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
ILTA EVOLVE: Sometimes Less Is More — A Focus On Leadership
ILTA’s Evolve conference kicks off in Denver, marking its third consecutive year. The event remains deliberately small and focused, cutting through the noise typical of larger legal‑tech gatherings. This year introduces a new Leadership in Legal Tech pillar, addressing firms’ challenges with GenAI, cybersecurity and efficiency. Attendees can expect two keynote speeches, over 20 sessions and the signature “Klickers” networking format.
UK Business Immigration – Home Office Quietly Indicates Extension of Right to Work Checks to Take Effect From 1 October...
The UK Home Office’s latest consultation quietly sets a 1 October 2026 start date for an expanded right‑to‑work regime. A draft Code of Practice redefines “employer” to include individual sub‑contractors and online matching services, extending verification duties beyond traditional employees. Failure to...
The Regulatory Reality Behind the Autonomous ATC Gold Rush
Venture capital is pouring into autonomous air traffic control startups, attracted by aging controller workforces, incomplete FAA modernization, and booming eVTOL demand. However, the FAA’s AI Safety Assurance roadmap limits the use of learning‑AI and mandates certification within existing frameworks,...
ESMA Launches a Call for Evidence on the Structure of European Equity Markets
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a Call for Evidence (CfE) on the structure of European equity markets, drawing on MiFIR transaction data from 2022‑2025. The analysis shows addressable liquidity stable at roughly 85% of volume and...
Martin Lewis Says Meta Scam Ads Stealing His Name Are ‘Worse than Ever’
Financial journalist Martin Lewis warned that scam ads hijacking his name and likeness have surged, now appearing in 44% of 537 Action Fraud reports in 2024. Meta earned roughly $3.3 billion every six months from high‑risk scam ads that impersonate public figures,...
Who’s Got That Kind of Time: SEC Shortens Tender Offer Window for Equity Awards in Certain Circumstances
On April 16, 2026 the SEC granted relief that halves the mandatory tender‑offer window from 20 to 10 business days. The cut‑short period applies only when the consideration is cash and the offer is a company‑led self‑tender, with distinct rules...
Scaling up a Tech Startup in Europe Is Hard — ‘EU Inc.’ Aims to Help
Europe churns out dozens of unicorns each year, yet most founders struggle to scale beyond national borders because of 27 distinct legal regimes. The European Commission’s new “EU Inc.” framework proposes a single, digital‑by‑default company structure that can be incorporated...
ED Launches Civil Rights Investigation Into Stanford
The U.S. Department of Education announced a civil‑rights investigation into Stanford University, alleging that the school’s National Board Resource Center selects participants based on skin color rather than merit. The probe claims this practice violates Title VI of the Civil Rights...
China’s Meta-Manus Block Adds New Risk Layer to Cross-Border AI Diligence
China’s National Development and Reform Commission ordered Meta Platforms to unwind its roughly $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus, marking the first publicly announced AI‑sector foreign‑investment prohibition under Beijing’s CFIUS‑style security review. The decision forces both parties to dismantle integrated...
Magic Circle Firm Slaughter and May Adopts Harvey
Slaughter & May has announced a firm‑wide rollout of the Harvey AI platform, extending its use to all practice areas including M&A, due diligence, regulatory research and document analysis. The Magic Circle firm highlighted Harvey’s agentic capabilities, security features and proven track...
Zimbabwe: RBZ Governor 'Irregular' Washington Affidavit Results in Central Bank's Loss in U.S.$7 Million Gold Dispute
The Zimbabwe High Court nullified the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's decision to freeze a US$7 million account linked to a gold trade, criticizing Governor John Mushayavanhu’s affidavit signed from Washington as procedurally defective. Justice Jacob Mafusire found the central bank’s actions...
Singapore Casino's Singapore Judgment Threatened Malaysian's Bankruptcy
A Singapore casino nearly bankrupted a Malaysian man on Malaysian soil. And it almost worked. That’s the bit everyone missed. The court dismissed it, people cheered, and the story moved on. But the more unsettling question got dropped: how did a foreign...
Supreme Court Invalidates Louisiana’s SB8 Map in Major Racial Gerrymandering Ruling
On April 29 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s SB8 congressional map, declaring it an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The Court held that the Voting Rights Act did not require the state to create an additional majority‑minority district, removing the...
Stockholder Sues Blue Owl Adviser, Alleges $414M in Excessive Fees
A stockholder has sued Blue Owl Credit Advisors, alleging the adviser overcharged the Blue Owl Capital BDC OBDC by $414.4 million in 2025. The lawsuit claims the adviser inflated marks on illiquid Level 3 assets, driving management and incentive fees far above...
Pasadena Hikes Minimum Wage to $18.57 with Criminal Prosecution for Violations
Pasadena’s Minimum Wage Ordinance raises the citywide floor to $18.57 per hour starting July 1, 2026, covering all adult and minor workers regardless of immigration status. The ordinance imposes strict posting, pay‑statement, and anti‑retaliation requirements, and violations can lead to civil lawsuits...
Court Revives ADA Claim After State Agency's Confusing Charge Process
The Seventh Circuit revived Kimberly Ballard’s ADA discrimination lawsuit against Ameren Illinois after a district court dismissed it for missing the federal 300‑day filing deadline. The court found that the Illinois Department of Human Rights’ intake form was not a formal...
Out Now: Multinationals and Human Rights in Asia
The new volume *Multinationals and Human Rights in Asia* examines the availability of civil remedies for victims of corporate human‑rights abuses across Asian jurisdictions. It evaluates how the 2011 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights have been adopted...
ASIC Discontinues Liberty Bell Bay Winding up Action
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has stopped its court proceedings to wind up Liberty Bell Bay, the manganese smelter in northern Tasmania owned by GFG Alliance. The plant remains under external administration, and its financial reporting obligations have...
Court Backs Oncor Firing Union Worker over Public Product Attack
A D.C. Circuit appeals court ruled that Oncor Electric Delivery could lawfully fire union technician Bobby Reed for publicly criticizing the company’s smart meters, because his remarks did not reference an ongoing labor dispute. Reed’s testimony before Texas senators focused...
Apologetic Insurer Claims Customers Were Not Tricked in Renewal Notices
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has sued RACQ over more than 434,000 insurance renewal notices that listed a “last period premium” inconsistent with what customers actually paid. The regulator alleges up to 70% of those notices overstated prior...
Vet Sues Petco, Says Firing Came One Day After Lactation Pushback
Dr. Nicole Varon, a top‑performing veterinarian at Petco, alleges she was fired on July 11, 2025, one day after requesting lactation breaks. She claims the company tolerated vulgar, pregnancy‑related harassment from a technician and delayed a HR investigation throughout her...
Ex-Manager Says Wells Fargo Cut Her Two Days Before Maternity Return
Former Wells Fargo digital product manager Kyra G. Sherman filed a lawsuit alleging she was terminated two days before her scheduled return from a 16‑week maternity leave. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island, cites Title VII, the...
New Zealand Bill Expands Serious Fraud Office Powers To Tackle Digital And Financial Crime
New Zealand’s government introduced a bill to expand the Serious Fraud Office’s investigative powers, targeting the growing scale and digital complexity of fraud. The legislation, cleared in its first reading on April 30, 2026, would let the SFO access cloud‑based...
3 Women Sue UnitedHealthcare over Supervisor's Alleged Harassment Past
Three UnitedHealthcare employees filed a federal lawsuit alleging their supervisor, Roddy Torres, engaged in repeated sexual harassment and abuse of authority. The complaint accuses UnitedHealthcare of negligent hiring, claiming the company knew or should have known about Torres’s prior misconduct....
Slaughter and May Goes Firmwide with Harvey
Slaughter & May announced a firm‑wide rollout of Harvey, the firm’s chosen enterprise legal‑AI platform. The deployment will replace a patchwork of legacy tools with a single, cloud‑based solution for contract review, litigation research and regulatory compliance. Harvey’s machine‑learning models have...
Agents Unaware of New Rent in Advance Rules as May Deadline Looms
The UK Renters’ Rights Act, effective 1 May, bans letting agents from demanding or accepting more than one month’s rent in advance and from taking rent before a tenancy agreement is signed. A Letting Partnership survey of 887 agents found 41%...
Employee Told to Be Inclusive of Racist Opinions Wins Unfair Dismissal Claim
The Fair Work Commission ruled that an early‑childhood teacher’s dismissal was unlawful after the employer instructed him to be "inclusive of all opinions," including racist views, and then terminated him based on inaccurate information. The case arose from a verbal...
Kagan, Jackson, Sotomayor Dissent: Court Undermines Voting Rights Act
“I dissent because the Court betrays its duty to faithfully implement the [Voting Rights Act]. I dissent because the Court’s decision will set back the foundational right Congress granted of racial equality in electoral opportunity. I dissent.” — Justice Elena Kagan,...
1% Remittance Tax Targets How You Pay, Not Who You Are
Starting Jan 1 2026, the U.S. will impose a 1% federal excise tax on outbound remittances funded with cash or cash equivalents. The tax applies based on the sender’s location, not citizenship, and exempts transfers financed through bank accounts, debit, credit or...
Rwanda Plans Curbs on Under-16s’ Access to Social Media
Rwanda is drafting legislation to prohibit children under 16 from accessing major social‑media platforms such as TikTok, X, YouTube and Facebook. The Education and ICT ministries cite protection of minors’ well‑being and academic performance, noting that 46% of under‑16s already...
The SEC’s FY 2025 Enforcement Report Signals Fundamental Shift in Goals and Strategy
The SEC’s FY 2025 Enforcement Report marks a decisive move away from headline‑driven actions toward a disciplined, investor‑protection model. Two‑thirds of the year’s cases targeted individuals, a 27% rise year‑over‑year, and the agency barred 119 people from officer or director roles...
Regulatory Update: This Is What We’ve Been Training For
Leda Glyptis reflects on a half‑day European payments regulatory briefing, noting that two decades of consistent regulatory pressure have pushed banks toward greater transparency, accountability and resilience. While regulators increasingly target the entire payments ecosystem—from schemes to telcos—industry responses remain...
42 Democrats Side with Republicans to Renew Invasive Surveillance Law
42 Democrats joined 192 Republicans to reauthorize FISA Section 702, an incredibly harmful warrantless surveillance law that's being used to target Americans and immigrants. Here are the Dems who voted for this.
Hong Kong Sets November 2026 Start for Uncertificated Securities Market Regime
Hong Kong announced that the uncertificated securities market (USM) regime will commence on 16 November 2026, activating key provisions of the 2021 amendment ordinance. The framework eliminates paper share certificates, allowing digital evidence and transfer of ownership for prescribed securities. Six subsidiary...
Design Patents Expand for Digital Products While Courts Signal New Limits on Enforcement
The USPTO issued new guidance on March 13, 2026 that expands design‑patent eligibility to include graphical user interfaces, icons, and designs displayed in augmented‑reality, virtual‑reality and other projected environments, removing the need for a physical screen. Simultaneously, Federal Circuit activity...
EFishery Founder Gets 9-Year Jail Term, Closing the Book on One of SEA’s Worst Startup Collapses
Indonesia’s Bandung District Court sentenced eFishery founder Gibran Huzaifah to nine years in prison and a $60,000 fine, concluding a fraud scandal that erased about $300 million of investor value. The case uncovered systematic revenue inflation from 2017 to 2024 that...
Advance Notice Bylaws: DE Supreme Court Rejects Challenge on Ripeness Grounds
The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed a Chancery Court ruling that two shareholder lawsuits challenging advance‑notice bylaws were unripe. The plaintiffs, who had no intention to nominate directors, could not obtain declaratory or injunctive relief because they presented no concrete, present...
FDA-Approved Marijuana Products and Those Subject to State-Issued Licenses Rescheduled; Marijuana Hearing Calendared; Dispensary Applications Accepted
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and the DEA issued a final rule that instantly reschedules FDA‑approved THC drug products and marijuana sold under state medical licenses from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The rule aligns federal regulation...
Leader of Food and Drug Officials' Group Says FDA Needs to Communicate Better with States
Steven Mandernach, executive director of the Association of Food and Drug Officials, testified before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that the FDA must improve communication with state and local regulators. He highlighted that state and local agencies perform the...
Private Equity Is Coming for Law Firms—And the Rules Aren’t Ready
In January 2026 personal‑injury firm Dudley DeBosier announced a partnership with Orion Legal, using a management services organization (MSO) to let a private‑equity vehicle run its technology, billing and marketing while attorneys retain firm ownership. The move mirrors a broader...
CLO Governance Forum: September 10 | NYC
The Conference Board’s CLO Governance Forum convenes on September 10, 2026 in New York City, gathering Chief Legal Officers, General Counsels, corporate secretaries and board directors for an invitation‑only, off‑record exchange. Attendees will discuss how legal leaders make, defend and operationalize judgments under...
Single-Interest Authorisation Issued for 269 Employers
Australia’s Fair Work Commission has issued a single‑interest employer authorisation for a proposed multi‑enterprise agreement covering McDonald’s Australia Limited and 268 of its franchisees, totalling 269 employers. The agreement would apply to all employees working under any classification in clause...
Seeking Viable Voting Rights Strategies Amid Hostile Supreme Court
How do we get back the heart of the Voting Rights Act, while being something that Trump’s stacked Supreme Court won’t just throw out? (Cynical “we can’t win” answers will be ignored.) I’m not even remotely qualified to answer this, but...
Sidley Discusses Limits to Caremark Claims
The Delaware Court of Chancery in Marchner v. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed that Caremark claims are limited to cases where directors have actual knowledge of illegal conduct, not merely poor investment outcomes. The court held that board oversight duties focus...
I Took an Algorithm to Court in Sweden. The Algorithm Won | Charlotta Kronblad
In 2020 Gothenburg deployed an algorithm to assign students to schools, but it calculated distances "as the crow flies" and ignored natural barriers, sending hundreds of children miles from home. The error affected roughly 700 pupils, prompting a mother‑researcher to...
CloudLex Introduces the First ‘Personal Injury Ecosystem’
CloudLex launched the first Personal Injury Ecosystem, merging its case‑management platform, Lexee AI, paralegal services, and the Voices of PI community into a single, unified system. The integrated solution eliminates the need for separate logins and data transfers by keeping...
Bird & Bird Promotes 19 to Partner in Latest Promotions Round
Bird & Bird promoted 19 lawyers to partnership in its latest global round, a slight increase from 17 last year. The cohort includes five women, representing 26 % of new partners, and spans a broad range of practices, with employment and intellectual...
Edited Version of Louisiana V. Callais
The Supreme Court issued a 92‑page opinion in Louisiana v. Callais, a case centered on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. An author distilled the opinion into a 16‑page edited version for the 2026 Barnett/Blackman supplement, trimming historical background and...
'None of It Strikes Me as Nefarious': Judge Queries ACCC Case Against Woolies
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is suing Woolworths over alleged misleading "Prices Dropped" promotions on more than 260 items, claiming shoppers were led to believe they were saving when prices were actually higher. In Federal Court, Justice Michael O’Bryan...
Why Some Hospitals Won’t Be Able to Comply With Upcoming HIPAA Updates
The Department of Health and Human Services will finalize the first major HIPAA overhaul in more than a decade, scrapping the distinction between “required” and “addressable” rules and making every security provision mandatory. New mandates cover two‑factor authentication, data encryption,...