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
AGO to Expedite Auction of Seized Iranian Tanker in Batam
Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office announced it will accelerate the auction of an Iranian VLCC seized in 2023. The vessel, anchored in Batam’s Riau Islands, carries 1.2 million barrels of light crude oil worth about US$64 million. Two previous auctions failed to attract buyers, with three local oil‑gas firms disqualified over licensing gaps. Officials say the ship remains in good condition and could be used as leverage to free two Indonesian vessels detained in the Gulf.
Fired Director Sues Gray Media over Alleged Antisemitic Remarks From HR
Seth Abraham Rosenthal, a former sales director at Gray Media’s KCTV5, filed a federal lawsuit alleging he was fired after confronting antisemitic remarks made by senior leaders, including the HR manager. The complaint details a series of offensive comments from...
Former Employee Sues Novo Nordisk Alleging Race Discrimination, FMLA Retaliation
Novo Nordisk is being sued by former senior clinical research associate Tari K. Johnson, who alleges she was fired for raising race‑discrimination and patient‑safety concerns. Johnson claims she repeatedly flagged improper consent practices for Alzheimer’s trials and faced escalating retaliation...
Monkey Selfie Case Guides AI Art Ownership Debates
A famous monkey selfie is becoming relevant again in the AI era. The case around who owns art created without a human author is shaping how we think about AI-generated content and what counts as original work. As AI floods the internet...
US Should Scrap Crypto Capital Gains Tax to Fuel Currency Competition: Cato
The Cato Institute is urging Congress to eliminate capital‑gains taxes on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, arguing that the current tax regime discourages everyday use and hampers currency competition. Policy scholar Nicholas Anthony suggests a full repeal or a targeted exemption...
From Back Office to the Frontlines: How Compliance Is Reshaping Indian Crypto Startups
Compliance has moved from a back‑office function to a strategic front‑line role in Indian crypto startups. Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, exchanges are now reporting entities required to conduct AML/KYC, audit management and suspicious activity reporting to FIU‑India....
Webinar: Eudia + ServiceNow – ‘The 10x Future of Inhouse Legal Teams’
On April 22, Artificial Lawyer will host a free live webinar with Eudia and ServiceNow to discuss “The 10x Future of In‑house Legal Teams.” The session will explore how ServiceNow’s Enterprise Brain and Eudia’s System of Intelligence create an AI‑driven layer for legal...
From Blueprint to Reality: Executing CRM Modernization without Disruption
Law firms moving from CRM blueprints to live systems must prioritize data readiness, governance, and automation to avoid disruption. The article stresses that a legal‑specific data model—exemplified by Intapp DealCloud—allows firms to migrate only high‑value relationships, automate capture from Outlook,...
AkzoNobel / Axalta Merger Inquiry
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened a phase‑1 invitation to comment on AkzoNobel’s proposed acquisition of Axalta. Interested parties have until 1 May 2026 to submit written views on potential competition impacts in the UK market. The CMA has...
House Bill Preserves Students' Right to Join Graduation March Despite Unpaid Fees
Philippine Rep. Brian Yamsuan introduced House Bill No. 8618 to stop schools from denying graduation participation to students with unpaid fees. The measure covers K‑12, higher‑education, and technical‑vocational institutions, while still allowing schools to collect outstanding balances and withhold diplomas....
Will a Ban on Retentions Deliver the Anticipated Benefits for SMEs?
Retention payments of 3‑5% have become standard in UK construction, acting as a cash‑based guarantee against defects. The government now favors an outright ban on retentions, aiming to ease cash‑flow pressures on SMEs and curb insolvency risk. Critics warn that...
What the EU AI Act Requires for AI Agent Logging
The EU AI Act classifies AI agents that make credit, hiring, health or emergency decisions as high‑risk, triggering strict logging obligations. Articles 12‑13 require automatic, tamper‑evident logs covering risk events, post‑market monitoring and operational data for the system’s entire lifecycle, with...
YC-Backed Openlaw Closes $3.3M Seed to Digitise Europe's Notary Nightmare
Openlaw, a YC‑backed legal‑tech startup, closed a $3.3 million seed round led by Y Ventures, Moonfire Ventures and a slate of angels. Its German platform beglaubigt.de digitises company formation, shrinking the typical eight‑week GmbH setup to as little as three days...
Letting Agency to Repay £31,000 in Rent over Non-Compliant HMO
A First‑tier Tribunal ordered letting firm Mio Real Estate Ltd to repay more than £31,000 (about $38,000) after it sublet a six‑bedroom flat in Bethnal Green without the required HMO licence. The tribunal rejected the company’s claim that it was...
The New Moroccan Framework on International Jurisdiction and Foreign Judgment Enforcement – A Preliminary Critical Assessment
Morocco’s new Code of Civil Procedure (Law No. 58.25), published in February 2026, will take effect on August 24, 2026. The Code introduces, for the first time, a dedicated catalogue of international jurisdiction rules (Articles 72‑75) and revises the framework...
CFTC Probes Oil Futures Trades Tied to Trump's Moves in Iran: Report
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating two sharp spikes in oil‑futures trading that occurred minutes before President Trump announced a postponed strike on Iranian energy assets on March 23 and a cease‑fire on April 7. The probe focuses on activity...
Psych Injury Was Caused by Real Work Events, Not "Pure Delusion"
The NSW Personal Injury Commission dismissed Warrumbungle Shire Council’s appeal, confirming that a water‑project engineer’s psychological injury stemmed from actual workplace events. Acting Deputy President Paul Sweeney ruled that causation can be proven when an employee experiences an offensive or...
DEI Programs: What Practices Is the DOJ Targeting?
The Department of Justice is zeroing in on specific DEI program practices that it believes substitute merit with race or sex considerations. DOJ officials highlighted three red‑flag areas: demographic tracking systems for hiring, compensation decisions influenced by DEI metrics, and...
Uncovering Hidden AI in Commercial Artwork
Artificial intelligence is increasingly used to create commercial artwork, yet producers often hide this fact. Professor Jacob Noti-Victor argues that financial incentives and current copyright rules encourage non‑disclosure, depriving consumers of informed choices. He documents the ethical and market harms...
Timely Takes Podcast: J.T. Ho’s Latest “Fast Five”
Cleary Gottlieb’s J.T. Ho hosts the latest Timely Takes podcast, delivering a monthly briefing on securities and governance trends. The episode covers five hot topics: prediction‑market considerations for public companies, board‑level cybersecurity guidance amid cyber‑warfare, the 2026 CISO AI Risk...
Humans, Machines, and the Corporate Veil
A new empirical study revisits Macey and Mitts' 2014 veil‑piercing analysis by deploying modern AI tools—Claude 3.7 Sonnet and an XGBoost stacked ensemble—alongside a replicated naïve Bayes model. The machine classifiers achieve agreement rates above 90%, surpassing the original 76.6%...
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses Proposed FSOC Changes to Nonbank SIFI Designation Guidance
On March 25, 2026 the Financial Stability Oversight Council voted unanimously to propose amendments that would largely revert its non‑bank SIFI designation guidance to the 2019 framework. The proposal reinstates an activities‑based risk assessment, requires a cost‑benefit analysis before any...
Map: PFAS Legislation Is on the Table in These States
Republican leadership at the EPA appears to retreat from PFAS regulation, yet Wisconsin GOP legislators passed a $133 million law to fund testing, well replacement, and remediation of PFAS contamination. The legislation targets the state’s drinking‑water supplies and aims to curb...
Swedish Home Appliance Giant Electrolux Taps SAS for Next General Counsel
Electrolux Group announced the appointment of Anna Almen as its new General Counsel, succeeding Ulrika Elfving. Almen joins from Scandinavian airline SAS, where she served as Chief Legal Officer, bringing more than 20 years of experience in complex, regulated, international...
End of the Road for Two Key Challenges to FW Act Amendments
Employers have lost two pivotal appeals challenging the Fair Work Commission’s interpretation of recent Fair Work Act amendments. The first appeal contested the regulated labour‑hire arrangement (RLHA) orders for workers at 13 mining sites, arguing that BHP OS was providing a...
Hastings Councillor Threatens Legal Action over Water Services Entity Plan
Hastings District Councillor Gary Gibson has threatened a judicial review to stop the rollout of a new water services entity, arguing that the proposed board – three councillors, three iwi representatives and three appointed experts – was not fully disclosed...
Freshfields Makes up 47 in Bumper Partner Promotions Round
Freshfields announced a record‑size promotion round, elevating 47 lawyers to partnership – 22 more than the previous year. The global transactions practice accounted for 30 of the new partners, underscoring the firm’s deal‑making emphasis. Promotions spanned all five practice groups,...
Tonight in Your Rights: Eastman Disbarred
John Eastman, the former law professor who helped devise a strategy to overturn the 2020 election, has been disbarred by the California Supreme Court. The court struck his name from the attorney roll after a 35‑day trial on 11 disciplinary...
Gloria Trevi Can Use Mexican Courts to Build Defense in Sex Cult Case. Her Detractors Are Worried
Gloria Trevi won a Los Angeles court ruling allowing her to compel roughly two dozen Mexico‑based witnesses to sit for depositions under Mexican judicial procedures. The decision, issued by Judge Jared D. Moses, obliges Trevi’s team to coordinate with the...
India's 2026 Income Tax Rules Raise Exemptions, Reviving Old Regime Debate
India’s Treasury announced revised Income Tax Rules for 2026, lifting exemption limits and prompting a fresh clash between the old and new tax regimes. The changes force salaried and high‑net‑worth taxpayers to recalculate their liabilities for FY27, altering after‑tax investment...
U.S. DOT Challenges Adani’s Cargo Shift to Navi Mumbai Airport, Citing Air Service Pact Violation
The U.S. Department of Transportation has formally objected to Adani Group’s plan to move U.S. cargo airlines from Mumbai’s main airport to the newly built Navi Mumbai International Airport, saying the shift breaches the U.S.-India Air Transport Agreement. The DOT...
Dechert Bolsters Global Finance Practice with Structured‑Finance Partner Lawton Camp
Dechert LLP announced that Lawton Camp, a nationally recognized structured‑finance and securitisation partner, has joined its global finance practice in New York. Camp’s expertise adds coverage for equipment, aircraft, SBA loans and infrastructure, and marks the firm’s 35th lateral hire...
Perkins Coie and Ashurst Approve $2.8 B Merger, Forming One of the Largest Global Law Firms
Perkins Coie and Ashurst announced that their boards have approved a merger that will combine the two firms into a single entity valued at $2.8 billion. The deal creates one of the largest global law firms and is expected to shift...
U.S. Treasury Takes Aim at Iran's Shamkhani Shipping Network
The U.S. Treasury announced a new round of sanctions targeting Iran’s Shamkhani shadow‑fleet network, blacklisting nine vessels and more than a dozen companies and individuals linked to the family’s shipping empire. The measures focus on UAE‑based front firms such as...
National Cyber Director Signals Wave of New Cybersecurity Executive Orders
At the Semafor World Economy forum, National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross warned that President Trump will sign more cybersecurity‑focused executive orders soon, following the rollout of the administration’s new national cyber strategy. The signal hints at tighter regulation for businesses...
Substack Live with Harry Litman
Joyce Vance announced a Substack Live event featuring former DOJ official Harry Litman, scheduled for Thursday at 9 pm ET. Litman, who served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania during the Clinton era, will discuss the day’s most...
Fair Work Signs Enforceable Undertaking with Melbourne Restaurant Operator
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has signed an enforceable undertaking with Carlucci’s Restaurant (The Luck Bird Pty Ltd) after it underpaid 38 staff, including visa holders and junior workers. The employer back‑paid more than $194,000 AUD (≈$128,000 USD), covering wages and $20,787 AUD...
Target Staged Crashes and Superspeeders to Remove Worst Drivers
We need some law changes to reduce the incentive for staged crashes -- see the article about New Orleans's crazy staged-crash regime, including a murder, in the new New Yorker -- but absolutely, the superspeeders bill and other ways of...
Land Transport and Related Matters Act in Singapore: 3 Key Changes and What They Mean for HR
Singapore’s Land Transport and Related Matters Act 2026, passed on 5 February 2026, amends the Road Traffic Act and the Road Vehicles (Special Powers) Act. Effective 14 April 2026, it makes disqualification periods for serious traffic offences minimum baselines, allows courts to impose longer,...
Chancery Declines to Nullify LLC Certificate of Cancellation
The Delaware Court of Chancery denied a petition to nullify the Certificate of Cancellation for Reinz Wisconsin Gasket, LLC, concluding that the LLC complied with the dissolution requirements of the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act. The court emphasized that nullification...
Republicans Could Dismantle 30 Years of Public‑land Protections
The Republicans just tabled the point of order that would have ruled the Congressional Review Act as not applicable to this type of executive land management action. The CRA has never been used this way. Now with a simple majority...
Accreditation 360: Why Compliance Fails Without Strategy (Data) | ClearPoint Strategy Blog
ClearPoint Strategy analyzed over 30,000 strategic plans and found that hospitals treating Joint Commission Accreditation 360 as a compliance checklist stumble, while those embedding it in strategic management thrive. The data shows hospitals track an average of 1,241 compliance measures, yet...
Regulate Driverless Rideshares to Preserve NYC Transit Efficiency
Thankfully, NYC doesn't have to manage itself via superficial lukewarm takes. We know from the UberLyft rollout and ensuing price war a decade ago that we will have to carefully regulate and price for-hire driverless vehicles (the term "ridershare" in...
9th Circuit Demands Field Definition Before Preemption Analysis
In ruling for Kalshi, the CA3 held that the "relevant field" for preemption was "trading on DCMs" after finding that sports-event contracts were swaps. But the 9th Circuit (next up) requires that the relevant field be defined FIRST before analyzing...
Court Approves Sweden's Icebreaker Contract Award to Korean Yard
Sweden’s Court of Appeal upheld the Swedish Maritime Administration’s decision to award South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries a $350 million contract to build a new state‑owned icebreaker. Helsinki Shipyard’s legal challenge, based on alleged irregularities in HHI’s reference vessels, was dismissed....
Lawsuit Claims Stake and Coinbase Enabled NY Underage Gambling
New lawsuit alleges that sweepstakes casino giant Stake and its co-founders facilitated underage gambling in NY and that Coinbase’s fiat-to-crypto services "served as a primary and foreseeable onramp for New York users—including minors—to fund Stake’s unlawful gambling." https://t.co/3P2VQTN6Gn
Penis Costume Protester Prevails in Court
An Alabama municipal judge acquitted retired sign‑language interpreter Renea Gamble of all misdemeanor charges stemming from her inflatable 7‑foot penis costume at an anti‑Trump protest. The judge dismissed the false‑name charge and found insufficient grounds to convict on remaining counts,...
Indiana Leads State Push for Three‑Month Medicaid Work Rule, Affecting 33% of Enrollees
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed a law on March 4 mandating a three‑month work‑history for Medicaid applicants, covering about a third of the state’s recipients. The move follows new federal guidelines that require at least one month of work, with states...
FDA Issues Draft Guidance to Standardize Safety Assessment of Genome‑Editing Gene Therapies
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today released a draft guidance titled “Safety Assessment of Genome Editing in Human Gene Therapy Products Using Next‑Generation Sequencing.” The document sets uniform pre‑clinical and IND requirements for ex vivo and in vivo CRISPR‑based...
Lexitas Launches LexitasConnect Integration for SmartAdvocate, Streamlining Litigation Workflow
Lexitas unveiled LexitasConnect™ for SmartAdvocate®, an integration that embeds litigation‑support services directly into the case‑management platform. The tool lets firms request court reporting, record retrieval and process service without leaving SmartAdvocate, promising faster turnaround and fewer data‑entry errors.