Today’s top legal stories span federal nominations, healthcare policy, immigration rulings, and a landmark malpractice case testing the limits of due diligence in law firms.
Victims of Jeffrey Epstein are urging the Senate to reject the nomination of Todd Blanche, citing concerns about the Department of Justice being used to run interference for sex abusers.
The nomination fight marks one of the most charged confirmation battles in recent memory, with advocacy groups making their opposition loudly and publicly known in Washington.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has moved to cut off Medicaid funding in California and Minnesota, a retaliatory action widely interpreted as a political strike against Democratic-led states.
The Medicaid cuts represent an escalation in the ongoing federal-state tensions that have defined much of the current administration’s relationship with Blue states on healthcare policy.
The Second Circuit has ruled that a federal judge overstepped by ordering the release of a Columbia University student detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The court held that the case must work its way through immigration courts before a district court can intervene, a decision with broad implications for similar deportation challenges.
The student’s detention had been characterised as part of what critics describe as a targeted campaign against pro-Palestinian activists on university campuses across the country.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is moving to end workplace demographic reporting requirements, a step opponents say removes the evidentiary foundation needed to identify and combat discrimination.
A federal judge has blocked the administration from stripping work permits from asylum seekers while a lawsuit challenging their maintained asylum status continues to proceed through the courts.
Representative Cory Mills is now under investigation by the Department of Justice, according to reporting by ABC News, though the precise scope of that investigation has not been fully disclosed publicly.
The Appalachian School of Law is pushing for a merger with another institution despite facing opposition from some members of the local community, as reported by Cardinal News.
A $50 million malpractice lawsuit against Ashurst Perkins Coie is drawing significant attention from the legal industry, as it raises serious questions about how thoroughly law firms conduct their own due diligence processes.
Professor Orin Kerr has recirculated his widely read lecture titled “So You’re About to Start Law School,” offering timely guidance ahead of the upcoming academic year for incoming law students.