Welcome to Bloomberg Law’s Wake Up Call, a daily rundown of the top news for lawyers, law firms, and in-house counsel.

Sheppard has hired a 15-lawyer intellectual property litigation team from Perkins Coie, continuing its aggressive buildout of its high-stakes patent litigation and trials practice, the firm said in a release on Thursday.

Big Law mining practices are straining to keep up with the surge of US critical minerals projects, as lawyers with specialized skills for the work are in short supply.

Data centers are multiplying, pledging to create jobs as they power the biggest platforms using artificial intelligence. But concerns are growing about just how secure the facilities are, and what should be done to protect their data and operations.

Exxon Mobil Corp.’s proposal to reincorporate in Texas from New Jersey is a classic type of corporate governance plan. A recent commentary critiquing the move is little more than cynicism masquerading as scholarship, says Christopher Babcock of the Alliance for Corporate Excellence.

New York state’s new ban on state employees using private government information to trade on prediction markets does no harm, even if superfluous based on both existing New York and federal laws. It may even be beneficial to have the clarity that state employees can’t use information obtained through their job, writes Washington and Lee’s Melinda Roth.

Earlier this month, the actor Reese Witherspoon went into her sunlit kitchen to mix herself a smoothie and accidentally stirred up some beef.

Volkswagen Group of America Inc. expanded the courtroom attack on the National Labor Relations Board’s constitutionality, newly targeting officials who are critical to the agency’s administration and enforcement of workers’ organizing rights.

New York state’s new ban on state employees using private government information to trade on prediction markets does no harm, even if superfluous based on both existing New York and federal laws. It may even be beneficial to have the clarity that state employees can’t use information obtained through their job, writes Washington and Lee’s Melinda Roth.

In the shadow docket memo revelation coverage, the Supreme Court justices’ treatment of executive branch officials’ statements hasn’t gotten sufficient attention, writes Kate Shaw of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

House Republicans approved a budget resolution setting the stage to give $70 billion to two immigration enforcement agencies for several years, marking a key step toward the GOP’s plans to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security.

Elon Musk became visibly irritated on the witness stand Wednesday as an attorney for OpenAI questioned whether the billionaire backed off his financial commitment to the startup in its early years.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese strongly defended a plan to make tech companies pay for publishing Australian journalism in the face of US and industry criticism.

House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) said his committee won’t take up tax legislation on cryptocurrency without Democrats’ buy-in.

Stellantis NV shares fell as investors questioned the sustainability of an apparent turnaround in the key North American market, where its performance was bolstered by price cuts and one-time financial gains.

Zambia’s annual inflation slowed to a more than eight-year low in April as government measures to cushion consumers blunted the impact of surging energy costs driven by the war in Iran.

International tax scrutiny is intensifying, with disputes increasingly focused on intangibles, cross-border structures, and the correct characterization of royalties, says Baker McKenzie’s Antonio Weffer.

Tax predictability is win-win, as it helps multinationals stay compliant and decide how to structure new business operations, and reduces time-consuming audits and tax litigation for country governments, writes Jefferson VanderWolk of Squire Patton Boggs.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese strongly defended a plan to make tech companies pay for publishing Australian journalism in the face of US and industry criticism.

European banks are being more selective on asset-backed lending, as collapses including Tricolor Holdings and Market Financial Solutions Ltd. have made firms more cautious of the sector.

Big Law mining practices are straining to keep up with the surge of US critical minerals projects, as lawyers with specialized skills for the work are in short supply.

Apple Inc. reports quarterly earnings after the close on Thursday, but investors will be largely looking past the numbers and seeking clues to incoming Chief Executive Officer John Ternus’ strategic plans.

The Iran war is accelerating a shift toward renewable energy as governments race to reduce supply-chain vulnerabilities, according to UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell.

Stellantis NV shares fell as investors questioned the sustainability of an apparent turnaround in the key North American market, where its performance was bolstered by price cuts and one-time financial gains.