Four Northern California federal judges gave attorneys a dose of straight talk during a Federal Bar Association panel discussion Tuesday, urging them to pay close attention to standing orders, to consider whether a motion is truly productive, and to steer clear of humor and hyperbole in their briefs.
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

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Feature

How To Get On A Judge's Good Side? Calif. Jurists Offer Tips

By Bonnie Eslinger

Four Northern California federal judges gave attorneys a dose of straight talk during a Federal Bar Association panel discussion Tuesday, urging them to pay close attention to standing orders, to consider whether a motion is truly productive, and to steer clear of humor and hyperbole in their briefs.

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Girardi Keese Trustee Sues NY Atty Who Funded Girardi

By Ryan Boysen

The bankruptcy trustee for disgraced California attorney Tom Girardi's defunct law firm is suing to prevent New York attorney Joseph DiNardo from discharging $7.5 million in his own bankruptcy, claiming DiNardo received the money by helping Girardi defraud his own clients.

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Blake Lively Sued By PR Rep Over 'It Ends With Us' Claims

By Rachel Scharf

Another front has opened in the messy legal drama over the movie "It Ends With Us," as an Austin-based public relations consultant filed a defamation suit in Texas federal court alleging Blake Lively falsely roped him into her headline-making sexual harassment and retaliation claims.

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Tesla, Musk, Warner Bros. Ask To Toss 'Blade Runner' AI Suit

By Lauren Berg

Tesla, its CEO Elon Musk and Warner Bros. Discovery asked a California federal judge Tuesday to throw out Alcon Entertainment's lawsuit alleging the electric vehicle company used an image created by artificial intelligence that infringes "Blade Runner 2049" to promote an autonomous taxicab, saying a "familiar post-apocalyptic scene" is not protectable.

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LA City Atty Says Rental Startup Price-Gouged During Fires

By Rae Ann Varona

The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office on Tuesday accused furnished rental startup Blueground of illegally profiting from the destructive wildfires that broke out in Los Angeles last month, saying in a complaint filed in state court that Blueground jacked up rental prices, including in evacuation zones.

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Calif. Panel Revives Malpractice Suit Against Insurer Attys

By Hope Patti

A California state appeals court revived an Allstate policyholder's legal malpractice suit against his insurer-appointed attorney, saying the policyholder sufficiently alleged the attorney's drafting of an underlying settlement in a wrongful death suit caused him damages.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2025 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2025 editorial advisory boards.

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ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL

Suit Challenges BLM Approvals Of More Calif. Drilling Permits

By Tom Lotshaw

Conservation and public health groups have told a California federal judge that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management continues to barrel ahead in approving more oil and gas drilling permits in the polluted San Joaquin Valley and to shirk its public notice and environmental review duties.

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PRIVACY & CONSUMER PROTECTION

Meta Can't Ask Mass. AG To Dig Up Docs From State Agencies

By Julie Manganis

The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office is not obligated to search for and turn over documents held by other state agencies that Meta Platforms is seeking in the state's lawsuit alleging Instagram is harming children and teens, a judge ordered.

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Tillis Takes Over Senate IP Subcommittee Again

By Andrew Karpan

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., will again lead the U.S. Senate subcommittee overseeing intellectual property, while Sen. Adam Schiff of California will be debuting as the subcommittee's top Democrat.

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The Wonderful Co. Hits Rival With TM Suit Over Wonderspread

By Gina Kim

The Wonderful Co. sued a competitor for trademark infringement in California federal court Wednesday, accusing it of mimicking its "Wonderful" marks and trying to sow consumer confusion by selling nut-based products in packaging that features similar names, "Wonderspread" and "Wondersquare." 

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Israeli Co. Accused Of Infringing Soap Dispenser Patent

By Andrea Keckley

Bobrick Washroom Equipment Inc. accused Israeli company Y. Stern Engineering (1989) Ltd. of infringing its patent for fluid dispenser technology through the sale of its Lotus Soap Dispenser series in a California federal court Tuesday.

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COMPETITION

RealPage Says Missing Market Power Dooms Antitrust Suit

By Hayley Fowler

RealPage Inc. is making another effort to dodge antitrust allegations after the government expanded its case to rope in half a dozen residential landlords, arguing the amended pleading still falls short of showing the property management software company has enough market power to influence rent prices.

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PRIVATE EQUITY

Missile-Defense Firm Karman Launches Plans For $400M IPO

By Tom Zanki

Missile-defense and space programs company Karman Holdings Inc. launched plans Wednesday for an estimated $400 million initial public offering that would raise fresh funding for the private equity-backed business and its shareholders, represented by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkins LLP.

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Entertainment-Focused SPAC Raises $200M To Purse Merger

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Special purpose acquisition company K&F Growth Acquisition II began trading publicly Wednesday after raising $250 million in its initial public offering, which will be used to help the SPAC merge with a target in the in-person and mobile experiential entertainment sector.

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IMMIGRATION

Analysis

Trump's Immigration Agenda Could Gut Key Workforces

By Britain Eakin

Immigration raids are threatening harsh consequences for industries that rely heavily on immigrant labor, with economic losses being compared to recession levels if workers are swept up in the raids or don’t show up to work for fear of getting deported.

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NATIVE AMERICAN

California Tribes Sue Feds Over 'Massive' Casino Project

By Rae Ann Varona

The Wintu Tribe of Northern California and the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians hauled several federal agencies into Washington, D.C., federal court for allegedly greenlighting a plan to turn over 220 acres of Indigenous territory into a "massive" casino development without evaluating the environmental impact or the land's cultural significance.

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PEOPLE

MoFo Adds BraunHagey Corporate Leader In San Francisco

By James Mills

Morrison Foerster LLP continues expanding its emerging companies and venture capital team, announcing Wednesday a BraunHagey & Borden LLP startup and venture capital specialist has come aboard as a partner in its San Francisco office.

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Paxos' Top Atty Takes CLO Spot At Crypto Co. Kraken

By Christine DeRosa

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has tapped the general counsel at crypto trust company Paxos to serve as its new chief legal officer.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

The Risk And Reward Of Federal Approach To AI Regulation

The government has struggled to keep up with artificial intelligence's furious pace, but while an overbroad federal attempt to adopt a more unified approach to regulating AI poses its own risks, so does the current environment of regulatory uncertainty, say attorneys at Covington.

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Engaging With Feds On Threats To Executives, Employees

In an increasingly polarized environment, where companies face serious concerns about how to protect executives and employees, counsel should consider working with federal law enforcement soon after the discovery of threats or harassment, says Jordan Estes at Gibson Dunn.

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When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

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A View Of The Shifting Insurance Regulatory Landscape

Attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland explore how the Federal Insurance Office's climate report, the new presidential administration and the California wildfires might affect the insurance regulatory landscape.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Goldstein, Saying He's Mired In Debt, Asks To Redo Bail Terms

By Phillip Bantz

Prominent U.S. Supreme Court attorney and SCOTUSblog publisher Tom Goldstein has a negative net worth of more than $3.3 million and is mired in debt to his attorneys, he said in a filing Wednesday seeking to modify the conditions of his release ahead of a trial on federal criminal tax evasion charges.

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HSF Posts $6.3M US Loss As Kramer Levin Merger Looms

By Marialuisa Taddia

The U.S. operations of Herbert Smith Freehills made a loss of more than $6 million in the last financial year, accounts have revealed, as the firm's partners are set to cast their vote on a transatlantic merger with Kramer Levin this month.

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Analysis

As Adams Case Teeters, A DOJ 'Ideal' Hangs In The Balance

By Phillip Bantz

The public courtship between New York City Mayor Eric Adams and President Donald Trump is worrying some white collar legal experts, who say that Trump influencing the U.S. Department of Justice to drop Adams' corruption case would depart from over 40 years of policies aimed at keeping politics out of prosecutorial decisions.

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Jenner & Block Atty Leaves To Advise House Judiciary Dems

By Lauren Berg

A Jenner & Block LLP partner with experience in matters involving government controversies, public policy litigation and congressional investigations announced Wednesday that he is leaving the firm to serve as a special counsel and senior adviser to the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee.

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PTAB Judges Ordered Back To The Office, Sparking Outcry

By Theresa Schliep

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's roughly 230 administrative law judges dedicated to patent disputes and appeals must start working from an office, according to a directive implementing President Donald Trump's return-to-office order that former board judges said Wednesday threatens to destabilize a largely remote workforce and risks mass resignations and retirements.

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Texas Bar Says Lawyers Can't Partner With Non-Attorneys

By Lynn LaRowe

A new ethics opinion from the State Bar of Texas says lawyers practicing in the Lone Star State cannot partner with law firms offering legal services in other jurisdictions if the partnership includes a non-lawyer, even if such arrangements are permitted in the jurisdiction where the law firm is based.

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GOP Sens.' Bill Ups Penalty For Protesting Justices' Homes

By Emily Sawicki

Five Republican senators introduced a bill on Wednesday that would increase maximum prison sentences for individuals who illegally protest outside the homes of U.S. Supreme Court justices, from the current one-year limit up to five years.

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Ex-Ambassador To Hungary Returns To Jenner's NY Team

By Jack Rodgers

After serving as the U.S. ambassador to Hungary, David Pressman is returning to Jenner & Block LLP as a partner, a firm where he helped co-found the national security and crisis practice as well as the human rights and global strategy practice, the firm announced Monday.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Akin Gump

Anderson Yeh

Boies Schiller

BraunHagey & Borden

Buchanan Ingersoll

Continental PLLC

Covington & Burling

Drummond Woodsum

Ellenoff Grossman

Ellis Law Group LLP

Eversheds Sutherland

Fish & Richardson

Gibson Dunn

Girardi & Keese

Gleichenhaus Marchese

Gross Klein

Gunderson Dettmer

Guttman Buschner

Herbert Smith Freehills

Jackson Walker LLP

Jenkins Mulligan

Jenner & Block

K&L Gates

Kramer Levin

Latham & Watkins

Lauro & Singer

Lerch Early

Lippes Mathias

Manatt Phelps

Miller & Chevalier

Morrison Foerster

Munger Tolles

Nelson Mullins

Perkins Coie

Quinn Emanuel

Robinson Bradshaw

Roll Law Group

Ropers Majeski

Schwartz & Ballen

White & Case

Willkie Farr

WilmerHale

Womble Bond

Zdarsky Sawicki

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Alcon Entertainment

Alcon Vision LLC

Amazon.com Inc.

American Bar Association

American Civil Liberties Union

American Immigration Council Inc.

American Intellectual Property Law Association

Block Inc.

Bragg

California Attorney Lending

Center for Biological Diversity Inc.

Chevron Corp.

Citigroup Inc.

Comedy Central

Costco Wholesale Corp.

Counsel Financial Services LLC

ESPN Inc.

Earthjustice

Evercore Inc.

Exxon Mobil Corp.

FIJI Water Co. LLC

Federal Bar Association

Food Network

George Washington University

Instagram Inc.

Intellectual Property Owners Association

Justia Inc.

Leadership Council on Legal Diversity

LinkedIn Corp.

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Meta Platforms Inc.

NASDAQ Inc.

NBCUniversal Media LLC

National Association of Insurance Commissioners

New York State Bar Association

New York University

Oxfam America Inc.

PG&E Corp.

Pom Wonderful LLC

RealPage Inc.

Service Employees International Union

Sierra Club

Southern California Edison Co.

State Bar of Texas

TBS International Limited

Teleflora

Tesla Inc.

The Wilderness Society

Trive Capital

USA Today International Corp.

Utz Brands Inc.

Walmart Inc.

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.

Wolters Kluwer

Zillow Group Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Bureau of Land Management

California Civil Rights Department

California Natural Resources Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Companies House

Economic Research Service

European Union

Executive Office of the President

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Insurance Office

Federal Reserve System

Federal Trade Commission

Food and Drug Administration

Health Resources and Services Administration

Internal Revenue Service

NATO

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Marine Fisheries Service

National Security Council

New Hampshire Insurance Department

Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney

Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Redding Rancheria

Tennessee Legislature

U.S. Air Force

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York

U.S. Department of Agriculture

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Secret Service

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United Nations

United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma