Unread Arbitration Emails Are Unenforceable, 9th Circ. Rules

By Jeff Overley

Arbitration agreements sent to workers aren't arbitration agreements assented to by workers, the Ninth Circuit held Wednesday, rejecting assertions from medical supplies giant Thermo Fisher Scientific that its arbitration-related emails — even if never read — sufficed to keep an ex-employee's proposed class action out of court.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Audio

Law360 Explores: The Subminimum Wage Debate

The federal minimum wage is often treated as a cornerstone of American employment law. But for hundreds of thousands of workers nationwide, exceptions remain embedded in the legal system. "Law360 Explores: Subminimum Wage," a three-part audio series, examines how and why certain workers can legally be paid less than the federal minimum, $7.25 an hour.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Rising Star: Littler's Rocio Blanco Garcia

By Emily Brill

Littler Mendelson PC shareholder Rocio Blanco Garcia's litigation work helped to clarify how employers can beat whistleblower cases in the Eleventh Circuit, and her advisory work gave thousands of employees of a Florida county access to paid parental leave, earning her a spot among the employment lawyers under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Drexel Can't Shake Prof's Retaliation Suit, Pa. Judge Rules

By MJ Koo

A tenured philosophy professor's retaliation claims against Drexel University will proceed to trial after a Pennsylvania federal court denied the university's bid for an early win, finding that genuine factual disputes remain over whether the university's course format change was retaliatory.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

UPS Driver Says Late Sick Pay Can't Sink Colo. Suit

By Benjamin Morse

A UPS driver urged a Colorado federal judge to reject the company's early win bid in a proposed class action, arguing late payments cannot erase paid-sick-leave violations.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NY Legal Aid Union Averts Strike After 4 Months Of Talks

By Andrea Keckley

Another New York legal aid union has reached a deal with its organization's management, averting the possibility of a strike after its contract and those of four other unions expired at the end of June.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NJ Justices Nix Extra COVID Pay For School Custodians

By MJ Koo

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a state law passed during the COVID-19 pandemic properly barred school custodians from claiming extra emergency pay under their collective bargaining agreement, finding that the law required employees to be treated as if schools had stayed open.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fla. Court OKs Cruise Co. To Arbitrate Worker's Injury Claims

By David Minsky

A Florida federal magistrate judge said a cruise ship company can arbitrate a worker's claims that he was injured aboard an unseaworthy vessel, saying his employment contract contains a valid collective bargaining agreement, or CBA, to resolve the case without a jury trial. 

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Chubb Seeks Repayment For Skaggs Overdose Suit Defense

By Hope Patti

A Chubb unit said it is entitled to recover costs paid to defend the Los Angeles Angels against wrongful death actions brought by the family of pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who overdosed while traveling for an away game, telling a California federal court that another carrier improperly denied its coverage obligations.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

EEOC Bias Guidance Rollback Doesn't Negate Employer Risks

Despite the U.S. Department of Justice recently challenging Title VII's disparate impact provisions and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rescinding affirmative action guidance, employers should resist the temptation to restructure employment practices, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brown Rudnick Adds 34 Attys, Will Open Silicon Valley Office

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Brown Rudnick LLP announced on Wednesday that it had lured a 34-attorney intellectual property litigation group from Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP and would be opening a Silicon Valley office with many of those lawyers.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law Grad Employment Remains High As BigLaw Drives Hires

By Aebra Coe

Class of 2025 law school graduates posted near-record high employment rates, with large law firms hiring more graduates than any other industry category as federal government hiring experienced a significant decline, according to new data released Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

These Firms Are Picking Up The Most PTAB Work

By Theresa Schliep

Intellectual property heavyweight Fish & Richardson PC remains the busiest firm in front of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, as it again secured the top spot on a list of firms with the most PTAB trials over the past three years.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Murdaugh Loses Jury Tampering Suit Against Ex-Court Clerk

By Jake Maher

A South Carolina federal judge on Wednesday dismissed disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh's jury tampering suit against a former court clerk who was found to have interfered in his murder trial, ruling there was no connection between his alleged damages and the ex-clerk's misconduct.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

New Mexico Joins States With Alternative Atty License Paths

By Jack Karp

Law school graduates will soon be able to earn their license to practice in New Mexico by working under an attorney's supervision and demonstrating their legal skills rather than by taking the bar exam, the state's Supreme Court chief justice told Law360 Pulse on Wednesday.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

New Mexico Says Blanche, DOJ Blocked Epstein Ranch Probe

By Lauren Berg

The state of New Mexico asked a Washington, D.C., federal court Wednesday to force the U.S. Department of Justice to hand over unredacted Jeffrey Epstein investigative files, saying it needs the materials for its own investigation of alleged crimes at the late sex offender's Santa Fe County ranch.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Texas Firm Lands $150M HHS Services Deal For Migrant Kids

By Britain Eakin

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it has entered into a $150 million contract with a small Texas law firm to provide legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children, raising concerns from former subcontractors about the firm's experience with immigration matters.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Simpson Thacher Witness Takes Aim At PIPE Stocks Claim

By Madison Arnold

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP wrapped up its defense Wednesday to a Florida state malpractice suit from the founder of Patriot National Inc. over the firm's handling of a private investment in public equity transaction, with a stock market expert testifying that short selling stock allowed under the deal didn't lead to the insurance services company's downfall.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Conn. Atty To Fork Over $3,500 For AI Errors In Taco TM Beef

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut federal judge imposed a $3,500 fine on a defense attorney who submitted two motions riddled with AI-generated mistakes in a taco restaurant's trademark battle, finding that although the lawyer expressed remorse and promised to make changes to his verification process, he still showed "subjective bad faith."

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sierra Leone Isn't Responding To Its Own Attys, Judge Told

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A second law firm now says it is being iced out by the government of Sierra Leone in a yearslong legal battle that began over the country's dispute with a U.K.-based mining company.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

CREXi Wants 9th Circ. To Undo Quinn Emanuel CoStar Row DQ

By Bryan Koenig

Commercial Real Estate Exchange Inc. doesn't want to replace Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP after a California federal judge disqualified the firm from defending a copyright infringement suit by CoStar, seeking Ninth Circuit intervention and a pause on the district court case.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »