Senate Confirms Kristi Noem To Lead DHS

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 59-34 on Saturday in a rare weekend session to confirm South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

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Trump Revives Federal Anti-Abortion Policies

By Dan McKay

President Donald Trump issued two executive orders Friday targeting abortion inside and outside the United States, reinstating a ban on federal funding for certain international family planning groups and revoking a pair of Biden-era directives supporting abortion access.

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Trump Fires Inspectors General Without Notice

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump fired more than a dozen inspectors general Friday night, some of whom he had appointed, prompting concerns from both sides of the aisle that the president had not followed legal protocol.

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Law Students Scramble As Federal Gov't Yanks Job Offers

By Alison Knezevich

Law students across the country are scrambling to figure out their next steps after a range of federal agencies yanked job and internship offers this week because of the new hiring freeze imposed by the Trump administration.

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Analysis

Companies Risk White House Wrath By Keeping DEI Programs

By Sarah Jarvis

For companies pushing forward with their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives amid a torrent of attacks from President Donald Trump and his allies, there are myriad potential risks ahead — and murky questions about the legal parameters of Trump's anti-DEI agenda.

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Analysis

FTC Signals Unified Focus On Kids' Privacy With Rule Update

By Allison Grande

The Federal Trade Commission's recent unanimous move to strengthen longstanding online privacy protections for children demonstrated that the agency won't be easing up on enforcement in this space as a new Republican regime takes over, despite lingering questions over whether further changes or expansions may be on the horizon. 

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Senate Narrowly Confirms Hegseth To Lead DOD

By Daniel Wilson

The U.S. Senate on Friday narrowly confirmed former Fox News pundit Pete Hegseth to lead the U.S. Department of Defense, ignoring concerns over his allegedly poor management experience and allegations of past abusive behavior.

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Chopra Says Banks May Not Get CFPB 'Lapdog' Under Trump

By Jon Hill

As President Donald Trump faces pressure from allies to fire Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra, the agency chief on Friday accused banks of trying to fend off measures that could address Trump's concerns about so-called debanking.

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Interview

NC Gov. GC's Bio Boasts BigTech Battles, Merger Dustup

By Hayley Fowler

Sarah Boyce has followed her boss from the North Carolina Attorney General's Office to the steps of the governor's mansion as his new general counsel, capping off more than four years of high-profile constitutional challenges that saw her arguing before the nation's highest court as well as multistate enforcement actions against industry giants like Google and TikTok.

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'Waverly Two' Will Walk Free After Biden Commutation

By Rachel Rippetoe

Among the nearly 2,500 people for whom former President Joe Biden commuted sentences before he left office were Terence Richardson and Ferrone Claiborne, who were sentenced to life in prison in 2001 even though a federal jury found them not guilty of murder.

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High Court To Hear Okla. Religious Charter School Case

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether Oklahoma can publicly fund the nation's first Catholic charter school, a potential blockbuster of a case that could open the door for further use of taxpayer money for religious schools.

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Trump Energy Order Disrupts High-Profile NEPA Cases

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

One of President Donald Trump's first energy-related executive orders is unsettling closely watched litigation in the U.S. Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit regarding the executive branch's power to implement the National Environmental Policy Act.

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Enviros Want To Reopen Yellowstone Bison Suit

By Joyce Hanson

An environmental group has asked a Montana federal court to reopen a case over the management of Native American tribes' bison hunting on public land near Yellowstone National Park, saying new analysis is needed to determine whether the United States' national mammal can now roam free.

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Conn. Residents Lose Appeal Challenging Propane Facility

By Hayley Fowler

A group of citizens in Connecticut who opposed their town's plans to build a bulk propane storage facility can't show how they were aggrieved and, therefore, don't have standing to sue, a state appellate panel ruled Friday in affirming the trial court's dismissal of their case.

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Brief

Trump Admin Requests Justices Pause Three Energy Cases

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The Trump administration on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause three cases so the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can review Biden-era regulatory decisions that may alter the government's legal positions.

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5th Circ. Upholds Tossing Medicare Rate Policy Challenge

By Madeline Lyskawa

A Fifth Circuit panel said it agrees with a Texas federal judge that a lawsuit brought by four anesthesia practices claiming a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services policy will cost them $4 million in reduced reimbursements is statutorily barred.

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FDA's Premium Cigar Regulations Overturned By DC Circ.

By Ali Sullivan

A D.C. Circuit panel ruled on Friday that the Food and Drug Administration acted arbitrarily when subjecting premium, hand-rolled cigars to the same regulations as other tobacco products, saying the agency was wrong to overlook two studies about infrequent premium cigar use.

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Feds Drop HIPAA Charges Against Houston Surgeon

By Catherine Marfin

The federal government has dropped criminal charges against a Texas surgeon accused of improperly accessing patient information and sharing information about the hospital's gender-affirming care practices with the press.

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Anti-Abortion Group Seeks High Court Review Of NJ Probe

By Ali Sullivan

An anti-abortion pregnancy center operator wants the U.S. Supreme Court to revive its federal court challenge to a subpoena from the New Jersey attorney general that seeks information about its donors, urging the court in a petition for certiorari to resolve a legal "Catch-22."

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Analysis

Senate Bill Not Seen As Death Knell For Skinny Label Suits

By Ryan Davis

A Senate bill aiming to protect generic-drug makers from patent suits when using so-called skinny labels could give the law more clarity if passed, but it likely wouldn't halt such cases since they involve issues that are more complex than lawmakers may realize, attorneys say.

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Ill. Casino Applicant Loses Out On License Denial Challenge

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

A tribal-led casino applicant that was denied a license to open up in Waukegan, Illinois, does not have standing to appeal that rejection, the state's highest court said on Friday, restoring a trial court's decision on the matter.

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EEOC Harassment Guidance Can Remain, For Now

By Grace Elletson

A Tennessee federal judge derailed an effort by a coalition of Republican state attorneys general to pause U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance on workplace harassment, after finding that a recent executive order issued by President Donald Trump may have nullified the legal challenge.

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EEOC Disability Bias Suit Tossed Following Nixed Evidence

By Patrick Hoff

A mortgage and financial services company on Friday defeated a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it unlawfully refused to hire a woman because she took pain medication, after a Washington federal judge ruled midtrial that a key piece of evidence shouldn't have been shown to jurors.

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Colo. Judge Asks If Uber Pay Law Is Like Cigarette Warning

By Thy Vo

A Colorado federal judge asked the state whether a law requiring Uber to disclose driver pay to riders can be compared to cigarette warning labels if riders are getting the information after a ride is completed, at a hearing Friday to consider whether to block the law from taking effect.

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DOL Ends All Contractor Bias Probes Following Trump Order

By Hailey Konnath

The U.S. Department of Labor on Friday halted all investigations and enforcement in the wake of President Donald Trump's executive order earlier this week pulling a longstanding, core legal authority used to prevent federal contractors from discriminating against workers.

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FTC Says Noncompete Ban Defense Is Its Job, Not Intervenor's

By Bryan Koenig

The Federal Trade Commission is urging the Fifth and Eleventh circuits not to permit an entrepreneurs group to intervene in support of the FTC's currently blocked noncompete ban in case the commission opts to abandon its defense, arguing Congress left it up to government agencies to defend their own regulations.

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Amex GBT Faces Sept. Trial In DOJ Case Against $570M Deal

By Bryan Koenig

A New York federal judge set a September trial date Friday for the U.S. Department of Justice suit challenging American Express Global Business Travel Inc.'s planned $570 million purchase of CWT Holdings LLC, rejecting company assertions of "exigencies" necessitating a decision by June.

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EU Approves Int'l Paper's $7.2B DS Smith Deal With Fix

By Matthew Perlman

European enforcers said Friday they have approved International Paper Co.'s planned £5.8 billion ($7.2 billion) purchase of fellow packaging provider DS Smith PLC conditioned on the sale of several factories in regions where they currently overlap.

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Brief

Education Department Asks For Pause In Student Loan Case

By Spencer Brewer

The federal government asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to pause a review of a Fifth Circuit block on a program that forgives student loans if the borrower was scammed, saying it needed to "reassess" its position following President Donald Trump's inauguration.

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Brief

3rd Circ. Halts Pa. Med Insurer Suit Pending High Court Review

By George Woolston

The Third Circuit agreed Friday to put a hold on its ruling that Pennsylvania's medical malpractice insurance fund is an agency of the state and can dip into the fund's $300 million budget surplus pending the outcome of the fund's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Ga. Judge Gives Tentative OK To $1M PFAS Deal

By Chart Riggall

A federal judge gave preliminary approval to a $1 million settlement in a sprawling class action over forever chemicals allegedly released from a north Georgia textile plant, potentially ending the involvement of one of the half-dozen chemical companies in the suit.

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Hunter Biden Pans IRS Agents' Appeal To Enter Privacy Suit

By Anna Scott Farrell

Hunter Biden urged the D.C. Circuit to affirm a ruling preventing the IRS agents he has accused of improperly revealing his tax return information from intervening in his privacy suit against the U.S. government, saying the court should reject their claims about the importance of their participation.

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Netflix Urges Colo. Court To Reject Tax On Streaming Video

By Sanjay Talwani

Netflix subscriptions are not tangible personal property that is subject to Colorado sales tax, the company told a state appeals court, urging it to uphold a district court decision.

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Analysis

Trump's Invasion Theory, Prosecution Vow Break New Ground

By Britain Eakin

President Donald Trump's border closure accompanying a declared "invasion" of migrants, and threats to pursue criminal prosecution of officials in sanctuary localities, is likely to test novel legal theories in lawsuits expected to challenge the president's powers.

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8th Circ. Upholds Block On Iowa's Immigration Law

By Spencer Brewer

An Eighth Circuit panel upheld an order barring Iowa from enforcing a state law that criminalizes noncitizens who enter the state after deportation from the U.S., saying in a Friday opinion the law doesn't pass a constitutional smell test.

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With DHS Flip, Remain In Mexico Suit Up In The Air

By Emilie Ruscoe

The states of Texas and Missouri and the U.S. federal government must submit joint briefing regarding what comes next for their legal dispute over the Biden-era rescission of a program requiring asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico while their immigration claims are processed, a Texas federal judge has determined a day after the program's reinstatement.

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Immigrant Groups Seek Block Of Trump's Citizenship 'Assault'

By Brian Dowling

Massachusetts immigrant advocacy organizations and an expectant mother urged a Boston federal judge to block President Donald Trump's "unparalleled assault on the sanctity and integrity of U.S. citizenship," after a Washington judge paused the administration's birthright citizenship executive order for two weeks.

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Indiana Sues Police Department For Limiting ICE Cooperation

By Tom Lotshaw

Indiana's attorney general hit the St. Joseph County Police Department with a lawsuit alleging it's not fully cooperating with federal immigration authorities in line with a Hoosier State law banning so-called sanctuary city policies — a charge the police department immediately disputed.

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Feds' Madigan Theory 'Doesn't Line Up,' His Atty Tells Jury

By Celeste Bott

Counsel for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan told an Illinois federal jury Friday that prosecutors attempting to convict him of racketeering have painted an "incomplete and misleading" picture of a crooked politician at trial, but have failed to meet their burden to prove he ever acted with corrupt intent or engaged in a "this for that" exchange for his official action.

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Brief

Trial Delayed For Ailing Wife Of Former Sen. Menendez

By Elliot Weld

The bribery and corruption trial of Nadine Menendez, the wife of former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, was delayed from Feb. 5 to March 18 by a Manhattan federal judge Friday due to health issues following a cancer diagnosis.

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Navajo Nation Cautions Citizens Over Immigration Raids

By Crystal Owens

Navajo Nation tribal leaders are calling on President Buu Nygren to address reported U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, where they fear agents may have illegally detained members who live off-reservation and in urban areas.

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Army Exploits Pa. Boarding School Cemetery, 4th Circ. Told

By Crystal Owens

The U.S. Army is exploiting an Indian boarding school cemetery as a repository for human remains, a Nebraska tribe told the Fourth Circuit, arguing that the military institution is conducting research and other activities that serve its goals rather than respecting the sovereignty and traditions of Indigenous people.

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11th Circ. Overturns FCC One-To-One Marketing Consent Rule

By Christopher Cole

The Eleventh Circuit late Friday overturned a Federal Communications Commission rule requiring individual consumer consent to receive contacts from companies through comparison shopping sites.

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Lawmakers Want FCC Subsidy Fund Preserved At High Court

By Christopher Cole

Nearly 30 members of the U.S. House and Senate from both parties are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to keep in place the Federal Communications Commission's system of raising funds from telecom providers to pay for connectivity around the country.

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Brief

Newly Appointed FCC Chair Names More Agency Leaders

By Christopher Cole

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr on Friday announced several staff appointments, including acting officials to lead international affairs, engineering, economics and media relations.

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Louisiana Urges Court To Toss New Challenge To Hemp Law

By Sam Reisman

Louisiana officials have renewed their push to defeat a federal lawsuit challenging the state's new hemp policy, which they said was not preempted by the federal law that legalized hemp nationwide.

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Insights For Finance Firms, Regulators From House AI Report

Though a U.S. House of Representatives report encourages the financial sector to embrace artificial intelligence tools, its focus on ensuring high-quality datasets, transparent development and equitable access underscores that firms and regulators must strike a delicate balance between technological innovation and responsible implementation, says Brendan Palfreyman at Harris Beach.

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LA Wildfires' Effect On Calif. Insurer Of Last Resort

Attorneys at Willkie discuss the background of California's insurer of last resort — known as the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan — and examine the process of assessing member insurers and relevant recent property insurance market developments in light of the destruction from the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.

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Trump's Energy Plans For Generation, Transmission And More

The executive orders and presidential memoranda issued by President Donald Trump on the day of his inauguration, unwinding the Biden administration's energy policies and encouraging development of fossil fuels, may have significant impacts on the generation mix, electric transmission construction and the state regulatory environment, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

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10 Key Worker-Friendly California Employment Law Updates

New employment laws in California expand employee rights, transparency and enforcement mechanisms, and failing to educate department managers on these changes could put employers at risk, says Melanie Ronen at Stradley Ronon.

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FCA Enforcement Would Make Trump's Tariffs More Effective

In implementing its trade policies, the Trump administration is likely to employ the False Claims Act, a powerful enforcement tool that would give tariffs and customs duties teeth, help raise promised revenue and prevent evaders from gaining a competitive advantage, says Sam Buffone at Buffone Law.

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What's Next For Accounting Enforcement After SEC's Big 2024

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Trump administration will likely continue to focus enforcement efforts on many of the same accounting and auditing issues that it pursued over the past year — but other areas, such as ESG, internal controls and cryptocurrency cases, may fall out of focus, say attorneys at Debevoise.

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End-Of-Year FCPA Enforcement Surge Holds Clues For 2025

The last three months of 2024 saw more Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions than any quarter in the previous four years, providing lessons for companies — even as a new administration raises doubts about whether this momentum will continue, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

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FTC Report On AI Sector Illuminates Future Enforcement

The Federal Trade Commission's report on cloud service providers and their partnerships with developers of artificial intelligence's large language models suggests that the agency will move to rein in Big Tech with antitrust enforcement to protect startups, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

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Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.

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Mass Tort Atty Files Ch. 11 Owing $202M To Litigation Funders

By Hilary Russ

A Houston plaintiffs attorney has filed for personal Chapter 11 protection with more than $202 million of litigation funding liabilities, according to his petition in the Southern District of Texas.

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Feud Heats Up Over Estate Of Wife Killed By Ex-BigLaw Atty

By Emily Johnson

The godson of a Georgia woman killed by her husband, former Fisher Phillips partner Claud "Tex" McIver, has said her cousins shouldn't get proceeds from a settlement of an underlying wrongful death suit, calling them "strangers" to her and claiming "the redistributive windfall" they're asking for "has no place in Georgia law."

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Boston Firm Says IT Vendor Holding Computers 'Hostage'

By Julie Manganis

Boston-based law firm Melick & Porter LLP says a company it hired to manage its information technology is now holding its computer network and data "hostage" by refusing to cooperate with the transition to a new vendor unless Melick pays it $380,000.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Phillips Black Inc., Ridley McGreevy & Winocur PC and King & Spalding LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court revived claims from a woman on death row in Oklahoma that prosecutors unfairly sex-shamed her and relied on gender-based stereotypes to convince a jury that she had killed her estranged husband for insurance money.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

A new Law360 Pulse survey shows that more than 90% of in-house counsel have no regrets about their decisions to join companies. In litigation stemming from Purdue Pharma's sales of OxyContin that fueled the opioid crisis, the Sackler family would lose control of Purdue and pay $6.5 billion in the latest proposed settlement. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.​

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen Axa Insurance and Admiral face a claim from a former lawyer recently exposed for personal injury fraud, the owner of Reading Football Club sue a prospective buyer and mobile network Lycamobile tackle action by Spanish network Yogio. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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