Analysis

Dem Takeover Points To Reset On College Sports Legislation

By Alex Lawson

The looming Democratic takeover of both congressional chambers signals doom for quick action on college sports oversight, with a crowded calendar and the new majority's wishes to reshape the legislation emerging as roadblocks to a Senate-approved bill.

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2nd Circ. Doubts Aetna's Push To Arbitrate Health Fund Fight

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Second Circuit Friday appeared skeptical of Aetna's push to force arbitration of an insurance contract dispute with a multiemployer union health benefit fund, with judges pointing to circuit precedent that arguably undermined Aetna's position.

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'Halfhearted' Conferral Not Enough In Mosquito-Patch Feud

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal judge denied a bid by a German mosquito-bite patch maker to compel arbitration of a dispute over a license and distribution agreement for the products, ruling that the company's "halfhearted" conferral attempt with opposing counsel violated local rules.

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FDIC Sued By Rural NY Hospital Over Failed Bank Loan

By Sydney Price

New York-based Community Memorial Hospital Inc. has hit the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation with a suit accusing it of wrongly refusing to insure or offset approximately $1.9 million in loan funds held at a failed Georgia bank, which the hospital claims threatens care for about 47,000 New Yorkers in rural communities.

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Toshiba Must Post $549M Bond In Mich. Utilities Case

By Melanie Dorsey

Toshiba America Energy Systems Corp. must post a $549.5 million bond to prevent two Michigan utilities from collecting on a nearly $394.4 million judgment while it appeals, a Michigan federal judge ruled Friday, rejecting the company's argument that a state law capping appeal bonds should limit its financial obligation to about $37 million.

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Medtronic Hit With Antitrust Suit Over Surgical Stapler

By Gianna Ferrarin

Medical device giant Medtronic Inc. is unlawfully monopolizing the market for a type of medical stapler by blocking competitive product trials and using exclusionary bundling tactics in its deals with hospital customers, according to a rival's complaint in Massachusetts federal court.

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Netlist Brings ITC, Calif. Patent Complaints Against Kingston

By Adam Lidgett

Netlist has accused Lenovo, Kingston Technology Corp. and others of infringing various flash memory patents at the U.S. International Trade Commission, the same day it lodged a complaint against Kingston in California federal court.

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Law Firm Sues Sierra Leone Over $361K Legal Bill

By Jared Foretek

Law firm Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC claims in a complaint filed in D.C. federal court that Sierra Leone's government stiffed it on more than $300,000 in legal fees and costs after the firm defended it against earlier claims of unpaid fees by Jenner & Block.

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Threat Claims In $1M Usury Suit Need More Facts, Judge Says

By Jonathan Capriel

A lender can't fully escape claims that he charged illegal interest on a $1 million loan, a California state judge has ruled after trimming the borrowers' emotional-distress claim, which leaned on speculation that the lender had illicit ties to the cannabis industry.

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LA Judge Won't Toss $1.7M Freight Suit Against Vape Biz

By Jonathan Capriel

A vape manufacturer cannot escape a $1.7 million lawsuit over unpaid freight, a Los Angeles judge ruled, finding the complaint adequately pled to alter ego and fraud claims.

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Orrick Hires Fenwick Partner To Expand TM Practice In NY

By Ivan Moreno

Trademark attorney Mark Jansen has joined ​Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP as a partner in New York after 15 years at Fenwick & West LLP, Orrick has announced.

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Peckar & Abramson Taps Martin Hild Attys For Denver Launch

By Rachel Konieczny

National construction law firm Peckar & Abramson PC has announced its expansion to Denver and the addition of two attorneys to the firm's practice in Colorado.

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2 Del. Rulings Show Postclosing Earnout Arrangement Risks

Two recent Delaware Court of Chancery decisions illustrate the contractual and fiduciary duty risks associated with earnout provisions in M&A transactions, offering lessons on allocating postclosing control, drafting enforceable earnout covenants and managing executives whose pay depends on the outcome, says Chris Brown at Taft.

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Opinion

Judges Must Turn To Merits Earlier To Fix Civil Justice System

The U.S. justice system is long overdue for a cultural shift that encourages judges to engage with the merits of a case from the outset, which would help to cut through procedural complexities and deliver high-quality justice efficiently and at lower cost, says Steven Kayman at Rottenberg Lipman.

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Are You Happy With Your In-House Role? Take Our Survey

Is your company giving you everything you need to succeed? What are some misconceptions about working in-house? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Satisfaction Survey.

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Squire Patton, Baker McKenzie Hit With Data Breach Suits

By Rae Ann Varona

Squire Patton Boggs LLP and Baker McKenzie failed to protect private personal information stored in the law firms' systems from separate cyberattacks and delayed notifying affected individuals for roughly two months, two proposed class actions filed in Ohio and Illinois federal courts have alleged.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Susman Godfrey LLP, Langer Grogan & Diver PC, Hausfeld LLP and MoloLamken LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Ninth Circuit ruled that a former federal judge erred by scrapping a $4.7 billion jury verdict against the National Football League in a class action over the price of its Sunday Ticket broadcast package.

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Judge Kewalramani Warns Against Taking Sanctions Lightly

By Dani Kass

Retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Shashi Kewalramani on Friday cautioned patent attorneys to be extremely discerning when filing sanctions motions, comparing it to crying "fire" in a crowded room.

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Brief

US Legal Sector Jobs Reached Record High In October

By Tracey Read

The legal industry's hot streak continued last month, adding 2,400 more jobs in October to reach a record high, according to seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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US Charges 3 Over $129M AI Scam Using Fake UK Lawyers

By Laura Stewart Liberty

U.S. prosecutors said Thursday they have charged three men, including one facing extradition from London, for allegedly defrauding companies of $129 million through a scheme that used AI to impersonate executives and U.K. lawyers.

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Defeated Texas Justice Being Considered For Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

With the clock ticking on Republicans' control of the Senate, President Donald Trump is considering putting a Texas Supreme Court justice who just lost reelection on the federal bench.

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Attys Can Curb AI Error Fallout With Candor, Accountability

By Andrea Keckley

Nearly four years since ChatGPT launched and the legal industry began experimenting at scale with generative artificial intelligence, not a month goes by without another attorney finding a hallucination error in a court filing.

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Top Blanche Adviser Among Latest To Exit DOJ

By Jared Foretek

A top legal adviser to U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced his departure from the U.S. Department of Justice Friday, becoming the latest in a slew of high-profile resignations from the department since Republicans' midterm election defeat Tuesday night.

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Ice Miller Sued Over $729K Award After Losing Federal Forum

By Andrea Keckley

A couple who hired Ice Miller LLP to defend their organization against a breach of contract suit have accused the firm in Indiana federal court of exposing them to additional litigation with a settlement that failed to preserve federal jurisdiction over future disputes.

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Mich. Supreme Court Chief Next To Lead Chief Justice Group

By Melanie Dorsey

The Michigan Supreme Court's chief justice has been named president-elect of the Conference of Chief Justices, a national organization representing the highest-ranking state judicial officers, and she plans to focus on expanding access to legal services, reforming attorney licensing and strengthening courthouse security.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

The U.S. Department of Justice's new cash rewards program for tips on criminal fraud could backfire in some cases, experts say. Elsewhere, attorneys are weighing new strategies in the wake of Texas' historic blue shift during the midterm elections. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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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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