It's Litigation Day at Law.com; How PR Concerns Shape Law Firms' Recession Responses; Two Tech Companies Face Ageism Allegations: The Morning Minute
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September 21, 2020 at 06:00 AM
5 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
GET YOUR SUIT ON – It may be Monday, but if you're into learning about litigation, it's most definitely Funday! We're unveiling Law.com's new Litigation: Editor's Picks section, which pulls together the best of our litigation trend analysis and in-depth commentary from practitioners and judges, along with our coverage of key players, breaking news, game-changing rulings, major recoveries and international cases. To celebrate, we have a Trendspotter two-fer: 1) a deep dive into a recent spate of breach-of-contract lawsuits alleging defendants are using COVID-19 as a convenient cover for some contractual hijinks and 2) our new Litigation Trendspotter column, which this week looks at several other emerging strains of pandemic-related lawsuits that could soon spread across the country, as well as what a federal judge's ruling striking down Pennsylvania's government shutdown orders could mean for other jurisdictions.
PRESS AND PRESSURE – Sometimes the right thing is not the easy thing. Yes, I saw that on a bumper sticker this weekend, but it also happens to be highly applicable to law firm leadership. As Patrick Smith reports, when it comes to deciding what steps to take and moves to make during an economic downturn, public perception is a big (often too big) factor in many law firms' calculuses. Unfortunately, worrying too much about short-term reputational damage can lead to long-term structural damage. That's why Kent Zimmermann, a partner at legal consulting firm The Zeughauser Group, told Smith he almost always advises firm leaders to do what is best for the firm, regardless of what the market may initially think. "If they are concerned about media coverage, the concern is almost always much worse than what ends up happening," he said. "Do what is best for the firm's long-term interest. If it is better that a person or group leave the firm, let them leave, and don't get caught up in the perception that is only going to last for a day or two anyway."
TECH AGE – Two technology companies are facing ageism claims in separate federal courts. IBM was sued Friday in Texas Western District Court over alleged age discrimination. The court action was filed by Wright & Greenhill on behalf of fifteen former employees who accuse IBM of conducting a scheme to render its workforce younger by firing older employees arbitrarily. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. Meanwhile, lawyers at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius on Friday removed an age-discrimination lawsuit against Dell Technologies and Dell Marketing to California Northern District Court. The complaint was filed by the Nelson Law Group on behalf of Christopher Joyce. Read the full complaints and stay up to date on major litigation nationwide with Law.com's Legal Radar.
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EDITOR'S PICKS
Partners Are Richer Than Ever. But Happier? By Vivia Chen
Plaintiffs Lawyers Seek Halt to 'Misleading' Facebook Ads to Privacy Class Members By Amanda Bronstad
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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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