Soldier's Maduro Raid Betting Case Set For December Trial

By Stewart Bishop

A federal judge in Manhattan set a December trial date Monday in a "novel" and "complex" insider trading case against a U.S. Army soldier accused of unlawfully profiting off prediction market bets based on his knowledge of the January capture of deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Backs Air Force's Rejection Of Space Co. Over Iran Ties

By Ganesh Setty

The U.S. Air Force was justified in not awarding a contract to a Colorado-based spaceflight company after determining it posed a national security risk due to its co-founders' ties to Iran, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Boat Strike Victims' Suit Should Be Tossed, Feds Say

By Carolyn Muyskens

The federal government has asked a Massachusetts judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by family members of men killed in a U.S. boat strike near Venezuela last fall, saying venue and standing issues doom the claims.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

White & Case, Reed Smith Lead $1.2B Space SPAC Deal

By Jarek Rutz

Spacecraft developer Quantum Space LLC said Monday it plans to go public through a merger with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. VI, a special purpose acquisition company, in a deal that values the combined company at about $1.2 billion and would give the business new funding to build out its national security-focused spacecraft platform.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FCC Needs To Clarify Router Ban's Scope, Tech Retailers Say

By Christopher Cole

Retailers are worried about the effect of a Federal Communications Commission effort to clamp down on foreign-made routers sold to consumers, saying the agency needs to better define the range of products covered by the new restrictions, which are aimed at reducing device security risks.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

AIPLA, NAM Rally Behind Moderna's Fight Over Vax Patents

By Theresa Schliep

The American Intellectual Property Law Association, National Association of Manufacturers and others urged the Federal Circuit to undo a lower court's ruling that Moderna, and not the government, must face a multibillion-dollar patent infringement suit over its COVID-19 vaccine.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Cybersecurity Worker's Early Win Bid Premature, Court Says

By Benjamin Morse

A Colorado federal judge has denied a former cybersecurity worker's bid to knock out several affirmative defenses raised by a U.S. Department of Defense contractor against his whistleblower retaliation suit, saying the worker filed the bid before giving the court a chance to weigh in on pre-motion letters.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Archer Can't Ditch Trimmed Joby Air Taxi Trade Secrets Suit

By Linda Chiem

A California federal judge has said Joby Aviation can forge ahead with a pared-down lawsuit alleging rival electric air taxi developer Archer Aviation misappropriated its trade secrets, but has tossed Archer's "shotgun pleadings" counterclaims alleging Joby misclassified imports to evade tariffs and concealed its China ties.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GAO Denies Protest Of $7.5M Navy Contract

By Elaine Briseño

The U.S. Government Accountability Office rejected a marine gear company's protest over the awarding of a contract for safety suits, finding the U.S. Navy properly evaluated the estimated costs submitted with the $7.52 million winning proposal.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Freshfields-Led Arcline Bids $535M For Continental Aerospace

By Nate Beck

Freshfields LLP advised private equity firm Arcline Investment Management on a proposed acquisition of aircraft parts maker Continental Aerospace Technologies in a $535 million deal.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Womble Bond Adds Alston & Bird Patent Atty To IP Team

By Emily Johnson

Womble Bond Dickinson has brought on an Alston & Bird LLP partner to its Atlanta office, strengthening its patent prosecution and litigation practice.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Gibson Dunn, PE Firm Pay Charity $1M For Knicks VIP Seats

By Dorothy Atkins

Gibson Dunn and private equity firm Veritas Capital split the $1 million winning bid for two "Celebrity Row" seats in a Knicks fundraiser ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, the team's parent company announced Monday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Groom Law Joins Firms Matching New Milbank Associate Pay

By Tracey Read

Washington, D.C.-based Groom Law Group is the latest firm to match a new pay scale for associates that was set earlier this month by Milbank LLP, according to media reports Monday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

9th Circ. Judge Faces Inquiry, Charges After Idaho Altercation

By Lauren Berg

The Ninth Circuit on Monday identified a judicial misconduct complaint against U.S. Circuit Judge Ryan D. Nelson after he was charged with misdemeanor battery stemming from an argument in an Idaho Falls parking lot that ended with him allegedly stomping a man's eyeglasses on the asphalt.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

How A Texas Pastor Beat Mark Zuckerberg In Landmark Trial

By Craig Clough

Jurors who reached a landmark $6 million verdict in March finding Meta Platforms Inc. and Google liable for harming a teen's mental health didn't find Mark Zuckerberg credible, an impression that the plaintiff's attorney Mark Lanier credited to putting the well-prepared executive off his guard.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

King & Spalding May Be Sanctioned In $300M Fraud Lawsuit

By Aaron Keller

Two King & Spalding LLP partners face a sanctions hearing in a $300 million fraud lawsuit to determine whether they violated a rule requiring candor to the tribunal by falsely claiming attorneys for other parties were copied on letters to two Connecticut jurists, according to two state court orders.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Another Lawmaker Joins Impeachment Push For Ga. Judge

By Courtney Bublé

A Republican House member on Monday introduced articles of impeachment for U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross of the Northern District of Georgia after she was reprimanded for having sex with a police officer in her chambers within earshot of staff.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Colorado Gov. Signs Bill Banning Fee Sharing With Non-Attys

By Emma Cueto

Colorado has enacted a ban on lawyers sharing fees with nonlawyer-owned firms, such as alternative businesses in Arizona, as well as a prohibition on deals with managed services organizations that involve paying a percentage of firm income.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Todd Blanche Officially Nominated To Be AG

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump on Monday officially nominated Todd Blanche to be attorney general.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Taps DC Appeals Court Picks To Fill Final Vacancies

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump has announced two picks for the D.C. Court of Appeals, which will fill the remaining vacancies on the District of Columbia's top court.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mich. Dems Back Trump Judicial Pick After Blue-Slip Review

By Courtney Bublé

Michigan's Democratic U.S. senators, Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, announced on Monday they've returned their blue slips for the nomination of Michael Martin, a veteran career prosecutor, to be a judge in the Eastern District of Michigan.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Chapman Law School Dean Says He Was Fired For Being Gay

By Hailey Konnath

The former dean of Chapman University's Dale E. Fowler School of Law says the university unlawfully fired him because he's gay and married to a man, according to a complaint filed in California state court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NJ Senators Advance Litigation Funding Disclosure Bill

By Carla Baranauckas

New Jersey state senators on Monday advanced legislation that would require disclosure of third-party litigation funding agreements over the objections of trial lawyers and litigation finance representatives, who warned that the bill could discourage funding for plaintiffs involved in costly cases.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law Student's Kirk Comment Discipline Stays During Appeal

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge on Monday kept intact a reprimand against a law student who allegedly celebrated following the death of Charlie Kirk during an appeal, saying that the student "again seeks the wrong remedy" in her request.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

100+ Ex-Prosecutors Question Chicago US Atty's Leadership

By Celeste Bott

More than 100 former Illinois federal prosecutors issued a statement Monday saying there's been a "failure of leadership" in the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago and that "once-forbidden political considerations are infecting prosecutorial decisions" in the wake of an Illinois federal judge accusing the office of mishandling grand jury proceedings in a case against six immigration activists.

Statement attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein's Sentencing Delayed To July

By Jared Foretek

A Maryland federal judge has agreed to push SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein's sentencing to July, after federal prosecutors speculated that his defense attorneys might come to the previously scheduled June hearing and declare that they aren't ready to proceed.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Lieff Cabraser's Elizabeth Cabraser

By Emily Field

When Elizabeth Cabraser began working with Robert Lieff as a clerk at his small practice in Northern California in the late 1970s, fresh out of law school, her job was to help him dispose of his remaining cases so he could retire early and become a winemaker.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »