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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

BAD NEWS BAYER - With nine defense verdicts in a row, Bayer was headed well into 2023 with an unstoppable record in trials over Monsanto's Roundup. Then, as Law.com's Amanda Bronstad reports, the momentum shifted. It started with a $1.25 million verdict in Missouri on Oct. 20. Then, one week later, Philadelphia jurors awarded a show-stopping $175 million. That's when the "tide turned," said Tom Kline, who, along with Jason Itkin of Houston's Arnold & Itkin, led the plaintiff's trial team. That trial was followed by a $332 million jury award in San Diego, a $1.56 billion verdict in Jefferson City, Missouri, and another Philadelphia verdict of $3.5 million on Dec. 5. "We established a template for trying the case differently, and that, in turn, I think, is a harbinger of 2024 and beyond," said Kline, of Philadelphia's Kline & Specter. "We shared our institutional knowledge, our transcripts and our thinking with the other lawyers." More Roundup trials are planned in early 2024 for Pennsylvania, Delaware and Arkansas, and one in California is wrapping up.

DOUBLING DOWN ON DIVERSITY - After a SCOTUS win that ended affirmative action in college admissions, conservative legal activist Edward Blum began targeting law firms in August. Several law firms responded by canceling or modifying their diversity fellowships, opening them to all applicants. But, as Law.com's Dan Roe reports, most Big Law firms aren't walking away from DEI commitments or wholly cutting programs in response to the Blum lawsuits. On the contrary, according to professionals like Reed Smith labor and employment chair Tyree Jones, the backlash seems to have helped align lawyers and law firms behind a common goal of improving diverse attorney representation. "It really energized or reenergized law firms' commitment to DEIB," he said, referencing the acronym for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

ON THE RADAR - Bristol-Myers Squibb has agreed to acquire Karuna Therapeutics for a total equity value of approximately $14 billion. The transaction, announced Dec. 22, is expected to close in the first half of 2024. New York-based Bristol-Myers was advised by Covington & Burling. Karuna Therapeutics, which is based in Boston, was represented by a Simpson Thacher & Bartlett team led by New York-based partners Eric Swedenburg, Jakob Rendtorff and Alan Klein. Stay up on the latest state and federal litigation, as well as the latest corporate deals, with Law.com Radar.  

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