Epstein Survivors Say DOJ, Google Revealed Their Identities

By Hailey Konnath

The U.S. Department of Justice published the identifying information of more than 100 survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, information that Google has continued to republish despite survivors' pleas to "take it down," according to a proposed class action filed in California federal court.

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Analysis

NCAA's Anti-Sports Betting Stance Becomes An IP Issue

By Theresa Schliep

The National Collegiate Athletic Association has kicked off a legal battle with a trademark infringement lawsuit against DraftKings for using terms like "March Madness" to describe the basketball competition, bringing the issue of sports betting to court and signaling a more active role in intellectual property enforcement.

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Analysis

Tech Critics See Hope In Social Media Verdicts

By Emily Field

The courts are emerging as the forum to hold social media giants accountable for their algorithms now that two multimillion-dollar jury verdicts determined the platforms are harming the mental health of young people, after years of being unchecked by Congress.

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NRA Strikes Deal With Its Ex-President In Florida Suit

By David Minsky

The National Rifle Association and its former president reached a settlement in her Florida federal lawsuit alleging the organization misappropriated her name, image and likeness. 

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Meta Reads WhatsApp Users' Messages, Class Action Claims

By Bonnie Eslinger

Meta Platforms Inc. read and stored the messages of WhatsApp users' in violation of the law and of promises that the communications would only be viewable by the sender and recipient of the messages, according to a putative class action filed in California federal court.

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Up Next At High Court: Birthright Citizenship, Arbitration

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will close out its March oral arguments session by hearing a nationwide class's blockbuster challenge to President Donald Trump's limited view of birthright citizenship, as well as a dispute over federal courts' authority to confirm or vacate arbitration awards in cases they've formerly overseen.

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Del. Judge Upholds $31M Patent Damages Against Amazon

By Elliot Weld

A Delaware federal judge has backed a jury verdict that awarded $30.5 million in patent infringement damages against Amazon to the owner of two computer network patents, but said he would not boost the damages.

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BMW Facing ITC Trade Secrets Probe Of Infotainment Screens

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. International Trade Commission has opened an investigation into BMW's imports of what are known as infotainment screens, acting on a California technology company's allegations that the German vehicle manufacturer misappropriated its trade secrets to develop a cheaper option.

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State Privacy & AI Watch: 3 Legislative Developments To Know

By Allison Grande

As Congress pushes to limit regulation of artificial intelligence systems and struggles to put guardrails on companies' handling of personal data, states continue to step up, with a key jurisdiction making moves to update its landmark AI protections and the state data privacy law patchwork expanding for the first time in nearly two years. 

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Google Ad Privacy Deal OK'd, But $128M Fee Bid Cut To $22M

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge on Thursday approved Google's nonmonetary deal resolving allegations it sells consumers' personal data in fast-paced digital ad auctions without their consent, but slashed class counsel's $128 million fee request to $21.8 million due to their "speculative" settlement-value estimates, "limited success" and numerous billing "errors and inefficiencies."

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FCC Can't Waive TV Broadcast Cap For Nexstar, DC Circ. Told

By Christopher Cole

Public interest and labor groups banded together with cable and satellite groups Friday to try convincing the D.C. Circuit that the Federal Communications Commission can't waive its 39% national audience cap to let the $6.2 billion merger of Nexstar and Tegna Inc. move forward.

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Networks Using Legacy TV As A 'Cash Cow,' Advocates Say

By Nadia Dreid

Networks see local TV stations as little more than "cash cows" and are "sucking the lifeblood out of television stations" by demanding increasingly higher fees in exchange for allowing them to air network content, a pair of media advocacy groups have told the Federal Communications Commission.

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Brief

FCC Bars Another Chinese Test Lab Over Security Risk

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission on Friday pulled the accreditation of another Chinese communications device testing lab due to concerns about Chinese state government control.

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen Apple hit back at a tech company's wireless charging patent claim, a flurry of businesses bring COVID-19 pandemic insurance claims as a key deadline draws closer and Ipulse Partners LLP file a claim against a luxury yacht company it represented in a trademark dispute. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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NC Biz Court Bulletin: Judge Exits, Duke Ducks Climate Suit

By Hayley Fowler

The North Carolina Business Court saw an unexpected shakeup with one judge's retirement, rendered a pivotal decision in a first-of-its-kind climate change case against Duke Energy and oversaw a trial between the feuding owners of a commercial bed skirt company.

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Grammarly Suit Flags Right Of Publicity As Key AI Issue

Angwin v. Superhuman Platform, filed recently in New York federal court against the parent company of Grammarly, highlights an overlooked question for any company using artificial intelligence — whether someone's identity has been used for commercial purposes without consent, possibly violating rapidly shifting state right-of-publicity laws, says Nicholas Schneider at Eckert Seamans.

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Series

Watching Hallmark Movies Makes Me A Better Lawyer

I realize you may be judging me for watching, and actually enjoying, Hallmark Channel movies, but the escapism and storylines actually demonstrate qualities and actions that lead to an efficient, productive and positive legal practice, says Karen Ross at Tucker Ellis.

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Firms Targeted By Trump Urge DC Circ. To Uphold EO Rulings

By Alison Knezevich

Four law firms targeted last year by President Donald Trump urged the D.C. Circuit on Friday to affirm lower court rulings that struck down executive orders restricting their ability to practice law, saying the directives blatantly violate the Constitution.

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Ex-Williams & Connolly Clerk Accused Of Posting Client Info

By Hailey Konnath

A former Williams & Connolly LLP clerk has been posting confidential firm information — including client information and work email exchanges — and he's threatening to "keep leaking" the materials, which he called "a fun read," according to a suit filed in District of Columbia Superior Court.

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BigLaw Races To Capture Expanding Fund Finance Market

By Kevin Penton

Debt financing work at the fund level has long been dominated on the lender side by attorneys from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP, Haynes Boone and Mayer Brown LLP, but other firms are increasingly crafting formal practices and poaching fund finance stars from the more established players.

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NJ Federal Judge DQs Beasley Allen In J&J Talc MDL

By Emily Sawicki

A New Jersey federal judge has disqualified the Beasley Allen Law Firm from representing hundreds of plaintiffs in sprawling multidistrict litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder, holding that the firm violated ethics rules by collaborating with former outside counsel for J&J, a ruling the law firm has vowed to appeal.

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Apollo, BlackRock Deny Asking Kirkland To Abandon Optimum

By Tracey Read

Apollo, Ares, BlackRock and other major financial companies have denied Optimum Communications' claims accusing them of "bullying" Kirkland & Ellis LLP into withdrawing as the telecommunications company's transaction counsel to get revenge for a collusion lawsuit filed in New York federal court.

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Atty Sanctioned For AI Hallucinations In Workers' Comp Row

By Gianna Ferrarin

A New Jersey appellate court on Friday ordered an attorney to pay $1,000 in sanctions for failing to rectify AI-hallucinated case citations pointed out to him in an appeal concerning reimbursement sought by a workers' compensation carrier.

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Brief

Amazon Swaps MoFo In, Perkins Coie Out In Cooker Suit

By Ben Adlin

Amazon.com LLP switched counsel Friday in a customer's product defect suit accusing the retail giant of selling a faulty pressure cooker that allegedly malfunctioned and caused her severe burns, substituting two Morrison Foerster LLP attorneys in place of an outgoing Perkins Coie LLP lawyer.

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Judiciary Nixes Amicus Disclosure Reform Over Potential Chill

By Emily Sawicki

The federal judiciary has been asked not to move forward with a plan to add to amicus brief disclosure requirements designed to curb "dark money" groups from bankrolling amicus briefs, after rules committee chairs pulled the recommendation over concerns of a possible chilling effect.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

A federal judge has stopped the Pentagon from dropping AI giant Anthropic from the government's supply chain, and Latham & Watkins ranked first in a survey of in-house legal leaders on which law firms are most helpful in developing business, followed by King & Spalding, Jones Day and Ropes & Gray.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

The Lanier Law Firm, Kiesel Law LLP, Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP, Wagstaff & Cartmell LLP and Beasley Allen Law Firm lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a California state jury in a bellwether trial found Meta and Google liable for harming the mental health of a woman who says she became addicted to their social media platforms as a child.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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Mich. Judge Signals No Stay If Attys Exit Retaliation Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan federal judge said Friday she is not inclined to pause a long-running sexual harassment suit again if counsel for an attorney who is suing her ex-mentor and former firm are allowed to withdraw, telling the parties, "We've been here. We've done this," as she heard arguments over a motion to exit the case.

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Mayer Brown's $21M Fee Bid In RI Truck Tolls Suit Rebuffed

By Linda Chiem

A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday rebuffed Mayer Brown LLP's bid for $21 million in attorney fees for representing the commercial trucking industry's lead trade group in long-running litigation over the state's truck tolling program, saying the American Trucking Associations ultimately was not the "prevailing party."

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