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
DOL Reminds Employers to Include Non-Discretionary Bonuses When Calculating Regular Rates and Overtime Premiums — But How?
The Department of Labor’s January 2026 Opinion Letter reminds employers that non‑discretionary bonuses must be factored into the regular rate of pay for FLSA overtime calculations. Unlike discretionary bonuses, these payments are tied to predetermined criteria such as attendance or safety metrics and therefore count as straight‑time wages. Employers calculate the regular rate by adding base wages and applicable bonuses, then dividing by total hours worked, which inflates the overtime premium. Failure to incorporate these bonuses can generate significant unpaid overtime exposure and litigation risk.
Immigrant CDL Holders Get 5‑Year Grace Before Citizenship Requirement
This article is misleading. Non-domiciled Immigrants that have current active licenses are given either a 5-year grace period or expiration date of their current CDL (which ever comes first). In that time, if an immigrant wants to continue truck driving,...
Thinking About Employee Unease as a Legal Risk Factor
The article warns that rising employee unease—driven by AI layoffs, economic uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions—creates a hidden legal risk for employers. It argues that traditional policies alone won’t mitigate this risk when emotions run high. Companies that prioritize perspective‑taking communication...
Live Nation Antitrust Case Resumes With Testimony About Springsteen Fees
The Live Nation‑Ticketmaster antitrust trial resumed in Manhattan after the Justice Department struck a surprise settlement, but more than 30 states chose to keep the case alive. State attorneys and a hired law firm now lead the prosecution, questioning Live...
SEC Enforcement Division Director Margaret Ryan Resigns
The SEC announced the immediate resignation of Enforcement Division Director Margaret Ryan, naming Principal Deputy Sam Waldon as acting director. Under Ryan, the division cut enforcement actions 27% and settlements 45% in fiscal 2025, shifting focus toward high‑impact fraud cases....
HR Policies and Injury Claims: Protecting Truck Drivers in Texas
Texas sees some of the nation’s highest commercial‑truck traffic, making it a hotspot for fatal crashes. Unique to Texas, about 25% of employers opt out of workers' compensation, allowing injured drivers to pursue direct negligence suits that bypass traditional caps....
CMS Announces Centralized Platform for Managing Independent Dispute Resolution Operations
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced a new centralized platform, the IDR Gateway, to manage independent dispute resolution (IDR) operations under the No Surprises Act. The system will replace the current single‑use web forms, allowing users to initiate...
Probate Avoidance Isn’t the Sole Measure of Success
"Avoiding Probate" is misleading as the marker of estate plan success. Because probate is so commonly framed as something to be avoided at all costs, its presence is often interpreted as evidence that the estate plan failed. That interpretation is...
A Reddit Post, An AI Hallucination, And Two Lawyers Who Never Checked Citations Walk Into A Dog Custody Case
A California appellate court exposed a bizarre chain of AI‑hallucinated legal citations that traveled from a Reddit blog post to a dog‑custody case and ultimately appeared in a signed court order. Both parties’ attorneys copied the fictitious cases without checking...
“Professor J. Joel Alicea Named 37th Recipient of the Federalist Society’s Joseph Story Award”
The Federalist Society honored Professor J. Joel Alicea as the 37th recipient of its Joseph Story Award, underscoring his contributions to conservative legal scholarship. In parallel, the Supreme Court deferred a decision on the Trump administration’s attempt to end Temporary Protected...
Lowey Dannenberg, P.C. Is Investigating OneMain Holdings (NYSE: OMF) for Potential Violations of the Federal Securities Laws and Encourages Investors...
Lowey Dannenberg P.C. announced an investigation into OneMain Holdings (NYSE: OMF) for possible violations of federal securities laws following a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James and 12 other state AGs. The lawsuit alleges OneMain misled borrowers...
The Trouble with Policing Adjudicatory Rulemaking, by Tascha Shahriari-Parsa
The Sixth Circuit ruled in Brown‑Forman Corp. v. NLRB that the National Labor Relations Board must adopt new remedial bargaining standards through notice‑and‑comment rulemaking, not adjudication. The court held the Board’s Cemex‑derived standard was invalid because it was not motivated...
Americans to Spend 11.6 Billion Hours Completing Federal Compliance Forms
Use Postal’s analysis of Office of Management and Budget data shows Americans will spend 11.6 billion labor hours completing federal compliance forms in 2026. The effort translates to roughly $738 billion when labor value and out‑of‑pocket expenses are combined. Treasury‑related filings dominate,...
National Academies of Sciences Says No to Demands It Remove Climate Info
The National Academies of Sciences (NAS) refused to delete the climate‑change chapter from its Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, despite a coordinated demand from a coalition of red‑state attorneys general. The Federal Judicial Center had already removed the chapter from...
US Committee Demands Big Tech Share Private Comms with EU Officials
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee sent letters to ten major tech firms, demanding they preserve and produce all communications with European Commission officials related to the EU Digital Services Act, including auto‑deleting messages. The subpoena, issued in February, targets companies...
Be Creative, Not A Cowboy: Attorneys Talk Litigation Collaboration Pitfalls
At Legalweek, a panel of partners, e‑discovery leaders and expert‑witness coordinators warned that “cowboy” attorneys—those who ignore agreed litigation playbooks—undermine collaboration. They highlighted that seamless coordination among counsel, vendors and internal stakeholders hinges on frequent communication and crystal‑clear expectations. While...
Justices Will Hear Argument on Trump Administration’s Removal of Protected Status for Syrian and Haitian Nationals
The U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear oral arguments on two consolidated cases challenging the Trump administration’s effort to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syrian and Haitian nationals. The cases, Noem v. Doe and Trump v. Miot, will...
Clear Guide to Running SPVs with Verivend
SPVs are one of the most powerful tools in private markets. Most people have no idea how they actually work. Entity formation. Legal docs. Compliance filings. Capital calls. K-1s. + more. Verivend put together the clearest breakdown I've seen on how to actually...
Two-Party Consent Call Recording: What Every US Team Needs to Know
Call recording is essential for modern sales, but U.S. regulations split states into one‑party and two‑party consent regimes. Ten states—California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington—require all parties to agree before a call can be recorded....
Virginia Federal Court Finds Contractual Injunction Provision Alone Cannot Warrant Preliminary Injunction, but Permits Franchisor’s Narrowed Trade Secret Counterclaims to...
A Virginia federal court partially dismissed Window Gang’s counterclaims in a franchise dispute with Willett Exterior Services, allowing unjust enrichment, quantum meruit, and narrowed trade‑secret claims to proceed while rejecting others. The court required more specific identification of alleged trade secrets,...
Same-Race Bias, Unbalanced DEI Training: 4 Lessons From Recent Title VII Cases
Recent Title VII rulings highlight evolving standards for same‑race harassment, DEI training, religious accommodation, and comparator analysis. The Sixth Circuit reversed a dismissal, holding that Black supervisors can still use racial slurs against Black employees, while the Second Circuit found...
Only One-Third of Proposed Regulatory Obligations Survive to the Final Rule, by Andrew Leahey
A new study of Federal Register rulemaking shows that only about one‑third of proposed regulatory obligations survive unchanged into final rules. Across 954 paired proposals, 32% of obligations persist, while the majority are removed or rewritten, and final rules introduce...
Feds Keep Marijuana Tests for Workers Despite Trump Reclassification Order
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that federal workplace drug‑testing panels will continue to screen for marijuana metabolites, despite President Trump’s December executive order directing the rescheduling of cannabis to Schedule III. The rule makes no changes to...
Florida Lawmakers Target ADS-B Use For Landing Fees
Florida lawmakers approved CS/CS/SB 422, prohibiting airports from using ADS‑B surveillance data to calculate landing fees or related charges for Part 91 aircraft weighing 12,499 pounds or less. The bill, cleared by both chambers, heads to Governor Ron DeSantis and would...
Court Blocks Arrests over Naturism at Brazil’s Praia Da Galheta
A Santa Catarina Court of Justice issued a preventive collective habeas corpus on March 12, prohibiting police from arresting or detaining individuals at Praia da Galheta solely for non‑sexual nudity. The ruling, brought by the Associação Amigos da Galheta, clarifies...
Federal Court of Appeal Will Hear Correctional Call Rates Case
The Federal Court of Appeal will decide whether the CRTC must explicitly assert jurisdiction over long‑distance call rates charged by correctional facilities. Bell and the Ontario government contend that the regulator’s practice of "forbearance from regulation" is itself a regulatory...
One Big Beautiful Bill (“OB3”) And FEOC: Current Considerations for Debt Financings
The One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3), enacted in July 2024, reshapes renewable energy tax credit eligibility by adding prohibited foreign entity (PFE) and foreign entity of concern (FEOC) restrictions. Treasury’s interim guidance (Notice 2026‑15) introduces a material‑assistance cost ratio (MACR) for...
9th Circ. Revives Securities Suit Against Consumer Products Company
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals revived securities class‑action claims against Funko and its CEO and CFO, focusing on allegedly misleading risk‑factor disclosures about inventory and ERP failures. Investors sued after Funko disclosed tens of millions of dollars in inventory...
BREAKING: Federal Bill Introduced to Strip COVID-19 “Vaccine” Manufacturers of Liability Protection
Representative Chip Roy introduced the Let Injured Americans Be Legally Empowered (LIABLE) Act, which would strip COVID‑19 vaccine manufacturers of the federal immunity granted under the PREP Act. The bill would permit civil lawsuits against Pfizer, Moderna and others, even...
Earnout Burnout- Drafting Earnout Agreements to Minimize Disputes Following the Sale of Private Companies
Earnout provisions are increasingly used in private‑company M&A to bridge price gaps, but they often spark post‑closing disputes over performance targets. The article outlines practical steps—selecting clear revenue‑based metrics, defining accounting methods, involving CPAs, attaching detailed financial models, and establishing...
AI Video Tools Blur Creator Lines, Upending IP Rules
Seedance 2.0 and Google's Veo 3 now produce video so good you cannot tell whether it was made by a fan messing around or a creator building a business. That is the real problem. No platform — not ByteDance, not Google, not...
Binance CEO Denies Sanctions Violations, Defends Compliance
BINANCE CEO RICHARD TENG HITS BACK AT "FALSE REPORTS" In February 2026, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Fortune alleged serious compliance and sanctions issues at Binance, particularly related to Iran-linked transactions Today, Teng stated: - No employees were...
RBI Fines Cashfree For Flouting Payment Aggregator Norms
India’s central bank has fined fintech payments platform Cashfree Payments ₹3.1 lakh for breaching payment aggregator and gateway regulations. The RBI’s inspection of Cashfree’s activities from April 2024 to June 2025 uncovered an impermissible debit from the company’s escrow account, prompting a show‑cause...
SEC Proposes Amendments to Exchange Act Rule 15c2-11
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a proposal to amend Exchange Act Rule 15c2-11, limiting its scope exclusively to equity securities. The rule, originally designed to curb manipulative practices in the over‑the‑counter (OTC) market, will now clarify that its...
Fulton County Update
Federal Judge J.P. Boulee in the Northern District of Georgia announced that mediation between Fulton County and the Justice Department has failed and the court will move forward with a hearing on the county’s motion to vacate and to quash...
Standing up for the Open Internet: Why We Appealed Italy’s "Piracy Shield" Fine
Cloudflare appealed a €14 million fine imposed by Italy’s regulator AGCOM for refusing to register with the controversial Piracy Shield scheme. Piracy Shield forces service providers to block sites within 30 minutes based on private right‑sholder requests, without judicial oversight, transparency,...
Warrantless Data Searches Violate 4th Amendment, Need Reform
Massie is substantially correct here and this issue is more and more important as powerful AI and tools like Palantir's gets deployed. It's not 100% as simple as he's saying, as the warrantless collection of American communications happens when a...
Understanding 21 CFR Part 820
The FDA has rebranded 21 CFR Part 820 as the Quality Management System Regulation (QMSR), effective February 2 2026, and formally incorporated ISO 13485:2016 by reference. The revision trims the regulation to only Subparts A (General Provisions) and B (Supplemental Provisions), directing manufacturers to the ISO standard...
FCC Upholds New LPFM CP in Miami
The FCC’s Media Bureau has upheld a construction permit for La Familia De Fe Corp to launch a low‑power FM station (WFRH(LP)) on 99.5 MHz in Miami, rejecting Doral Voice Corp’s challenge. The dispute centered on local‑service eligibility and allegations of pirate broadcasting, which...
Summary Judgment of Invalidity of OssiFi-Mab’s Patents Asserted Against Amgen’s Evenity®
On February 24, 2026, a federal court in Massachusetts granted Amgen summary judgment that invalidated OssiFi‑Mab’s U.S. Patents 8,877,196, 11,608,373, and 11,807,681, which were asserted against Amgen’s osteoporosis drug Evenity®. The court found the patents failed the written‑description and enablement...
Food and Beverage Litigation and Regulatory Update - March 2026
The food and beverage sector faces heightened regulatory pressure as South Dakota imposes a five‑year moratorium on cell‑cultured protein and the EU moves to ban 31 meat‑related terms for plant‑based products. At the same time, the GRAS safety loophole is...
CPSC Fines Shimano US$11.5 Million in Crankarm Recall
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission imposed an $11.5 million civil penalty on Shimano for its delayed reporting of a hazardous defect in HollowTech II crankarms. The recall, affecting more than 750,000 units across the United States and Canada, stems from over...
Patents May Expose Your Startup Tech to Rivals
For all the start up founders thinking about filing patents for their software I’m at a pitch competition and one of the prominent VC judges advised the founder against filing a patent as it makes the tech public and opens...
SEC Chairman Departs Suddenly After Six Months
The SEC’s top cop is abruptly out after half a year at the agency. https://t.co/Tj4ofrZOmY https://t.co/A9Re9crldH
Texas Business Court Highlights Risks to Trade Secret Ownership Arising From Joint Development Agreements
The Texas Business Court issued its second trade‑secret ruling in the Mesquite Energy Inc. v. Sanchez Oil & Gas Corp. case, focusing on ownership rather than misappropriation. The court concluded that the parties jointly developed the proprietary technology, creating co‑ownership...
LENSAR Ends Alcon Merger Amid FTC Opposition
Kudos sir - this was a good tweet LENSAR Announces Termination of Merger Agreement with Alcon Research "We understand that the Federal Trade Commission intends to seek to enjoin the acquisition" $LSNR $ALC
Judge Stalls Kennedy Childhood Vaccine Overhaul Meeting
Kennedy childhood vaccine overhaul stalled by judge The next meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was scheduled for this week, but has been postponed due to the ruling https://t.co/0cUIXEVgyV
Prosecution Laches Before the Supreme Court
On March 2, 2026, inventor Gilbert Hyatt petitioned the Supreme Court to review the Federal Circuit’s use of the equitable doctrine of prosecution laches, which the USPTO applied to deny his patents despite compliance with statutory deadlines. The petition argues...
Court Deems Kennedy Vaccine Schedule Rewrite Likely Illegal
A big — if preliminary — win for #AAP and pro- #vaccine policy today. A court has ruled Robert Kennedy's reconstitution of #ACIP and his department's rewriting of the childhood vaccination schedule are likely illegal. Developing story. https://t.co/0lMSGQrayz
FCC Announces TV Translator Call Sign Changes
The FCC Media Bureau announced that it has completed the automatic modification of TV translator call signs to comply with the rule adopted on December 19, 2025. The new convention requires a K or W prefix, the channel number, two...