Keep your finger on the legal world's pulse

The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents 150,000 U.S. government employees, has filed a lawsuit in Washington, D.C. federal court seeking to block President Donald Trump from stripping hundreds of thousands of federal workers of the ability to collectively bargain with government agencies through their unions. The union said that Trump's recent executive order exempting more than a dozen agencies from collective bargaining obligations violates federal workers' labor rights and the U.S. Constitution.

 

U.S. News

The IRS secured a significant victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of United States v. Miller, with an 8-1 ruling that reinforces its sovereign immunity over bankruptcy trustees. The court determined that a bankruptcy trustee cannot void tax payments made to the IRS prior to a company's bankruptcy if those payments would not be recoverable under state law. This ruling effectively limits the ability of bankruptcy trustees to use fraudulent transfer laws to reclaim payments made to government entities, which could have implications for future bankruptcy cases. The court said: “The court's precedents require construing sovereign-immunity waivers narrowly.” The case arose from a $145,000 transfer made by All Resort Group Inc. to the IRS, which was deemed fraudulent under state law. The ruling is expected to impact how bankruptcy cases involving government payments are handled moving forward.

 

Bloomberg Tax

The IRS' Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) unit has initiated 2,039 tax and money laundering cases related to COVID fraud over the last five years, with attempted fraud totaling $10bn. As of February 28th 1,028 individuals have been indicted, and 569 have received an average sentence of 31 months in federal prison. IRS-CI Chief Guy Ficco said: "It's been five years since Congress enacted the CARES Act, and our special agents have used their financial acumen to root out thousands of instances of fraud, waste and abuse tied to CARES Act programs." The investigations have particularly focused on Employee Retention Credit fraud, with 545 cases involving over $5.6bn in fraud. Seventy-five of these investigations have led to federal charges, resulting in 38 convictions.

 

Accounting Today

Tax Notes

Brenna Trout Frey, an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, has resigned over the firm's response to President Donald Trump’s punitive actions against disfavored firms. Frey publicly criticised executive partner Jeremy D. London for "capitulating to the Trump administration’s demands for fealty and protection money." She expressed concern for colleagues unable to voice their dissent due to financial constraints. Skadden's deal involves providing $100m in pro bono legal services to support various initiatives, and is similar to a previous agreement by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. London defended the agreement, saying it was "in the best interests of our clients, our people and our firm."

 

ABA Journal

Jeff Hammel, co-leader of Latham & Watkins' New York Litigation & Trial Department, recently made headlines by winning three cases across different courts on the same day, March 19, 2025. This "threepeat" is particularly notable because it is rare for attorneys to have multiple cases decided on the same day. Hammel observed: "It's sort of wildly improbable that all the decisions would come out on the same day."

 

Law

CalPERS, California's largest public pension fund, has filed an amended lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group, alleging the company engaged in a fraudulent profit-making scheme through its Medicare Advantage business. The lawsuit claims that executives profited from nonpublic information, resulting in losses exceeding $76.3m for CalPERS alone. The 158-page complaint details questionable billing practices and alleges that UnitedHealth manipulated the system through "upcoding" to inflate payments. "UnitedHealth induced providers to find new diagnoses by paying bonuses to providers who upcoded," the lawsuit states. UnitedHealth has denied the allegations, asserting that the complaint lacks substance and misrepresents their practices. The company has until May 20 to respond to the amended complaint.

 

The Columbian

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has asked a court to reverse a previous enforcement case against Townstone Financial, which it had won last year. Acting Director Russ Vought said: "CFPB abused its power, used radical 'equity' arguments to tag Townstone as racist with zero evidence." The CFPB is also seeking to return a $105,000 penalty to Townstone. The case, initially brought in 2020, accused the lender of racial discrimination in mortgage marketing. A joint motion filed in federal court claims the agency's investigation was flawed and should never have been initiated. Dan Bishop, an advisor in the White House Office of Management and Budget, indicated that agency lawyers misled their superiors regarding enforcement decisions.

 

Reuters

Relatives of Trevor Cadigan, who died in a helicopter crash in New York's East River, have settled a wrongful death lawsuit for $90m. The settlement, approved by a Manhattan judge, comes after a jury initially awarded $116m but faced potential appeals from the defendants, including FlyNYON and Liberty Helicopters. The crash occurred when a passenger restraint tether snagged on a fuel shutoff switch, leading to the helicopter's engine failure. Cadigan, a journalist, was among five passengers who lost their lives in the incident. Following the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded similar flights, later reinstating them with new safety requirements.

 

U.S. News

Former Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema has joined Hogan Lovells' Washington DC office, where she will assist clients in shaping regulations and managing risks. Sinema expressed optimism about the potential for "disruptive technologies to move forward" under the new administration and Congress. Her role as a senior advisor in Hogan Lovells' global regulatory and intellectual property practice aims to enhance the firm's regulatory offerings, particularly in infrastructure development for emerging nations, according to CEO Miguel Zaldivar.

 

Bloomberg Tax

Bloomberg Tax

Darshak Dholakia has joined McDermott Will & Emery as a partner in its regulatory practice group in Washington. He brings expertise in compliance with economic sanctions, anti-money laundering, anti-corruption laws, and export controls. Dholakia assists clients in assessing and mitigating risks, developing compliance programmes, conducting internal investigations, and representing them before government agencies in compliance-related matters. He previously worked at Dechert.

 

Bloomberg Law

Investigations indicate that a network of companies linked to a secretive Chinese tech firm is attempting to recruit recently laid-off U.S. government workers. Max Lesser, a senior analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that such firms are "part of a broader network of fake consulting and headhunting firms targeting former government employees and AI researchers." The companies involved share digital links and have been difficult to trace, with many contact details leading to dead ends. Lesser said that the campaign exploits the financial vulnerabilities of former federal workers affected by mass layoffs. A White House spokesperson warned that China is continuously trying to exploit the U.S. system through espionage. The FBI has also cautioned that Chinese intelligence may pose as consulting firms to target current and former U.S. government employees.

 

The Japan Times Online

Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission's digital chief, has said the commission is examining ways to eradicate overlap in tech rules in response to complaints from business about proliferating EU regulations in recent years. Virkkunen said there were no plans to water down laws such as the Digital Services Act which governs content moderation, the Digital Markets Act, which governs big tech platforms, or the AI Act which applies risk-based rules to artificial intelligence, as part of the review. "Everybody who is doing business in Europe has to respect our rules here. European companies, but also American and Chinese," she said, adding that the commission is seeking to make life easier for companies. "We will look at all our digital rules . . . often it's the same company who has to comply with the different rules," Virkkunen said.

 

Reuters

Prosecutors in Paris have called for German carmaker Volkswagen to face charges of aggravated fraud in France related to the Dieselgate emissions scandal. In 2015, Volkswagen admitted to selling 11m vehicles with devices designed to cheat emissions tests. Nearly a million French customers incurred costs for servicing and repairs after the scandal emerged. A 2021 expert report indicated that the company employed a "cost-benefit" strategy approved by management for the test-cheating software. Volkswagen contests the French allegations, saying that French consumers did not suffer harm warranting compensation, and that a previous German court case had already addressed these issues. "A double conviction on identical allegations is totally prohibited," the carmaker said. Paris prosecutors maintain that the French charges are "complementary" to the German case, focusing on consumer rights.

 

France 24