Reuters Legal

More than 500 law firms have signed a court brief denouncing Donald Trump's targeting of Perkins Coie and other firms, expressing alarm over the president's intensifying crackdown on the legal profession. Law firms signed the brief that was filed with Washington-based U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell at the risk of drawing the ire of Trump and his administration. Among the 504 that signed were Arnold & Porter, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and Fenwick & West, though many of the largest firms did not join. 'Although we do not take this step lightly, our abiding commitment to preserving the integrity of the American legal system leaves us no choice but to join together,' the brief said. Mike Scarcella and Sara Merken have more: https://reut.rs/4iYK5hM

The Supreme Court of Texas has asked the public to weigh in on whether it should end its requirement that lawyers admitted in the state must graduate from an American Bar Association-accredited law school — following a similar move last month by Florida. The Texas high court did not stipulate why it is reviewing the ABA requirement — adopted in 1983 — when it issued an administrative order on April 4 seeking public comment. Texas' move comes as the ABA faces mounting pressure from the Trump administration and other Republicans to end its diversity and inclusion requirement for law schools. All of the Texas Supreme Court justices were appointed by Republican governors. Read the full story to find out more: https://reut.rs/4jmyFEo 

The U.S. Supreme Court allowed President Donald Trump's administration to proceed with millions of dollars of cuts to teacher training grants — part of his crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — in a setback on April 4 to eight Democratic-led states that have challenged the policy https://reut.rs/3YkSe7N 

Sean 'Diddy' Combs was hit with an expanded federal indictment on April 4, charging the hip-hop mogul with five criminal counts including racketeering and sex trafficking. The new indictment includes additional charges of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, and could subject Combs to more time in prison if convicted. Combs previously pleaded not guilty to an earlier three-count indictment. His trial remains scheduled for May 5 in Manhattan federal court. Combs has been jailed in Brooklyn since September. He also faces dozens of civil lawsuits by women and men who accused him of sexual abuse. Read more: https://reut.rs/4jgogK6 

A U.S. judge ruled that the Trump administration must return a Maryland man who was wrongly deported to El Salvador last month back to the United States within three days https://reut.rs/4i6R1rY

More than 80 Skadden alumni sent a letter to the firm's leadership condemning an agreement it struck with President Trump to avoid an executive order targeting the firm.   In the letter to Skadden executive partner Jeremy London, the group of alumni, mostly lawyers, said they felt 'profound disappointment and deep outrage' over the firm's deal with Trump.   Trump last week said Skadden agreed to dedicate $100 million in free legal services to mutually agreed projects benefiting veterans and other groups. The firm also committed to what Trump called merit-based hiring and retention of employees.   Read more in The Afternoon Docket.   Subscribe: https://reut.rs/4iQvdSd

Law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP and global legal giant Herbert Smith Freehills said in a joint statement that their partners voted to approve a merger, creating a 2,700-lawyer firm. The deal is expected to take effect on June 1. The firms said the combination will create a top 20 firm globally, with over $2 billion in revenue and 26 offices. The two firms had announced plans to merge in November. The combined firm will be called Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer. Sara Merken has more: https://reut.rs/41ZV84n

President Trump extended by 75 days a deadline for Chinese technology company ByteDance to sell U.S. assets of popular short video app TikTok to a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban that was supposed to take effect in January under a 2024 law. 'The deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed,' Trump said, explaining why he was extending the deadline he set in January that was supposed to expire April 5. 'We hope to continue working in good faith with China, who I understand is not very happy about our reciprocal tariffs.' China now faces a 54% tariff on goods imported into the United States. Trump has said he would be willing to reduce tariffs on China to get a deal done with ByteDance. Read more: https://reut.rs/4cfEMb6

Pop singer Mariah Carey’s lawyers want a judge to award them more than $180,000 in legal fees after prevailing in a copyright dispute over her holiday megahit 'All I Want for Christmas Is You.' Most of the work on the defense side for Carey, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music was handled by lawyers from Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.  Subscribe to The Daily Docket: https://reut.rs/4bYtR5B 

A U.S. federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump's administration violated a court order by halting the disbursement of hundreds of millions of dollars in Federal Emergency Management Agency grants to states https://reut.rs/3YiPhEN