Agiloft GC discusses legal inflation and the future of billable hours

In-house teams must “actively” manage their outside firms to avoid rising costs and achieve the best impact from their budgets, Laura Richardson says.

Trump tariffs present untested legal areas for trade litigation

The president’s first use of emergency national security powers to impose tariffs poses a legal question about how much deference courts decide to show, experts say.

EEOC tells its workers to halt LGBTQ+ discrimination claim processing

The news comes just days after the Trump administration’s controversial purge of Democratic officials at the commission.

Updated Jan. 31, 2025

Vanguard dilutes diversity guidelines for US board proxy voting

The updated policies exclude a recommendation that boards “at a minimum, represent diversity of personal characteristics, inclusive of at least diversity in gender, race and ethnicity.”

Firing of EEOC commissioners may test 90-year-old SCOTUS ruling on presidential powers

Legal experts predict litigation may lead to the overturning of a 1935 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protects members of independent government boards from being removed by the president at will.

FTC to refund Fashion Nova customers $2.4M

The agency accused the fast fashion company of suppressing negative consumer reviews.

Federal ‘AI washing’ enforcement likely to continue

Although the Trump administration is unlikely to push AI-specific regulation, companies overstating their claims about the technology face laws against fraud and misrepresentation.   

In first Trump antitrust move, DOJ sues to block $14B HPE-Juniper merger

The acting antitrust chief followed through on an action started under the Biden administration. 

Spirit Airlines rejects fresh Frontier merger offer amid bankruptcy

The two budget carriers had been discussing a combination for months, with Spirit rejecting a post-Chapter 11 proposal as “woefully insufficient” for creditors.

Republican officials urge SEC, DOL to adopt anti-ESG, DEI rules

The letter signed by 22 Republican state finance officials cited American Airlines’ recent legal loss as evidence that fiduciaries are breaching their duty to loyalty with regards to ESG and DEI.

Meta’s HR changes reflect widely touted aspirational approach to DEI

Eliminating hard inclusivity goals won’t protect against reverse discrimination complaints but it will help, legal specialists say.

Apple, Google coalition seeks to skirt payments rule

Tech advocacy groups argue the tech giants should not be subject to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule because they aren’t payment companies, according to a lawsuit filed this month.

Woman alleges New York bank rolled her money into a ‘zombie CD’

A lawsuit claims that after a 14-month CD matured, Flagstar Bank put the Florida customer’s funds into a new CD paying 0.02% interest through 2044.

EEOC Acting Chair Lucas says agency must rescind anti-harassment guidance

Andrea Lucas voted against the anti-harassment guidance last year, taking issue with sections related to sex-segregated facilities and pronoun usage.

Trump’s softer-touch SEC may ease CFO regulatory burden

By slimming the SEC’s budget, headcount and regulatory scope, a new agency chief would fall in step with Trump’s cost-cutting and efficiency campaign.

In shift, CLOs are increasing their outside counsel spend

Bogged down by staff shortages and facing more litigation and investigations, in-house legal leaders are preparing to spend more on law firms.

Federal aid freeze may become first Trump case before Supreme Court

The order to pause nearly all U.S. financial assistance for executive branch review poses a constitutional test of the president’s impoundment powers.

Trump shoves EEOC Democrats aside

Commissioners Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels and General Counsel Karla Gilbride were dismissed, they confirmed to HR Dive.

Updated Jan. 29, 2025

AI pricing is market efficiencies at work

The Trump administration can serve consumers by rejecting the Biden administration's effort to use antitrust laws to stifle innovation in pricing tools. 

Trump order shifts AI policy away from Biden-era risk focus

The order calls for federal agencies to nix Biden policies that are deemed a threat to AI innovation.

Nearly half of employees say they’re subject to an NDA

Restrictive covenants could limit workers’ ability to report discrimination and harassment, two Lift Our Voices studies explained.

State lawmaker seeks ban in new shot at algorithmic pricing

Landlords’ use of automated rent-setting software is “plainly illegal,” Sen. Jess Salomon in Washington state says.

USAA sues Regions over mobile deposit tech

The complaint furthers USAA’s long history of court battles with banks such as Wells Fargo and PNC over patent disputes. Truist and Discover more recently signed licensing agreements to resolve rifts.

Resource helps counsel track Trump executive orders

And there are a lot of them — more than 40 after just three days of the new administration, Akin Gump’s real-time-updated tracker shows.

Judge deals SEC, Kraken partial wins in ongoing case

Kraken and the Securities and Exchange Commission both secured partial victories in a ruling about what defenses Kraken can use in the ongoing case between the two.