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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

COVID, COURT CANCELLATIONS AND CARDI B - Earlier this week, we told you about how a number of courts across the country have once again been forced to cancel in-person proceedings thanks to the rise of omicron. What we didn't get into, however, is just how much of a pain all this stopping and starting has been for litigators and their clients. For example, Monica Latin, managing partner at Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, told Law.com's Meghann Cuniff that her trial team was already settled into its hotel on Friday afternoon when a call came in that the jury trial set to begin Monday in an Austin, Texas, courtroom had been called off because of the region's rising COVID-19 infections. "It's like putting the racehorse into the starting gate and then calling off the race," Latin said, but added that "[i[t's impossible to second-guess any of these decisions under these circumstances." The last-minute cancellations are also agonizing for clients—well, some clients. "It is very important to our client that this case gets to trial without any more delays," said Lawrence J. Conlan of Cappello & Noël in Santa Barbara, who's suing rapper and songwriter Cardi B for copyright infringement. "Cardi has been trying to avoid trial with us for some time now, using a lot of excuses that don't add up."

FACE LITIGATION - A federal judge on Tuesday ruled the FTC's amended antitrust lawsuit against Meta (née Facebook) can move forward, determining the commission overcame many of the legal issues that doomed its initial complaint last year, Law.com's Andrew Goudsward reports. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia said the FTC, in its refiled complaint, laid out enough facts about Facebook's market power in the personal social networking space to constitute an antitrust case. The commission alleged that Facebook not only has a monopoly, but has actively maintained that status by acquiring potential competitors like Instagram and WhatsApp. Boasberg said the FTC's allegations are "far more robust and detailed" than in its initial complaint, which Boasberg dismissed last June, "particularly in regard to the contours of the defendant's alleged monopoly." The decision is a victory for the FTC and its chair, Lina Khan, who has made cracking down on large technology companies a major goal for the agency.

HEEL TURN? - Kasowitz Benson Torres filed an antitrust lawsuit Tuesday in California Northern District Court against World Wrestling Entertainment. The partially redacted complaint was brought on behalf of competing wrestling company MLW Media, which accuses the WWE of "poaching" talent, misappropriating confidential information and airing MLW footage without permission. MLW also contends that the WWE uses intimidation tactics to interfere with competitors' contracts, such as MLW's recent broadcasting agreement with Vice TV, and streaming agreement with Tubi of Fox Corp. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 3:22-cv-00179, MLW Media LLC v. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.  

EDITOR'S PICKS

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

TECH TO EXPECT - From devising ways to tackle the increasing complexity of data security to improving professional development in a hybrid work environment, experts from across the U.K. legal sector envision major legal tech developments on the horizon in 2022, Law.com International's Jack Womack reports. One of the most interesting shifts in the landscape this year could come in the form of law firms figuring out how to utilize legal tech to do more than simply work faster and cheaper. "We've already seen a shift away from maximum efficiency being the primary motivator for technological advancement," said Christopher Tart-Roberts, head of the lawtech group at Macfarlanes: "Reducing time spent and increasing value for money are still very important drivers, and rightly so. However, tech advancement can also deliver value in a much wider sense. The opportunity for law firms to offer a range of complimentary products and services which bring together law + tech, and that satisfy the expectations of increasingly tech-savvy clients, is particularly exciting."

WHAT YOU SAID

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