High Court Lets Block On Prison Gender Care Ban Stand

By Yeji Jesse Lee

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed federal prisons to continue to offer gender transition medical services to incarcerated people.

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Ill. Judge Questions Bid To Block 340B Drug Discount Law

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge seemed hesitant Wednesday to halt a state law barring drugmakers from trying to impose restrictions on pharmacies under contract with a federal drug pricing discount program, saying the state seems to be maximizing public health in an area the statute doesn't address.

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9th Circ. Judges Hint Hospital CBA May Mandate Arbitration

By Rachel Riley

A Ninth Circuit panel appeared receptive on Wednesday to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center's argument that a nurse should be forced to individually arbitrate proposed class break claims, with two judges suggesting that a union contract's repeated references to Golden State labor law bolster the hospital's position.

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4 Firms Steer Cencora's $2.4B American Oncology Acquisition

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Pharmaceutical distribution company Cencora unveiled plans Wednesday to acquire American Oncology Network Inc. in a deal that values the network at an enterprise value of $2.4 billion and was built by four law firms.

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Brief

PBM Fee Disclosure Rule Clears White House Review

By Kellie Mejdrich

A White House budget office has completed review of a rule from the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm that would require new fee disclosures from pharmacy benefit managers, which act as intermediaries between drugmakers, pharmacies and insurers.

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Pa. Panel Sets 3-Year Limit On Minimum Wage Claims

By MJ Koo

A split Pennsylvania appeals court panel ruled Wednesday that workers have three years, not six, to sue for unpaid wages under the state's minimum wage law, siding with a pharmacy accused of shorting 20 employees on overtime pay.

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Amarin Ends 'Skinny Label' Patent Case Against Hikma

By Adam Lidgett

Amarin Pharma Inc. is dropping its patent suit over Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.'s generic version of a heart drug that uses a so-called skinny label, months after the U.S. Supreme Court shut the case down.

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Intuitive Surgical Strikes $450M Deal In Robot Antitrust Suit

By Craig Clough

Intuitive Surgical said in its quarterly earnings report Tuesday that it reached a $450 million settlement to resolve a hospital class action alleging it monopolized the market for servicing its da Vinci surgical robots, subject to approval by a California federal judge.

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Linde Seeks $1.2M Clawback From Exec Who Joined Rival

By Aaron Keller

International industrial and healthcare gas supplier Linde PLC is seeking to recover more than $1.2 million in stock and performance rewards gains from Joseph H. Porto III, the onetime executive director of growth at Linde Gases U.S., after Porto allegedly left for a competitor.

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Reckitt Benckiser Denies Firing Manager For Whistleblowing

By Gina Kim

Reckitt Benckiser urged a New Jersey federal judge to end a former senior regulatory manager's suit alleging she was fired for raising product safety issues, arguing Tuesday she rejected a lateral transfer amid a global reorganization and unsuccessfully gambled the company would give in to her promotion and higher pay demands.

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SEIU Fired Organizer Over Military Leave, Suit Says

By Patrick Hoff

An SEIU organizer was subjected to intense scrutiny and ultimately fired for taking time off to fulfill her obligations as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, according to a new lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania federal court.

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Wachtell Lipton Guides Abbott Nutrition Spinoff

By Nate Beck

Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz guided healthcare company Abbott in a plan to spin off its nutrition business into an independent, publicly traded company anchored by brands such as adult supplement Ensure and infant formula Similac.

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7 Firms Advise EQT, Qiagen On $12.1B Take-Private Deal

By Hailey Konnath

A long list of firms — including Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Linklaters LLP and Milbank LLP — are steering Sweden-based EQT Private Equity's $12.1 billion takeover of life sciences testing company Qiagen NV, according to a Wednesday announcement.

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Squire Patton Lands Akerman's Public Finance Co-Leader

By Rose Krebs

Squire Patton Boggs LLP announced Wednesday that it has added the co-chair of Akerman LLP's public finance group to bolster its capacity to handle public finance, healthcare finance and other matters.

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New Weil-Willkie Domains Add To Merger Speculation

By Marialuisa Taddia

Two domain names that combine the names of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP have been registered, fueling speculation about a potential merger between the two prominent Wall Street law firms.

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Bonus Spotlight

Hueston Hennigan Bumps Clerkship Bonus To $205K

By Lynn LaRowe

Trial boutique Hueston Hennigan is offering a $205,000 bonus to lawyers who have completed one or more federal clerkships, the firm confirmed Thursday.

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Texas Judge Probe Shows Lack Of Mental Impairment Process

By Jack Karp

Fifth Circuit officials have done a reasonable job of handling a rare situation involving a Texas federal judge who appears to be undergoing a mental health crisis, but the episode highlights that a more standardized way of dealing with federal judges experiencing mental impairment needs to be established, experts and scholars say.

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Jackson Walker Hits Back At Fee Clawback Sanction Move

By Vince Sullivan

Law firm Jackson Walker said Wednesday that it should not be sanctioned for failing to bring to a Texas federal judge's attention additional cases involving an undisclosed romantic relationship between a bankruptcy judge and one of its attorneys because the U.S. Trustee already investigated those cases and didn't take action.

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GOP Reps. Seek Probe Of Fla. Judge's Sanctions Order

By Courtney Bublé

Top Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee asked the Judicial Conference Thursday to investigate a Florida federal judge for potential misconduct with an order she issued in the case involving the leak of President Donald Trump's tax returns.

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JPMorgan, Ex-Frank Execs Clash Over $2.1M In Legal Fees

By Jarek Rutz

JPMorgan Chase & Co. faced renewed demands in the Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday to pay about $2.1 million in withheld legal fees for convicted Frank founder Charlie Javice and former executive Olivier Amar, as their lawyers accused the bank of using repeated billing objections to delay funding for their criminal defenses.

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Roundup MDL Atty Fund 'Cries Out' For Review, 9th Circ. Told

By Dorothy Atkins

Plaintiffs' firms urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse a ruling Thursday requiring them to contribute 8% of their recovery fees to a common benefit fund in multidistrict litigation over Monsanto's Roundup weed killer, arguing the judge ignored a special master's recommendation and the issue "cries out for some appellate supervision."

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