News

Judge Wood OKs Privilege Designations in Cohen Matter

Colby Hamilton | June 22, 2018

U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood approved the recommendations for privilege from special master Barbara Jones, while setting deadlines for bringing the process to a close.

News

Miles & Stockbridge Vows Appeal After Verdict for Ex-Partner

Christine Simmons | June 22, 2018

Donald English won a $231,000 verdict against his Baltimore-based firm, in the latest case to raise issues of ownership vs. worker protections in a law firm employment dispute.

News

Man Who Injured Waitress With Forcible Kiss Hit With $3M Tab by Phila. Jury

P.J. D'Annunzio | June 22, 2018

A server at the Scarpetta Italian restaurant in Philadelphia filed a lawsuit after an October 2016 incident in which a wealthy patron drunkenly grabbed her by the throat and pulled her in for an unwanted kiss.

News

Paul Manafort’s Losing Streak Deepens in Washington Court

C. Ryan Barber | June 22, 2018

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the District of Columbia sent Trump's former campaign manager to jail last week, pending trial, and in the span of two days refused to dismiss several charges.

Profile

Litigators of the Week: Cracking the 10-Year Egg Antitrust Case

P.J. D'Annunzio| June 22, 2018

Antitrust class actions almost never go to trial. But three companies trusted their legal teams to get them through—and the lawyers delivered with an across-the-board win against some of the most prominent plaintiffs lawyers in the country.

News

Supreme Court Expands Patent Damages Beyond US Borders, Narrowly

Scott Graham | June 22, 2018

Sidestepping the presumption against extraterritoriality, Justice Clarence Thomas' 7-2 opinion OKs damages under narrow overseas inducement statute.

News

Justices, in Nod to Privacy, Restrict Police Power to Obtain Mobile Phone Data

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | June 22, 2018

The 5-4 decision in Carpenter v. United States marks a win for privacy interests in the ongoing tug-of-war over data privacy in the digital age. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. wrote the majority opinion.

Commentary

Daily Dicta: Tangled Fight over Hair Dye Pits Quinn Emanuel against Paul Hastings

Jenna Greene | June 21, 2018

A big-time IP battle over hair coloring technology pits industry giant L'Oréal and its lawyers from Paul Hastings against a tiny California start-up represented by a team from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.

News

3rd Circuit Panel, in Firefighter Hearing-Loss Case, Faults 'Uninformed Rush to Courthouse'

Amanda Bronstad | June 21, 2018

A federal appeals panel upheld an award of about $127,800 in attorney fees and costs to the manufacturer of fire engine sirens after finding the plaintiffs’ firm had failed to investigate claims of hearing loss among firefighters while voluntarily dismissing similar cases across the country.

News

NY Federal Judge Strikes at CFPB in Case Targeting Lit Funder to 9/11 and NFL Concussion Claimants

Colby Hamilton | June 21, 2018

In a partial win for the defendants in the case, U.S. District Senior Judge Loretta Preska pulled from the dissents in a recent en banc ruling by the D.C. Circuit to find the consumer watchdog organization was unconstitutionally constructed.

News

West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Charged With Fraud, False Statements and Witness Tampering

Scott Flaherty | June 21, 2018

Under the charges in the 22-count indictment filed by federal prosecutors, the judge faces a possible sentence of 395 years in prison and a fine of $5.5 million.

News

A Kennedy Concurrence Fuels Speculation on Chevron’s Future—And His

Tony Mauro | June 21, 2018

Justice Anthony Kennedy sharply criticized the Chevron doctrine, raising questions about the future of judicial deference to federal agencies, and adding to the buzz in Washington about whether he will stay or leave the court.

News

SEC's Jay Clayton Raises Fresh Concern About SCOTUS Ruling on Disgorgement

C. Ryan Barber | June 21, 2018

“I think the SEC should be in the business of getting money back for investors who are subject to that kind of fraud—a Ponzi scheme and whatnot. A possible way to do that is to give us restitution authority in those circumstances,” Clayton told members of a U.S. House committee on Thursday.

Analysis

Enough With Arbitration Provisions: Litigators Hate Them and GCs Should Too

Edward S. Robson| June 21, 2018

This article examines four of the most common justifications for arbitration and suggests examination of the knee-jerk impulse to include arbitration provisions in commercial agreements.

Commentary

Daily Dicta: Are Lawsuits the Tool to Un-Do Family Separation Policy?

Jenna Greene | June 21, 2018

As everyone from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the ACLU recoils at the separation of migrant children from their parents, there’s a clear sense that many in the legal community are eager to fight again. The question is, what exactly can lawyers do?

News

Meet Dolly Gee, the Judge Who Will Consider DOJ's Request on Family Detentions

Ellis Kim | June 20, 2018

All eyes are on Judge Dolly Maizie Gee, the Los Angeles-based federal judge who will consider the Justice Department’s request to modify the Flores consent decree.

News

Sacramento Judge Puts the Jeff Sessions Suit Against California on Trial

Cheryl Miller | June 20, 2018

The hearing, more than five hours long, resembled a trial at times. Mendez dove into minute details of the case, asking lawyers for relevant case law, citing arguments in the numerous amicus briefs, questioning the severability of provisions in each statute and quizzing the sides with long lists of what appeared to be prepared questions.

News

New York DFS Fines Deutsche Bank $205M for Foreign Exchange Trading Conduct

MP McQueen | June 20, 2018

The New York Department of Financial Services imposed the big civil penalty as part of a consent order with Frankfurt, Germany-based Deutsche Bank for violating state banking laws in its foreign exchange trading business, the department announced on Wednesday.

News

Federal Circuit Zeros Out Coke Zero Trademark Win

R. Robin McDonald | June 20, 2018

The Federal Circuit gave new impetus to a long-running battle between Atlanta's The Coca-Cola Co. and rival Royal Crown Cola/Dr. Pepper Snapple over the use of the word Zero in no-calorie sports and soft drinks.

News

This Reed Smith Partner Knows All About Yodeling, Especially for Young Stars

Miriam Rozen | June 20, 2018

News of an emerging talent “spreads like wildfire” these days, said the leader of Reed Smith's entertainment practice, who is advising an 11-year-old yodeler, the music industry's latest sensation.

News

Rennert, Arnold & Porter Head Toward Settlement in $214M Malpractice Case

Scott Flaherty | June 20, 2018

A $214 million legal malpractice case brought by billionaire Ira Rennert against his former Kaye Scholer lawyers appears to be on its way toward settling.

News

$12.8M Pelvic Mesh Verdict Stands as Pa. Begins to Weigh 'Bristol-Myers' Venue Standard

Max Mitchell | June 19, 2018

In the first instance of a Pennsylvania appellate court wading into the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court's high-profile decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court of California, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has declined to toss a more than $12.8 million judgment against pelvic mesh maker Ethicon.

News

Suit Seeks to Relitigate $19M Med Mal Settlement in Light of New Evidence

Max Mitchell | June 19, 2018

Plaintiffs who entered into a $19 million medical malpractice settlement with Abington Hospital in 2013 have sued the company again, alleging it failed to turn over an internal policy that would have significantly undercut the hospital's main defense in the underlying case.

News

Seyfarth Hit With $40M Malpractice Action in NY

Scott Flaherty | June 19, 2018

Manhattan's Blue Dog restaurant group was less-than-satisfied with the work of Seyfarth Shaw in a landlord-tenant dispute and is now in bankruptcy court looking to make the firm pay.

News

Judge Appoints Leadership in Intel Security Flaw Cases

Amanda Bronstad | June 19, 2018

A federal judge in Oregon has appointed 11 lawyers to lead more than 40 class actions brought over alleged security flaws in Intel Corp.’s microprocessor chips.

News

Sorry, Securities Lawyers, There Won't Be a SCOTUS Ruling on These Fraud Claims

Marcia Coyle | June 19, 2018

The justices, who had granted review in March 2017, dismissed Leidos v. Indiana Public Retirement System on Monday after the parties notified the court they had agreed to settle their dispute. The case attracted widespread amicus attention, including a brief from the U.S. Department of Justice.

News

Ex-Partner Accuses Jones Day of 'Fraternity' Environment, Gender Bias

Scott Flaherty | June 19, 2018

Jones Day is the latest large law firm to face claims of gender discrimination. Wendy Moore, now a partner at Perkins Coie, alleges in a new suit that her former firm operates as a boys' club and marginalizes women.

News

Daily Dicta: USC Lawyers Up

Jenna Greene | June 19, 2018

Facing at least 20 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by former gynecologist George Tyndall, the University of Southern California and its board of directors have retained a top-tier legal team from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan--and they're likely to need them.

News

Korean University Backed by Irell Wins $400 Million From Samsung

Scott Graham | June 18, 2018

A team led by partner Jason Sheasby accused the electronics giant of scoffing at a superstar inventor, then profiting from his semiconductor breakthrough.

News

Fujifilm Seeks $1 Billion Over Collapsed Deal for Takeover of Xerox

Colby Hamilton | June 18, 2018

In May, Xerox officially announced it was terminating the deal, after months of legal and public pressure by two of its largest investors, Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason.

News

US Justice Dept. Returns to SCOTUS to Challenge Another National Injunction

Marcia Coyle | June 18, 2018

The U.S. Department of Justice wants the Supreme Court to restrict the injunction in a sanctuary cities case to Chicago. Last week, DOJ lawyers told the Seventh Circuit it would turn to the high court if the appeals court did not rule to limit the breadth of the injunction.

Commentary

Daily Dicta: Egg on Their Faces: Plaintiffs Giants Come up Empty in $3B Antitrust Trial

Jenna Greene | June 18, 2018

Ten co-defendants settled for a combined $150 million, but the trio of egg producers left standing were willing to risk everything by going to trial. Their gamble paid off.

News

Justices Add Key Cases on Apple’s Antitrust Woes, Asset Forfeiture and Securities Fraud

Tony Mauro | June 18, 2018

U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco also urged the justices to grant review in the Apple antitrust case, which will be argued this fall. “The importance of the question presented will only grow as commerce continues to move online,” he wrote. The Apple dispute was one of five case the justices added to their argument docket for the 2018-2019 term.

News

White & Case Lands in Chicago with Small Office, Big Ambitions

Meghan Tribe | June 18, 2018

The international firm has high hopes for the Windy City, where it plans to grow to at least 100 lawyers "with all due speed."

News

Underwood May Be Calm, Professorial, But She Has Charged Into AG Role

Colby Hamilton | June 18, 2018

Barbara Underwood makes it clear she has no intentions of dialing back the office's efforts during her historic tenure as AG.

News

Labaton Sucharow Wants State Street Judge Recused After He Hinted at 'Public Corruption'

Amanda Bronstad | June 15, 2018

Labaton Sucharow has moved for a federal judge reviewing its billing records to recuse himself from a securities class action settlement, citing a “serious conflict” raised by statements from the judge, which the firm said implied that the New York law firm was engaged in public corruption.

News

Inmate Who Won Lawsuit Against Guard Loses Bid to Collect in Eleventh Circuit

Katheryn Tucker | June 15, 2018

Judges Gerald Tjoflat, William Pryor and R. Lanier Anderson denied David Cassady’s motion for garnishment against state corrections officer Steven Hall in a per curiam opinion Friday.

News

Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes Indicted in Alleged Wire Fraud Scheme

Ross Todd | June 15, 2018

The indictment alleges a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud investors, doctors and patients.

Profile

From New York Socialite to Public Defender: Akerman's Whitney Untiedt Talks Career Change

Lidia Dinkova | June 15, 2018

Untiedt left a New York lifestyle many dream of to pursue personal and career fulfillment by working as a public defender and pro bono coordinator.

Citibank Agrees to Pay $100M to Settle AGs' Suit Over Alleged Interest-Rate Manipulation

Dan M. Clark| June 15, 2018

An investigation by Underwood and 41 other state attorneys general led to the allegation Citibank misled other financial institutions about their status with an internationally used interest rate called LIBOR.

News

Mueller's Team, in Court, Defends Case Against Russian Company

C. Ryan Barber | June 15, 2018

The government's defense of the charges came at a hearing as the sides quarrel about the scope of discovery and the extent to which lawyers for a charged Russian entity must restrict access to information they learn from the special counsel's office.

Profile

Litigator of the Week: An Antitrust Win for the History Books

Jenna Greene | June 15, 2018

Daniel Petrocelli is not an antitrust expert—but the O’Melveny & Myers partner didn’t need to be in order to win the biggest merger challenge in decades.

News

On Remand From High Court, Waffle House 'Sextortion' Suit Back in Court of Appeals

Greg Land | June 14, 2018

After a jury acquitted the former housekeeper and her lawyers of criminal charges related to secretly video recording former Waffle House CEO Joe Rogers Jr. engaged in a sex act, the Georgia Supreme Court sent the related civil appeals back to the Court of Appeals for reconsideration.

News

Antitrust Vet Richard Parker Leaves O'Melveny for Gibson Dunn

Ryan Lovelace | June 14, 2018

The move comes days after the antitrust group at O'Melveny scored a mammoth M&A win for AT&T.

News

Federal Appeals Court Rejects Insurers' Claims for Millions in ACA Payments

Kristen Rasmussen | June 14, 2018

In an opinion likely to have far-reaching implications for similar pending litigation, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday ruled that the federal government does not owe Moda Health Plan Inc. nor Land of Lincoln Mutual Health Insurance Co. about $200 million and about $76 million, respectively, under the ACA risk corridors program.

Commentary

Daily Dicta: As Loretta Lynch Braces for DOJ IG Report, Eric Holder’s Prospects Soar

Jenna Greene | June 14, 2018

When Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz releases his report today on how the feds handled the Clinton email investigation, many expect former Attorney General Loretta Lynch will not fare well. Her predecessor Eric Holder, on the other hand, is flying high.

Trump Charitable Foundation Was Illegally Used to Support Campaign, Underwood Alleges in Suit

Dan M. Clark| June 14, 2018

The lawsuit alleges the foundation was illegally used to support Trump’s 2016 bid for president, pay off the president’s legal obligations, promote Trump brands and purchase personal items.

News

NY Court of Appeals Denies Trump Stay in Defamation Suit by Ex-'Apprentice' Contestant

Dan M. Clark| June 14, 2018

The decision is a setback for the president and his legal team, who have repeatedly denied claims that Trump sexually assaulted or harassed women prior to taking office.

News

PTAB Chief Accusing Former Employer Medtronic of Sexual Orientation, Disability Bias

Scott Graham| June 13, 2018

Chief Judge David Ruschke alleges he was laid off from Medtronic's in-house department for pretextual reasons in 2015 in a lawsuit playing out in Oakland federal court.

News

State AGs Lose Ground in Emissions Cases Against Volkswagen

Amanda Bronstad | June 13, 2018

Volkswagen has scored a critical court victory in its battle against several state attorneys general who are still pursuing billions of dollars over its emissions scandal.

News

In Big Push DOJ Arrests 74 Cyber Scammers of Businesses and Law Firms

Sue Reisinger | June 13, 2018

One expert said such schemes are becoming “more brazen and targeted,” prompting GCs to increasingly seek help from investigators and consultants with cyber experience.

News

Fifth Circuit Invalidates Arbitration Agreement After Company Fails to Sign It

John Council | June 13, 2018

In a ruling that could have lawyers double-checking the signature blocks on all manner of arbitration clauses, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has invalidated an agreement because the employer failed to sign it.

News

State Appeals Court Reinstates Claims That Dentons Misappropriated Trust Funds

R. Robin McDonald | June 13, 2018

A three-judge panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals overturned a Fulton County trial judge's dismissal of a lawsuit against Dentons that claimed the firm unjustly enriched itself by accepting more than $1.3 million in legal fees from the trusts of Atlanta industrialist and philanthropist Walter Bunzl to defend the embattled trustee against a suit by Bunzl heirs.

News

Senate Committee Questions Judiciary's Anti-Harassment Efforts After Kozinski Scandal

Ross Todd | June 13, 2018

"The judicial branch has a problem," said Sen. Charles Grassley at the beginning of Wednesday's Senate judiciary hearing. "They have to deal with it or Congress will have to do it for the courts."

Commentary

Daily Dicta: For Kirkland Team, This Trial Totally Sucked (But Not in the Way You Think

Jenna Greene | June 13, 2018

Advertisements are fleeting. Do you really want to go to trial four years down the road over a misleading claim? If you’re vacuum cleaner maker Dyson Inc., the answer is yes.

Update

McDermott to Drop Michael Cohen as Client: Sources

Ryan Lovelace | Colby Hamilton | June 13, 2018

Cohen may soon be fighting multiple legal challenges without his high-powered lawyers from McDermott, Will & Emery at his side.

News

READ THE DECISION: Judge OKs AT&T-Time Warner's $85B Merger

Ellis Kim | June 12, 2018

Read U.S. District Judge Richard Leon's decision here.

News

Merrill Lynch to Pay $15.7 Million, Enhance Compliance After Misleading Customers

Sue Reisinger | June 12, 2018

Merrill Lynch will pay more than $15 million to settle charges that its employees misled customers into overpaying for residential mortgage-backed securities.

News

Lawyer's Conflict of Interest in Campus Sex Assault Case Leads to One-Year Suspension

P.J. D'Annunzio | June 12, 2018

In addition to the conflict-of-interest charges that contributed to his yearlong suspension, Raul Jauregui was charged with making misrepresentations to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, filing frivolous litigation and failing to comply with court orders.

Commentary

Daily Dicta: Wrongly Convicted of Murder, Six Defendants Win Fight for $28M Jury Award

Jenna Greene | June 12, 2018

More than 30 years ago, 68-year-old Helen Wilson was raped and murdered in the Nebraska town of Beatrice. On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit doled out a small measure of justice in a case where it’s been almost entirely lacking

News

Judge Forrest, Again, Orders Subpoena Compliance in Trump Fundraiser's Qatari Suit

Colby Hamilton | June 12, 2018

For the third time, U.S. District Judge Forrest ordered Joseph Allaham to produce discovery material subpoenaed as part of a California suit filed by a Trump fundraiser over an alleged discrediting scheme using stolen and leaked emails.

News

Gorsuch, Embracing Originalism, Mustered No Support in Solo Dissent

Marcia Coyle | June 12, 2018

"The contracts clause categorically prohibits states from passing 'any ... law impairing the obligation of contracts,'" Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in a solo dissent in the case Sveen v. Melin. The framers, Gorsuch said, "were absolute. They took the view that treating existing contracts as 'inviolable' would benefit society by ensuring that all persons could count on the ability to enforce promises lawfully made to them."

News

South Florida Law Firm That Served Drinks to Alcoholic Employee Isn't Responsible for Her Death

Raychel Lean | June 12, 2018

Paralegal Susan M. Salerno was struck and killed by a train on her way home from work, where she'd been served alcohol.

News

King & Spalding Can’t Shake Ex-Associate’s Suit in ZTE Matter

Roy Strom | June 11, 2018

The firm may soon face a trial that could provide details on both the travails of the Big Law partnership track and an embarrassing episode that almost led to King & Spalding facing sanctions.

News

Mississippi Judge Calls Out Judiciary's 'Well Documented' Lack of Diversity

Ellis Kim | June 11, 2018

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves’ order said the federal judiciary’s failure to reflect the public it serves is well documented.

Commentary

Daily Dicta: You Guys Are Blowing It

Jenna Greene | June 11, 2018

In a new survey, more than 100 judges reported that they routinely find relevant case law that’s not cited in an attorney’s brief.

News

Baker & McKenzie Taps Williams & Connolly in 'Operation Carwash' Malpractice Suit

Dan Packel | June 11, 2018

The global firm and its Brazilian affiliate stand accused of putting a $3.18 billion settlement in jeopardy by adding a lawyer still employed as a federal prosecutor to a conglomerate's defense team.

News

How Voice Mail Helped Holland & Knight Attorneys Foil Alleged $14M 'Sweetheart' Scam

Samantha Joseph | June 11, 2018

A voice-mail message recorded after the callers thought they'd hung up.

News

Tesla Investor Suit Targets Musk's Pay Package Valued at $2.6 Billion

Tom McParland| June 11, 2018

A Tesla Inc. investor has sued over Elon Musk's $2.6 billion-valued pay package in the Delaware Court of Chancery, calling the stock option a "massive, unfair and unprecedented" gift that would make the car manufacturer's CEO one of the richest public-company executives in the world.

Unanimous US Supreme Court Bars 'Stacked' Class Actions

Marcia Coyle | June 11, 2018

“We hold that American Pipe does not permit a plaintiff who waits out the statute of limitations to piggyback on an earlier, timely filed class action,” Ginsburg wrote for the court Monday in "China Agritech v. Resh." The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Washington Legal Foundation and others supported China Agritech in amicus briefs.

Two Surprise Supreme Court Orders Show Why Recusals Matter

Tony Mauro | June 11, 2018

Two U.S. Supreme Court orders on Monday—one involving Justice Anthony Kennedy and the other Chief Justice John Roberts Jr.—show why recusals matter.

News

Appeals Panel Eying $1B Hip Implant Verdict Appears Dubious About Jurisdictional Arguments

Amanda Bronstad | June 08, 2018

A federal panel reviewing a $1.04 billion hip implant verdict appeared skeptical about Johnson & Johnson’s arguments that a Dallas judge had…

Profile

Litigator of the Week: In FTC Data Security Fight, Saving the Best for Last

C. Ryan Barber | June 08, 2018

For Ropes & Gray partner Doug Meal, the challenge for his team was deciding where to stop as they built out their brief for LabMD before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

News

7th Circuit Strips Jones Day's $307K Legal-Fee Award in EEOC Case

Erin Mulvaney | June 08, 2018

"The EEOC’s theory was not that fruitless. Precedent may not have favored it, but the fee statute does not punish a civil rights litigant for pursuing a novel, even if ambitious, theory," Seventh Circuit Chief Justice Diane Wood wrote Friday. Jones Day's Eric Dreiband was chief counsel for CVS in the litigation.

News

Wood Directs Cohen, Trump to File Privilege Objections Publicly

Colby Hamilton | June 08, 2018

The order Friday was a victory for Manhattan prosecutors and media outlets that objected to the request from Trump's legal team to file their objections under seal and ex parte.

News

End of Line for Appeal of $225 Million Exxon Settlement

Michael Booth | June 08, 2018

In an order made public June 8 and dated a week earlier, the court denied a petition for certification from the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club and other environmental groups seeking review of an Appellate Division ruling upholding the settlement.

News

Harriet Miers' Nonprofit Client Hit With Discovery Abuse Sanctions

Miriam Rozen | June 08, 2018

The Locke Lord partner and former U.S. Supreme Court nominee is caught up in a dispute involving a Christian charity based in Texas.

News

How R.J. Reynolds Got a Stay of Execution on a $37.5 Million Tobacco Verdict

Samantha Joseph | June 08, 2018

Jones Day attorneys in Atlanta and New York won a stay of execution for R.J. Reynolds.

News

It Was a Tough Week for Bank General Counsel Around the Globe

Sue Reisinger | June 08, 2018

Internationally, banks had a tough enforcement week--a timely reminder of the importance of a strong compliance focus in the financial services sector.

Meet the Justice Department Team That Won't Defend the Affordable Care Act

Mike Scarcella | Tony Mauro | June 08, 2018

Three career U.S. Justice Department lawyers withdrew their names on a brief the government filed in Texas abandoning the defense of the Affordable Care Act. So who are the DOJ lawyers pressing the government's claims? Meet the legal team.

News

Pulse Nightclub Shooting Survivors Sue Orlando, Its Police

Associated Press| June 08, 2018

More than 35 victims have signed on as plaintiffs, accusing the city and its officers of violating the constitutional rights of those who were injured and killed on June 12, 2016, when Omar Mateen opened fire at Pulse.

News

Federal Suit Challenges Policy Shift in Protections for Young Immigrants

Colby Hamilton | June 07, 2018

Advocates say U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services abandoned a decadelong policy that protected young adult immigrants.

Investors Sue Private Cryptocurrency Over $17M Initial Offering

Charles Toutant | June 07, 2018

Although the developers depicted the Latium initial coin offering as a sale of "utility-based tokens," it was subject to the Securities Act of 1933 because investors were promised that the tokens would be worth more than the price they paid, according to the suit.

News

Norton Rose Fulbright Rebuilds Cybersecurity Group With New Practice Leaders

Miriam Rozen| June 07, 2018

San Francisco-based partner Jeewon Serrato, most recently counsel and head of the global privacy and data management practice at Sherman & Sterling, is among the three lawyers brought on to bolster the practice.

Mick Mulvaney’s CFPB Drops Case Against Mortgage Lender PHH Corp.

C. Ryan Barber | June 07, 2018

The dismissal comes fives months after a Washington federal appeals court upheld the CFPB’s power structure as constitutional but tossed the penalty against New Jersey-based PHH, sending the case back to the bureau for further action.

News

DOJ Civil Chief, 3 Former SCOTUS Clerks Among Latest Trump Court Picks

Ellis Kim | June 07, 2018

The president's 15th round of judicial nominations also included a slate of Big Law lawyers.

News

Law Librarians Accuse Lexis of Anti-Competitive Bundling

Dan Packel | June 07, 2018

Since last summer, the company has allegedly been forcing Am Law 200 clients and others to subscribe to Lexis Advance to access its other products.

Commentary

Daily Dicta: Why a $1.3B Payout Is a Good Deal for SocGen

Jenna Greene | June 07, 2018

The deal took some highly skilled maneuvering by the bank’s lawyers from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Debevoise & Plimpton and Mayer Brown.

News

2nd Circuit Sets Bar for Vacating Awards Over Arbitrators' 'Evident Partiality'

Colby Hamilton | June 07, 2018

A party-appointed arbitrator's failure to disclose connections on its face isn't enough to disqualify an award, the panel found.

News

Lawyers in Stormy Daniels Case Battle Over Attorney-Client Privilege

Ryan Lovelace | June 07, 2018

A former lawyer for the porn actress, Keith Davidson, claims Michael Avenatti "can't use attorney-client privilege as a sword and shield.” Avenatti says it's Davidson who doesn't understand the law.

Analysis

Court-Watchers See High Hurdles for Weinstein Defense Team, Including Potential New Accusers

Andrew Denney | June 06, 2018

Among the questions that have arisen for observers as pretrial litigation gets underway is whether the prosecution will move to present testimony on uncharged, prior bad acts from women who say they have been sexually assaulted by Weinstein other than the two alleged victims in the case.

News

Defense Lawyer Switches Sides and Wins $20M for Tractor Driver

Katheryn Tucker | June 06, 2018

“It’s easy to do legal work for people you believe in,” Earl McCall said. “Whether you’re on the defense side or the plaintiff’s side, it just adds a little extra joy for me if you believe in the people you are representing.”

Live Coverage

J&J 'Rigged Tests' on Whether Baby Powder Was Laced With Asbestos, Lanier Tells Jury

Amanda Bronstad | June 06, 2018

Johnson & Johnson “rigged the tests” to avoid conceding that its baby powder contained asbestos, causing 22 women to get ovarian cancer, plaintiffs lawyer Mark Lanier told a St. Louis jury in opening statements on Wednesday in the most high-volume talcum powder trial to date.

News

Cisco Urges Federal Circuit to Double Down on 'Oracle v. Google'

Scott Graham | June 06, 2018

During Wednesday's appellate showdown with rival Arista Networks, the networking giant repeatedly invoked the court's controversial copyrightability case.

Commentary

Daily Dicta: Dream of Leaving Big Law to Launch a Litigation Boutique? These Two Lawyers Made it Work

Jenna Greene | June 06, 2018

“Lawyers are risk-averse by nature, but I knew if I didn’t give this a try, I’d regret it for the rest of my life,” said Randolph Gaw, whose litigation boutique Gaw Poe celebrated its fourth birthday with a pair of wins.

11th Circuit Erases FTC Ruling That Ordered ‘Sweeping’ Data Security Program

C. Ryan Barber | June 06, 2018

"The cease and desist order contains no prohibitions. It does not instruct LabMD to stop committing a specific act or practice. Rather, it commands LabMD to overhaul and replace its data-security program to meet an indeterminable standard of reasonableness. This command is unenforceable,” the appeals court said.

News

ACLU Sues Over Plan for Citizenship Question on 2020 Census

The Associated Press| June 06, 2018

Civil rights lawyers sued the U.S. Department of Commerce on Wednesday to try to stop plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

News

Velcro Fights Trademark Misuse With Second Music Video, Starring 'In-House Lawyers'

Caroline Spiezio | June 06, 2018

Velcro and its legal department strike back at trolls, haters and trademark infringers in a sequel to their September 2017 music video.

News

Voters Remove Santa Clara Judge Aaron Persky From Bench, First in 80 Years

Cheryl Miller | June 06, 2018

The election results close the book on a divisive campaign that raised difficult questions about how the judicial system handles violence against women, how the public views judicial decision-making and independence and how judges under political fire should respond.

News

Sixth Circuit Rejects Challenge to 'In God We Trust' Motto on Currency

Michael Booth | June 05, 2018

"[T]he inscription of the motto on currency would place sufficiently substantial pressure on plaintiffs to violate their alleged religious beliefs only if using payment methods other than cash is more than a mere inconvenience," Judge Jane Stranch said.