International Arbitration: English Court Rules That ICSID & ECT Awards Cannot Be Assigned

On August 21, 2026, the Tenth Circuit granted the NCAA’s stay request in Wisne v. NCAA, temporarily restoring the NCAA’s age-based eligibility rules pending resolution of the appeal. Three weeks earlier, Judge Sweeney of the District of Colorado had issued a nationwide injunction that permitted athletes in the Class of 2022 to pursue a fifth year of eligibility.

The top ten largest class action settlements in securities cases in the U.S. have recouped tens of billions of dollars in damages.

A federal court in California denied preliminary approval of a $2.3 million data breach settlement affecting over 220,000 individuals, finding seven critical deficiencies in the proposed agreement. The decision highlights the rigorous scrutiny courts apply to class action settlements, particularly regarding claims-made distribution processes, inadequate documentation of settlement value, and unexplained disparate treatment among class members.

A federal court rejected TikTok's attempt to use two prior nationwide class action settlements—totaling over $93 million—to dismiss new privacy claims brought by minors alleging violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. The ruling hinged on whether the current plaintiffs were demonstrably members of the earlier settlement classes based solely on the pleadings, raising critical questions about the scope and enforceability of broad settlement releases in successive privacy litiga

Concora Credit has agreed to pay $9.375 million to settle a TCPA class action lawsuit over wrong number robocalls, with prominent TCPA attorney Mike Greenwald securing another major victory. The settlement includes over $5 million for approximately 147,000 class members, $3 million in attorney fees, and a commitment to spend at least $1 million on TCPA compliance over three years.

The New Jersey Supreme Court refused to allow a respondent to benefit from its refusal to pay arbitration fees in Roach v. BM Motoring, LLC, 2017 WL 931430 (NJ March 9, 2017).

A federal judge in Florida has ruled that cell phone users cannot sue under the TCPA's do-not-call provisions, determining that the FCC exceeded its authority when it extended protections to wireless subscribers in 2003. The decision challenges decades of regulatory interpretation and could fundamentally reshape telecommunications privacy litigation if adopted by other courts.

The Fifth Circuit's en banc decision in Sterling v. City of Jackson tests whether residents exposed to lead-contaminated municipal drinking water can sue under Section 1983 for substantive due process violations. In a 10-5 ruling, the court held that environmental harms caused by government mismanagement belong to tort law and the political process, not constitutional claims, creating a significant circuit split with implications for how environmental compliance failures by public officials are litigated.

A federal court granted Disney's motion to compel arbitration in an antitrust class action, allowing the company to invoke fuboTV's subscriber terms of service after acquiring a 70% stake in the streaming platform. The ruling demonstrates how corporate mergers can fundamentally alter litigation strategy by enabling non-signatories to enforce arbitration agreements containing "future affiliates" provisions.

A company that receives a demand letter under California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) should assume that a California consumer class action may be coming.

On July 22, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) adopted a Third Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (covered separately here) in which the Commission advances its ongoing efforts to secure the U.S.

President Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, introducing unprecedented tariff authority that could impose duties up to 100% on goods from countries purchasing Russian energy or facilitating sanctions evasion. The legislation creates a novel framework where tariffs stack on top of existing duties while codifying Russia sanctions into statute...

On September 16, 2026, President Trump issued a presidential memorandum titled “Restoring Reciprocity in Government Procurement”, directing the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the United States Trade Representative, in coordination with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, to identify and take legally permitted steps to remove or restrict Canadian-origin items across the federal civil procurement system.

California's Legislature has unanimously passed SB 690, a landmark reform that could eliminate thousands of pending class action lawsuits based on website tracking technologies under the California Invasion of Privacy Act. The bill removes the private right of action for pen register claims arising from routine web analytics tools, potentially reshaping the data privacy litigation landscape while companion bills simultaneously expand substantive privacy obligations.

The European Union’s (EU) revamped sustainability reporting framework is now final. On September 21, 2026, the revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and a new Voluntary European Sustainability Reporting Standard (VS) were published in the Official Journal, marking yet another significant step toward more proportionate sustainability reporting in Europe. In addition to previously raising applicable financial thresholds triggering compliance under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the revised ESRS cut mandatory datapoints for in-scope companies (i.e., undertakings under CSRD) by more than 60% and total datapoints by more than 70%.

The SEC's Division of Examinations has identified six critical areas where investment advisers commonly fall short in their annual compliance reviews, from timing failures to inadequate documentation and unimplemented corrective actions. Understanding these deficiencies is essential for advisers seeking to strengthen their compliance infrastructure and avoid examination risks.

On August 25, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or the Department) announced a $21.5 million settlement with Deloitte LLP and four affiliated entities (collectively, Deloitte), marking the second False Claims Act (FCA) settlement under the Department’s Civil Rights Fraud Initiative launched in May 2025.

Over the last decade, investigation timelines for transactions subject to Second Requests soared. Before 2015, the average timelines for Second Request investigation regularly fell under eight months. By 2025, that average had climbed to over 12 months. Of course, these average timelines only cover time before the agency decides whether to challenge a transaction. For transactions subject to a complaint, the clock ran longer. And as dealmakers know, time is often the enemy of closing.

The Trump administration has issued an executive order requiring enhanced interagency coordination and stricter oversight of the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program. Federal agencies must now review employers' workforce practices, including past and planned layoffs of U.S. workers, while strengthening enforcement mechanisms to prevent program abuse.

Last week, the Trump administration and federal agencies announced several initiatives related to artificial intelligence (AI).