Today's Legal Pulse
UK pushes commonhold reform to boost housing supply
The Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill proposes abolishing leasehold and mandating new homes be sold as commonhold, tying the change to a target of delivering 1.5 million homes annually—the highest since 1968. The model remains untested, with fewer than 25 developments and unresolved issues around dispute resolution.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader clear final merger hurdles
LinkSquares Unveils First All‑Agentic CLM Platform, Automating Drafting, Redlining and Execution
LinkSquares announced the launch of an all‑agentic contract lifecycle management platform that automates drafting, redlining and workflow execution. Built on its LinkAI engine, the solution claims to cut hours‑long tasks to minutes, marking a shift from AI‑assisted to AI‑driven contract work.
Lawsuit Abuse Is the New Personal Tax
A new Americans for Tax Reform report labels excessive litigation as a hidden tax, estimating it costs the average U.S. household over $6,600 annually. Premiums for personal auto insurance have jumped more than 50% between 2021 and 2024 as insurers...
Nahmad Seeks to Reopen Modigliani Restitution Case With New Witnesses
David Nahmad’s lawyers have filed a motion in New York seeking to reopen the restitution case over Amedeo Modigliani’s *Seated Man with a Cane*, arguing that the painting may have been misidentified. The motion relies on two new witnesses who...
Railroad Wrongfully Suspended Worker for Reporting Collision: OSHA
OSHA concluded that Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) illegally suspended a Kansas City employee for reporting a minor train collision at its Knoche Yard. The employee had filed the required safety report two days after learning of the August 11, 2024 incident,...
UK Tribunal Greenlights $2.1 Bn Microsoft Antitrust Action Despite Funding Doubts
The Competition and Appeals Tribunal (CAT) has certified a £1.7 bn ($2.1 bn) opt‑out collective action against Microsoft over alleged overcharging for Windows Server on rival clouds. The decision came despite a “degree of uncertainty” surrounding the solvency of litigation funder Litigation...
Dealing With AI Pressures: Thriving With An Abundance Of Knowledge
Law firms are scrambling to acquire AI technologies to satisfy increasingly demanding clients. However, many clients lack clear expectations, and firms often purchase tools they don’t understand, resulting in wasted budgets and underutilized solutions. The mismatch creates frustration on both...
States Overhaul Certificate-of-Need Laws
States are overhauling certificate‑of‑need (CON) laws as federal pressure mounts to loosen or eliminate them. Tennessee led the wave by passing SB1369, which will repeal CON for acute‑care hospitals by 2030 and replace it with a licensure regime that mandates...
On the Move: Blue Highway Advisory Adds Legare, Huxley
Blue Highway Advisory opened a Boston office and hired Rob Legare as a senior litigation communications advisor and Sam Huxley to lead digital reputation, OSINT and public affairs services. Legare brings former CBS Justice Department reporting experience, while Huxley adds...
Court Upholds Denial of Medical Pot Reimbursement for Psych Injury
A Delaware Superior Court affirmed the Industrial Accident Board’s decision to deny a workers’ compensation claimant reimbursement for medical marijuana used to treat PTSD, anxiety, and depression after a 2004 robbery at a Family Dollar store. The claimant, who had been...
Former IBM VP Sues Over Alleged Firing of Black Executives to Meet Trump DEI Restrictions
Annette Brooks, a former IBM vice president, filed a Title VII lawsuit claiming IBM terminated five of its seven Black executives after the Trump administration issued anti‑DEI directives. IBM denies the allegations, saying race was not a factor in the terminations....
Crypto Firms Push CLARITY Act, Ban Passive Stablecoin Yields
Crypto companies including Coinbase are urging Congress to move on the CLARITY Act. A recent proposal would ban yield-like incentives for simply holding stablecoins, but allow rewards tied to spending or using them. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong urged the Senate...
ANZ Faces Up to NZ$125 Million Liability After High Court Summary Judgment
The High Court of New Zealand awarded summary judgment against ANZ, finding it breached the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act. Representative plaintiffs are entitled to NZ$32,728.42 in borrowing costs, and ANZ estimates its maximum exposure at about NZ$125 million (≈US$75 million)....
State Audit Slams NYC Schools for Lack of Student Data Privacy Oversight
The New York City Department of Education failed a state audit that revealed extensive gaps in student data privacy oversight. Auditors found the district lacks a comprehensive inventory of third‑party software, has experienced 141 security incidents—including breaches affecting 820,000 students—and...
The Seven C’s of Assessing Partner Potential
Martin Bissett’s article introduces a structured framework—the Seven C’s—for evaluating staffers aspiring to partnership. The model emphasizes competence, culture, commitment, client focus, communication, collaboration, and commercial acumen as critical lenses. Bissett argues firms need clear milestones and processes to turn...
SEC Proposes Amendments to Permit Optional Semiannual Reporting by Public Companies
The SEC has proposed rule changes that would let public companies file a semiannual report on a new Form 10‑S instead of the traditional quarterly Form 10‑Q. Under the plan, firms would submit one semiannual report and one annual report each fiscal...
How Associates Really Succeed: A Candid Conversation with Paul Karvanis
In a recent Canadian Lawyer podcast, former Stikeman Elliott lawyer Paul Karvanis outlines a three‑tier hierarchy for associate success, emphasizing consistent quality work, soft‑skill development, and strategic ownership of files. He explains the “expectation effect,” where early performance shapes an...
What Is AML Compliance Program?
An anti‑money‑laundering (AML) compliance program is a set of policies, procedures, and controls that financial institutions must implement to detect and report suspicious activity linked to money laundering, terrorist financing, and related crimes. In the United States, the program is...
Bipartisan Senate Bill Takes Aim at AI Voice Cloning and Deepfake Fraud Targeting Mobile Users
The bipartisan AI Fraud Accountability Act (S.3982), introduced by Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester and Tim Sheehy, would make it a federal crime to use AI‑generated voice clones, synthetic video, or other deepfakes for financial fraud and identity theft on mobile...
Publishers and Authors File Class Action Lawsuit Against Meta and Zuckerberg for Willful Copyright Infringement to Develop Llama AI Models
Five leading publishers—Elsevier, Cengage, Hachette, Macmillan, McGraw‑Hill—along with author Scott Turow have filed a putative class‑action in the Southern District of New York accusing Meta Platforms and CEO Mark Zuckerberg of willfully copying millions of copyrighted books, textbooks, and scholarly...
FTC Drops Probe, Cites Free‑Speech Violation Over Musk X Report
FTC Settles With Media Matters After Watchdog Group Claimed Agency Retaliation For Article On Elon Musk’s X The probe followed a 2023 report linking ads to antisemitic posts on Elon Musk’s X. The judge ruled US Government retaliation “should alarm all Americans”...
AI Risks With the Patent Office: What Life Science Companies Should Be Asking Now
Life‑science companies are increasingly using generative AI to draft patent applications, but statements filed with the USPTO become a permanent record. Errors or “hallucinations” produced by AI lack warning labels, exposing firms to potential inequitable‑conduct claims. While AI can boost...
Conditional Assignment or Drill‑to‑Earn: How Assignment Language Shapes Farmout Litigation
The Texas Business Court’s March 27, 2026 decision in May v. Ineos USA Oil & Gas LLC clarified that the key to farmout disputes is whether the farmee received a vested interest at closing. The court found that the assignment’s present‑tense language...
Nonprofit Political Activity in an Election Year: What Organizations Need to Know
Election season forces nonprofits to revisit federal tax rules that separate permissible issue advocacy from prohibited political campaign activity. 501(c)(3) charities face an absolute ban on any candidate support or opposition, while 501(c)(4), (c)(5) and (c)(6) groups may engage in...
Publishers Sue Meta for Pirated Books Used in AI Training
Major publishers sued Meta for pirating millions of books to train its AI Five major publishers are suing Meta for training its AI on pirated books. The lawsuit alleges Zuckerberg “personally authorized” massive copyright infringement. It claims Meta’s Llama AI model was trained...
Companies Use “Texas Two-Step” To Dodge Asbestos Claims
Companies facing asbestos litigation are shifting liabilities to new units and declaring bankruptcy. Lawyers call it the Texas Two-Step. Claimants call it unfair https://t.co/NVCO5YifpM
Agencies Delay Action on Trump Mail Voting Order Amid Legal Fight over Authority
Federal agencies have not yet acted on President Trump’s March 31 executive order that would limit mail‑in voting by requiring state citizenship lists and restricting ballot delivery. The Justice Department argues the lawsuit challenging the order is premature because the...
Meta Sued Again for Training AI with Pirated Content
Another copyright lawsuit filed against Meta for allegedly using pirated works to train its AI model. I say allegedly but there is a massive trove of evidence at this point in Kadrey v Meta and Entrepreneur v Meta. Including knowingly...
Saudi Arabia Opens Main Market Access to All Foreign Investors While Retaining Key Ownership Controls
Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority eliminated the Qualified Foreign Investor regime and the swap framework, allowing all foreign investors to invest directly in Main Market shares and convertible debt. The reforms, announced on Jan 6 2026 and effective Feb 1 2026, require investors to...
![[Video] AI Today in 5: May 5, 2026, The Affordable AI Edition](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://jdsupra-static.s3.amazonaws.com/profile-images/og.2237_4849.jpg)
[Video] AI Today in 5: May 5, 2026, The Affordable AI Edition
The latest episode of AI Today in 5, hosted by compliance expert Tom Fox, spotlights five AI developments reshaping multiple sectors. Nquiry, an AI‑powered regulatory intelligence platform, promises near‑instant compliance answers. Bloomberg highlights China’s low‑cost large‑language models—DeepSeek, Qwen, Moonshot—pressuring U.S. AI firms....
UK/EU/International ESG Regulation Monthly Round-Up – April 2026
April 2026 saw a wave of ESG regulatory activity across the UK, EU and beyond. The UK FCA opened a voluntary ESG‑ratings pilot with applications due 13 May, while DEFRA delayed biodiversity net gain (BNG) for nationally significant infrastructure projects and...
Spirit Lawyer Confirms 50,000 Passengers Flew Friday Amid Suspension
A lawyer for Spirit is speaking at length about its suspension of operations and says Spirit transported 50,000 passengers Friday
How One Grad Found Purpose in Financial Crime Fighting
A recent personal essay details how a graduate with a humanities background broke into RegTech by ticking a checkbox on a rejection email, landing a content‑automation role at Napier AI. The position quickly evolved into a client‑solutions consultancy, offering a...
June 1, 2026 FCC EEO Deadlines for Stations in AZ, DC, ID, MD, MI, NV, NM, OH, UT, WV, WY,...
The FCC has set a June 1, 2026 deadline for radio and television stations in twelve jurisdictions to file an Annual EEO Public File Report covering recruitment activity from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026. The report must be posted on each station’s website and...
Spirit Lawyer Cites Iran War for Liquidation, Plan Collapse
Spirit lawyer in court is blaming Iran war for airline's liquidation and failure of the reorganization plan proposed before the spike in fuel prices
Charting Change in Legal: AI-First Law Firms, Big Tech, and the Future of Legal Work
In the latest episode of Charting Change in Legal, analysts Ari Kaplan and Caroline Hill dissect the rise of AI‑first law firms, exploring how venture funding and new business models are redefining the legal services market. They examine big‑tech giants...
It’s Not Over Until…The Court Says So
On March 12, 2026 the Texas Court of Appeals ruled in Zarvona Energy LLC v. Black Stone Minerals that two southeast‑Texas oil‑and‑gas leases remained in force despite a 90‑day production lapse and ambiguous continuous‑development language. The court deemed the lease’s habendum and...
AMLA: What You Need To Know In 2021
The Anti‑Money Laundering Act (AMLA) took effect on Jan. 1, 2021, marking the most sweeping U.S. AML reform since the 2001 Patriot Act. It broadens the Bank Secrecy Act, giving FinCEN expanded authority to demand records and enforce compliance across banks, fintech...
NFLPA Lawsuit Could Reshape Sports Card Group Licensing
The NFLPA has sued Leaf Trading Cards in what could become an industry-altering battle over what counts as group player rights in trading cards, with big implications for group licensing deals in sports. I detail and analyze the lawsuit for @Sportico:...
A Bill in France Would Force AI Firms to Prove They Didn’t Use Copyrighted Content to Train Their Tech. The...
A coalition of 81 French cultural and media organisations is urging the National Assembly to debate the Darcos bill, which creates a rebuttable presumption that AI providers have used copyrighted works unless they can prove otherwise. The French Senate passed...
Publishers Sue Meta Platforms over Alleged AI Training Copyright Infringement
Publishers Elsevier, Cengage, Hachette, Macmillan and McGraw Hill, along with author Scott Turow, have filed a class‑action lawsuit in Manhattan federal court accusing Meta Platforms of illegally using millions of books, journal articles and novels to train its Llama large‑language model. The...
Burlington in the Court of Appeal: New Guidance on Purpose Tests and Access to Treaty Benefits
The UK Court of Appeal in Burlington Loan Management DAC v HMRC clarified that merely obtaining a tax‑treaty benefit does not constitute treaty abuse. The judgment distinguishes between a taxpayer’s motive and the purpose of a transaction, holding that anti‑abuse...
FDA Flags eBay Listing over GLP-1 Claims in Rare Warning Letter
The FDA sent a rare warning letter to an eBay seller for making GLP‑1 and blood‑sugar support claims, marking only the fourth eBay‑related enforcement in recent years. Unlike typical cases, the agency did not purchase or test the product, relying...
Your Multi-Payor Billing Headache? Yep, We Solved That.
Centerbase has launched Multi‑Payor Billing, letting law firms assign several payors to a single matter and define percentage splits. The system automatically routes invoice portions, updates AR Aging with each payor’s balance, and injects the required Payor’s Client Matter ID...
California Bar Proposes Rule Requiring Lawyers to Verify Every AI Output — and Five Other AI-Focused Ethics Changes
The California State Bar’s professional‑responsibility committee has proposed amendments to six Rules of Professional Conduct that embed specific AI obligations, moving from guidance to enforceable rules. The changes require lawyers to independently verify any AI‑generated output, disclose AI use when...
Prenup Decides Billionaire Divorce: Millions Vs. Hundreds
Billionaire divorce 25 years, 5 kids… and it all comes down to a prenup signed on the wedding day If voided, she could walk away with hundreds of millions If it holds, she gets $1 million https://t.co/QFgvkk2aOn
New Bill Would Narrow Scope of Colorado’s Landmark 2024 AI Law
Colorado Democrats introduced Senate Bill 26-189 to sharply narrow the state’s 2024 AI law, SB 24-205, by replacing the broad “high‑risk artificial intelligence systems” definition with a limited “automated decision‑making technology” (ADMT) framework. The proposal eliminates proactive risk assessments and...
NFLPA Sues Leaf Trading Cards Over IP, Group Licensing
The NFL Players Association has filed a federal lawsuit against Leaf Trading Cards, alleging the company used the publicity rights of six or more NFL players without securing the union’s group licensing permission. Leaf argues that its cards do not...
Global Regulatory Updates: AIFMD II, UCITS Changes
On 16 April 2026 the EU deadline for transposing AIFMD II expired, activating Directive 2024/927 which amends the 2011 Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive and the 2009 UCITS Directive. The new regime tightens delegation, liquidity‑risk management, supervisory reporting, depositary services and loan‑origination rules, and...
The US Copyright Office Is Hiking Registration Fees by 43%. Independent Music Orgs Say Many Artists Won’t Be Able to...
The U.S. Copyright Office has proposed a 43% increase in registration fees, prompting a coalition of ten music‑industry groups representing more than 600 independent labels to file formal opposition. The groups argue the hike will price out independent creators who...
What to Do When a Business Deal Goes Wrong: Your Legal Rights Explained
A business deal that collapses can jeopardize cash flow, operations, and reputation, but swift legal action can protect losses. U.S. federal courts recorded over 290,000 civil filings in 2024, underscoring how common contract disputes are. The first 48‑72 hours are...