Warner Music, Suno Settle AI Suit, Unveil Partnership

By Rae Ann Varona

Warner Music Group and artificial intelligence music startup Suno entered a new music creation partnership that also resolves WMG's copyright lawsuit against the AI-powered platform, the companies announced Tuesday, nearly a week after WMG also announced a settlement and collaboration with another AI music generator.

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3rd Circ. Restores NCAA Junior-College Eligibility Rule

By Matthew Santoni

An NCAA rule that includes junior colleges when determining a college athlete's eligibility is a "commercial" restriction, but a Rutgers University football player must go back to court and define the market for his labor if he wants to argue the rule violates antitrust law, the Third Circuit said Tuesday.

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UnitedHealth Gets OptumRx Antitrust Suit Sent To Arbitration

By Rachel Riley

A group of independent pharmacies must arbitrate their proposed class claims that UnitedHealth-owned OptumRx gatekeeps its network of Medicare prescription patients by imposing unfair fees, a Washington federal judge said Tuesday, concluding the pharmacies haven't shown the arbitration clauses in question are unenforceable.

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Bitcoin Depot Unit Hit With $18.5M Arbitration Award

By Joyce Hanson

The parent of a Canadian company that develops software allowing global network users to deposit cash for Bitcoin or exchange Bitcoin for cash said its subsidiary was hit with an $18.47 million arbitral award in a dispute with a bankrupt operator of cryptocurrency ATMs.

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Insurance Broker Says Competitor Stole Employees, Clients

By Hope Patti

The parent company of insurance brokerage Trucordia told the Delaware Chancery Court on Monday that it has lost more than $2.5 million in annual commission revenue because a Florida-based competitor is trying to poach Trucordia's employees and clients in coordination with a former insurance producer and current equity holder.

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BMW Refuses To Cover Faulty Component, Suit Claims

By Lauraann Wood

BMW has known for several years about a transmission component defect causing more than a dozen of the luxury carmaker's vehicle models to jerk and shudder while driving but has improperly refused to cover necessary repair costs, consumers have alleged in New Jersey federal court.

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Delta Retirees Seek Court Clearance For Benefits Class Action

By Kelcey Caulder

A retired flight attendant accusing Delta Air Lines Inc. of shorting married pensioners on retirement benefits by miscalculating lump-sum payouts asked a Nevada federal court to grant her case class action status, arguing the roughly 3,000-strong group she proposed had enough in common to warrant certification.

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Cannabis Co. Says $1.5M Default In Contract Dispute Is Void

By Mike Curley

A cannabis company is urging a Los Angeles state court to set aside a $1.5 million default judgment against it in a contract dispute, saying the judgment goes far beyond what's allowable under state law.

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How 2nd Circ. Decision Extends CFTC's Extraterritorial Reach

The Second Circuit recently concluded in U.S. v. Phillips that the Commodity Exchange Act extends to entirely foreign conduct if a victim of the conduct is based in the U.S., suggesting there is a heightened risk that foreign swap transactions will be susceptible to U.S. regulation when U.S. counterparties are involved, say attorneys at Skadden.

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Considerations When Invoking The Common-Interest Privilege

To successfully leverage the common-interest doctrine in a multiparty transaction or complex litigation, practitioners should be able to demonstrate that the parties intended for it to apply, that an underlying privilege like attorney-client has attached, and guard against disclosures that could waive privilege and defeat its purpose, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

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Bonus Spotlight

Magic Circle Firms Enchant Associates With Top-Tier Bonuses

By Tracey Read

U.S. associates at Linklaters LLP and Clifford Chance LLP have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, as the Magic Circle firms Wednesday became the latest to match the BigLaw standard for this year's associate bonuses.

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Analysis

After Big Win For 2 Trump Foes, A Third Faces 'Tougher Job'

By Phillip Bantz

The recent dismissal of federal criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey does little to help President Donald Trump's ex-national security adviser John Bolton, whose defense in a classified-materials case presents a thornier set of legal and factual issues, experts say.

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Roundup

Up Next At High Court: ISP Liability & State Subpoena Suits

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will return Monday for the first week of its December oral argument session, during which the justices will consider whether internet service providers can be held liable for contributing to their customers' infringing activity online and whether the subjects of state subpoenas are required to first challenge them in state court. 

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Interview

For Covington's Adrian Perry, Music Is A Family Affair

By Theresa Schliep

Despite having a famous rock star dad, Covington & Burling LLP partner Adrian J. Perry wasn't all that interested in being a musician as a young child, but he knew as early as 6 years old that he wanted to be a lawyer.

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Analysis

Calif. Privacy Agency Gaining Steam Ahead Of 5th Anniversary

By Allison Grande

California's data privacy regulator has taken several notable steps in recent months, including handing down its first penalty upward of $1 million dollars and finalizing long-awaited rules on topics such as cybersecurity audits and technologies that use artificial intelligence, and the groundbreaking agency shows no signs of slowing down as its fifth anniversary approaches. 

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Split 6th Circ. Shields Baker Donelson, Not City Councilman

By Matt Perez

In a published opinion, the Sixth Circuit has found that Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC is shielded by qualified immunity as outside counsel for the city of Nashville in litigation over the law firm's firing of a city election commission chair and member of the firm.

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Foley & Lardner Hit With Malpractice Suit Over Chancery Loss

By Rose Krebs

Foley & Lardner LLP has been sued in Delaware Superior Court by three officers of a now-defunct food recycling company who say the firm was negligent when representing them in a Chancery Court case that led to a $1.6 million judgment against them and another officer.

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DOJ Asks Court If It Can Release Epstein Files Under New Law

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking a New York federal court's permission to publicly release the files related to the investigation of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, clarifying Wednesday that it wants to release search warrant results, travel and financial records, police reports, and other materials.

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Keesal Young Poaching Suit Against Stradley Ronon Trimmed

By Madison Arnold

A California state judge cleared Keesal Young & Logan to pursue most of its lawsuit alleging Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young crossed the line when it recruited 10 former Keesal Young attorneys, finding that claims such as inducing breach of contract could move forward, in part, because of conversations among the attorneys.

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DOJ Says Ex-Employees Can't Challenge Firings In Fed. Court

By Rose Krebs

The government says a D.C. federal court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate a lawsuit filed by a former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and two other ex-Department of Justice employees, alleging they were unlawfully fired.

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Hub Hires: Todd & Weld, Freshfields, Shipman

By Julie Manganis

It was a busy November in Boston's legal community as another firm expanded into the market, and a longtime judge traded his gavel for the ability to address his growing concerns about the Trump administration.

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