Keep your finger on the legal world's pulse

A U.S. federal trade court has ruled that President Donald Trump unlawfully used Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose 10% global tariffs introduced earlier this year after the Supreme Court blocked his broader worldwide tariff regime. The divided three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade found that the statute did not give the president authority to implement the tariffs in the manner proposed, with two judges ruling in favor of the plaintiffs and one dissenting. The court barred the administration from collecting the tariffs from Washington state and the two companies that brought the legal challenge, spice importer Burlap & Barrel and toy maker Basic Fun!, although the ruling does not currently apply nationwide. Legal experts said the decision nevertheless creates an important precedent that other importers could use to seek similar relief. The tariffs had been introduced under Section 122, a Nixon-era provision allowing temporary import surcharges of up to 15% in response to serious balance-of-payments issues. Critics argued the law was never intended to support broad modern tariff policies tied to long-running trade deficits. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision.

 

Los Angeles Times

New York Times

Politico

Washington Post

Perkins Coie's London office is seeking to enhance its lawyers' soft skills through a partnership with AI training platform Levra. The firm is beta testing a program that uses avatars to simulate scenarios focused on emotional and social intelligence. Ian Bagshaw, the managing partner of Perkins Coie’s London office, said: “We’re working with [Levra] in order to create a training pathway across core skills that allows our talent to practice, learn, practice outside of client situations, so that when they’re in client situations and when they’re in difficult internal situations, they are prepared, they’ve seen it before, they understand how best to communicate.” Bagshaw added: “The use of technology creates an absolute safe space for people to experiment . . . It’s very hard to recreate it in any human coaching environment.”

 

ABA Journal

Law

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has accused UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine of unlawfully using race in admissions decisions, particularly discriminating against white and Asian American applicants. Such practice would violate the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which prohibited race-conscious admissions. The DOJ's findings, based on a year-long review under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, claims that UCLA leadership “intentionally selected applicants based on their race.” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said: “UCLA's admissions process has been focused on racial demographics at the expense of merit and excellence - allowing racial politics to distract the school from the vital work of training great doctors.” The DOJ said it is seeking a voluntary resolution with UCLA but will pursue legal action if there is no agreement.

 

Los Angeles Times

Pennsylvania has sued the artificial intelligence company behind Character.AI to stop its chatbot from posing as doctors. Gov. Josh Shapiro said the lawsuit against California-based Character Technologies is the first of its ‌kind by a U.S. governor. "We will not let AI companies mislead vulnerable Pennsylvanians into believing they’re getting advice from a licensed medical professional," Shapiro said. "We’re taking Character.AI to court to stop them." The state's medical board wants the operators of Character.AI to "be ordered to cease and desist from engaging in the unlawful practice of medicine and surgery," according to the Pennsylvania  complaint. The platform has more than 20 million users and "is different from other systems in that users can create characters that can be trained to have a specific personality when engaged in a conversation with other users," the complaint said.

 

Axios

NBC News

Reuters

A U.S. federal judge has rejected Alphabet’s request to pause key remedies imposed in the Department of Justice’s landmark search monopoly case while Google appeals the ruling, although the court said any forced data sharing with rivals is still likely months away. Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google was not facing immediate harm because the implementation process remains at an early stage. The decision relates to remedies ordered after the court found in 2024 that Google had illegally monopolized the online search market through exclusive agreements with companies including Apple and Samsung that made Google the default search engine on smartphones and browsers. The judge previously concluded those arrangements unfairly blocked rivals from accessing critical distribution channels. Under the remedies package, Google may be required to provide certain competitors with a one-time snapshot of its search data to help them develop rival search engines and artificial intelligence products. The company must also rebid default search agreements annually to allow competing providers a chance to secure placements.

 

Bloomberg

The White House has published a new national counterterrorism strategy, outlining its intention to neutralise hemispheric threats posed by cartels and combat "violent, secular political ​groups whose ideology is anti-American." The document states that European nations have been turned into "permissive operating environments" for nefarious actors who have exploited open borders. It asserts that Europe's decline has been "wilful" but that it can be strong again if it reverses its current policies, "rediscovers traditional principles of freedom of speech" and significantly increases its counter-terrorism efforts.

 

Reuters

Whitehouse.gov

Justice Clarence Thomas surpassed Justice John Paul Stevens yesterday to become the second-longest-serving justice in the history of the Supreme Court. Nominated by President George H. W. Bush in 1991, Thomas has played a role in landmark rulings on issues such as abortion, voting rights, and Second Amendment rights.

 

The Baltimore Sun

Law

Omeed Assefi, the U.S. Department ⁠of Justice's antitrust head, has warned companies against trying ‌to misleadingly use ‌AI disruption as ⁠a ⁠defense in merger reviews without providing evidence. "We ​know ⁠when you are trying to mislead us," Assefi said at an event at New ⁠York University. "We know you will be tempted to ⁠tell us that AI is replacing your industries. We get it. We hear that a lot. For us to take it seriously, we expect it to be backed ⁠up with actual evidence."

 

U.S. News

Carlos Sugich and Carlos Freaner have joined Greenberg Traurig as shareholders, enhancing the firm's capabilities in the hospitality sector. Sugich, now co-chair of the Americas Hospitality Group, specializes in complex real estate and development transactions across the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America. He advises a range of clients, including developers and institutional investors, on various operational matters. Freaner, based in Mexico, represents both national and international investors in the hotel and resort industry.

 

Bloomberg Law

Victims of last year's devastating floods in Indonesia's Sumatra have filed a lawsuit urging the government to declare national disaster status for three affected provinces. The suit, submitted to the state administrative court, includes seven residents from Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra, who are demanding immediate action from the government. Diki Rafiqi, one of the petitioners, said the existing reconstruction process has ​now stalled because ⁠of the limited budget allocated by the provincial governments. The petitioners are also seeking a moratorium on new forest use permits until the land is rehabilitated, underscoring the need for reconstruction funding and support for the 1,200 lives lost and 300,000 homes damaged during the disaster.

 

U.S. News

Lawmakers in Uganda have passed the Protection of Sovereignty Bill despite strong opposition resistance. The bill sets out a fine of 2 billion shillings ($530,000) for organizations and a 10-year prison term or heavy fines for individuals flouting the law by “engaging in economic sabotage.” Uganda’s parliament said on X: “Economic sabotage refers to an agent of a foreigner who knowingly publishes false information or participates in any disruptive act that weakens, undermines or damages the economic system.” 

 

Bloomberg

The much-discussed “great wealth transfer” from older Americans to younger generations is likely to unfold far more slowly than many financial firms have predicted, as baby boomers continue accumulating wealth, living longer, and spending heavily in retirement. Americans aged 55 and older now control roughly $110tn in wealth, compared with about $65tn held by younger generations, according to Federal Reserve data. Economists say the eventual transfer of that money is inevitable, but it may arrive gradually rather than through a rapid generational handoff.

 

Wall Street Journal