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
Luxury Brands Must Respond to Maturing ESG Frameworks, New Policy Survey Says
Baker McKenzie and Positive Luxury released the fourth edition of their ESG Policy Guide, warning luxury firms that maturing environmental, social and governance rules now demand concrete actions on circular design, packaging and supply‑chain traceability. Regulators across Europe, the U.S., Latin America and Asia‑Pacific are converging on stricter plastic‑use bans, reporting standards and forced‑labour disclosures. The report highlights that luxury brands must overhaul internal systems to meet divergent yet increasingly aligned requirements, especially around credible sourcing data and ESG rating transparency. Early compliance can transform sustainability from a marketing claim into a market differentiator.
Stress-Testing Proposals to Add Autism to the VICP
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is steering a push to expand the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) to cover autism spectrum disorder claims. Recent actions include a proposal to amend the VICP Injury Table,...
Navigating Insider Conflicts: A Delaware and Nevada Playbook
Cooley’s latest memo delivers a concise playbook for handling insider‑conflict transactions under Delaware and Nevada corporate law. Targeted at companies approaching or completing an IPO, the guide stresses that rigorous process and transparent disclosure outweigh post‑hoc legal defenses. It outlines...
Why Fossil Fuel Producers Should Fear Your Local Zoning Board
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case in which Exxon Mobil and Suncor argue that cities like Boulder, Colorado lack standing to sue for climate damages. The article contends that while the Court debates federal pre‑emption, the real...
Employer Shuts Down Future Claims From Vexatious Employee
World Vision Australia secured a Federal Court vexatious proceedings order against a former employee who, after being dismissed during his probationary period, launched multiple lawsuits alleging adverse action, unlawful termination, overtime under‑payment, and defamation. Justice Darryl Rangiah found the employee’s...
IP Australia Opens Consultation for Reforms – Have Your Say!
On 3 March 2026 IP Australia published a consultation paper proposing wide‑ranging reforms to Australian IP law, with a focus on patents. Key patent proposals include expanding the definition of exclusive licencees, shortening opposition timelines for pharmaceutical patent term extensions, introducing fixed...
Macfarlanes Elevates Four to Partnership in London in Reduced Promotions Round
Macfarlanes announced a four‑partner promotion round for April 2026, cutting the intake to half of last year’s nine. The new partners span dispute resolution, private‑client, finance and employment, with women representing 50 % of the cohort. The promotion size sits in the...
Sweden’s Prisons Prepare to House Young Teens
Sweden is set to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13 for serious offences, prompting the government to modify prisons for juvenile detention. Rosersberg prison, among eight facilities, is being reconfigured to house up to 24 minors...
CK Hutchison’s Panama Unit Says State Missed Arbitration Response Deadline
Panama Ports Company, a CK Hutchison unit, says Panama missed the March 13 deadline to respond to an ICC arbitration. The deadline concerned the government's attempt to unwind the Balboa and Cristóbal port concessions after a court deemed the contracts unconstitutional....
Google Moves to Dismiss Adtech Antitrust Claims, Downplays Industry Reluctance
Google's top adtech law firm has filed to try to dismiss a number of claims by other adtech companies. Google's argument appears to ignore idea almost no company would want to file an antitrust lawsuit v G until DOJ won...
California's Fair Investment Practices by Venture Capital Companies Law Imposes New Registration and Reporting Obligations
California’s Fair Investment Practices by Venture Capital Companies Law (FIPVCC) takes effect March 1 2026, imposing registration and annual demographic reporting on venture‑capital firms with any California nexus. Covered entities must disclose founder diversity data for every portfolio company, regardless of location,...
Canary Wharf Group Hires Experienced Real Estate Lawyer as First GC
Canary Wharf Group (CWG) has created its first group general counsel position, appointing Rachel Walker to lead legal, governance, risk, compliance and insurance functions. Walker joins from Ares Management after senior roles at GLP Capital Partners, GLP Europe and a...
CFMEU Inquiry LIVE Updates: Spotlight Turns to Cross River Rail, with Bosses on Stand
The Queensland Commission of Inquiry into CFMEU misconduct has turned its focus to the Cross River Rail project, hearing testimony from Delivery Authority chief Graeme Newton and senior contractors. The $5.4 billion rail initiative, largely funded by the state after limited...
HSF Kramer and Taylor Wessing Secure IP Partner Hires in Germany and London
HSF Kramer and Taylor Wessing announced senior IP hires in Germany and the UK, respectively. HSF Kramer appointed Philipp Cepl from DLA Piper as a partner in Düsseldorf, expanding its European patent‑litigation bench to three partners. Taylor Wessing’s UK practice brought in Henry Priestley from...
Tasmania to Make Right to Information a Little Less Slow
Tasmania announced modest reforms to its Right to Information (RTI) system, aiming to deliver cabinet documents more quickly. The changes stem from the "Getting Back on Track" review by Tim McCormack and Rick Snell, which received backing from the state...
Maryland Paid FAMLI Program – Current Status and Key Updates
Maryland’s Time to Care Act created a statewide Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program, but recent legislation has pushed back key dates. House Bill 102 delays employer and employee contributions to Jan 1 2027 and postpones benefit availability to between...
South Australians Have Truth in Political Advertising Laws. Why Doesn’t Everyone Else?
South Australia’s Electoral Act includes a truth‑in‑political‑advertising provision that makes it an offence to publish authorised election ads containing materially misleading facts. The state electoral commissioner can order withdrawals, publish retractions, impose fines or even void an election if the...
Recent Aspects to Consider Regarding Legal Compliance ("Compliance") And Other Related Matters
Mexico has introduced sweeping regulatory updates that force companies to overhaul internal controls across tax, trade, anti‑money‑laundering and labor domains. Firms must integrate materiality files for tax and foreign‑trade operations, revamp AML policies with automated monitoring, and prepare protocols for...
Trump Pushes Harsher Voting Bill After SAVE Act Promise
Trump was promised the SAVE Act in 2024 and expected Republicans to sacrifice their own political futures to enact it. He remains insistent today that they do the same with an even more suppressive bill. https://www.democracydocket.com/opinion/the-save-act-started-as-a-political-stunt-now-its-a-real-threat/
Data Watchdog Accuses Scottish Government of ‘Unjustified Delays and a Wall of Silence’
Scotland’s information commissioner David Hamilton announced he can no longer trust the Scottish Government to manage sensitive information without supervision after the administration repeatedly missed deadlines and refused to release legal advice linked to a 2024 freedom‑of‑information order. The dispute...
Major Changes to New Zealand’s Employment Relations Framework
New Zealand’s Employment Relations Amendment Bill, effective February 2026, removes unjustified dismissal protections for employees earning NZ$200,000 or more and introduces a twelve‑month transition for existing staff. The legislation also allows full or partial reduction of personal grievance remedies when...
New Wisconsin Laws Target Grooming in Schools: What School Districts Need to Know
On March 6, 2026 Governor Tony Evers signed two Wisconsin bills that criminalize grooming by anyone in a position of trust at schools and mandate district policies and annual training. The statutes define grooming as a felony, with escalated penalties for trusted...
Multiples Settles Sebi Case over AIF Tenure
Multiples, a private‑equity firm, settled a SEBI case by paying roughly ₹93 lakh for alleged breaches of the Alternative Investment Funds Regulations. The dispute centered on the firm’s Scheme‑I AIF, which was not wound up after its stipulated tenure expired. The...
Maxwell's New Superseding Indictment Expands Trafficking Charges
I JUST GOT DONE RE-READING MAXWELL'S INDICTMENT AND GOT CREEPED OUT ALL OVER AGAIN Actually I should say I just got done reading the second, superceding indictment. The original sealed indictment was handed down on June 29, 2020 (and was...
Kat Abughazaleh: Age‑Verification Laws Aren’t About Kids
“None of this is about protecting kids.” So phenomenal to see @KatAbughazaleh speaking out about age verification laws and the efforts to repeal Section 230 https://t.co/F09qjnp3AI
Bloomberg Law: Tariff Refunds & Dropping FIFA Cases (Podcast)
Bloomberg Law’s latest podcast features Timothy Brightbill of Wiley Rein outlining a wave of lawsuits seeking refunds of the $170 billion in tariffs collected since 2018. He explains the legal theories firms are using to argue that importers deserve retroactive reimbursements. The...
FCC's Iran Coverage Threat to TV Licenses Improbable
FCC chair threatens to pull TV licenses over Iran news coverage. Why that's highly unlikely https://t.co/FUyte9qk68 @latimes
CDT and ACLU Defend Anthropic Against DoD Supply-Chain Risk Label
CDT Joins ACLU in Amicus Brief in Support of Anthropic as it Challenges its DOD Designation as a “Supply-Chain Risk” https://t.co/yGYmri0D7d
Third Daily Mail Sting Solicitor Cleared of Misconduct
A Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal cleared Muhammad Azfar Ahmad and two other lawyers accused by the Daily Mail of helping fabricate asylum claims. The tribunal found the evidence did not meet the threshold to prove the solicitors gave prescriptive advice to create false narratives...
Behavioral Health Law Ledger | March 2026
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and the ONC launched nine pilot programs across nine jurisdictions, involving 45 organizations, to test behavioral health data‑exchange standards using the USCDI+ dataset and FHIR profiles, backed by roughly $20 million from...
Efficient Onboarding: Achieving GDPR and AML Compliance
Financial institutions must reconcile the data‑intensive demands of anti‑money‑laundering (AML) programs with the privacy‑first mandates of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Non‑compliance can trigger fines up to €20 million or 4 % of global revenue, making integrated compliance a financial...
How FDA Can Better Align Its Draft Guidance on Flavored ENDS with the Tobacco Control Act’s APPH Mandate
The FDA released draft guidance on flavored electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) that seeks to clarify evidentiary expectations for pre‑market tobacco product applications. The article argues the guidance should better reflect Section 910 of the Tobacco Control Act, which requires an...
Courts Grant Mandamus To Compel Arbitration In A Will Dispute
In Hollingsworth v. Swales, the Texas Court of Appeals held that an arbitration provision embedded in a 2020 codicil is enforceable because beneficiaries who accepted benefits manifested mutual assent. The court ruled that disputes over will construction and trustee actions...
ICE Moves to Bypass New Mexico Law and Keep Detention Centers Open
ICE announced a direct two‑year contract with private‑prison operator CoreCivic to run the Cibola County Correctional Center and Torrance County Detention Facility in New Mexico. The move sidesteps the state‑level Immigrant Safety Act, which bars local governments from partnering with...
Shedding Light on Beneficial Ownership: FATFs Critical Recommendations
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has issued updated recommendations that require countries to maintain accurate, current beneficial‑ownership information for legal entities. Central registries should collect this data and make it readily accessible to competent authorities and financial institutions. The...
HHS Hit with Injunction Impacting ACIP and the Vaccine Schedule Changes
A federal district court in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily bars the Department of Health and Human Services from convening Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meetings with its current members and from implementing changes to the CDC...
Administration Targeted Climate Lab Over Tina Peters, Lawsuit Says
The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, in what the lab’s leadership says is retaliation for Colorado officials imprisoning a Trump‑aligned county clerk. The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)...
Ford Slapped with New Harassment Lawsuit at Chicago Plant with Troubled Past
Ford Motor Company is being sued over alleged sexual harassment at its Chicago Assembly Plant, where a worker says a supervisor made explicit remarks from 2021 and retaliation followed after she reported it. The complaint, filed March 13, alleges the...
Seven Years in the Making: Oklahoma Enacting Comprehensive Consumer Privacy Law
Oklahoma’s Senate Bill 546 cleared the House 84‑4, moving the state toward becoming the 21st jurisdiction with a comprehensive consumer privacy law. The bill adopts a Virginia‑style “Consensus Privacy” framework, applying to entities that process data of at least 100,000...
Mars Petcare Sued for Firing Worker Days After Accommodation Request
Mars Petcare US faces a federal lawsuit alleging it terminated a forklift driver just days after he submitted a request for FMLA leave and reasonable accommodations for a lumbar spine condition. The complaint claims the company failed to engage in...
Haiti TPS Remains Active While Supreme Court Considers Trump Administration’s Emergency Request
The Trump administration has filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the termination of Haiti's temporary protected status (TPS) while ongoing litigation proceeds. Lower courts have blocked the February 2026 termination, keeping Haitian TPS holders protected...
Former Driver Sues Krispy Kreme for Ignoring Disability Requests Twice
Former Krispy Kreme driver Tyshawn Robinson has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the doughnut chain ignored two disability‑accommodation requests and then terminated him in retaliation. The complaint, filed March 13, 2026 in the Eastern District of North Carolina, cites violations...
Worker Sues Panasonic Energy, Alleges HR Fumbled Harassment Response
Harper Coté, a former apprentice at Panasonic Energy’s Kansas plant, filed a federal lawsuit alleging sexual harassment by a coworker and her production supervisor, along with inadequate HR investigations and retaliation. The coworker remained on site for weeks after the...
Alberta Court of Appeal Sets Aside Robbery, Weapons Convictions for Man Who Died in Custody
The Alberta Court of Appeal set aside the robbery and weapons convictions of Wynden Bremner after discovering he died while his appeal was pending. The appellate court found the trial judge erred by dismissing alternative scenarios that could explain the...
South Korea Urged to Review Biometric Mandate for Mobile Phone Numbers
South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission has asked the Ministry of Science and ICT to reconsider its plan to mandate facial‑recognition authentication for all new mobile phone numbers, set to launch on March 23. The watchdog recommends three fixes: a...
Section 508 Report Eyes Acquisition ‘Lever’
The General Services Administration’s latest Section 508 assessment reveals that fewer than half of federal agencies’ public‑facing ICT—webpages, documents, hardware and software—meet accessibility standards, with only 37% of top‑viewed sites fully compliant. The report highlights a testing bias toward websites and...
Stay Ahead of the Game: European Union AML Directives Explained
The European Union has built a layered anti‑money‑laundering (AML) framework that began with 1AMLD in 1990 and now comprises six directives. Each revision expanded the scope of obliged entities, introduced risk‑based approaches, and tightened reporting obligations. The latest 5AMLD and...
Ecuador Failing to Protect Indigenous Groups From Oil Drilling Pollution, HRW Says
Ecuador has ignored a 2025 Inter‑American Court of Human Rights order to stop oil drilling in Block 43 of Yasuní National Park, where the isolated Tagaeri and Taromenane peoples live. The court ruled the extraction violates collective property, health, and cultural...
Back to Basics: GSA CTAs
The Government Services Administration (GSA) Contractor‑Teaming Arrangement (CTA) is a hybrid teaming model reserved for Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract holders, sitting between traditional subcontracting and joint‑venture structures. It lets two or more MAS contractors combine capabilities to pursue larger,...
Las Vegas Sheriff Rejects Judge’s Order to Release 35-Arrest Repeat Offender
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department refused a judge's order to release repeat offender Joshua Sanchez‑Lopez onto high‑level electronic monitoring, prompting a petition to the Nevada Supreme Court. The sheriff argues state law gives law‑enforcement final authority over GPS‑monitoring eligibility, citing...