Hospital Escapes Ex-Workers' 401(k) Forfeiture, Fund Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

A New York federal judge on Friday tossed a proposed class action against a healthcare company alleging mismanagement of an employee 401(k) plan, concluding that ex-workers who sued lacked standing to bring some claims while the remaining allegations weren't sufficiently backed up to state a claim for violating federal benefits law.

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Weak Data Dooms Brookfield 401(k) Fund Suit, Judge Says

By Grace Elletson

An Ohio federal judge tossed a former Brookfield Asset Management employee's suit claiming the company held on to lackluster investment funds in its retirement plan that cost workers millions in savings, ruling the underperformance he identified wasn't significant enough to carry the case.

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Lockheed's 'DIY' 401(k) Funds Lagged Rivals, Court Told

By Jared Foretek

An attorney for Lockheed Martin employees blasted the aerospace giant's in-house retirement investment funds in Maryland federal court Friday, arguing that it failed in its fiduciary duty to change course when its investment arm kept fees high and consistently underperformed a market full of comparable options.

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General Motors Can't Get Early Win In EEOC Age Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

An Indiana federal judge refused to let General Motors escape a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming the business unlawfully withheld disability pay from workers who received Social Security benefits, calling GM's argument that its policy hinged on benefit eligibility rather than age premature.

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Brief

United Bank's $2M Deal In ESOP Suit Clears Final Hurdle

By Kellie Mejdrich

A Georgia federal court granted final approval Friday to United Bank Corp.'s $2 million class action settlement ending allegations that it unlawfully ousted ex-workers from an employee stock ownership plan and cut them out of proceeds from a $23.3 million dividend.

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Brief

Pa. Health Network's $1.15M 401(k) Suit Deal Gets Final OK

By George Woolston

A Pennsylvania federal judge gave the green light to a $1.15 million deal resolving a proposed class action alleging a healthcare system misused workers' forfeited employee retirement plan funds and failed to rein in administrative fees.

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Guardsman Says Partners Pushed Him Out Of Biz Venture

By Kelcey Caulder

An Oklahoma National Guard member told a Georgia federal court his business partners violated federal law by trying to boot him from their company after he was called up for duty and by starting a new venture when they couldn't get rid of him. 

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Starbucks Inks $325K Deal To End Florida COBRA Notice Suit

By David Minsky

Starbucks has agreed to pay $325,000 to settle a proposed class action in Florida federal court brought by employee health plan participants and their beneficiaries alleging lapses in the coffee chain retailer's post-employment medical insurance notices. 

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NRA Strikes Deal With Its Ex-President In Florida Suit

By David Minsky

The National Rifle Association and its former president reached a settlement in her Florida federal lawsuit alleging the organization misappropriated her name, image and likeness. 

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Series

Watching Hallmark Movies Makes Me A Better Lawyer

I realize you may be judging me for watching, and actually enjoying, Hallmark Channel movies, but the escapism and storylines actually demonstrate qualities and actions that lead to an efficient, productive and positive legal practice, says Karen Ross at Tucker Ellis.

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Firms Targeted By Trump Urge DC Circ. To Uphold EO Rulings

By Alison Knezevich

Four law firms targeted last year by President Donald Trump urged the D.C. Circuit on Friday to affirm lower court rulings that struck down executive orders restricting their ability to practice law, saying the directives blatantly violate the Constitution.

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Ex-Williams & Connolly Clerk Accused Of Posting Client Info

By Hailey Konnath

A former Williams & Connolly LLP clerk has been posting confidential firm information — including client information and work email exchanges — and he's threatening to "keep leaking" the materials, which he called "a fun read," according to a suit filed in District of Columbia Superior Court.

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BigLaw Races To Capture Expanding Fund Finance Market

By Kevin Penton

Debt financing work at the fund level has long been dominated on the lender side by attorneys from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP, Haynes Boone and Mayer Brown LLP, but other firms are increasingly crafting formal practices and poaching fund finance stars from the more established players.

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NJ Federal Judge DQs Beasley Allen In J&J Talc MDL

By Emily Sawicki

A New Jersey federal judge has disqualified the Beasley Allen Law Firm from representing hundreds of plaintiffs in sprawling multidistrict litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder, holding that the firm violated ethics rules by collaborating with former outside counsel for J&J, a ruling the law firm has vowed to appeal.

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Apollo, BlackRock Deny Asking Kirkland To Abandon Optimum

By Tracey Read

Apollo, Ares, BlackRock and other major financial companies have denied Optimum Communications' claims accusing them of "bullying" Kirkland & Ellis LLP into withdrawing as the telecommunications company's transaction counsel to get revenge for a collusion lawsuit filed in New York federal court.

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Atty Sanctioned For AI Hallucinations In Workers' Comp Row

By Gianna Ferrarin

A New Jersey appellate court on Friday ordered an attorney to pay $1,000 in sanctions for failing to rectify AI-hallucinated case citations pointed out to him in an appeal concerning reimbursement sought by a workers' compensation carrier.

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Brief

Amazon Swaps MoFo In, Perkins Coie Out In Cooker Suit

By Ben Adlin

Amazon.com LLP switched counsel Friday in a customer's product defect suit accusing the retail giant of selling a faulty pressure cooker that allegedly malfunctioned and caused her severe burns, substituting two Morrison Foerster LLP attorneys in place of an outgoing Perkins Coie LLP lawyer.

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Judiciary Nixes Amicus Disclosure Reform Over Potential Chill

By Emily Sawicki

The federal judiciary has been asked not to move forward with a plan to add to amicus brief disclosure requirements designed to curb "dark money" groups from bankrolling amicus briefs, after rules committee chairs pulled the recommendation over concerns of a possible chilling effect.

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen Apple hit back at a tech company's wireless charging patent claim, a flurry of businesses bring COVID-19 pandemic insurance claims as a key deadline draws closer and Ipulse Partners LLP file a claim against a luxury yacht company it represented in a trademark dispute. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

A federal judge has stopped the Pentagon from dropping AI giant Anthropic from the government's supply chain, and Latham & Watkins ranked first in a survey of in-house legal leaders on which law firms are most helpful in developing business, followed by King & Spalding, Jones Day and Ropes & Gray.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

The Lanier Law Firm, Kiesel Law LLP, Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP, Wagstaff & Cartmell LLP and Beasley Allen Law Firm lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a California state jury in a bellwether trial found Meta and Google liable for harming the mental health of a woman who says she became addicted to their social media platforms as a child.

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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.

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Mich. Judge Signals No Stay If Attys Exit Retaliation Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan federal judge said Friday she is not inclined to pause a long-running sexual harassment suit again if counsel for an attorney who is suing her ex-mentor and former firm are allowed to withdraw, telling the parties, "We've been here. We've done this," as she heard arguments over a motion to exit the case.

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Mayer Brown's $21M Fee Bid In RI Truck Tolls Suit Rebuffed

By Linda Chiem

A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday rebuffed Mayer Brown LLP's bid for $21 million in attorney fees for representing the commercial trucking industry's lead trade group in long-running litigation over the state's truck tolling program, saying the American Trucking Associations ultimately was not the "prevailing party."

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