Paul Hastings, Kirkland Guide Proofpoint's $6.3B Varonis Buy

By Al Barbarino

Thoma Bravo portfolio company Proofpoint has agreed to acquire data security software provider Varonis Systems Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at about $6.3 billion, with Paul Hastings LLP advising Varonis and Kirkland & Ellis LLP representing Proofpoint.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Quarterly IPO Volume Fell Short Of Expectations Amid Delays

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Third-quarter capital markets activity in the U.S. proved to be robust with a solid string of initial public offerings, but capital markets attorneys say it did not fully meet expectations due to delays of notable IPOs caused by market uncertainty.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Expect These Post-Midterm Probes If The Hill Changes Hands

By Phillip Bantz

The top investigative priorities of a potentially Democratic-controlled Congress are coming into sharper focus with the midterms weeks away and could impact an array of companies and individuals in technology, finance and energy, experts say.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

11th Circ. ERISA Exhaustion Shift Furthers Textualist Trend

By Kellie Mejdrich

An Eleventh Circuit decision overruling decades-old precedent that took a strict view of when federal benefits law claims could be brought in court continues a trend of courts excising judicially imposed rules not contained in statutory text, attorneys say.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Could A Criminal Sentencing Case Upend Loper Bright?

By Katie Buehler

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is concerned that a ruling instructing trial courts to defer to the U.S. Sentencing Commission's interpretation of federal sentencing guidelines could blow a "pretty big hole" in the court's recent rejection of deference doctrines. His colleagues, however, don't appear as perturbed.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Del. High Court Backs Gard In Litigation Funding Fight

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Supreme Court has upheld a Chancery Court ruling rejecting claims that hedge fund manager Casey Gard and affiliates improperly shifted a litigation-finance business away from a company he co-owned with attorney Brett K. Findler, ending Findler's challenge to liability findings from a closely watched business breakup.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Nikola Ex-CEO Says FBI Agent's Tweets Spooked Witness

By Emily Lever

Trevor Milton, the founder and former CEO of Nikola Corp., has sued an FBI agent and a witness who testified against him at his New York federal court trial, accusing them of working together in a coordinated campaign to intimidate a witness in Milton's defense via personal attacks on social media.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

Taxation With Representation: Freshfields, Morgan Lewis

By Zak Kostro

In this week's Taxation With Representation, Penske Automotive Group Inc. agrees to be taken private by Motown Acquisition Corp., a GTCR-led group of private investment firms acquires software firm CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings Inc. and a Steris PLC subsidiary buys specialty surgical products business Xodus Medical Inc.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

City Therapeutics' Upsized $200M IPO Joins Biotech Wave

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Blood clot-focused biotechnology firm City Therapeutics began trading publicly Friday after raising $200 million in its upsized initial public offering steered by Goodwin Procter LLP and Cooley LLP, joining a wave of biotechnology public listings over the past few weeks.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

IP Group's Microbiotica Raises £36M For Colitis Treatment

By Dawood Fakhir

IP Group said Friday that its portfolio company Microbiotica Ltd. has raised £36 million ($48 million) to develop a treatment for ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Greenberg Traurig Hires Sidley Private Funds Atty In Chicago

By Jack Rodgers

Greenberg Traurig LLP has hired a former Sidley Austin LLP counsel, who spent nearly a decade before her last law firm position working with Balyasny Asset Management in a range of related legal roles, the firm recently announced.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Why The SEC Proposed Rescinding Its 'Pay-To-Play' Rule

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent proposal to nix its pay-to-play rule governing political contributions by investment advisers follows years of industry advocacy and commissioner criticism that it suppresses political speech and affects hiring, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

Proposed Rule attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Womble Bond Reports Data Breach Exposing Personal Info

By Jake Maher

Womble Bond Dickinson was hit with a data breach in August that revealed personal information to an unauthorized third party, the firm said in a notice with the Massachusetts state government this week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Suing The Trump Admin Can Have Massive Impact, Attys Say

By Bonnie Eslinger

Lawyers representing clients against the federal government spoke Friday about the challenges and rewards of such litigation in the Trump era, with plaintiff-side powerhouse Elizabeth Cabraser pointing to the potential for massive impact, including one case in which she successfully got more than a billion dollars in grant funding reinstated.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Dems Press Kirkland Again For Details Of $125M Trump Deal

By Courtney Bublé

A trio of congressional Democrats once again accused Kirkland & Ellis LLP of subverting their oversight requests into the $125 million deal the firm cut with the Trump administration last year.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Cooley Reportedly Matches Milbank Pay Scale Starting In '27

By Matt Perez

Cooley LLP will reportedly increase U.S. associate base compensation in line with the pay scale set by Milbank LLP in June beginning on Jan. 1.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Google Class Attys Get $22.7M Despite Hourly Rate Rebuke

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge has approved Google's $68 million class action settlement to resolve a long-running privacy suit, including class counsel's requested $22.67 million fee award, commending the parties' hard work while also criticizing a plaintiffs attorney's "patently unreasonable" proposed $3,000 hourly rate.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Google Users' $85M Fee Ask Stalls Over 'Utterly Lacking' Bill

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge on Thursday rejected an $85 million attorney fee request following a $700 million settlement in a consumer-led case against Google, ruling that counsel's submitted billing records are "utterly lacking in information demonstrating what work was done and for what purpose," while granting leave to amend the request.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fla. High Court Says 'COVID Brain' Can't Excuse Atty Blunder

By David Minsky

The Florida Supreme Court found an attorney guilty of misconduct over his lack of candor when questioned about an interaction with his own witness in a paternity trial, saying there's no way "COVID brain" caused him to violate a sequestration rule and lie to a judge. 

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Attys Can Still Protect Voting Rights During The Midterms

By Cara Bayles

With the midterm elections approaching, a coalition of local and national nonprofits are seeking volunteers, especially lawyers, to safeguard the vote during an election with more states in play as battlegrounds and growing anxiety about federal interference in local elections.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Survey Of Ill. Attys Reveals Mental Health Struggles, Stigma

By Celeste Bott

A survey of nearly 7,000 Illinois lawyers found roughly 20% rated their mental health as fair or poor, according to an Illinois Supreme Court commission report documenting the toll of workplace stress on the state's attorneys and judges, their alcohol and drug use, and barriers to getting them care.

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Balancing The Scales: Criminal Appeals, Sentencing Rules

By Orlando Lorenzo

The Second Circuit has been ordered to take another look at a murder-for-hire conviction in light of the high court's new miscarriage-of-justice exception for criminal appeal waivers, and the top courts in Pennsylvania and Michigan will look at the retroactivity of new sentencing rules. Here, Law360 highlights access to justice stories arising from litigation, verdicts and judgments you may have missed.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Schlichter Bogard LLC leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the full Eleventh Circuit overturned decades-old precedent that took a strict view of when federal benefits law claims could be brought in court.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

The top investigative priorities of a potentially Democratic-controlled Congress are coming into sharper focus with the midterms just weeks away and could impact companies in various sectors. In the meantime, one BigLaw firm formed a board to oversee the use of artificial intelligence and evaluate proposals from its practice groups and sectors. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

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.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »