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16th December 2025
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THE HOT STORY
UPS underpaid holiday season workers, lawsuit alleges
The New York Attorney-General’s office has accused global delivery giant UPS of underpaying its seasonal workers. In a statement, Attorney-General Letitia James’ office said UPS “commits wage theft against these workers in myriad ways . . . [and] has repeatedly and persistently failed to pay seasonal delivery workers for all time worked,” suggesting that thousands of past and present workers have been affected. The filing alleges workers were not being paid for their labor before and after shifts as well as during meal breaks, and that the company's timekeeping “introduced and compounded” errors.
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DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
Harvard Law School enrolls 50 Black first years
The number of Black first-year students at Harvard Law School has more than doubled this academic year to 50. Members of the school’s Black student association worked to help recruit applicants and attract talent after a drop in first-year Black students to just 19 last year. “We put all hands on deck towards strengthening the recruiting pipeline and attracting as much incredible talent as we could,” said Sean Wynn, who was president of the Harvard Black Law Students Association for the 2024 to 2025 school year. The share of Black first-year law students this year is 8.6%, according to data from the American Bar Association. 
FIRMS
Winston & Strawn and Taylor Wessing to merge
Chicago-founded Winston & Strawn and Taylor Wessing UK have announced plans to merge, forming a new firm to be called Winston Taylor. The combination aims to meet rising client demand for integrated U.S.–U.K.–E.U. legal services. The merger will create a firm with over 1,400 lawyers. Steve D'Amore, Chairman of Winston & Strawn, commented: "This combination will establish an elite practice in the major commercial centers important to our clients." The merger is expected to complete in May 2026, pending approvals.
CASES
Supreme Court to review case on alleged omission of Black jurors
The Supreme Court has agreed to review the case of Terry Pitchford, a death-row inmate in Mississippi who claims racial discrimination in jury selection during his 2006 trial. Pitchford, convicted of capital murder, argues that prosecutors excluded four Black jurors, despite objections from his legal team. A federal judge previously ruled that the exclusions were improper, but this decision was reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The case draws parallels to a 2019 Supreme Court ruling involving prosecutor Doug Evans, who was found to have a history of excluding Black jurors. The outcome of Pitchford's case could have significant implications for jury selection practices in the U.S.
LAWSUITS
Sarah Palin refused new trial in her libel lawsuit
Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's request for a new libel trial against The New York Times has been denied by Judge Jed S. Rakoff. The judge said he was “scrupulous" in ensuring a fair trial last April, where a jury found that the Times did not libel Palin in a 2017 editorial. Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokesperson for the Times, expressed satisfaction with the ruling, saying: "The jury reached the right verdict in rejecting Palin's libel claim." Palin's lawsuit stemmed from an editorial linking her political action committee to a climate of violence following a mass shooting in Arizona.
Trump files $10bn lawsuit against the BBC
Donald Trump has filed a $10bn lawsuit against the BBC over a misleading edit of the U.S. President speaking ahead of the Capitol Hill riot in 2021. Trump accused the U.K. public broadcaster of defamation and of violating a trade practices law, according to court documents filed in Florida. A BBC spokesperson said: "As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case . . . We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings."
Amended complaint filed against Uber over subscription practices
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and 21 states, plus the District of Columbia, have filed an amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Uber, alleging the ride-hailing app engaged in deceptive billing and cancellation practices. The updated lawsuit claims Uber charged consumers for subscriptions without consent, failed to deliver promised benefits, and made it difficult for users to cancel.
LAW
U.S. threatens New York over driver licenses
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has warned New York that it may lose tens of millions in federal funding due to improperly issued commercial driver licenses to non-U.S. citizens. USDOT has given the state 30 days to rectify the situation. In August, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a pause on all worker visas for commercial truck drivers. "New York must take actions to address concerns," USDOT said.
APPOINTMENTS
Cooley hires crypto litigator Klein
Brian Klein has joined Cooley as a litigation partner in its business litigation and white collar defense practice in Los Angeles. Klein, who joins from Waymaker, has a broad civil and white collar criminal defense practice, with an emphasis on representing crypto and fintech companies in government investigations and commercial litigation. 
INTERNATIONAL
Class action filed against Woolworths for alleged staff underpayments
Class action proceedings have been filed against Australian grocery giant Woolworths in Federal Court, alleging potential underpayments to staff in South Australia. Woolworths said the claims brought by Shine Lawyers involve a subsidiary, and were based on a South Australian state law that was repealed some time ago, which deemed Sundays to be public holidays. Woolworths said it would defend the proceedings. A prior proceeding had been filed by another law firm, Dutton Law, regarding staff underpayments.
OTHER
Global assets in shadow banking sector exceed $250 trillion
Global assets in the shadow banking sector now exceed $250 trillion, according to new data from the Financial Stability Board (FSB). Non-bank financial institutions had a record $256.8 trillion of assets at the end of 2024, up 9.4% year-on-year, and now account for 51% of total financial assets. The FSB identified a lack of data around the growth of the private credit sector. Officials sought to compile information on eight jurisdictions - Canada, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland and Hong Kong - but said there were substantive gaps in the data available. The FSB said it lamented the absence of a standard global definition for private credit and finance. 

 

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