One possible reason for the Bush administration backlog in government intervention in False Claims Act cases? The former DOJ official in charge of investigating them allegedly dismissed whistle-blowers as "crazy" and threw away their complaints. Now, after he allegedly scrubbed his computer hard drive to thwart an investigation of his office, he's reportedly set to enter a guilty plea.

Patent assertion entity Intellectual Ventures claims that seven of its patents have been infringed by Motorola's smartphones. Also: the Federal Circuit rules for the third time on a patent for a Novo Nordisk diabetes medication, and an Eastern District of Texas judge with a heavy IP caseload gives some tips on appearing in his court.

Litigation involving MBIA has been keeping investors on edge for four years now, as the bond insurer wages war with the banks whose financial products it insured in the run-up to the economic crisis. It's also generated some wrenching reversals of fortune for the lead lawyers battling over MBIA's 2009 restructuring, which the banks say allowed the company to shirk its obligations to structured finance policyholders.

A dozen Am Law firms failed to convince a federal judge in San Francisco to throw out claims that many of the world's leading consumer electronics companies conspired to fix prices for CD, DVD and Blu Ray recordable and rewritable drives.