200) minimum paid‑up capital rule for lending firms that do not run online lending platforms (OLPs). At the same time, the agency plans to restrict such low‑capital entities...
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader CEO Miguel Zaldivar on Orchestrating a $4 Billion Big Law Merger
In this episode, Hogan Lovells CEO Miguel Zaldivar walks host Patrick Smith through the unprecedented $4 billion merger with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, detailing the transparent, partner‑centric process that secured a 99% approval vote. Zaldivar emphasizes his consensus‑building leadership style, extensive...