Know What's Happening in Legal
Know What's Happening in Legal
Delaware Supreme Court revives insurers' contract claims against Blackbaud over ransomware breach
The court reversed lower‑court dismissals, allowing insurers to pursue breach‑of‑contract claims against Blackbaud for its 2020 ransomware incident. Blackbaud previously paid a $3M SEC fine and $49M settlements to state attorneys general for misleading breach disclosures.
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Michael W. Luehrsen, a former Western New York resident now living in Miami, was sentenced to three years of probation after a federal perjury conviction for lying about his whereabouts during a health‑care fraud trial. He must pay roughly $2 million in restitution and forfeit an equivalent amount in assets. Luehrsen claimed he was in California and Boston in 2014, but cell‑phone and financial records proved he was in Buffalo when the alleged prescription fraud occurred. The case resulted from an FBI investigation that linked false testimony to a broader conspiracy to submit altered prescription forms.
Germany has issued a clarified enforcement framework that revises its auction rules for collateral sales. The updated regime accelerates liquidation timelines and introduces more transparent valuation criteria. It reshapes intercreditor hierarchies by granting senior lenders clearer priority and forces a...
The 510(k) premarket notification pathway continues to dominate U.S. medical device approvals, but recent data show escalating safety failures and a persistent “predicate creep” problem. In Q1 2026 the FDA introduced electronic eSTAR submissions and issued draft guidance on predicate selection,...
Artificial intelligence–driven search tools are reshaping how prospective clients discover legal services, shifting the focus from traditional page rankings to AI‑generated citations. Law firms must adopt GEO (or AEO) tactics that prioritize topical authority, structured content, and machine‑readable signals so...
Retail giant Walmart has named former Dallas prosecutor Erin Nealy Cox as its chief legal officer, effective April 13, 2026. Cox, who has served as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis in Dallas since 2021, brings extensive litigation and regulatory...
India’s Supreme Court rejected a petition for a national menstrual‑leave policy, warning that mandatory leave would deter employers from hiring women. The bench argued such leave reinforces stereotypes and harms women’s career growth. While several Indian states and private firms...
Prediction markets now let participants wager on public‑company events such as stock price moves, earnings‑call language, regulatory outcomes, and management decisions. Although these contracts are structured as event‑based instruments rather than traditional securities, they still rely on the same underlying...
Rep. Elise Stefanik introduced the Trucking Security and CCP Disclosure Act of 2026, mandating that every carrier in the Department of Defense freight chain certify it has no ownership or control ties to Chinese military‑linked entities. The bill creates a...
The Patents Court ruled that Asda’s “Tang Gold” mandarin is not an essentially derived variety (EDV) of the protected “Nadorcott” cultivar. The judgment hinged on differences in pollen viability and seed production, which the court deemed essential characteristics of Nadorcott....
"What the Jones Act does and how a Trump suspension could affect fuel prices" https://t.co/goGJwDm2EN https://t.co/s2CTtPeu6A
The SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee convened on March 12 to examine public‑company disclosure reform, fund proxy voting, and the tokenization of equity securities. Chairman Paul Atkins advocated a “minimum effective dose” of regulation, using materiality as a guiding principle and...
Meredith Cross, former SEC Division of Corporation Finance Director (2009‑2013), has been named the 2026 recipient of the William O. Douglas Award presented by the Association of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni. The award, established in 1992, honors SEC alumni...
The Union government introduced a Bill to amend the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, imposing life imprisonment for forced conversion of children to a transgender identity and up to ten years for adults, with hefty fines. The amendment...
The FTC is zeroing in on warranty language as the most tangible right‑to‑repair liability for manufacturers. By tying warranty voiding clauses to third‑party repairs, the agency has leveraged the Magnuson‑Moss Warranty Act and antitrust tools, as seen in recent orders...
China enacted a sweeping ethnic‑unity law that codifies assimilation and expands legal tools to counter Western influence, while a U.S. report highlighted the concentration risk of its nuclear warhead storage at Base 67. In parallel, Beijing widened its ban on BHP...
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published minutes from its Consumer Forum meeting held on 10 February 2026. Senior representatives from consumer advocacy groups convened to discuss emerging market challenges, upcoming investigations, and policy priorities. The forum emphasized integrating consumer perspectives into...
The Office for Professional Body Anti‑Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) released its 2024/25 assessment, noting modest progress in AML monitoring across UK legal and accountancy firms but highlighting persistent compliance gaps. HMRC issued 336 penalty notices between April and September 2025,...
The UK Financial Conduct Authority has permanently barred Kasim Garipoglu from working in UK financial services, deeming him unfit and improper due to pervasive dishonesty and integrity breaches. Garipoglu, who owned and led a foreign‑exchange and CFD brokerage, repeatedly flouted...
Federal law grants borrowers a three‑business‑day right of rescission for home‑equity loans and HELOCs on their primary residence. The rescission period begins only after the borrower signs the loan, receives the Truth‑in‑Lending disclosure, and gets two copies of the Notice...
Canada’s Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights approved Bill C‑9, the Combatting Hate Act, by a 5‑4 vote, moving it toward a third reading. The bill criminalizes the wilful promotion of hatred, including the display of extremist symbols such...
Spain's High Court of Justice ordered Madrid to immediately create a registry of doctors who conscientiously object to performing abortions. The national law, introduced in 2023, obliges all autonomous communities to maintain such lists to ensure women can access legal...
The EU’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) will become fully enforceable in 2027, extending mandatory cybersecurity requirements to any product with digital elements sold in the EU, including container images, Helm charts and Kubernetes operators. It codifies three core obligations: security‑by‑design...
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips announced that former first‑chair federal prosecutor Zach Howe has joined its San Diego office as a partner. Howe brings more than 50 appellate oral arguments and 11 jury trials, along with extensive experience in federal prosecution...
Six years after Breonna Taylor’s fatal March 2020 raid, the Justice Department quietly eliminated the federal rule that limited the use of no‑knock warrants. The policy, adopted after her death, had required law‑enforcement to announce themselves before entering a home,...
On Jan. 20, President Trump issued 26 executive orders, launching a wave of policy changes across trade, immigration, national security, and the environment. Just Security has compiled a continuously updated collection that includes a legal‑challenge tracker, a “What Just Happened” explainer...
Churchill Mortgage has sued former vice‑president Jeffrey Miller, alleging he poached staff, disclosed confidential performance data, and used AI tools to extract trade secrets for rival Supreme Lending. Miller counters that Churchill owes him $92,805 in severance and claims the...
Trial attorney Miles Feldman argues that traditional trial training overlooks emotional regulation, urging lawyers to adopt mindfulness techniques to stay calm under pressure. He highlights box breathing—a four‑second inhale, hold, and exhale pattern—as a quick tool to reset the nervous...
In 2020 Oregon voters approved a constitutional amendment to allow campaign‑finance limits with 78% support. After years of inaction, the 2024 law imposed a $3,300 per‑election contribution cap, delayed until 2027 and left corporate donations largely unrestricted. In March 2025...
UK research by UKG shows 64% of frontline workers receive rota updates via informal channels lacking audit trails, exposing employers to compliance risk under the Employment Rights Act 2025. The new law mandates reasonable notice and compensation for last‑minute schedule...
this is torture. (two members of Congress wrote a bill to prevent States from banning this. @RepAshleyHinson @CongressmanGT)
The EU’s AI Act tightly regulates biometric surveillance inside Europe but omits any export‑control provisions. Slovak firm Innovatrics’ facial‑recognition system is now deployed in more than 1,700 public schools in Brazil’s Paraná state, scanning up to one million children daily....
The Delaware Supreme Court’s *Thompson Street Capital* ruling applied the equitable doctrine “common law abhors a forfeiture” to a seller’s failure to meet notice‑of‑claims deadlines in a private‑company merger. In response, researchers found that roughly 20% of 4,200 examined private...
LegalWeek’s 2026 mock courtroom debated the defensibility of generative AI (GenAI) for document review, with the mock judge accepting validation statistics as sufficient. The article argues that recall and precision metrics only measure retrieval, not the interpretive judgments that GenAI...
The UK Chancellor publicly backed the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in its effort to curb unjustifiable price increases on road fuel and heating oil. She warned that companies exploiting the energy crisis for excess profits would face swift action,...
A December 2025 federal court ruling allows Medicaid to share enrollee names, addresses and immigration status with ICE, overturning long‑standing privacy assurances. The change, initiated by the Trump administration, removes the guarantee that health data would not be used for...
Romero v. Ecuador, an ad hoc UNCITRAL arbitration, highlighted divergent approaches to treaty silence on dual nationals. The majority tribunal invoked the dominant and effective nationality doctrine to deny jurisdiction, while a dissenting arbitrator argued that, absent explicit treaty language, dual...
Nevada regulators fined three individuals and a Texas private membership association for unlicensed peptide injections at the Revolution Against Aging and Death Festival, where two women became critically ill. The doctor and pharmacist each received $10,000 fines, the health coach...
Janita Good, a Fieldfisher partner with a D.Phil. in biochemistry, offers biotech leaders a roadmap for maximizing partnership and licensing value. She emphasizes initiating pharma discussions early, embedding commercialization plans into R&D, and aligning fundraising expectations with realistic exit timelines....
New Zealand's Online Casino Gambling Bill, expected to pass in 2026, will ban all affiliate marketing and paid influencer endorsements for online casinos. The legislation caps the market at 15 licensed operators, introduces a competitive auction, bans credit‑card and buy‑now‑pay‑later...
Delegates at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) gathered in Jamaica to push the long‑delayed deep‑sea mining code toward finalization this year. The code will set rules for extracting polymetallic nodules from the Clarion‑Clipperton Zone, a 2.3‑million‑square‑mile area central to the...
On March 11, 2026, U.S. District Judge Charles Goodwin issued an order in Bey v. Midwest City. The court denied the plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration and ruled a pending motion to dismiss as moot, allowing the case to move forward....
The article outlines how the surge of sanctions—particularly the 13,000 measures targeting Russia—has become a central factor in international arbitration. It explains that sanctions affect contract drafting, choice of seat, and institutional rules, creating procedural hurdles such as blocked payments...
The U.S. Treasury issued a one‑month OFAC wind‑down licence, allowing Russian crude already at sea to complete voyages through April 11. The licence is intended to stabilise energy markets amid the Strait of Hormuz crisis that has disrupted Gulf supplies. Broker...
The European Commission adopted a definition that lets new plastic be marketed as “recycled” with as little as 2.5% waste‑derived material. Chemical‑recycling plants, heavily promoted by oil and plastics firms, have struggled: of the 78 announced facilities, only 18 are...
Marriott Vacations Worldwide has elevated deputy general counsel Andrew Marcus to the role of general counsel, succeeding James Hunter who will retire on April 1. Marcus, who joined MVW in 2015 and previously served as deputy GC, brings extensive legal experience across...
A Scottish court upheld Petrofac Ltd's company voluntary arrangement (CVA) after a 99% creditor vote, clearing a legal challenge from HM Revenue & Customs. The CVA enables the sale of Petrofac's Asset Solutions business to CB&I on a debt‑free, cash‑free...
Iowa's House passed Bill 2513 limiting public universities' use of H‑1B visas for nationals of designated foreign adversaries. The measure, supported by a 68‑27 vote, would bar hires from countries such as China, Russia, Iran and others, affecting roughly 120‑130...
Former Michigan linebackers coach Chris Partridge filed a federal lawsuit alleging wrongful termination and a violation of his Fourteenth Amendment due‑process rights after being dismissed during an NCAA sign‑stealing investigation. The suit targets the university, its board of regents and...
RQM+ announced SMART Solutions, a life‑cycle partnership model that fuses regulatory, quality, clinical, reimbursement and laboratory expertise for medical device and diagnostics firms. The offering comes in two formats: an integrated solution for small‑to‑mid‑size companies and a functional, modular option...
Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) secured an $18.75 million default judgment against William Freemon, a U.S. operator of illegal IPTV services such as Streaming TV Now, Instant IPTV and TV Nitro. The Northern District of Texas court awarded statutory damages for willful copyright infringement,...
