Don't 'Throw' Young Attys Under Bus, Judge Warns Musk Atty

By Dorothy Atkins

The California federal judge presiding over Elon Musk's challenge to OpenAI's for-profit conversion criticized Musk's attorney Marc Toberoff on Friday for eliciting "waste of time" trial testimony into Musk's $97.4 billion acquisition bid, warning Toberoff he "shouldn't throw young lawyers under the bus" by not quickly acknowledging his role.

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Del. Judge Leans Toward Candor In AI Tech Fight

By Jarek Rutz

A Delaware vice chancellor said Friday she's inclined to find that a legal technology company's term sheet with an Italian artificial intelligence business is binding and that specific performance may be the only workable remedy in a fight over emotion-recognition technology for legal proceedings.

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Calif. Firm Says AI Service Co. Tried To 'Stiff Arm' Biz Renewal

By Lauren Berg

After a California personal injury law firm experienced persistent issues with a phone system supported by artificial intelligence, it told the service provider it wouldn't renew its contract, but the provider tried to "stiff arm" the firm into renewing by harassing employees and threatening litigation, according to a federal lawsuit.

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Analysis

Untangling The Legacy Of LIV's Bid To Upend Pro Golf

By Alex Lawson

The Saudi government's decision to cease funding for LIV Golf is a sea change both for the PGA Tour and the upstart league that once plunged the sport into a legal free-for-all that put the game's power brokers on notice.

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Q&A

How Paul Clement Does It All

By Katie Buehler

For most lawyers, getting to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court is a once-in-a-lifetime event, but for a select few, it's a common occurrence. Clement & Murphy PLLC name partner Paul Clement is one of those lawyers. 

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Atty Escapes Firm's Suit Over Co-Counsel Deal 'Gone Bad'

By Jake Maher

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit over a fee dispute between a New Jersey law firm and its former co-counsel, finding that the plaintiff firm needed to name the co-counsel firm, not just the principal individual attorney behind it, as a defendant.

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Bang Energy Founder Can't Continue Suit Against Atty

By David Minsky

The founder of Bang Energy drinks can't proceed with a lawsuit alleging an attorney manipulated the legal system to strip his control of a real estate company, a Florida federal judge ruled, saying he can't challenge state court rulings with his lawsuit and dismissed the action as a "shotgun pleading."

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EV Battery Plant Fight Belongs In Arbitration, Ga. Panel Says

By Kelcey Caulder

The Georgia Court of Appeals on Friday said a trial court should have ruled that arbitration was the right venue for a case over millions in allegedly unpaid bills for construction work a subcontractor performed on a Georgia electric vehicle battery facility.

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Hartford Unit Owed Contractor Coverage In Data Center Row

By Mark Payne

A Hartford insurance specialty unit had a duty to defend a building contractor against an underlying suit over a data center's construction even after defamation claims were dropped, a California federal judge ruled, finding that existing claims could have exposed the contractor to additional defamation allegations.

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Supplier Says Travelers Must Cover Nestle Defect Claims

By Hope Patti

An industrial equipment supplier accused of providing defective compressed air piping materials for the construction of a facility owned by Nestle told a North Carolina federal court that two Travelers units must defend and indemnify it in connection with the underlying claim.

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Biotech Firm Wants Do-Over After Consultant's $58M Verdict

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia-based medical technology firm that was hit with a $58 million verdict last month over claims that it conspired to have a former consultant arrested has asked a Fulton County judge for a new trial, arguing the court allowed a jury charge that was "erroneous, irrelevant, [and] not tailored to the evidence."

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Winery's Ex-Lawyer Has No Rights To Wine Brand, Judge Says

By Elliot Weld

A California federal judge has entered judgment in a battle between a Napa Valley winery and an attorney who had worked with it, ruling that the attorney had no rights to the trademark on the high-end RBS wine brand.

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Hardware Co. Claims Menards Infringed Cabinet Designs

By Elliot Weld

A Michigan-based cabinet hardware company has sued home improvement chain Menards in Michigan federal court, claiming that after a contractual relationship broke down, Menards suddenly claimed it owned patented cabinet designs and continued selling them.

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Zazzle Settles Suit Over Font Design Use

By Elliot Weld

Online retailer Zazzle has settled claims brought by a designer who alleged the site went beyond what was allowed by a license between the parties to use a copyrighted font she designed.

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Ex-Fla. Rep. Guilty Of FARA Violations For Venezuela Work

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal jury on Friday found former Florida congressman David Rivera guilty of failing to register as a foreign agent after signing a $50 million contract with a unit of Venezuela's state-owned oil company.

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Crypto Co. Seeks Sanctions For Depo Conduct In $8.1M Suit

By Hayley Fowler

A cryptocurrency business that accuses a former trader of usurping $8.1 million in digital assets wants him sanctioned for his conduct during a deposition, saying he was coached by his attorney and intentionally gave ambiguous answers.

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Brief

Agricultural Supplier, Wash. Farm Resolve $5.4M Dispute

By MJ Koo

An agricultural products supplier and a Washington farm have agreed to resolve a contract dispute over a $5.4 million unpaid debt, months after the supplier sued alleging the farm had stopped making payments on a years-old credit line, according to a federal court filing.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a California federal jury cleared Armistice Capital and two of its executives of class action claims that it pumped and dumped $250 million in Vaxart stock during the COVID-19 pandemic and violated federal securities law with insider trading.

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Whistleblower Says DOJ Rushed SPLC Indictment

By Courtney Bublé

A whistleblower has come forward to say a top U.S. Department of Justice official ordered prosecutors in Alabama to "rush" the indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center despite concerns about the viability of the case, according to Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee.

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California High Court Rejects Dunn's Bid To Nix Suspension

By Adrian Cruz

The California Supreme Court has declined to review a California State Bar decision to impose a one-year stayed suspension on former State Bar executive Joseph Dunn.

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FTC, DOJ Say ABA Reliance Limits Law School Competition

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division told the Tennessee Supreme Court the American Bar Association's monopoly over law school accreditations is driving up the cost of legal education.

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Analysis

SEC's Corp. Governance Shift Puts Onus On States, Cos.

By Sarah Jarvis

Lawyers who work with clients on corporate governance matters had a warm response to a recent pledge from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins to let states handle such issues, saying the shift marks a return to the agency's historical approach and may spur increased activity among state regulators.

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Ex-Bondi Adviser Tapped As Fraud Task Force's Chief Lawyer

By Phillip Bantz

Ousted U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's former adviser is taking on a new role as general counsel for the White House's fraud task force.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

A pair of proxy advisory firms have sued two state attorneys general over laws they say impose burdensome requirements for issuing recommendations that go against corporate managers' wishes. Meanwhile, KPMG reports that legal is evolving into a key driver of business performance, and AI is a core component of the department. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of April

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires during the past month included high-profile appointments at Intel, Colgate and Tripadvisor. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from April.

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Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen a Swiss energy trader bring a Financial List claim against shipping benchmarking company Baltic Exchange, law firm Slater and Gordon sued by a former client, Slack and Salesforce hit Microsoft with an antitrust claim, and Stephen Fry bring a personal injury claim after he broke bones falling off a stage. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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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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