In everything it does, from product design to business deals, Apple strives for as much control as possible.

But as the world's most valuable company sets out to define and dominate the rapidly evolving markets it created with the iPhone and the iPad, Apple is likely to face antitrust regulators who want to curb its power.

Apple's clout is coming under scrutiny as the U.S. Justice Department considers filing a lawsuit against the company and five U.S. publishers on allegations they orchestrated a price-fixing scheme on electronic books.

The involved parties are trying to avoid a high-profile court battle by negotiating a settlement, according to The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper broke the news last week about the government's plans to allege that Apple Inc. and the publishers tried to thwart e-book discounts offered by Amazon.com Inc. and drive up prices since the 2010 release of the iPad.

"I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Apple," says Ted Henneberry, an antitrust attorney for the Orrick law firm in Washington.

A Manhattan federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a New York rule banning law firms from selling ownership stakes to non-lawyers.

The suit was filed by the personal injury firm Jacoby & Meyers.

The firm said the rule violated its First Amendment freedom-of-association rights.

It claimed that the rule preventing non-lawyers from owning stakes in law firms hindered its ability to raise capital to cover technology and expansion costs. It also said it hurt its ability to provide legal services to working class clients.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the judge found that Jacoby & Meyers' ability to raise money from non-lawyers would still be restricted by other New York laws even if he struck down the rule.

The Livingston Parish Council is hiring private lawyers to defend the parish against a $52 million lawsuit filed by an Alabama company that spearheaded clean-up efforts after Hurricane Gustav struck in 2008.

The Advocate reports the council retained the McGlinchey, Stafford PLLC law firm to begin a preliminary review of the case.

After Gustav struck in September 2008, IED Inc. was placed in charge of clearing storm debris from Livingston Parish roads and waterways.

The council expected the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover the costs. But after FEMA refused to pay about $52 million billed for the work, IED filed a lawsuit against the parish.

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Paul Clement used to argue for the federal government's power until he started arguing against it.

But he's no flip-flopping political candidate; he's a lawyer. Changes like this are part of his job.

Clement is playing a key role in three politically charged Supreme Court cases in which Republican-led states object to Obama administration policies or federal laws on health care, immigration and redrawing political boundaries.

In the biggest of those, the 45-year-old law school acquaintance of President Barack Obama will be trying to sink Obama's health care overhaul.

Not that long ago, Clement would regularly stand before the justices and defend even the most aggressive uses of federal power, making his case without written notes and parrying questions with an easy banter.

He argued for the Bush administration's policy on detaining suspected terrorists, a federal law outlawing a medical procedure called "partial-birth abortion" by opponents, the McCain-Feingold law aimed at limiting the influence of money in politics and a federal ban on the use of marijuana for medical purposes.