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
Big Tech Sets Sights on the Legal Market
Two mainstream technology giants have rolled out AI‑powered legal platforms, marking a decisive entry into a market long dominated by specialized legal‑tech firms. The new solutions automate contract review, risk assessment, and regulatory research, promising speed and cost savings for corporate legal departments. Their launch has already triggered a wave of partnerships with boutique law firms and existing legal‑tech providers. Analysts see this as a potential catalyst for broader consolidation in the legal services ecosystem.
Meta Settles Social Media Addiction Case with US School District
Meta settled with Kentucky's Breathitt County School District, ending a lawsuit that sought roughly $60 million to cover mental‑health costs linked to its platforms. The agreement’s financial terms were not disclosed, but the settlement avoids a June trial in Oakland and...
No Pseudonymity for Parent Suing Over School Vaccination Mandate
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s refusal to grant pseudonymity to a parent suing over California’s compulsory vaccine law. The majority held that the plaintiff, Jane Doe, did not demonstrate a reasonable fear of severe harm for herself or...
AT&T Sues California, Pledges $19 B to Retire Copper Lines and Expand Fiber/5G
AT&T has filed a federal lawsuit in California and a petition with the FCC to shut down up to 60% of its copper wire centers, while simultaneously announcing a $19 billion investment to accelerate fiber‑optic and 5G deployment statewide. The move...
Revolut Demands Proof of AI Value From Panel Law Firms or Face Loss of Business
Revolut has issued an ultimatum to its panel of external law firms, requiring them to prove that their AI‑driven legal tools deliver quantifiable benefits. Firms that cannot substantiate performance risk being dropped from the fintech’s preferred supplier list, underscoring growing...
Senate Banking Committee Moves Forward on Digital Asset Market Structure Bill
On May 14, 2026, the Senate Banking Committee advanced a substitute version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, introducing a comprehensive market‑structure framework for digital commodities. The bill defines “network tokens” and “ancillary assets,” adds disclosure and certification requirements,...
ISDA-SIFMA Letter – CFTC-SEC Harmonization
On May 19, 2026 ISDA and SIFMA jointly urged the SEC and CFTC to harmonize their swap‑regulation frameworks as part of the agencies’ Joint Harmonization Initiative. The following day they, together with the Futures Industry Association, asked the CFTC to...
Who Owns a Song No One Wrote?
Generative‑AI music tools can produce chart‑topping songs, but U.S. copyright law still requires a human author. Recent cases such as Thaler v. Perlmutter reaffirm that AI outputs themselves cannot be owned, and prompts rarely meet the originality threshold for protection....
B.C. Mineral Claims Case Heads to the Supreme Court of Canada – by Aya Dufour (iPolitics.ca – May 21, 2026)
The Supreme Court of Canada will hear British Columbia’s appeal of a December ruling that declared the province’s Indigenous rights law incompatible with its mineral‑claims system. The case stems from a challenge by the Gitxaała and Ehattesaht First Nations to...
Reimagine Justice in the Digital Era
Digital justice aims to replace paper‑based, reactive legal processes with AI‑assisted, human‑centered platforms. Tools such as e‑filing, automated case management, and algorithmic analytics promise faster, more transparent, and affordable services. The model emphasizes AI that augments lawyers—translating complex language, streamlining...
Cinkciarz.pl CEO Detained in US as Polish Fintech Fraud Probe Tops $50 Million
Polish prosecutors announced the arrest of Marcin Pióro, CEO of Cinkciarz.pl, by U.S. authorities, ending a year‑long international hunt. The fintech’s collapse has now been linked to customer losses exceeding 185 million zloty (about $50 million) and over 5,000 victims. A bankruptcy...
Dali Civil Trial to Begin June 1 After Judge Denies Motion to Delay
A U.S. District Court judge denied Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine's request to postpone the civil liabilities trial over the Dali containership, setting the start date for June 1. The companies argued that recent criminal indictments and reluctant witnesses warranted a...
Paralegal Sues UFC Parent Zuffa, Says Remote Work Pulled Before Firing
A former corporate paralegal at Zuffa, the UFC's parent company, has filed a federal lawsuit alleging disability discrimination, retaliation, and failure to accommodate under the ADA and Nevada law. Feldman claims Zuffa initially approved full‑time remote work after his traumatic...
Illinois Court Strips $526,500 From Union in Worker Misclassification Ruling
An Illinois appellate court overturned a $526,500 statutory‑damage award that a bricklayers' union had secured against Brickster Inc., holding that only the workers directly harmed can collect under the Illinois Employee Classification Act. The union’s claim was dismissed while attorney‑fee...
HawkEye 360 Enters Into $125 Million Revolving Credit Facility
HawkEye 360, the publicly traded leader in space‑based signals intelligence, entered into a $125 million revolving credit facility that runs until May 2031. The facility, arranged by Cooley LLP, adds flexible liquidity to support the company’s expanding satellite data services and potential...
Social Platforms Settle Kentucky School District's 'Addiction' Suit
Meta, Google, Snap and TikTok have settled a lawsuit brought by Breathitt County School District in Kentucky that alleged the platforms designed addictive services that harmed students' mental health. The district claimed it spent over $62,000 on monitoring tools, $2,100...
Lawsuit Against Virginia Tech Alleging Anti-Male Bias in Title IX Proceedings Can Go Forward in Part
A federal judge ruled that a male‑bias claim under Title IX against Virginia Tech can proceed, while dismissing the university officials' qualified‑immunity defense for monetary damages. The plaintiff, a former Corps of Cadets student, alleges the school’s Title IX process...
Proskauer Expands Private Funds Group with LA Hire
Proskauer Rose has bolstered its private funds group by hiring a Los Angeles‑based partner with deep experience in fund formation and real‑asset transactions. The addition expands the firm’s private capital platform across fund structuring, transaction execution, and real‑estate‑related investments. The...
Supreme Court Says Cruise Lines Can Be Sued over Seized Cuba Docks
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8‑1 that four cruise lines – Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival and MSC – can be sued for using Havana’s seized docks, reviving a claim by Havana Docks Corp. The case rests on the 1996 Helms‑Burton...
2026 Puerto Rico Employer Conference
Littler’s 2026 Puerto Rico Employer Conference will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., offering a full‑day program on labor dynamics, AI impact, and regulatory changes. Attendees receive Employment Intelligence™ tools to anticipate risk, ensure compliance, and design resilient workplaces. The registration...
London Investigations Horizon Scan May 2026
The UK Crime and Policing Act 2026, enacted on 29 April, expands the senior‑manager test to every criminal offence, dramatically widening corporate liability. The Serious Fraud Office, now led by interim director Graham McNulty, is prioritising AI‑driven investigations, crypto‑asset capabilities, and a...
LawDroid Launches Free Legal Aid Plugin as Anthropic's Claude Adds 12 Firm‑focused Tools
Anthropic unveiled 12 practice‑area plugins for its Claude AI, targeting large firms and corporate legal departments. In response, LawDroid introduced a free, open‑source Legal Aid Plugin designed for civil legal‑aid providers, aiming to bring AI tools to the access‑to‑justice community.
Today’s Podcast Episode: AI Liability Comes Into Focus: A Conversation with Mark Geistfeld on the ALI’s Civil Liability Principles Project
The American Law Institute (ALI) launched a forward‑looking Principles project to adapt existing tort doctrines for artificial‑intelligence liability. In a Consumer Finance Monitor podcast, NYU law professor Mark Geistfeld explained how the draft framework tackles duty, care, causation and product‑vs‑service classification...
Antitrust Suits Spread Through Fertilizer Industry
Cooley partner Dee Bansal warned that a surge of antitrust lawsuits targeting fertilizer companies appears to be driven by reports of a government investigation. He cautioned that these cases are likely to be lengthy and costly, underscoring the importance of...
Understanding Eligibility for Wrongful Death Claims in Atlanta
Atlanta’s wrongful death statutes let surviving spouses, children, parents, or an estate representative pursue civil damages when a death stems from negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct. Claimants must prove duty, breach, causation and damages, typically arising from auto crashes, medical...
Victory at Pe’Sla
A Federal District Court in South Dakota ordered an immediate halt to a graphite mining exploration at Pe’Sla, a sacred site in the Black Hills National Forest. The injunction followed a lawsuit filed by the NDN Collective, Earthworks, Black Hills...
Greg Andrews: Meta Legal Ops Chief to Law Firms: It’s Time to Ditch the Billable Hour—For Your Own Good
Meta’s global head of legal operations, Mike Haven, told a CLOC panel in Chicago that hourly billing must become the exception within five years for law firms to stay viable. The discussion, titled “The Great Pricing Reset,” highlighted a doubling...
Trudy Knockless: How In-House Teams Are Using AI Agents—Without Letting Risk Run Wild
Legal departments face pressure to accelerate work while maintaining risk controls. In-house leaders are turning to AI agents—software that executes goal‑driven, multi‑step tasks across systems—while keeping lawyers in the loop. These limited agents are being deployed for contract triage, due...
EYE NEWS UPDATE: Court Date Set in £1.5bn Legal Battle Against Rightmove
The Competition Appeal Tribunal scheduled a hearing for 2‑3 November 2026 in a £1.5 bn (≈$1.9 bn) collective action alleging Rightmove overcharged UK estate agents and new‑home developers. Led by former CMA panelist Jeremy Newman, the claim accuses the property‑portal giant of abusing its...
Tennessee Schedules Execution of Tony Carruthers Amid Drug Expiration Questions
Tennessee has scheduled the execution of 57‑year‑old Tony Carruthers, convicted of a 1994 triple murder in Memphis. His defense team is challenging the potency of the state’s lethal‑injection drugs and arguing that Carruthers is mentally incompetent, having been forced to...
A Department of Justice for an Age of Conspiracy Theories
The Justice Department has shifted from a fact‑checking role to an active participant in the right‑wing conspiracy ecosystem, launching a $1.776 billion “anti‑weaponization” fund and using social‑media to echo MAGA narratives. It now rapidly files politically charged lawsuits and prosecutions that...
Casino Lobby Calls CFTC a “Rogue Agency” Over Prediction Markets
American Gaming Association CEO Bill Miller testified before a Senate subcommittee, branding the CFTC a “rogue agency” for treating prediction markets as back‑door sports betting. The CFTC has responded by suing several states—including Minnesota, Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois—to block statutes...
Federal Appeal Court Upholds Quashed Appeal of Reassessment Despite CRA’s Wrong Advice to Taxpayer
The Federal Court of Appeal affirmed the Tax Court’s decision to quash a taxpayer’s appeal of a 2023 reassessment for his 2016 tax year. The court held that, despite the CRA providing incorrect advice about the right to object, no...
Lawsuit Claims Missing PD Body Cam Footage Hides Assault Inside N.J. Ambulance
A Bergen County man, Brian Caughey, filed a lawsuit alleging that Rutherford police officers struck him while he was handcuffed, belted and harnessed inside an ambulance on June 9, 2024. The suit claims an officer delivered a head and face blow that...
D.C. Circuit Orders FCC to Answer News Distortion Repeal Bid
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the Federal Communications Commission to respond within 30 days to a mandamus petition demanding the repeal of its news‑distortion policy. The petition, filed last fall by a bipartisan coalition of former FCC...
Why Semi-Truck Accident Claims Bring Unique Legal Hurdles
Semi‑truck collisions in the Bronx involve dense traffic and large commercial vehicles, creating severe injuries and complex liability questions. Victims must navigate multiple responsible parties—including drivers, carriers, maintenance firms, and brokers—while contending with layered insurance policies and strict federal safety...
Europe’s New Tech-Licensing Rules: Evolution, Not Revolution
On May 1 2026 the EU’s revised Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (TTBER) and accompanying Guidelines took effect, updating the 2014 framework that governed technology‑licensing agreements. The overhaul adds explicit treatment for data licensing, extends the market‑share breach grace period to three...
Investment Awards vs Sovereign Immunity: Navigating the Enforcement Maze
Australia’s High Court ruled in CCDM Holdings v India that ratifying the 1958 New York Convention does not automatically waive a foreign state’s immunity under the Foreign States Immunities Act. The decision aligns Australia with the United States, Canada and...
Harvey Announces Contract Intelligence for Inhouse
Harvey unveiled Contract Intelligence, an AI‑powered platform built for in‑house legal teams, with a waitlist for early access and a planned general release in Q3 2026. The solution streamlines contract intake, triage, and review, surfaces fallback positions and clause language...
Four States Launch Lawsuits Against Proxy Advisor ISS Over ESG Policies
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) is being sued by the attorneys general of Texas, Nebraska, Iowa and West Virginia, who allege the proxy advisor violated consumer‑protection laws by pushing ESG and DEI policies. The complaints claim ISS marketed its advice as...
Weightmans Rolls Out Clio Operate Firmwide
Weightmans LLP has selected Clio Operate as its firm‑wide case and matter management platform after a 12‑month evaluation. The cloud‑based solution is designed to handle the complexity of diverse practice areas such as debt recovery, corporate, employment and personal injury...
Lawve AI Teams with Anthropic to Add Legal Skills to Claude Model
Lawve AI announced a partnership with Anthropic to embed a public catalogue of lawyer‑built AI skills into Claude, the company’s large‑language model. The integration, unveiled at a London event on June 17‑18, aims to give legal professionals searchable, practice‑specific workflows...
Claude for Legal and Access to Justice: The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown
Anthropic unveiled Claude for Legal, adding more than 20 MCP connectors, 12 practice‑area plugins and native integrations with Microsoft Office apps. The rollout partners the Justice Technology Association and Free Law Project, embedding CourtListener, Courtroom5, BoardWise and Descrybe as free...
Claude for Legal and Access to Justice: The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown
Anthropic unveiled Claude’s biggest legal push yet, adding over 20 Model Context Protocol (MCP) connectors, practice‑area plugins, and native Microsoft Office integrations. The rollout pairs the AI with justice‑tech partners—including CourtListener, Courtroom5, BoardWise, and Descrybe—and offers discounted Claude Pro pricing...
Court Puts Off Deciding Whether to Consider $5 Million Verdict Against Trump – yet Again
The U.S. Supreme Court has again postponed consideration of former President Donald Trump’s petition to review the $5 million jury verdict in journalist E. Jean Carroll’s sexual‑assault and defamation case. The case, fully briefed since January, has been rescheduled for the eleventh...
Valve Seeks Dismissal of NY AG Loot Box Lawsuit, Calls Counter‑Strike 2 Cases ‘Surprise’ Items
Valve filed a motion to dismiss New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit alleging Counter‑Strike 2 loot boxes constitute illegal gambling. The company argues the randomized skins are comparable to baseball cards and cereal‑box toys, not a wagering activity, and...
The U.S. Is One Step Closer to Legalizing Home Distilling. Here’s Everything You Need to Know.
In April, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared the 158‑year‑old federal ban on home distilling unconstitutional, a win for the Hobby Distillers Association. The ruling applies only to Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, leaving the ban intact elsewhere and...
Naftogaz Wins Foreign Court Order to Enforce $1.4B Claims Against Gazprom
Naftogaz Group secured a Kazakhstan court order allowing enforcement of a $1.4 billion arbitration award against Russia's Gazprom. The award stems from Gazprom's failure to pay for gas transit services under the 2019 Russia‑Ukraine Gas Transit Agreement, a dispute resolved by...
Illinois Bill Targets Investor Influence Over Law Firms
Illinois lawmakers are advancing a bill that creates ethical firewalls between law firms and outside capital providers such as private‑equity investors and management service organizations. The legislation seeks to prevent nonlawyer investors from exerting operational or strategic control that could...
Partner Spotlight | WorkCloud
WorkCloud, an Actionstep implementation partner for 14 years, helps law firms of all sizes replace manual, admin‑heavy processes with cloud‑based practice management solutions. The firm has supported over 400 organizations, delivering Actionstep deployments that streamline client onboarding, billing, reporting and...