Keep your finger on the legal world's pulse

U.S. agriculture equipment maker Deere & Company has reached a settlement agreement to resolve the multidistrict "right to repair" litigation pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The case is part of broader scrutiny in the U.S. over such practices; regulators and plaintiffs argue that some ​manufacturers limit competition by controlling access to repair tools and ⁠software. The settlement fund covers eligible plaintiffs who paid Deere’s authorized ​dealers for repairs to large agricultural equipment from January 2018. "This ‌settlement ⁠addresses the issues raised in the 2022 complaint and brings this case to an end with no finding of wrongdoing," Deere said in a statement.

 

U.S. News

The Globe and Mail

President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, removing the nation’s top law enforcement officer after privately making known his frustrations for months over her handling of the Epstein files and her failed efforts to prosecute his political enemies. Trump had complained about Bondi’s shortcomings as a communicator, according to people who have spoken to him recently. In a social media post, Trump announced that Bondi would be leaving her role for a new position in the private sector, and she would be replaced with Todd Blanche, her deputy, on an interim basis.

 

New York Times

Lawyers for Erez Reuveni, a former federal immigration prosecutor who was fired last year after opposing his superiors’ legal approach to deportations, say the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) hasn’t investigated “any of the serious allegations of misconduct made over the past 15 months,” including complaints made by members of Congress, and the entire system of accountability that Congress had set up for the Justice Department has now collapsed. “The epidemic of alleged misconduct has been met with a shrug by the agency whose job it is to address such allegations,” the letter states. “The inaction of the OIG comes at a time when the amount of governmental misconduct and violation of court orders by DOJ lawyers around the country have reached epic and unprecedented proportions.”

 

CNN

Bloomberg Law

New York Times

A federal judge has expanded a temporary block preventing the Trump administration from requiring a broader group of universities to submit extensive admissions data on race and sex, as part of efforts to enforce the Supreme Court’s 2023 ban on affirmative action. U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor extended protections to members of major academic associations, including leading research universities and Massachusetts-based colleges, after previously limiting relief to public institutions in 17 states. The ruling halts enforcement of a Department of Education survey seeking seven years of admissions data, which critics argue imposes unprecedented requirements without proper procedural approval, with a further hearing scheduled for April 13.

 

Reuters

The Supreme Court has paved the way for Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress conviction to be thrown out, sending the case back to a lower court where it is likely to be dismissed. Bannon, one of President Donald Trump's most prominent backers, was convicted in 2022 for refusing to respond to lawmakers' subpoenas for information about the Capitol riot in January 2021. The Trump administration had asked the Supreme Court to dismiss Bannon's case in "the interests of justice." Bannon has already served prison time in the case - a four-month sentence at a low-security federal facility in Connecticut. An appeals court upheld the jury's verdict in Bannon's 2022 case, but the Supreme Court decision on Monday negates that ruling, and sends it back to a lower federal court in Washington DC. The brief unsigned order from the Supreme Court cited "the pending motion to dismiss the indictment."

 

The Baltimore Sun

NPR / National Public Radio

The Globe and Mail

U.S. News

BBC News

A judge has blocked efforts by the Department of Justice to investigate the Federal Reserve, delivering a victory for Fed chairman Jerome Powell, who had described the investigation as a pretext to try to pressure the central bank to lower interest rates. In his ruling, Judge James Boasberg agreed, saying prosecutor Jeanine Pirro had presented "no evidence" to justify her demands for information from the Fed. Pirro said she would appeal against the decision, arguing that it was "wrong on its face" and had "neutered" her ability to investigate crime.

 

The Hill

Politico

BBC News

The U.S. Justice Department is grappling with how to respond to President Donald Trump’s lawsuit seeking at least $10bn in damages from the IRS, with officials facing a mid-April deadline amid significant legal, ethical, and political complications. The case stems from the 2020 leak of Trump’s tax returns, for which a former contractor was later imprisoned, and raises the unprecedented scenario of the federal government defending itself against a lawsuit brought by the sitting president. Internal discussions between the Justice Department and the White House have centered on whether government lawyers can ethically contest the claim, given they ultimately report to the president, and whether doing so could conflict with existing directives requiring alignment with Trump’s legal interpretations. Alternatives under consideration include requesting a delay, asking the court to pause proceedings until after Trump leaves office, or seeking the appointment of independent counsel to avoid conflicts of interest.

 

New York Times

The Trump administration has scaled back its efforts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, instead seeking court approval to cut more than half of its remaining workforce while keeping the agency operational. A new restructuring plan would reduce staff to 556 from around 1,200 earlier this year, following prior attempts to eliminate up to 90% of employees that were blocked by courts. The proposal includes deep cuts to key divisions such as supervision and enforcement, significantly limiting oversight of financial institutions and consumer protection activities. While the administration continues to push for a smaller agency, it has acknowledged that fully closing the bureau would require congressional approval, with the revised approach reflecting ongoing legal challenges and judicial intervention.

 

New York Times

Reuters

International law firm Bird & Bird has re-elected Christian Bartsch as CEO for another four years, following his initial appointment in April 2022. The firm has expanded its global presence, opening new offices in Tokyo, Riyadh, and Lisbon. Graeme Maguire, Chair of the Board, praised Bartsch, saying: “It has been a privilege to work closely with him over the past four years.” Bartsch expressed his gratitude for the partnership's trust and emphasized the firm's commitment to delivering innovative legal services in a rapidly changing market.

 

LawFuel

Cambodia's lawmakers have unanimously passed new legislation aimed at combating proliferating online scam operations which have turned the country into a global cybercrime hub. Justice Minister Keut Rith said: "These crimes threaten public security and significantly damage Cambodia's global reputation." The legislation introduces severe penalties, including life imprisonment for serious offenses, and is part of a broader government initiative to shut down scam centers by the end of April. Since July, authorities have targeted 250 suspected locations, shutting down 200 and launching 79 legal cases against nearly 700 individuals involved. However, experts such as Jacob Sims, a visiting fellow at Harvard University's Asia Center, have expressed skepticism, noting that previous crackdowns often failed due to the persistence of financial networks that support these operations. The law awaits Senate review and final approval by King Norodom Sihamoni.

 

U.S. News

U.S. services activity contracted in March for the first time in three years, as new business weakened amid the economic fallout from the Iran conflict, according to S&P Global data. The services PMI fell to 49.8, signalling a downturn, while input costs rose to a three-month high, pushing up prices for customers. Consumer-facing sectors were particularly hard hit, recording one of the steepest declines outside the pandemic period. Firms also turned more pessimistic about the outlook, reflecting growing uncertainty over demand and economic conditions.

 

Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal