5th Circ. Judge Skeptical Of Medicare Drug 'Price-Setting'

By Theresa Schliep

A Fifth Circuit judge on Wednesday sharply criticized the Biden administration's Medicare drug pricing program, characterizing it as government "price-setting" and questioning "what possible procompetitive justification" there can be for penalizing companies that don't participate.

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J&J Proposes $6.5B Deal To End Ovarian Cancer Claims

By Carolina Bolado

Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday it is proposing a prepackaged reorganization plan for its talc unit that will pay out $6.5 billion to resolve claims that its talc-based baby powder caused ovarian cancer, if a supermajority of claimants agree to the plan.

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Analysis

3 Takeaways From The DOJ's Cannabis Recommendation

By Sam Reisman

The marijuana advocacy and business world responded with guarded optimism after the U.S. Department of Justice's announcement this week that it recommended relaxing restrictions on marijuana for the first time in more than 50 years.

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Analysis

AI Is Top Of Mind For Companies — And Securities Regulators

By Tom Zanki

As references to artificial intelligence in securities filings soar, attorneys say companies must ground their disclosures in fact and be upfront about risks posed by AI in order to avoid the wrath of regulators, who promise to crack down on misleading claims.

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'Foul' BioVentrix Cash-Out Gets Extra Scrutiny, Chancery Says

By Leslie A. Pappas

A medical device company's decision to suddenly and without explanation cash out its common stockholders for less than a penny just two months before the company raised $48.5 million in new capital creates such a "foul flavor" that it deserves extra scrutiny, a Delaware Chancery Court judge said Wednesday.

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J&J Unit Cuts Deal To End Cancer Drug Trade Secret Fight

By Dorothy Atkins

A New Jersey federal judge has signed off on a consent judgment that permanently bars Chinese drugmaker Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. from misappropriating Johnson and Johnson's pharmaceutical subsidiary Janssen's trade secrets for its popular chemotherapy drug Yondelis.

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Eiger Gets Deal With Merck Over $46M Rare-Disease Drug Sale

By Alex Wittenberg

Bankrupt Eiger BioPharmaceuticals Inc. told a Texas federal judge Wednesday it had struck a tentative agreement with drug company Merck & Co. over licensing rights to a rare-disease drug that it is selling for $46.1 million.

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Attys Say $5M Fee In Acella Settlement A Modest Proposal

By Chart Riggall

Plaintiffs' attorneys who recently reached a $46.5 million class action settlement with Acella Pharmaceuticals LLC over faulty thyroid medication asked a Georgia federal judge Tuesday to sign off on their $5 million cut of the deal as a "presumptively reasonable" proposal.

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3rd Circ. Flags Bayer's Knowledge Of Tainted Fungal Spray

By Matthew Santoni

A proposed class of consumers who bought tainted Bayer antifungal sprays said they should have standing to sue because they didn't get the "benefit of the bargain" — and a Third Circuit panel questioned Wednesday if Bayer's separate suit blaming a supplier made the consumers' case for them.

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Dental Supply Co. Must Face Suit Over COVID-Era Woes

By Katryna Perera

Dental health products supplier Dentsply Sirona Inc. failed to get a suit dismissed accusing it of misleading investors about the extent of its pandemic-era woes, with a New York federal judge finding the suit identifies dozens of actionable misleading statements and plausibly pleads knowledge of wrongdoing by Dentsply's former executives.

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Insulin Pump Maker Wins Toss of Investor Suit For Now

By Katryna Perera

A California federal judge has sided with an insulin pump maker and tossed a suit alleging it misled investors about the potential growth of the company amid inflation and an uptick in competition, saying the suing investors have failed to plead any false or misleading statements or knowledge of wrongdoing by the defendants.

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Median Patent Damages Awards Are Shrinking

By Andrew Karpan

A New York accounting firm that provides damages experts for intellectual property cases has found in a new study that median damages awards in patent cases have declined over the last 15 years.

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Online Portal Helps Fortify Feds' Unfair Health Practices Fight

The Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently launched an online portal where the public can report potentially unfair healthcare practices, effectively maximizing enforcers' abilities to police anti-competitive actions that can drive up healthcare costs and chill innovation, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

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Don't Fall On That Hill: Keys To Testifying Before Congress

Because congressional testimony often comes with political, reputational and financial risks in addition to legal pitfalls, witnesses and their attorneys should take a multifaceted approach to preparation, walking a fine line between legal and business considerations, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

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Series

Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

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Recent BigLaw Moves Show Boston Is 'Clearly On The Map'

By Brian Dowling

Three BigLaw firms' recent moves to build out physical footprints in Boston are a testament to the region's thriving technology, healthcare, life sciences and finance industries — a trend that shows no signs of slowing down, experts say.

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Analysis

If High Court Upends Jan. 6 Conviction, What Happens Next?

By Cara Bayles

If the U.S. Supreme Court decides prosecutors overstepped by charging a rioter who stormed the Capitol with obstruction, the results will likely be mixed for hundreds of other defendants charged with the same crime, particularly those who have been convicted. That post-appeal uncertainty is nothing new, defense attorneys say.

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Goodwin Procter Uses Tech To Promote In-Office Attendance

By Andrea Keckley

Goodwin Procter LLP's chair and managing partner told lawyers and business professionals in an email that the firm would be using new technology to monitor time spent in the office as it looks to promote compliance with its hybrid work policy, the firm confirmed to Law360.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Quinn Emanuel's Steig D. Olson

By Patrick Hoff

When Steig D. Olson was about 7 years old, his mother served as a juror in the trial of an Oklahoma man accused of having a gun in a bar, and Olson's parents took him to see part of the trial.

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Sullivan & Cromwell Creates National Security Practice Group

By Tracey Read

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP has launched a national security practice to help clients with matters stemming from the increased use of economic sanctions, anti-money laundering laws, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, foreign investment regulations, export controls and import restrictions, the firm said Thursday.

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Moses & Singer, Ex-Partner Settle Pregnancy Bias Suit

By Rose Krebs

A New York federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed against litigation firm Moses & Singer LLP by a former partner who accused it of wrongfully firing her after she requested workplace accommodations for her pregnancy, saying the parties have reached "a settlement in principle."

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Coverage Recap: Day 6 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial

By Stewart Bishop

Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from day six.

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Rules Against Judge Shopping Move Forward At Fed Agency

By Jack Karp

Federal appellate courts should review most government agency actions, and cases involving those actions that wind up in district courts should be subject to district-wide assignment to avoid judge shopping, according to recommendations approved Thursday by a committee of the federal agency charged with improving government rulemaking.

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Schumer Reups Call For His Judge Shopping Bill

By Courtney Bublé

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday that a suit filed in a controversial Texas court challenging a new firearms policy from the Biden administration underscores the need for his bill to restrict so-called "judge shopping."

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Law Professor Gets $361K Illegal Recording Verdict Axed

By Carla Baranauckas

A New Jersey federal judge has agreed to vacate a $361,000 verdict against a law professor who a jury determined illegally wiretapped her former son-in-law and invaded his privacy.

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NJ Gov. Backs Letting Ex-Incarcerated Sit On Juries

By Adrian Cruz

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday that his administration is supporting efforts to restore the right to people who were previously incarcerated to serve on juries, according to an announcement by the governor's office.

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