In late May, the State Department issued a pair of cables that rightly invited substantial media attention. The cables are the latest in a series of vague Trump administration directives that are ostensibly intended to combat antisemitism but will inevitably chill or punish First Amendment-protected speech. The first cable imposed a pause on all new visa interviews for international students until the department could issue guidance on social media vetting. The second directed consular officers to closely scrutinize the social media of all applicants seeking a visa to study, teach, or speak at Harvard University, with a particular focus on antisemitism and antisemitic viewpoints. The cables were not disseminated in isolation. Instead, they are part of a broader, government-wide effort that threatens the right to free speech. For example, an earlier notice from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), raises…

Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. A curated guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news: ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT The Israeli military said today it has killed Iran’s most senior military commander, Maj. Gen. Ali Shadmani, in an overnight strike, days after killing his predecessor. The IDF said Shadmani had commanded both the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian army, and was the closest figure to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has not commented at the time of writing. Lawhez Jabari and Peter Guo report for NBC News. Centrifuges at Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment plant were likely “severely damaged if not destroyed altogether” following Israeli strikes on Friday, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, told the BBC News. Grossi said the damage was a result of power cuts caused by the attack, adding that an…

Today I will have the pleasure of speaking at two events in Kansas City on my book, “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.” I will first speak at the Judge David J. Waxse Memorial Summer Lecture Series on the Constitution. It is organized by the Kansas Johnson County First Amendment Foundation, Kansas First Amendment Foundation, Kansas City University, and supporting groups. I will then speak in the evening at an event with the American Public Square. I will be happy to sign books at both events.My first event will be held at Kansas State University Innovation Campus-Olathe: 22201 W. Innovation Drive, Olathe, Kansas. The second event will be part of the American Public Square series will be held in the evening at the National WWI Museum and Memorial. I hope to get over to the World War I museum to do a travel blog before I leave. As a military history nut, it is an irresistible draw. It is great to be back in Kansas City. This is such a beautiful…

From Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil's opinion today in American Association of University Professors & American Federation of Teachers v. U.S. Dep't of Justice (S.D.N.Y.): [P]laintiffs seek a preliminary injunction requiring Defendants to pay out to non-party The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York … "approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia," funded by the American taxpayers, which several executive agencies recently terminated because, among other reasons, the grants and contracts "no longer effectuate[d] … agency priorities" and "for the convenience of the Government." Plaintiffs further seek to prospectively enjoin Defendants from terminating, "pausing," "or otherwise interfering with" more than $5 billion in active taxpayer-funded grants and contracts to Columbia. Conspicuously, Columbia, whose grants and contracts were terminated and whose funding is…

In an unprecedented campaign of executive retaliation, during the first months of President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration issued a string of executive orders targeting major law firms across the United States. The reason? Their clients, their causes, and in some cases, the mere association with lawyers critical of Trump’s presidency.  What followed was a constitutional reckoning in federal courtrooms—and a unified rebuke from the large swaths of the legal profession, including several whistleblower defense firms. A Legal War on Lawyers Beginning in early 2025, Trump signed a series of executive orders against firms including Jenner & Block, Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Paul Weiss, and Susman Godfrey. These orders were sweeping in scope and punitive in tone. They accused the firms of engaging in “partisan lawfare,” supporting “attacks against women and children,” and “degrading the quality of American…

The U.S Supreme Court today granted review in First Choice Women's Resource v. Platkin, (Docket No. 24-781, certiorari granted 6/16/2025). (Order List). The petition for certiorari describes the complex fact situation involved:New Jersey’s Attorney General served an investigatory subpoena on First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc., a faith-based pregnancy center, demanding that it turn over most of its donors’ names. First Choice challenged the Subpoena under 42 U.S.C. 1983 in federal court, and the Attorney General filed a subsequent suit to enforce it in state court. The state court granted the Attorney General’s motion to enforce the Subpoena but expressly did not decide First Choice’s federal constitutional challenges. The Attorney General then moved in state court to sanction First Choice. Meanwhile, the district court held that First Choice’s constitutional claims were not ripe in federal court.The Third Circuit affirmed…

[A temporary order had been issued, but the trial court refused to extend it into a permanent order, and awarded $15K in attorney fees; an appellate court has just upheld the trial court's final decision, and added $8K for appellate attorney fees.] From Cantrell v. Breaud, decided Monday by Louisiana Court of Appeal Judge Daniel L. Dysart, joined by Judge Karen K. Herman: On the afternoon of Sunday, April 7, 2024, from the balcony of her residence at the Upper Pontalba Apartments, Ms. Breaud took photographs of Mayor Latoya Cantrell and NOPD Officer Jeffrey Vappie, a member of the mayor's security detail, while the two were seated at a table on the Chartres Street side balcony of the Tableau Restaurant, located in the French Quarter. By way of background, Nola.com (John Simerman), reporting on the case, stated that, "the snapshots that roiled New Orleans, revealing Mayor LaToya Cantrell enjoying drinks on a French Quarter balcony with her alleged police officer…

From Lafayette v. Abrami by Vermont Superior Court (Lamoille County) Judge Benjamin Battles; the case was decided May 20, but just posted on Westlaw: Plaintiff's pro se complaint alleges the following facts. Plaintiff is the parent of a Vermont high-school basketball player and a "lifelong student of the game." Plaintiff's son, who plays for a school outside of Chittenden County [where Burlington is located], is "one of Vermont's top-performing high school basketball players." The Burlington Free Press is Vermont's largest newspaper. In 2018, it created and marketed Vermont Varsity Insider as a platform to cover high school sports throughout Vermont…. Despite its claims of statewide coverage, Vermont Varsity Insider focuses on Chittenden County schools, many of which have advertising or other commercial relationships with defendants. While scores from other schools are reported when available, detailed analyses of games or…

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and six other European media freedom organizations called on Poland’s newly elected president to urgently pursue reforms to uphold press freedom in the country. The coalition urged President-elect Karol Nawrocki to foster non-partisan cooperation in government in order to implement the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and adopt legal safeguards against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), which have increasingly been weaponized to silence journalists. Nawrocki, elected on June 1 and aligned with the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, faces a tense political environment in which press freedom is both contested and precarious. His administration must work with Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-reform Civic Coalition-led government, whose attempts to depoliticize media institutions and reduce SLAPPs have stalled due to entrenched political resistance. Pavol Szalai, head of the RSF European Union-Balkans desk,…

Today's advance release business law opinion: Birch Hill Recovery Center, LLC v. High Watch Recovery Center, Inc. (Tortious interference with prospective business relations; violation of Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (§ 42-110a et seq.); special motion to dismiss; anti-SLAPP statute (§ 52-196a); sham litigation exception established; protection of doctrine of immunity for petitioning activity.)

Today the European Commission published its eagerly awaited Commission Report on the application of the Brussels Ia Regulation (also referred to as Brussels I-bis), No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (recast). The Report is accompanied by a Staff Working Document, detailing a number of selected topics addressed in the Report. The documents rely in particular on the extensive Evaluation Study that was published in January 2023 as well as the findings of the JUDGTRUST project and the resulting book. The Report states that it is ‘generally agreed that the Regulation is a highly successful instrument’ and that the enhancements, including the abolition of the exequatur, have strengthened judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters. Its overall ‘clear and simple’ rules are ‘highly appreciated amongst practitioners. The Report also emphasizes the essential…

We are at the terminal stage of a 250-year old democracy, so what’s on the priority list for regulators of lawyers? In New Jersey, it’s competitive keyword advertising by lawyers. Seriously? When I wrote on this topic in 2016, I thought the issue was already resolved. Instead, a decade later, we’re still processing lawyer angst on this topic as our democracy crumbles. Jeezus. #Priorities. * * * Last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued an opinion on the legitimacy of competitive keyword advertising by lawyers. The majority lays out its conclusion: the practice of purchasing a competitor’s name as a keyword does not, in itself, constitute a violation of the RPCs. However, consistent with our past treatment of emerging forms of attorney advertising, we now require that attorneys employing this strategy include a clear and conspicuous disclaimer on the landing page of their website when a user clicks on such a paid advertisement. * * * To help navigate…

 Pix credit here  The Board of Trustees of the California State Bar have approved and issued its "Statement on Recent Federal Executive Actions Threatening the Availability of Legal Counsel and the Rule of Law." They explained its scope, genesis and purpose this way to the members of the California Bar (in which I am a member):As many of you are aware, in recent weeks, the federal government has issued executive orders targeting law firms based on their representation of clients and positions unpopular with the current administration. At its recent May 9, 2025, meeting, the Board of Trustees approved the release of a statement on such actions, which threaten the availability of legal counsel and the rule of law. The Board also authorized amicus participation in lawsuits challenging the executive orders. The Board of Trustees' full statement follows below.It is a quite interesting example of its type. What makes it particularly interesting, at…

Photo by Alfred Leung on Upsplash.As coastal communities up and down California contend with sea-level rise, they’re facing tough decisions about how to update their land use plans. One of UCLA Law’s environmental clinics is helping lead the way. Over the last several months students in the Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic, Maeve Anderson, Mackay Peltzer, and Jacqueline Diaz Madrigal, have been working on behalf of the Surfrider Foundation to research and analyze the City of Pacifica’s new Local Coastal Land Use Plan. Today, the students will join Surfrider and members of its local San Mateo Chapter to testify before the California Coastal Commission on a proposed updated Local Coastal Land Use Plan for the City of Pacifica. Pacifica is a small coastal city and popular surfing destination located between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay. Pacifica is requesting the Commission certify the first update of its coastal land use plan since it was initially…

Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day. Each generation of lawyers confronts its great test, and this is ours. We will prevail: the initial capitulation of a few firms to coercive executive orders seems to have inspired far more firms to say “forget that” and sue. A judge has already invalidated one of those orders, writing that, “Eliminating lawyers as the guardians of the rule of law removes a major impediment to the path to more power.” The barrage of legal challenges has so far been overwhelmingly successful. So the shame you feel about failing to act in the moment of truth, or that feeling of hopelessness about doing anything that matters? It’s a trap: Sun Tzu said “do not swallow a bait offered by the enemy,” so reject the inaction others hope you choose. This crisis is your opportunity to rise to the challenge, show your mettle, and use your power for good. — An excerpt from an opinion piece by…

Plaintiffs’ lawyers have continued to bring privacy claims targeting businesses that use vendors to help provide beneficial chat features on their website, as we last reported here.  Late last year, a Southern District of California judge dismissed another set of privacy claims challenging the routine use of these vendor services by Tonal, a popular smart home gym company named as the sole defendant in the lawsuit.  Jones v. Tonal Systems, Inc., 751 F. Supp. 3d 1025 (S.D. Cal. 2024). Plaintiff Julie Jones, a California resident, claimed that she had visited Tonal’s website and used its chat feature to communicate with a Tonal customer service representative.  This chat feature allegedly incorporated an API run by another company to create and store transcripts of website visitors’ chats with Tonal’s customer service representatives.  According to the complaint, this alleged conduct constituted wiretapping, which Tonal…

As we have blogged about in the past, federal district courts have seen a tidal wave of putative class actions by website users claiming violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), Cal. Penal Code § 630, et seq.  These lawsuits focus on the alleged unlawful use of website tracking technologies, such as cookies, pixels, tags, and beacons, to collect and use personal information of people who visit these websites without their consent. The deluge of lawsuits has prompted courts to scrutinize CIPA claims more rigorously. As a recent example, in Smith v. Yeti Coolers, LLC, the Northern District of California dismissed with prejudice a putative class action challenging Yeti’s use of technology supplied by third-party payment processor, Adyen, to process customer purchases on its website. The lawsuit claimed that Adyen incorporated Yeti customers’ financial information into its fraud-prevention system, which it then marketed to merchants without…

As we have blogged about in the past, federal district courts have seen a tidal wave of putative class actions by website users claiming violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), Cal. Penal Code § 630, et seq.  These lawsuits focus on the alleged unlawful use of website tracking technologies, such as cookies, pixels, tags, and beacons, to collect and use personal information of people who visit these websites without their consent. The deluge of lawsuits has prompted courts to scrutinize CIPA claims more rigorously. As a recent example, in Smith v. Yeti Coolers, LLC, the Northern District of California dismissed with prejudice a putative class action challenging Yeti’s use of technology supplied by third-party payment processor, Adyen, to process customer purchases on its website. The lawsuit claimed that Adyen incorporated Yeti customers’ financial information into its fraud-prevention system, which it then marketed to merchants without…