Menashi's Bid for the 2nd Circuit | Weil Seeks Mistrial in J&J Case | UK's Mental Health: The Morning Minute
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September 11, 2019 at 06:00 AM
4 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
|TRUMP'S MAN – Steven Menashi, President Trump's latest pick for the Second Circuit, is set for a confirmation hearing this morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The former clerk to Justice Samuel Alito and Kirkland & Ellis partner has been criticized by liberal groups for his writings on gay rights, women's rights and "leftist multiculturalism." Menashi has taught at George Mason law school and is serving as a special assistant to Trump.
MISSING CLOSINGS – Johnson & Johnson has moved for a mistrial in a high-stakes talcum powder case after a New Jersey judge struck the closing argument of its attorney, Weil Gotshal partner Diane Sullivan, then allowed the plaintiffs attorneys to wrap up with statements that the defense says was "soaked with venom." Amanda Bronstad reports that, according to transcripts from the closing included in the defense motion, Sullivan had asked the jury during her closing to consider why the FDA and others had found no asbestos in J&J's talcum powder products while plaintiffs' experts, paid as much as $31 million by the lawyers, did. Plaintiffs attorneys have denied the amount of the expert payments.
SAME SIDE – The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is set to hear arguments this morning at over whether the state's death penalty is unconstitutional as applied. Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner is in agreement with defense lawyers that the state's death penalty should be struck down. Krasner's office conducted a review of nearly all capital cases out of Philadelphia between 1978 and 2017, and found it was being applied in a "wanton and freakish, arbitrary and capricious manner," quoting language from a 1982 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision.
IN PERIL – Some 44% of the U.K.'s top lawyers have experienced mental health-related illnesses such as depression due to their work, Simon Lock reports. A job satisfaction survey by Law.com's U.K. affiliate Legal Week finds that the problems were more common among lawyers under the age of 30 and those working in large firms with more than 1,000 lawyers. The findings from the survey of nearly 250 lawyers come as 37% admitted to having worked at least one all-nighter in the past year.
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EDITOR'S PICKS
|MIT Hires Goodwin Procter to Investigate Jeffrey Epstein Donations
Flag Burner at Center of Landmark Supreme Court Case Won't Face New Charges in DC
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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
|SLOWER IPO – With the number of initial public offerings in Hong Kong dropping dramatically, law firms that handle the work have seen a slowdown in business. John Kang reports that at least 11 Hong Kong capital markets lawyers in the past year have left Shearman & Sterling, which for years has been a major player in the IPO market there. The law firm's capital markets practice comprised 80% to 90% of IPO work, but now the practice makes up only 50% of the work, with mergers and acquisitions accounting for the other half, says its team leader.
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WHAT YOU SAID
"I like the solitary nature of running, which gives me time to appreciate the beauty of the new day and surroundings and to have prayer and thinking time."
TIMOTHY LUPINACCI, CHAIRMAN OF BAKER DONELSON, ON THE BENEFITS OF WORKING OUT.
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Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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