Analysis

Dem Takeover Points To Reset On College Sports Legislation

By Alex Lawson

The looming Democratic takeover of both congressional chambers signals doom for quick action on college sports oversight, with a crowded calendar and the new majority's wishes to reshape the legislation emerging as roadblocks to a Senate-approved bill.

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Fox Closes $22B Roku Deal Guided By Weil, Goodwin, Axinn

By Dorothy Atkins

Fox Corp. completed its $22 billion purchase of smart-TV maker Roku Inc. Friday in a deal guided by Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, Goodwin Procter LLP and Axinn LLP, shortly after the U.S. Department of Justice said it closed its monthslong, in-depth antitrust investigation into the deal.

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FCC Denies It's Foot-Dragging Review Of Philly TV License

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Federal Communications Commission has asked the D.C. Circuit to reject an advocacy group's request to force the agency to review a challenge to Fox TV's Philadelphia broadcast license.

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NYT Blocks 'Worldle' TM Bid Over Confusion With 'Wordle'

By Ivan Moreno

The New York Times Co. has blocked a bid to register "Worldle" as a trademark for online games after the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board found that it was likely to cause confusion with the newspaper's "Wordle" trademark.

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Google Sued Over Claims Its School AI Fueled Suicide Plot

By Dorothy Atkins

A North Carolina couple have hit Google with a product liability lawsuit that was removed to California federal court Wednesday, alleging that the tech giant negligently rolled out a dangerous version of Gemini AI on school-issued Chromebooks that led their once-healthy 13-year-old daughter into a "life-threatening obsession" that "coached" her suicide plot.

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Don't Miss It: Paul Weiss, Baker McKenzie Steer Hot Deals

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

A lot can happen in the world of mergers and acquisitions and equity fundraising over the course of a couple of weeks, and it's difficult to keep up with all the deals.

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Grok Draws 3 Copyright Suits Over AI Training With Books

By Elliot Weld

The companies behind the artificial intelligence model Grok were hit with three copyright infringement lawsuits from two publishers and a group of authors alleging their books were pirated for use in AI training.

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Analysis

PHP Flaw Shows How AI 'Changing The Game' In Cyber Realm

By Allison Grande

Artificial intelligence's role in uncovering a critical flaw in the PHP programming language that underpins a majority of the world's websites underscores its growing power to identify and help address cybersecurity vulnerabilities — and signals that such AI-driven discoveries may only just be beginning.

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3rd Circ. Preview: UPenn Staff Rifts, FTC $3M Fee Fight

By George Woolston

The Third Circuit began its November session by examining Tree of Life synagogue shooter Robert Bowers' appeal of his death sentence and is set to hear a number of other matters ranging from a state's bid to restore millions of dollars in food aid, to the federal government fighting a $3 million counsel fee award, to reviewing the third-party harassment test.

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Consumers Want State-Law Amazon Pricing Case Unpaused

By Matthew Perlman

Consumers accusing Amazon of violating various state antitrust and consumer protection laws with its seller pricing rules are asking a New York federal court to unpause their case, following a class certification ruling in a similar action.

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Gambler Tells Jury Crew Bet On Guardians Inside Pitch Info

By Stewart Bishop

A cooperating witness and member of a gambling ring that purportedly cashed in on inside tips about Major League Baseball games told a Brooklyn federal jury Friday that he made tens of thousands of dollars from prop bets he placed on pitches thrown by Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase.

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Sen. Blumenthal Demands FCC Response To Inquiries

By Christopher Cole

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., has told the Federal Communications Commission it must fully respond to several inquiries he sent earlier this year probing the FCC's investigations into broadcasters that he says have chilled free speech.

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FCC To Allow Cable Biz's Router Hardware Upgrades

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission's staff has granted a one-year waiver to a major cable industry group, so its members can make certain hardware changes to previously approved routers that now fall under a national security restriction.

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FCC Told It Can't Preempt Local Wireline Permit Decisions

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Local government officials have warned the Federal Communications Commission that it lacks the legal authority and expertise to preempt local wireline deployment decisions.

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Snapchat Features Helped Predator Groom Child, Suit Says

By Emily Field

Snap Inc. was hit with a suit in Washington federal court by parents who say their daughter was groomed and exploited by an adult predator who used the social media platform's algorithmic features to target and threaten her across state lines.

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Pornhub Gets Initial Nod For $120M Child Content Class Deal

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge granted preliminary approval Friday to a $120 million settlement reached by the companies behind Pornhub to end certified class claims in California and Alabama by child sex trafficking and sexual abuse material survivors who allege the video-sharing website profited from crimes committed against them.

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News Site Defamed IRS Worker, She Claims In $10M Suit

By Asha Glover

A political news site falsely tied an Internal Revenue Service appeals officer to the agency's 2013 Tea Party-targeting scandal, she alleges in a $10 million defamation suit removed to federal court.

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Orrick Hires Fenwick Partner To Expand TM Practice In NY

By Ivan Moreno

Trademark attorney Mark Jansen has joined ​Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP as a partner in New York after 15 years at Fenwick & West LLP, Orrick has announced.

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How Cos. Can Reassess Ad Tech After Wash. Pixel Use Ruling

The Washington Supreme Court's decision in Baker v. Seattle Children's Hospital, holding that the hospital website's use of Meta Pixel didn't violate the state’s privacy act, may provide a powerful defense against privacy claims, but shouldn’t be read as a blanket approval of advertising technologies, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

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Opinion

Judges Must Turn To Merits Earlier To Fix Civil Justice System

The U.S. justice system is long overdue for a cultural shift that encourages judges to engage with the merits of a case from the outset, which would help to cut through procedural complexities and deliver high-quality justice efficiently and at lower cost, says Steven Kayman at Rottenberg Lipman.

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High Court Disbars Judicial Watch Founder Larry Klayman

By David Minsky

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday disbarred Judicial Watch founder and Florida conservative activist attorney Larry Klayman following his 18-month suspension issued last year by the D.C. Court of Appeals. 

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Firms Must Face RICO Claims In Asbestos Fraud Suit

By Emily Field

An Illinois federal judge on Friday held that Simmons Hanly Conroy LLP and Sokolove Law must face racketeering claims brought by a Los Angeles industrial pipe manufacturer alleging that the firms brought baseless asbestos claims, finding that an antitrust doctrine shielding those who petition the courts does not apply.

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DOJ's Civil Division Head Joins Agency Exits After Midterms

By Jack Karp

The leader of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division, Brett A. Shumate, on Monday became at least the fifth top DOJ official to step down following Republicans' defeat in last week's midterm elections.

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Trump Eyes OLC Chief For Texas Judgeship After Midterms

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump is considering the head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel for a federal judgeship in Texas, a process that started right after the Democrats won big in last week's midterm elections.

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Goldstein Says Gov't Conceded Key Trial Errors

By Jared Foretek

SCOTUSblog co-founder Thomas Goldstein told the Fourth Circuit that the federal prosecutors who netted 12 tax and mortgage fraud convictions effectively conceded they hid evidence by steering a key witness to new testimony mid-trial and had reversed their stance on jury instructions, two key issues in Goldstein's appeal.

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AAA Says Consumers' Monopoly Claims Lack Factual Support

By Caroline Simson

The American Arbitration Association is lashing out against consumers who accuse the institution of monopolizing the consumer arbitration services market, telling a federal judge on Monday that they should be sanctioned for including "false, misleading, and unsupported allegations" in an amended complaint.

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Wash. Panel Nixes $10K Sanctions On Monsanto PCB Attys

By Rachel Riley

A Washington Court of Appeals panel has overturned a combined $10,000 in sanctions against four attorneys who defended Monsanto from chemical poisoning claims, concluding Monday that the trial court overstepped its authority by personally punishing the lawyers for late disclosure of expert witnesses.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week cleared the way for Cloudflare Inc. to seek immediate review of an injunction blocking a stock restructuring designed to preserve its founders' control, while setting a January hearing in a similar dispute over Meta Platforms Inc.'s plan to create nonvoting shares.

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