NC Farmworker Wage Trial Canceled Amid Proposed Deal

By Corey Rothauser

A North Carolina federal judge has called off a December jury trial over claims that Lee and Sons Farms underpaid migrant H-2A workers and forced them to buy inadequate meals, with the parties telling the court there is a proposed settlement.

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Escrow Agent Accused Of $4.6M 'Insider Payoff' In NC Sale

By Matthew Santoni

Stewart Title Guaranty Co. facilitated the unauthorized sale of a financially struggling luxury apartment complex and then handed a $4.6 million "insider" payout to one of the operating owners, according to a lawsuit by a real estate investment trust that claims it was cut out of the decision process.

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NC Judge Rejects Elevator Safety Deal Over Missing Details

By Abigail Harrison

A North Carolina Business Court judge declined to approve a proposed settlement from a group of residential condominium owners who live in Asheville, North Carolina's tallest building, after finding key information was missing.

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Ex-Temple Player Bet On, Against Team, NCAA Says

By Tom Lotshaw

The NCAA has declared former Temple University men's basketball player Hysier Miller permanently ineligible for sports bets involving the team, while two former team assistants were given one-year show cause orders for betting activities, in a trio of infraction decisions released Friday.

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Roundup

Real Estate Recap: REIT Reporting, Defining Water

By Real Estate Authority Staff

Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including reactions from real estate attorneys in two areas primed for deregulation.

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Opinion

Despite Deputy AG Remarks, DOJ Can't Sideline DC Bar

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s recent suggestion that the D.C. Bar would be prevented from reviewing misconduct complaints about U.S. Department of Justice attorneys runs contrary to federal statutes, local rules and decades of case law, and sends the troubling message that federal prosecutors are subject to different rules, say attorneys at HWG.

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Bonus Spotlight

5 BigLaw Firms Match Prevailing Year-End, Special Bonuses

By Anna Sanders

BigLaw continues to dole out extra cash for attorneys just in time for the holidays, with five more firms matching the year-end and special bonuses previously announced by their peers.

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Comey, James Defeat Charges Over Halligan's Appointment

By Ryan Boysen

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the headline-grabbing indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, finding the controversial prosecutor handling both cases was not properly appointed.

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Feature

Prep, Panic & Poise: Inside An Associate's First Oral Argument

By Jeff Overley

Fraser M. Holmes followed a long professional path to a Texas court's lectern. He'd been a baseball blogger, travel writer and social studies teacher before appellate law beckoned. After years of toil, a milestone moment — his first oral argument — finally arrived, but as justices took the bench, his heart sank: "Oh, my God. I think I've just forgotten my entire argument."

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Google Calls Rumble's Recusal Bid Irrelevant To Its Appeal

By Andrea Keckley

Google is urging the Ninth Circuit to disregard concerns Rumble has raised about the trial judge's relationship with the tech giant's litigation vice president, saying Friday that the information is irrelevant to the YouTube rival's appeal of the court's ruling that its antitrust lawsuit was filed too late.

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House Oversight Chair Seeks USPTO Briefing On Litigation Funding

By Courtney Bublé

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is seeking a briefing by the end of the month from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on third-party litigation funding and reforms the agency is working on.

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8th Circ. Won't Force Judge's Recusal In Pork Price-Fixing Case

By Matthew Perlman

The Eighth Circuit has denied a mandamus petition from Agri Stats Inc. and major pork producers who are seeking a Minnesota federal judge's recusal in price-fixing litigation based on a law clerk's previous work on a related case.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week delivered a packed mix of fraud allegations, merger fallout, corporate-governance reforms and jurisdictional fights, while a new academic report ignited debate over attorney fee awards in Delaware's influential corporate forum.

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