Older stories, page 31. Newest first.
Court of Appeal: judges should hear cases from bed only as a last resort
In Patel v General Optical Council [2026] EWCA Civ 1206, handed down on September 22, 2026, the Court of Appeal refused permission for a second appeal by suspended optometrist Suleman Patel but held Deputy High Court Judge Richard Clayton KC should not have heard the High Court appeal remotely from bed while recovering from Achilles surgery. Lord Justice Phillips, with Lady Justice Falk, said bed hearings should be a last resort when conventional listing is not feasible.
Opinion (Solicitors Journal) → · Legal Futures, The Guardian
First-tier Tribunal overturns IAA cancellation of Liverpool immigration firm YV Enterprise
The UK First-tier Tribunal held that administrative failings at Liverpool immigration advice firm YV Enterprise did not justify the Immigration Advice Authority’s cancellation of its registration, Legal Futures reported on September 23, 2026. The tribunal found serious record-keeping and client-care deficiencies but rejected findings of dishonesty, fabrication, or instructing clients to conceal the firm from the Home Office, and said cancellation would be disproportionate. The decision is [2026] UKFTT 1305 (GRC), dated September 14.
Filing (First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber)) → · Legal Futures
Western District of Michigan dismisses Michigan’s antitrust suit against oil majors for lack of antitrust standing
U.S. District Judge Jane M. Beckering dismissed Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s antitrust suit against BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute on September 22, 2026. The court held Michigan lacked antitrust standing under the Sherman and Clayton Acts: the alleged decades-long conspiracy was not plausibly pleaded to have proximately caused retail energy overcharges, and Illinois Brick bars most indirect-purchaser overcharge damages. Beckering dismissed the federal claim with prejudice and declined supplemental jurisdiction over the state claim.
Opinion (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan) → · Reuters, Legal Newsline, The Seattle Times
K&L Gates adds state and local tax partner Jeffrey Reed in New York from Kilpatrick
Jeffrey Reed joined K&L Gates as a New York corporate partner focusing on state and local tax controversies and planning, Bloomberg Tax and the firm reported on September 22, 2026. A former Massachusetts Department of Revenue litigator, he joins from Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton and advises on multistate controversies, unclaimed property, and M&A state-tax consequences.
Announcement (Bloomberg Tax) → · K&L Gates
Illinois governor creates AI Cabinet by executive order to assess AI risks and regulatory options
Governor JB Pritzker signed Executive Order 2026-07 on September 22, 2026, effective on filing that day, creating the Illinois Artificial Intelligence Cabinet. The Governor must appoint academic and expert members within 30 days; senior leaders of DoIT, IEMA-OHS, IDFPR, ICC, ISP, IDPH and IEPA sit on it. Members develop AI incident-response and infrastructure-protection policies and evaluate conditioning data-center incentives on safety standards, AI-safety procurement requirements, and whether existing legal remedies suffice for AI-caused harm. It sunsets by December 31, 2027.
Text (Office of the Governor of Illinois) → · Office of the Illinois Governor (newsroom)
Rulings this week
- N.D. CAL. Federal judge bars DOJ and DHS from threatening election officials over alleged noncitizen ballots
- MISS. Refuses to dismiss NAACP's Clean Air Act suit over xAI's Mississippi data center turbines
- S.D.N.Y. Of three taxpayer-funded Trump administration ads as likely propaganda
- D. MD. Maryland judge restores 21-day notice for unaccompanied children's asylum interviews
Paul Weiss adds Weil PE co-head Christopher Machera and five-lawyer transactional team in New York
Paul, Weiss expanded its private equity practice with a six-lawyer transactional team led by Christopher Machera, who joined as a New York partner in the Private Equity M&A Group from Weil Gotshal & Manges, where he co-headed private equity, Pulse2 and Law360 Pulse reported on September 22, 2026. Timothy Burns, Noah Beck, Amanda Rotkel, Andrew Lawson, and Dylan Hans are expected to join in the coming weeks across PE M&A, tax, and executive compensation.
Announcement (Pulse2) → · Law360 Pulse, Paul, Weiss
California and Energy Commission sue Trump administration over $111 million Morro Bay offshore wind lease buyout
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Energy Commission sued the Department of the Interior, federal officials, and Invenergy California Offshore in federal court on Tuesday. The fifty-four-page complaint challenges a June 2026 agreement paying Invenergy over $111 million to surrender its two-gigawatt Morro Bay offshore wind lease. California alleges the buyout violates the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and constitutional spending limits while requiring fossil-fuel investments.
Filing (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California) → · Associated Press, The Morning Call, California Department of Justice +1
Eight states sue Trump administration and Bluepoint Wind over $765 million offshore wind lease buyout
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of eight states sued the Department of the Interior, federal officials, and Bluepoint Wind in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday. The eighty-one-page complaint challenges a $765 million Judgment Fund settlement that canceled Bluepoint's 2.4-gigawatt New York Bight offshore wind lease. The states allege the agreement illegally diverts taxpayer funds to a liquefied natural gas project, violating federal energy and environmental statutes.
Filing (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York) → · Associated Press, The Morning Call, Office of the New York State Attorney General
San Francisco city attorney sues Trump Media over Truth API early access, alleging it enables insider trading
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu sued Trump Media and Technology Group in San Francisco Superior Court on September 21, 2026. The 22-page complaint alleges the company’s Truth API service charges subscribers up to $100,000 a month for a 50-millisecond head start on market-moving presidential posts. The suit asserts the service monetizes nonpublic government information, aids violations of federal ethics and securities laws, and constitutes unfair and unlawful business practices under California law.
Filing (Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco) → · City and County of San Francisco, KQED, The Hill +1
Husch Blackwell hires Cross River Bank AGC Kavitha Subramanian for consumer fintech practice
Kavitha Subramanian joined Husch Blackwell’s Consumer Financial Services practice as a member of The Link, Bloomberg Law reported on September 22, 2026. She most recently was associate general counsel at Cross River Bank and previously held chief compliance and privacy roles at Theorem and Jackson Hewitt.
Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · Husch Blackwell
Illinois creates AI Cabinet to advise on incident response and safety policy
Gov. JB Pritzker signed Executive Order 2026-07 on September 22, creating the Illinois Artificial Intelligence Cabinet, a cross-sector group that advises state government on AI incident preparedness, safeguards for public assets and infrastructure, and further AI safety and accountability policy. The unpaid cabinet studies data-center effects on the grid and ratepayers, procurement standards, and strict-liability options; members will be named in coming weeks.
Text (Gov. Pritzker Newsroom) → · Capitol City Now
Morrison Foerster hires ex-Associate Deputy AG Paul Perkins to chair False Claims Act practice in DC
Paul Perkins joined Morrison Foerster as a Washington, D.C. partner in Investigations + White Collar Defense and chair of the False Claims Act practice, Bloomberg Law and the firm reported on September 22, 2026. He most recently served as Associate Deputy Attorney General after senior Civil Fraud Section roles at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · Morrison Foerster
Milbank adds former O’Melveny tax chair Alex Anderson as New York partner
Milbank LLP announced on September 22, 2026 that Alex Anderson joined its New York Tax Group as a partner from O’Melveny & Myers, where he had chaired the tax practice, International Tax Review and Pulse2 reported. Anderson’s practice covers U.S. federal income tax in restructurings, financings, securitizations, M&A, fund formation, and entertainment and media transactions.
Announcement (International Tax Review) → · Milbank, Pulse2
Harvey launches US, UK, and Australia pro bono program with major-firm design partners
Harvey launched a dedicated pro bono program in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia on September 22, 2026, Artificial Lawyer and LawSites reported. First-phase design partners are senior pro bono leaders at Ashurst Perkins Coie, DLA Piper, and Nelson Mullins; Harvey will build custom agents for high-volume casework, dedicate legal engineering support in the US and UK, and plans a later free-access pilot for frontline legal services organizations.
Announcement (Artificial Lawyer) → · LawSites
Mayer Brown hires Alston & Bird investigations partner Albert BJ Stieglitz in Washington
Albert "BJ" Stieglitz joined Mayer Brown as a partner in its Global Investigations & White Collar Defense practice in Washington, D.C., Bloomberg Law and the firm reported on September 22, 2026. He joins from Alston & Bird after nearly 13 years at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he led fraud and FCPA investigations in the Criminal Division Fraud Section and served a dual secondment to the UK Serious Fraud Office and Financial Conduct Authority.
Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · Mayer Brown
Willkie adds Kirkland private funds partner Shreyas Jhaveri in New York asset management
Shreyas Jhaveri joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher as a New York partner in its Asset Management Department from Kirkland & Ellis, Bloomberg Law reported on September 22, 2026 and Global Legal Insights followed on September 23. His practice focuses on private fund formation and operations with an emphasis on private credit, managed accounts, and secondaries; Willkie private funds chair Phil Isom highlighted his credit-fund experience.
Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · Global Legal Insights, Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Sorren adds lawyer-owned practice through Mansfield & Mayo rebranding
Accounting and advisory firm Sorren launched an affiliated legal practice built around Mansfield & Mayo, with Sorren Law remaining owned by lawyers. Reuters reported that Sorren and the lawyers co-invested in a separate management services organization providing administrative support, while the law practice plans to expand into additional markets.
Announcement (Sorren) → · Reuters
Gibson Dunn hires fund finance partner Andrew Hogan in New York
Andrew Hogan joined Gibson Dunn’s New York office as a partner in its Finance and Investment Funds practices, the firm and Bloomberg Law reported on September 22, 2026. He advises funds, sponsors, and lenders on subscription, NAV, and hybrid facilities and other structured fund financings, and joins from Mayer Brown.
Announcement (Gibson Dunn) → · Bloomberg Law
Fiserv CLO Adam Rosman joins Nvidia-backed Nscale as chief legal officer ahead of IPO
Adam Rosman, chief legal and administrative officer of Fiserv, will become chief legal officer of Nvidia-backed AI infrastructure company Nscale as it pursues a New York IPO, Law.com Corporate Counsel reported on 22–September 23, 2026. A company release said he starts October 1, 2026 and will oversee legal, regulatory, and governance functions alongside Frank Slootman’s board appointment.
Announcement (Law.com Corporate Counsel) → · PR Newswire
Sidley Austin hires Squire Patton Boggs energy partner James Schneider in Miami
James Schneider joined Sidley Austin as a Miami partner in its energy, transportation and infrastructure practice from Squire Patton Boggs, Law.com’s Daily Business Review and Law360 Pulse reported on September 22, 2026. The hire follows Sidley’s August Miami energy launch and brings the Miami office past 70 lawyers and professionals.
Announcement (Law.com Daily Business Review) → · Law360 Pulse
Bessent says OpenAI management, not AI agents, is responsible for the Hugging Face intrusion
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC on September 21, 2026 that the Hugging Face intrusion is "the responsibility of the OpenAI management, not a bunch of agents," and that the administration will not take liability off AI labs' hands. OpenAI already faces an Alabama subpoena under the state's Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a 15-state preservation demand, and congressional inquiries, with documents due to Senator Josh Hawley by October 1.
Report (CNBC) → · OpenAI, Hugging Face, Alabama Attorney General +4
California requires the state air board to post landfill methane temperature and monitoring data online
AB 2674 (Chapter 406), approved September 20, added Section 39732 to the Health and Safety Code, requiring the State Air Resources Board to post on its website the temperature and monitoring data it receives regarding methane emissions from landfills. Legislative findings cite the board's 2010 landfill methane regulations and state that public posting increases trust and transparency and helps nearby communities protect themselves.
Enrolled text (California Legislative Information) → · Governor of California
California reenacts conditional-exemption rules for small-quantity hazardous waste treatment
AB 2776 (Chapter 408), approved September 20, reenacted Health and Safety Code Section 25201.5 governing generators that treat small quantities of hazardous waste under a conditional exemption or permit-by-rule. The section keeps the 500-pound or 55-gallon monthly threshold, requires 60-day advance notice to the department or CUPA, three years of onsite records, and unit decontamination on closure.
Enrolled text (California Legislative Information) → · Governor of California