PE-Backed Jersey Mike's Makes Public Debut After $1B IPO

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Private equity-backed sandwich chain Jersey Mike's hit the public markets Thursday after raising $1 billion in its initial public offering steered by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

2nd Circ. Revives Decongestant 'Maximum Strength' Claims

By Mike Curley

The Second Circuit on Thursday revived claims in multidistrict litigation alleging makers of oral decongestants misled consumers by labeling their products as "maximum strength," while finding the bulk of the remaining claims were preempted by federal regulation.

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

Impossible Foods Gets New TM Trial On Punitive Damages

By Elliot Weld

A California federal judge has ordered a new trial on punitive damages against Impossible Foods in a case over the "Impossible" trademark, ruling that the $1.75 million in punitive damages a jury awarded lifestyle brand Impossible X was against the clear weight of trial evidence.

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

Ill. Atty Sanctioned For AI Slop In Starbucks Bias Suit

By Adrian Cruz

A unanimous Illinois appeals court sanctioned an attorney representing a former Starbucks employee in a workplace discrimination suit after determining that he submitted briefs using false citations and quotations hallucinated by artificial intelligence software.

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

USDA Sued By Nonprofits Over Anti-DEI Grant Conditions

By Ben Adlin

Five food nonprofits sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday over allegedly unlawful restrictions on grant funding meant to target what the Trump administration has called "radical left ideology," including on issues around diversity, gender identity and immigration.

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

Albertsons Can't Nix 14 Years Of Opioid Claims At Wash. Trial

By Ben Adlin

Albertsons and Safeway can't dodge 14 years' worth of claims in Washington state's lawsuit accusing the grocery stores' pharmacies of irresponsibly dispensing prescription opioids and fueling the state's overdose crisis, according to a Seattle judge's ruling Wednesday striking the companies' statute-of-limitations defense.

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

$18.7M Deal In Turkey Price-Fixing Suit Gets Initial OK

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge on Thursday granted preliminary approval to an $18.7 million settlement resolving certain buyers' claims against House of Raeford Farms Inc. and Prestage Farms, the latest deal in sprawling antitrust litigation accusing poultry producers of conspiring to fix turkey prices.

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

Chubb Seeks Toss Of Costco's Customer Injury Coverage Row

By Hope Patti

A Chubb unit urged a Washington federal court to toss Costco's suit seeking coverage for a personal injury action under a home décor brand's policy, saying the retailer failed to state a claim for additional insured coverage because the underlying injuries are not related to the brand's products.

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

Minn. Sued Over Dairy Expansion Environmental Review

By Elaine Briseño

Advocacy groups in Minnesota are suing the state over its decision not to provide a government document that outlines the potential environmental effects of the proposed West River Dairy expansion, arguing significant impacts to air and water quality were ignored.

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

Deals Rumor Mill

Curium, Sazerac And Stripe Pursue Megadeals, And More

By Al Barbarino

Reports of potential multibillion-dollar deals were plentiful this week, with U.S. alcohol producer Sazerac steadfast in its $15 billion pursuit of the maker of Jack Daniel's; Curium reportedly in advanced talks to acquire fellow radiopharmaceutical firm Lantheus Holdings Inc. for up to $8 billion; and Nvidia, Stripe and Devon Energy all linked to sizable strategic bets of their own.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

11th Circ. Opioid Appeal May Shift Public Nuisance Coverage

The Eleventh Circuit's recent ruling certifying to the Florida and Georgia Supreme Courts the question of whether insurers must provide coverage against suits claiming policyholders improperly distributed opioids may ultimately result in a counterbalance to the Delaware line of cases denying coverage for government opioid suits, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Teaching SEC Investigations Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Instructing a law school course on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations has made me a more thoughtful, deliberate practitioner because it requires me to continually reassess and challenge what I know about securities law enforcement, how I know it and how best to explain it, says David Chase at Miami Law.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Advocacy Group Says Law Firm Fellowship Program Biased

By Patrick Hoff

A legal advocacy group said Thursday it had lodged U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charges against a nonprofit and law firms including Jones Day, White & Case and Morgan Lewis, claiming Muslim and Middle Eastern students were getting unlawful preference in a fellowship program.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

ABA Eyes Nixing School DEI Standards To Sway Trump Admin

By Emma Cueto

The American Bar Association is poised next week to eliminate the first of multiple diversity-related law school standards, a controversial move that it hopes will allow it to remain an accreditor despite an uncertain outcome in the face of a Trump administration increasingly wary of the association's role in legal education.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

WilmerHale Sued Over Accidental Client Data Disclosure

By Andrea Keckley

A proposed federal class action filed Wednesday accuses WilmerHale of failing to protect clients' personal information after an employee allegedly disclosed sensitive data, including Social Security numbers, to an unauthorized person who misrepresented their identity back in May.

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

2 Traders Admit Guilt In Stolen BigLaw Info Scheme

By Chris Villani

Two men pled guilty Thursday in Massachusetts federal court to their roles in a sweeping scheme to trade on inside information stolen from huge corporate law firms about upcoming deals.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump May Renominate Blanche If GOP Holdouts Block Vote

By Courtney Bublé

With Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., still on the fence about acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation to be attorney general, President Donald Trump said Thursday he might renominate Blanche next year when the two senators are no longer serving in the Senate.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DA Says Trump's NY Hush Money Conviction Must Stand

By Frank G. Runyeon

New York prosecutors told a state appellate court that President Donald Trump's 34-count felony conviction for falsifying business records is "unaffected" by the U.S. Supreme Court's watershed presidential immunity decision and should be upheld.

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

Judiciary's Bid To Control Courthouses Gets Senate Push

By Courtney Bublé

A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill on Thursday that would create a pilot program for the federal judiciary to obtain direct authority to maintain its buildings, which the judiciary says is desperately needed.

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

Bronx Legal Aid Organization's Union Rejects New Pay Offer

By Andrea Keckley

The Bronx Defenders' executive director said on Thursday that the union representing the organization's over 300 attorneys and staff has rejected an updated offer on wages, with both sides still at odds over the prospect of separate salary scales for lawyers and social workers.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »