Business of Law

  • March 14, 2024

    GOP Sens. Rebuff Policy Meant To Stop Judge Shopping

    Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and two other Republican senators on Thursday sent a letter urging chief judges to continue to assign cases as they see fit despite the Judicial Conference of the United States' newly tweaked policy aimed at preventing litigants from "shopping" for the judge of their choice.

  • March 14, 2024

    DC Circ. Won't Delay Prison For Ex-Trump Aide Peter Navarro

    The D.C. Circuit on Thursday refused to permit former White House adviser Peter Navarro to avoid reporting to prison by Tuesday while he appeals his sentence, ruling that Navarro hasn't shown that his appeal is likely to result in a new sentence that doesn't involve imprisonment.

  • March 14, 2024

    72-Year Weil Alum, 'True Visionary' Corporate Atty Dies At 97

    Ira M. Millstein, the legendary Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP senior partner who helped save New York City from bankruptcy in the 1970s and used his bipartisan connections to help smooth Ruth Bader Ginsburg's path to the federal judiciary, has died, the firm said Thursday.

  • March 14, 2024

    Denver DA Settles Ex-Deputy's Gender Pay Discrimination Suit

    The Office of the Denver District Attorney has settled a Colorado state court lawsuit with one of its former prosecutors, who alleged she was paid less than her male colleagues in similar roles, and the office disclosed Thursday it agreed to pay the attorney $7,500 to resolve the dispute.

  • March 14, 2024

    Trump Can't Duck Classified Doc Charges Over Vagueness

    The Florida federal judge overseeing the criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump over the alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate denied his bid Thursday to toss the indictment based on the "unconstitutional vagueness" of the Espionage Act, opting instead to punt the issue to later in the case.

  • March 14, 2024

    Judge Applauds Attys' 'Very Awesome' Use Of Google AI Bot

    A California federal judge told counsel Thursday it's "very awesome" that their recently amended putative class action complaint alleging privacy violations against Google used Google's own AI tool to argue that Google Analytics illegally scoops personal data from healthcare providers' websites, but he doubted the viability of other pleadings.

  • March 14, 2024

    Colo. Magistrate Judges Tell Attys To Load Up Their Dockets

    A group of federal magistrate judges for the District of Colorado told a room of attorneys Wednesday not to dismiss them as the "junior varsity bench," urging lawyers to take advantage of their expertise in a district where the latest newly appointed district judges all served as magistrate judges first.

  • March 14, 2024

    Atty Rips Fox Rothschild's Gag Order Bid As 'Temper Tantrum'

    The attorney for two men suing Fox Rothschild LLP for malpractice has hit back against the firm's request for a gag order — which came after he called the firm a "corrupt organization" and threatened criminal prosecution — calling it a "temper tantrum" and claiming Fox Rothschild is merely trying to distract from the events that led him to make those comments.

  • March 14, 2024

    Most States Fall Short In Disclosing Justices' Finance Reports

    The vast majority of state supreme courts make it exceedingly difficult for the public to get information about justices' financial entanglements, and the information they do give out is often scant at best, according to a report released Thursday.

  • March 14, 2024

    O'Melveny Elects Chair To 4th Term, Extending Role To 2029

    The longtime chair of O'Melveny & Myers will hold the position for five more years following his recent election to serve another term as the firm's leader.

  • March 14, 2024

    McDermott Eyes White Collar Growth With Orrick FCPA Pros

    McDermott Will & Emery LLP announced Thursday the addition of a seven-partner team from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP that will focus on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the False Claims Act, saying it hired the team with an eye toward its white collar and government investigation capabilities.

  • March 14, 2024

    Trump's NY Trial May Be Delayed After Document Dump

    The Manhattan district attorney on Thursday proposed delaying former President Donald Trump's hush money trial by up to 30 days after federal prosecutors recently disclosed tens of thousands of pages of documents related to the past criminal case of a key witness, ex-Trump attorney Michael Cohen.

  • March 14, 2024

    Katten Adds Ex-Paul Hastings Securities Litigation Co-Chair

    Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP announced Thursday that it has hired a longtime Paul Hastings LLP attorney who was global co-chair of his former firm's securities litigation practice for its New York office.

  • March 14, 2024

    Courthouse News Sues DC Court Clerk Over Filing Delays

    National litigation news outlet Courthouse News launched a suit in D.C. federal court Wednesday, accusing the capital city's superior court of delaying public access to new civil complaints, often for one to three days, as they are processed by staff.

  • March 14, 2024

    Trump Hush Money 'Half Mary': Blame The Lawyers, Sort Of

    Donald Trump's informal advice-of-counsel defense in the criminal hush money case in New York is a potentially risky, long-shot attempt at "having it both ways" by blaming his lawyers without having to testify or divulge details of their relationship, experts say.

  • March 14, 2024

    Kirkland Associate Is Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade Queen

    Kirkland & Ellis corporate associate Grace O'Connor will be reigning over the 69th annual Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday as parade queen, in an event she described as "honoring the rich heritage of my ancestors and embracing the dynamic spirit of [the] Irish American community that you can see everywhere in the city."

  • March 14, 2024

    Court Urged To Give Sullivan & Cromwell $31M For FTX Work

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge should give Sullivan & Cromwell LLP about $31 million in fees for its work in FTX Trading Ltd.'s case from August through October 2023, the Chapter 11 fee examiner said.

  • March 13, 2024

    Ex-Law Firm Office Manager Gets 3 Years For Embezzlement

    A 42-year-old California man who pled guilty to bank fraud after embezzling close to $1.2 million from the San Francisco-based law firm where he worked as an office manager for more than 20 years was sentenced to three years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

  • March 13, 2024

    Google Calls DOJ's 'Fake Privilege' Docs Citation 'Misleading'

    The D.C. federal judge weighing the fate of Google's search business should pay no heed to discussions, cited by the Justice Department, from company lawyers in a separate case of "fake privilege" hiding otherwise discoverable evidence, Google has said.

  • March 13, 2024

    Davis Wright's Managing Partner Steps Down From Post

    Davis Wright Tremaine LLP's firmwide managing partner Scott MacCormack is stepping down after nearly three years at the helm, and the firm is appointing its Seattle office leader as an interim leader to guide the transition, the firm confirmed Wednesday.

  • March 13, 2024

    BigLaw Paper Poacher Gets 15 Mos. In Merck Insider Case

    A Manhattan federal judge hit a former FBI trainee from Pennsylvania with a 15-month prison sentence Wednesday for illegally trading on a Merck & Co. deal using secrets gleaned from legal papers in the possession of his BigLaw ex-girlfriend.

  • March 13, 2024

    Ex-Alston & Bird Aide Should Arbitrate Vax Suit, Judge Says

    A former Alston & Bird LLP aide fired for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 should have to take her discrimination claims against the firm to arbitration, a Georgia magistrate judge recommended Wednesday.

  • March 13, 2024

    Uber Recruits Ex-NY Chief Judge DiFiore For Safety Board

    Ride-hailing company Uber announced Wednesday it is bolstering its safety advisory board with the addition of Janet DiFiore, the former chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals who abruptly resigned in 2022 amid an ethics probe.

  • March 13, 2024

    NJ Ethics Board Says Referral Fees Only For In-State Attys

    New guidance provided by the New Jersey Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics recommends against the payment of referral fees for out-of-state lawyers, reasoning that such fees, considered payment for legal services, can only be provided to attorneys licensed to practice law in the state.

  • March 12, 2024

    Terraform Can Retain Dentons In Ch. 11, Firm Will Return $48M

    Terraform Labs can hire Dentons US LLP as its special counsel in its Chapter 11 case, a Delaware federal bankruptcy judge ruled Tuesday, with the firm agreeing to return $48 million of a $70 million retainer that was hit with objections.

Expert Analysis

  • Avoiding The Ethical Pitfalls Of Crowdfunded Legal Fees

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    The crowdfunding of legal fees has become increasingly common, providing a new way for people to afford legal services, but attorneys who accept crowdsourced funds must remember several key ethical obligations to mitigate their risks, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • What Large Language Models Mean For Document Review

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    Courts often subject parties using technology assisted review to greater scrutiny than parties conducting linear, manual document review, so parties using large language models for document review should expect even more attention, along with a corresponding need for quality control and validation, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Tips For Camp Lejeune Attorneys To Mitigate TCPA Suit Risks

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    To retain and assist Camp Lejeune clients, it is vital to understand best practices to avoid violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which has been at the center of recent lawsuits against attorneys seeking to reach veterans and their families affected by the toxic water exposure at the Marine Corps base, says Libby Vish at SimplyConvert.

  • Series

    Participating In Living History Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My role as a baron in a living history group, and my work as volunteer corporate counsel for a book series fan association, has provided me several opportunities to practice in unexpected areas of law — opening doors to experiences that have nurtured invaluable personal and professional skills, says Matthew Parker at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

  • Opinion

    Private Equity Owners Can Remedy Law Firms' Agency Issues

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    Nonlawyer, private-equity ownership of law firms can benefit shareholders and others vulnerable to governance issues such as disparate interests, and can in turn help resolve agency problems, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • Opinion

    Companies Must Not Back Down On DEI Efforts

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    In the face of recent lawsuits filed to challenge schools' diversity efforts, and a U.S. Supreme Court potentially friendly to purely hypothetical arguments, companies must stand strong and not be intimidated into abandoning diversity and inclusion programs, says Licha Nyiendo at Human Rights First.

  • How To Protect Atty-Client Privilege While Using Generative AI

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    When using generative artificial intelligence tools, attorneys should consider several safeguards to avoid breaches or complications in attorney-client privilege, say Antonious Sadek and Christopher Campbell at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    New York Must Guarantee Court Neutrals Fair Compensation

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    Neutrals that serve New York’s court-annexed alternative dispute resolution program are underappreciated and face injurious unjust enrichment because they are required to provide parties with a certain amount of free time, so the state must establish minimum guaranteed compensation floors with deliberate speed, say Elan Weinreb at Weinreb Law and Dorothy Kaldi at Petza & Kaldi Mediation.

  • How New Lawyers Can Leverage Feedback For Growth

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    Embracing constructive criticism as a tool for success can help new lawyers accelerate their professional growth and law firms build a culture of continuous improvement, says Katie Aldrich at Fringe Professional Development.

  • Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics

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    X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.

  • ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act

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    While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Roundup

    In A 'Barbie' World

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    On the heels of the "Barbie" movie's historic global box office success, this Expert Analysis series explores regulatory questions and intellectual property battles that have emerged from the evolution of the iconic doll's brand.

  • Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.

  • Covington Ruling Strengthens SEC's Enforcement Powers

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    A Washington, D.C., federal court’s recent order that Covington & Burling provide the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with the identities of its clients in response to a subpoena reinforces the agency’s broad authority to investigate cybersecurity violations, and suggests law firms must take steps to strengthen data privacy, say Elisha Kobre and Ryan Dean at Bradley Arant.

  • The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.

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