An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday said Mead Johnson & Co. must face the first bellwether trial next week in multidistrict litigation over baby formula that allegedly was defective and harmed premature babies, rejecting the company's argument that the recent U.S. Supreme Court Monsanto decision blocks the plaintiff's claims.
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TOP NEWS

Mead Preemption Bid Fails Before 1st Baby Formula MDL Trial

By Emily Field

An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday said Mead Johnson & Co. must face the first bellwether trial next week in multidistrict litigation over baby formula that allegedly was defective and harmed premature babies, rejecting the company's argument that the recent U.S. Supreme Court Monsanto decision blocks the plaintiff's claims.

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Safeway Must Face Suit Over Advertised Wine Discounts

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A California federal judge has refused to toss out a proposed class action accusing Safeway of falsely advertising wine discounts after finding that customers could reasonably understand the price cuts were temporary, even though the grocer allegedly never reverted to the advertised non-sale price.

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Brief

Agri Stats Deals Close Out Pork Trial

By Bryan Koenig

A Minnesota federal judge on Thursday canceled the looming pork price-fixing trial after the last remaining defendant, Agri Stats, inked settlements in principle with the last remaining plaintiffs.

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LITIGATION

Missouri Fires Back At Challenge To New Hemp Regulations

By Mike Curley

Missouri officials asked a federal judge to throw out a suit challenging new regulations on intoxicating cannabinoid products, saying the hemp coalition and other companies that sued to block the law haven't shown they have standing.

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PEOPLE

Veteran M&A Atty Named A&O Shearman's LA Office Head

By Adrian Cruz

Allen Overy Shearman Sterling announced that an experienced mergers and acquisitions and private equity attorney from Sidley Austin LLP has joined the firm in Los Angeles, where she has also been named office managing partner.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

What Cos. Must Know About EPA Water Monitoring Proposal

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's newly proposed rule that would require public water systems to monitor for 30 unregulated drinking water contaminants does not impose new obligations on companies, but the data collected could affect future policy, investigations and litigation, says Ayodeji Ayolola at Gordon Rees.

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FTC-Deere Deal Tells Cautionary Tale On Repair Access Limits

A recent proposed Federal Trade Commission antitrust settlement in Illinois federal court requires Deere & Co. to provide access to repair services previously available only to authorized dealers, and companies that limit access to aftermarket resources should ensure they can substantiate the reasoning behind any restrictions, say attorneys at Freshfields.

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Opinion

After Monsanto, Defense Bar Must Build Case Against Lohr

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Monsanto v. Durnell has helped to demolish the foundation for its problematic 1996 ruling in Medtronic v. Lohr — so now defense counsel should lay the groundwork for the high court to overturn Lohr, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

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Series

Being A Sommelier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Being a sommelier has quietly shaped how I practice law by changing the way I think, communicate and connect with people, and offers a constant reminder that expertise is about making your knowledge useful and accessible to others, says Kara Du at Sheppard.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

How Does In-House Pay Compare? Take The Law360 Survey

How do in-house salaries vary across industries, roles, and organizational revenue? What compensation tools are companies using to lure top talent? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Compensation Survey.

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No Simpson Thacher Malpractice In PIPE Case, Jury Finds

By Madison Arnold

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP escaped a malpractice lawsuit late Thursday over its representation of Patriot National Inc. in a private investment in public equity transaction in the years before the company's downfall.

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Dems Slam Skadden's 'Nothing To See Here' Trump Deal Reply

By Hailey Konnath

Three Democratic lawmakers on Thursday criticized Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP's response to their request that the firm disclose details of its pro bono arrangement with the Trump administration, saying the firm's "three sentence letter essentially saying 'nothing to see here'" is "not going to cut it."

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New ABA Chief Seeks To 'Streamline' Org., Defend Democracy

By Emily Sawicki

The American Bar Association's new president, Barbara J. Howard, will focus on twin goals of defending democracy against expected unprecedented attacks associated with this year's midterm elections, while also reorganizing the association to run more efficiently, as she kicks off her one-year term this month.

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Richards Layton Under Fire Amid Bid To Avoid AI Sanctions

By Rose Krebs

A firm has asked a Delaware vice chancellor to allow it to submit more "factual information" regarding what it says are inconsistencies in Richards Layton & Finger PA's attempt to avoid sanctions for submitting a filing with errors generated by artificial intelligence.

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Analysis

The Dramatic Moments Set To Shape Tom Goldstein's Appeal

By Jeff Overley and Jared Foretek

Prurient revelations, brash recriminations and purportedly glaring judicial errors in Tom Goldstein's criminal case have captivated the appellate bar for nearly 19 months, and many of those moments will be center stage in the star attorney's imminent appeal.

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2nd Circ. Says Pillsbury Must Surrender $3.6M Retainer

By Jessica Corso

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP was ordered on Thursday to hand over a $3.6 million retainer it was paid to defend a client against criminal and civil fraud charges, with the Second Circuit upholding a ruling that the funds were part of an asset freeze order issued in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission case.

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Ex-GC Hijacked Accounts And Posted Klan Imagery, Suit Says

By Ben Adlin

A Washington state court granted a temporary restraining order Wednesday in a school fundraising company's lawsuit accusing its former general counsel of taking control of its social media accounts and allegedly replacing its LinkedIn photo with a manipulated image of its president in a Ku Klux Klan robe.

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Ex-Girardi Atty Gets Probation For Keeping Silent On Theft

By Lauraann Wood

A former Girardi Keese attorney was sentenced to one day time-served and two years of probation Thursday for staying quiet and failing to report disgraced plaintiff's attorney Tom Girardi's theft of millions of settlement dollars owed to Lion Air Flight 620 plane crash victims.

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Wash. Justices Offer Bar Waiver After July Exam Tech Failure

By Rachel Riley

The Washington State Supreme Court said Thursday it's offering to waive the bar exam requirement for first-time applicants who were unable to take the test last week due to an abrupt cancellation driven by technical issues at the Yakima Convention Center where it was scheduled to be administered.   

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Justices' FTC Ruling Weakens Qui Tam's Constitutional Base

The U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Trump v. Slaughter, expanding presidential control over those exercising executive power, suggests that courts may be receptive to arguments challenging the constitutional foundations of the False Claims Act’s qui tam mechanism, says Daniel Passeser at Wiggin.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Abbott Laboratories

Agri Stats Inc.

American Bar Association

Chevron Corp.

Deere & Co.

Executive Health Resources Inc.

Golden Corral Corp

Google LLC

Hard Yaka Inc.

Intel Corp.

LinkedIn Corp.

Medtronic PLC

Monsanto Co.

Natural Resources Defense Council

Patriot National Inc.

Pfizer Inc.

Public Co. Accounting Oversight Board

Safeway Inc.

Schneider Electric

The Boeing Co.

Vimeo Inc.

Washington State Bar Association

Yelp Inc.

YouTube Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Ahern and Associates

Anderson Kill

Ashurst Perkins

Ballard Spahr

Benesch

Bilzin Sumberg

Blank Rome

Burns Charest

Bursor & Fisher

Cairncross & Hempelmann

Conrad & Scherer

Covington & Burling

Crowell & Moring

Freshfields

Girardi & Keese

Gordon Rees

HSF Kramer

Hogan Lovells

Holland & Knight

Hughes Hubbard

Jenner & Block

Levin Rojas

Morrison Cohen

Paul Hastings

Pillsbury Winthrop

Richards Layton

Scott & Corley

Seila Law

Sidley Austin

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Skadden Arps

Smith Krivoshey

Stearns Weaver

Steptoe LLP

Stinson LLP

Susman Godfrey

Tycko & Zavareei

Weil Gotshal

Werksman Jackson

White & Case

Wiggin & Dana

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Delaware Court of Chancery

Federal Trade Commission

Food and Drug Administration

Marin County, California

Missouri Attorney General's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

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

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

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

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court