'Circular Firing Squad' Is Stalling Romance Case, Judge Says

By Catherine Marfin

A Texas federal judge told Jackson Walker LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP that they were stuck in a "circular firing squad" in a debate over whether the former CEO of a defunct barge company could sue the firms over a former bankruptcy judge's secret romance with an attorney.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Senators Unveil DNA Privacy Bill Amid 23andMe's Ch. 11 Sale

By Alex Wittenberg

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Thursday introduced a bill designed to safeguard customers' genetic information in bankruptcy cases, saying 23andMe's plan to sell users' DNA data to a pharmaceutical company during its Chapter 11 raises new concerns surrounding consumer privacy.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

New Orleans Archdiocese Strikes $179M Abuse Deal

By Rick Archer

The committee representing sexual abuse claimants in the Chapter 11 case of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans that began five years ago has announced it reached a roughly $179 million settlement of hundreds of abuse claims.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

US Trustee, Jackson Walker Might Mediate Fee Case

By Catherine Marfin

The U.S. Trustee's Office and Jackson Walker LLP told a Texas federal judge Thursday they are open to mediating the watchdog's bid to have the law firm forfeit fees from more than 30 cases overseen by a former bankruptcy judge who was romantically involved with a onetime firm partner.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trustee Alleges Developer Sold Gas Rights To Avoid Creditors

By Matthew Santoni

A bankrupt developer sold its oil and gas rights to an affiliated company for only $100 per parcel in order to keep them from becoming part of the bankruptcy estate, the estate's trustee has claimed in an adversary complaint.

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

Silvergate Estate To Chip In For $37.5M Investor Settlement

By Katryna Perera

Silvergate Capital and investors suing over its collapse have reached a $37.5 million deal with a "rare" source of partial funding to resolve claims that the failed crypto-focused bank misrepresented its safeguards against onboarding customers like FTX, the fraud-ridden crypto exchange that made up roughly a sixth of the bank's deposit base.

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

5th Circ. Revives 'Unclean Hands' Defense In Ch. 13

By Emily Lever

A Louisiana homeowner can head back to bankruptcy court to try to discharge a $75,000 judgment against him from a contractor who said it was stiffed, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled.

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

Servicer, BNY Seek Exit From Mortgage Statement Suit

By Emilie Ruscoe

Bank of New York Mellon and a mortgage servicing company have urged a Massachusetts federal court to permanently dismiss a proposed class action accusing them of trying to collect on post-bankruptcy liens, saying federal lending law does not obligate servicers to send mortgage statements to borrowers.

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

Series

Playing Poker Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Poker is a master class in psychology, risk management and strategic thinking, and I’m a better attorney because it has taught me to read my opponents, adapt when I’m dealt the unexpected and stay patient until I'm ready to reveal my hand, says Casey Kingsley at McCreadyLaw.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NC Judge Censured For Drunken Driving With His Child In Car

By Emily Sawicki

The North Carolina Supreme Court on Friday censured a state judge after he was found guilty of drunken driving with his minor daughter in the vehicle, calling the discipline the "minimum acceptable consequence" for the judge's wrongdoing.

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

Westlaw AI Win Right But Appellate Review Wise, Judge Says

By Lauren Berg

A Delaware federal judge Friday voiced confidence in his ruling that tech startup Ross Intelligence infringed copyrighted material from Thomson Reuters' Westlaw platform to create a competing legal research tool powered by artificial intelligence, but explained that granting interlocutory appeal on two questions will help resolve the case more efficiently.

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

Legendary Calif. Judge Alsup Likely To Go Inactive In 2025

By Bonnie Eslinger

U.S. District Judge William H. Alsup, a larger-than-life jurist who's overseen some of the most consequential litigation in California's Northern District, indicated in a court filing Friday that he'll likely take inactive status before year's end, although the 79-year-old judge warned Law360 that he hasn't made a final decision.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

4 Top Paul Weiss Attys Leave In Wake Of Firm's Deal With Trump

By Lauren Berg

Four top Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP partners who have represented Google, Amazon and other major companies in high-profile litigation left the firm Friday, in the wake of its decision to make a deal with the Trump administration to defuse an executive order targeting the BigLaw firm's business.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Southwest Flight Attendant Fights To Revive Nixed Sanctions

By Grace Elletson

A flight attendant urged the Fifth Circuit to reconsider its move to axe a contempt order against Southwest Airlines in her wrongful termination suit, arguing it shouldn't be scrapped just because the panel took issue with court-ordered religious liberty training for Southwest attorneys.

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

Taxation With Representation: Troutman, A&O Shearman

By Zak Kostro

In this week's Taxation With Representation, Blackstone acquires TXNM Energy, OpenAI buys io Products, Lumen Technologies sells its Mass Markets fiber-to-the-home business in 11 states to AT&T, and AMD sells its data center infrastructure manufacturing business to Sanmina.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Latham & Watkins LLP leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a deadlocked U.S. Supreme Court left in place an Oklahoma state court ruling barring the launch of the nation's first religious charter school.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Grassley Slams Durbin Over Holds On US Attorney Nominees

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, slammed his Democratic counterpart on Friday for holding up U.S. attorney nominations.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

A new study found that the total number of shareholder proxy proposals submitted this year dropped significantly after the SEC rescinded past guidance. Meanwhile, a handful of BigLaw firms wrote to members of Congress defending the controversial agreements they made with the Trump administration to avoid executive orders targeting their shops. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.​

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

AI-Generated Evidence Rule Making Way To Public Comment

By Sarah Martinson

A committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States is scheduled to decide whether to approve a proposed new rule on evidence generated with artificial intelligence for public comment at its June 10 meeting.

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

Feature

My So-Called Retirement: Some IP Lawyers Just Can't Quit

By Theresa Schliep

When patent partner Terry Rea set out to retire, the onetime acting director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had her eyes on the independence that retirement promises — flexible hours, fewer deadlines and less stress over having lots of people counting on you.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Split DC Circ. Affirms Ax Of Ex-Trump Aide's Surveillance Suit

By Dorothy Atkins

A split D.C. Circuit affirmed Friday the dismissal of claims by former Trump 2016 campaign adviser Carter Page that the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI and former top officials violated privacy statutes in surveilling him as part of a Russian election interference probe.

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

Law Prof Rebuked For Trying To End Sister's Conservatorship

By Thy Vo

Colorado appellate judges have said a Northwestern University law professor lacked standing to request termination of a conservatorship over his sister, citing the professor stealing at least $1.5 million from his sister's inheritance and calling him "the antithesis" of a person interested in her welfare.

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

Ga. Judge Acted As 'Jury And Executioner,' Ethics Panel Told

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia woman told a state judicial ethics tribunal Friday that she was "humiliated" by a Fulton County judge's decision to lock her in a cell during her parents' divorce hearing, recalling that she felt the judge had claimed for herself the additional titles of "jury and executioner," while the woman's father came to the judge's defense.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Strikes Down Trump Order Against Jenner & Block

By Jake Maher

Jenner & Block LLP on Friday defeated a Trump administration executive order suspending security clearances for its employees in retaliation for its pro bono work and for a former partner's work with former special counsel Robert Mueller.

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