Akin partner Devin Sikes has been appointed by the Federal Circuit Bar Association to serve as co-chair of the group's international trade committee, Akin announced. Sikes will serve a three-year term that runs through June 30, 2028. The committee, which surveys U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Crcuit and Court of International Trade decisions and "makes recommendations" to the association's board on issues to be addressed, is now led by Sikes, Hogan Lovells partner Jonathan Stoel, DOJ attorney Sosun Bae and Polsinelli partner and former International Trade Commission general counsel Dominic Bianchi. The committee's vice-chairs are Matthew Rizzolo of Ropes & Gray and Timothy Bickham of Dentons (US).
The Russian grantor of a blocked U.S.-based trust company is suing the Office of Foreign Assets Control, saying OFAC falsely accused the trust of being used to help a Russian oligarch evade sanctions. Kuncha Kerimova, the grantor, said the trust was designed to share her wealth with her grandchildren and other descendants, not to aid designated Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov.
The Court of International Trade's Pacer.gov system will undergo maintenance on July 13 between 5 a.m. and 4 p.m., the court said. Users looking to log on to CM/ECF or make payments through Pay.gov "may experience intermittent issues" during that time, the court said.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on July 9 said it intends to sit in and around Boston as part of its October 2025 session.
The Court of International Trade on June 23 proposed amendments to various of its practice rules and forms following recommendations from the court's Advisory Committee on Rules.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on June 24 appointed a new member to its Advisory Council. Jennifer Wu, a patent attorney and partner at Groombridge Wu, will sit on the council for a three-year term, effective June 30. The Advisory Council reviews, studies and makes recommendations regarding the Federal Circuit Rules of Practice and Internal Operating Procedures of the court. It serves as a "conduit between the public and the court regarding the court's procedural rules," the court said.
Stephen Vaden, current judge on the Court of International Trade, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as deputy secretary of agriculture. The Senate confirmed Vaden with a 51-44 vote split exactly down party lines. Five senators -- Ted Budd, R-N.C., Jon Ossoff, R-Ga., Thom Tillis R-N.C., Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., -- didn't take part in the vote.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will launch a new caption-generation utility for filers May 27, the court announced. The new feature will let parties easily generate "the most up-to-date version of the case caption." It will be found under the Utilities tab on the landing screen after logging into CM/ECF, the court said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week removed a former Lebanon-based small business owner from its Specially Designated Nationals List after he sued the Treasury Department over his designation in December, arguing that OFAC unfairly delayed a decision on his delisting request.
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts began on May 11 implementing multifactor authentication to boost security for the CM/ECF and PACER systems. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit told CM/ECF users to enroll in multifactor authentication "at their earliest convenience," adding that users who don't voluntarily enroll in the program will be "randomly selected for mandatory enrollment starting in August 2025." All users must be enrolled to maintain access to the CM/ECF system by Dec. 31, 2025, though multifactor authentication will be optional for PACER-only access.