Judgeship Threatened If Trump Aide Didn't Flip, Atty Says

By David Minsky

An attorney representing Donald Trump's personal aide urged a Florida federal judge Wednesday to dismiss an indictment alleging obstruction in the investigation of whether the former president illegally kept documents after leaving office, saying a government attorney threatened to derail a potential judicial nomination if his client didn't cooperate.

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Binance.US Beats Fla. Regulator's Suspension Order

By Katryna Perera

A Florida state appeals court agreed with Binance.US on Wednesday that the state's financial regulator shouldn't have denied the cryptocurrency exchange the ability to do business in the state after its affiliate and founder pled guilty last year, and that the agency didn't follow proper procedure in blocking Binance's operations.

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Fla. Judge Won't Pause Russian Planes Coverage Suit

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida judge on Wednesday refused to pause an aircraft leasing company's coverage suit for $700 million worth of airplanes reappropriated by Russian airlines after the Ukraine war began, denying a request by some of the company's insurers to wait until litigation in the U.K. is resolved.

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Pryor Cashman Atty Accused Of 'Brazen' Hose Patent Fraud

By Craig Clough

An attorney for Pryor Cashman LLP and his client were accused Wednesday in Florida federal court of engaging in a "brazen" scheme to usurp a hose company's rights to a patent portfolio while also defrauding the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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Fla. Judge Blocks Immigrant Transport Law During Litigation

By Rae Ann Varona

A Florida federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked the state from enforcing a new law that criminalizes the transportation of unauthorized immigrants, saying the law intrudes on the federal government's authority over immigration matters.

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DeSantis Ducks Voters' Suit Over Fla. Prosecutor Suspension

By Jack Karp

A Florida federal judge on Wednesday tossed voters' attempt to undo Gov. Ron DeSantis' suspension of elected prosecutor Monique Worrell, finding that the voters had not shown they were injured by the suspension.

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Analysis

Justices' CFPB Alliance May Save SEC Courts, Not Chevron

By Katie Buehler

A four-justice concurrence to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's unique funding scheme last week carries implications for other cases pending before the court that challenge the so-called administrative state, or the permanent cadre of regulatory agencies and career government enforcers who hold sway over vast swaths of American economic life.

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Fla. Judges Cleared To Speak On Legal Process During Panels

By Madison Arnold

A Florida judge can participate in a local bar association discussion panel that addresses how judges confer with colleagues and consider amicus filings without violating the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct, according to a new advisory opinion by the Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee.

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Investors Say FIS Must Investigate Derivative Suit's Claims

By Sydney Price

An investor of fintech corporation Fidelity National Information Services has pushed back on the company and its executives' bid to escape a derivative lawsuit over a $46 billion market cap drop resulting from a business spinoff, saying the company must investigate the suit's allegations.

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GOP State Leaders Tell Justices Mexico Can't Sue Gunmakers

By Brian Dowling

Republican attorneys general of 26 states plus the Arizona Legislature have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a First Circuit decision that revived a lawsuit filed by the Mexican government seeking to hold the firearms industry responsible for drug cartel violence due to weapons trafficked across the border. 

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NJ Atty Faces Fla. Suspension Over Sale Of $1.6M Painting

By Jake Maher

An attorney suspended for one year in New Jersey last year for smuggling a $1.6 million painting out of his house to avoid an asset sale has agreed to a guilty plea accepting another yearlong suspension in Florida related to the scheme.

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Calif. Court Rejects Arbitration Pact Stacked Against Workers

By Irene Spezzamonte

The arbitration pact an eyeglass retailer provided to a former employee was procedurally and substantively unconscionable and therefore unenforceable, a California state appeals court ruled, affirming a trial court's decision in a worker's wage and hour suit.

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IT Co. Can't Sink Fired Worker's FMLA Retaliation Suit

By Grace Elletson

A Florida federal judge declined to hand an information technology company an early win in a former worker's suit claiming he was fired after he took medical leave to treat anxiety, ruling that there are enough disputes over whether the company acted illegally to send the case to trial.

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MilliporeSigma Avoids Charges As DOJ Extols Self-Disclosure

By Julie Manganis

Life sciences firm MilliporeSigma won’t face charges over the illegal exportation of products to China, in what the Justice Department said Wednesday was the first time its National Security Division had declined prosecution under a policy intended to encourage companies to voluntarily disclose wrongdoing,

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Fraud Defendant Strikes Deal To End Ch. 11, Sell House

By Rick Archer

A corporation owned by the defendant in a $93 million securities fraud case Wednesday told a Florida bankruptcy judge it has reached a deal to end its Chapter 11 case and sell the multimillion-dollar Coral Gables home that is its sole asset.

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What The FTC Report On AG Collabs Means For Cos.

The Federal Trade Commission's April report on working with state attorneys general shows collaboration can increase efficiency and consistency in how statutes are interpreted and enforced, which can minimize the likelihood of requests for inconsistent injunctive relief that can create operational problems for businesses, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

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When Oral Settlements Reached In Mediation Are Enforceable

A recent decision by the New Jersey Appellate Division illustrates the difficulties that may arise in trying to enforce an oral settlement agreement reached in mediation, but adherence to certain practices can improve the likelihood that such an agreement will be binding, says Richard Mason at MasonADR.

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Series

Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

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Law360 Names Attys Who Moved Up The Firm Ranks In Q1

A promotion to partner or election to practice group chair means a slew of new responsibilities and also lots of well-deserved recognition. Law360 reveals the list of attorneys whose commitment to legal excellence earned them highly coveted spots in the law firm leadership ranks. Find out if your old legal friends — or rivals — moved up in the fourth quarter of last year.

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200th Lifetime Judge Confirmed Under Biden

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 66-28 on Wednesday to confirm U.S. Magistrate Judge Angela M. Martinez as U.S. district judge in the District of Arizona, marking the 200th lifetime federal judicial confirmation under President Joe Biden.

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NY Judicial Nominee Defends Record Amid GOP Criticism

By Courtney Bublé

A judicial nominee for a New York federal court stood by her ruling allowing an inmate convicted of sex offenses to transfer from a male to female prison, amid concerns from Republicans that led to some dramatics Wednesday in a congressional hearing room.

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'Appeal To Heaven' Flag Flew At Alito's Vacation Home: Report

By Hailey Konnath

Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday called for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to immediately recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election and face censure after The New York Times reported that flags tied to Donald Trump supporters had flown outside two homes owned by the justice in 2021 and again last year.

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DA Willis, Trump Judge, And Justice All Roll To Victory In Ga.

By Chart Riggall

The judge and district attorney at the center of former President Donald Trump's Georgia prosecution easily fended off their electoral challengers Tuesday night, while an abortion-rights candidate for the Peach State's highest court fell well short of the mark.

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Feature

Spencer Fane Lures In Big-Name 'Misfits' For Patent Group

By Dani Kass

Spencer Fane LLP has spent the past two years building up what it hopes to be a top-tier intellectual property group, pulling together a "band of misfits" from firms like Fish & Richardson PC and McKool Smith, according to the group's co-leader.

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NY Federal Reserve Associate GC Rejoins Covington

By Jack Rodgers

A former Covington & Burling LLP associate who left the firm 13 years ago to join the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has returned to work as of counsel, the firm announced Tuesday.

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Texas Attys Get Green Light To Charge Subscription Fees

By Lynn LaRowe

An opinion recently issued by the Professional Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Texas gives Lone Star State lawyers the go-ahead to offer subscription-based legal services so long as the arrangement doesn't result in the charging of an "unconscionable fee."

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Feds To Extend Plea Offer To Oath Keepers Atty In Jan. 6 Case

By Ali Sullivan

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that they plan to extend a plea offer to an attorney for the far-right Oath Keepers group charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, but the specifics of the offer could depend on the U.S. Supreme Court's stance on a federal statute often used to prosecute alleged Capitol rioters.

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NC County Sued Over 'Faithful Slaves' Courthouse Monument

By Adrian Cruz

A group of residents of North Carolina's Tyrrell County has sued the county's board of commissioners in North Carolina federal court over an allegedly racist monument outside a courthouse that commemorates "faithful slaves" deemed loyal to the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

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