4 Firms Guide PE Investment In Univ. Of Utah Athletic Dept.

By David Steele

The University of Utah made its partnership with Otro Capital official Friday — marking the first time an individual institution of higher education has reached an investment agreement with a private equity firm for athletic department operations — in a deal counseled by Covington & Burling LLP and Ray Quinney & Nebeker PC for the university and Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP for Otro Capital.

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3 Firms Advise On Crowe's $3B Majority Stake Sale To KKR

By Al Barbarino

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is advising Crowe LLP on a nearly $3 billion deal to sell a stake in its business to private equity firm KKR, with Mayer Brown LLP advising the accounting firm's board and Kirkland & Ellis LLP representing KKR.

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Analysis

Insider Trading Defense May Draw On 'Varsity Blues' Playbook

By Chris Villani

After enlisting a crew of experienced attorneys, defendants charged in an insider trading case allegedly involving deal information stolen from huge law firms are preparing to use a strategy that could take some cues from the "Varsity Blues" case in the same Boston courthouse.

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Ice Cube's BIG3 Basketball League Inks $290M SPAC Deal

By Al Barbarino

BIG3's legal adviser Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP and Graf Global Corp.'s counsel White & Case LLP are guiding a deal that will take professional 3-on-3 basketball league BIG3 public through a merger with the special purpose acquisition company, the parties said Friday.

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Jane Street Used Tips To Dodge Losses, Terraform Says

By Sydney Price

The administrator for bankrupt cryptocurrency company Terraform Labs has urged a New York federal court not to dismiss his suit against trading firm Jane Street over claims the firm used confidential information to profit from Terraform's collapse, arguing that it is liable as an insider and a tippee.

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SVB, Insurers Spar Over Policy Language In $73M Fraud Row

By Hope Patti

Insurers for the failed Silicon Valley Bank are not entitled to a quick win in a $73 million fraud coverage dispute, the bank and its receiver told a North Carolina federal court, saying the carriers' interpretation of the financial institution bonds' extended forgery provision is not supported by policy language.

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9th Circ. Says Kroger Shoppers 'Obtained No Relief' For Fees

By Bryan Koenig

A Ninth Circuit panel refused to revive a consumer lawsuit challenging Kroger's since-blocked purchase of Albertsons, agreeing with a district court that the deal's abandonment renders the suit moot and the consumers have no claim to attorney fees as victors in wins scored by government enforcers.

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Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen the FCA bring a claim against a fund manager it accused of providing investment services despite having been banned, an Ardmore unit sue a contractor two days before the construction group's collapse, and shipping and cruise giant MSC hit back at an entertainment company following separate intellectual property litigation in the U.S. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Roundup

Taxation With Representation: Gibson Dunn, Davis Polk, S&C

By Zak Kostro

In this week's Taxation With Representation, SpaceX prices a $75 billion initial public offering at its designated price range, Apollo Global Management leads a capital commitment for a Broadcom initiative to build artificial intelligence infrastructure for companies including Anthropic, and pharma giant GSK acquires cancer therapy specialist Nuvalent.

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Brief

Akin Recruits Corporate Pro In Dallas From Katten

By Tracey Read

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has expanded its corporate practice with a former Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP attorney in Dallas.

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SEC Disgorged Fund Distribution Is Next Query After Sripetch

Following the Supreme Court's Sripetch v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission decision, investor harm isn't required for the SEC to obtain a disgorgement award, but future cases must resolve whether the commission will be freed from a requirement to distribute disgorged funds to the victims of alleged misconduct, says Daniel Walfish at Katsky Korins.

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More BigLaw Raises Predicted Despite Silence After Milbank

By Alison Knezevich

While boutiques make up many of the law firms that have quickly matched Milbank LLP's recently announced associate raises, recruiters told Law360 Pulse this week that they predict more BigLaw firms will eventually reveal their own salary hikes.

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Q&A

JAMS Chief Executive Says Mass Arbitrations On The Rise

By Kellie Mejdrich

Mediation giant JAMS says it has seen a major upswing in mass arbitrations in employment and other contexts, as plaintiff-side firms develop new ways of responding to language requiring out-of-court dispute resolution by companies. CEO Kimberly Taylor and veteran JAMS mediator Robert Meyer spoke to Law360 about mediation trends, with a specific focus on employee benefits disputes.

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Atty Faces Sanctions Over Fake Quotes In Taco TM Fight

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut attorney could be sanctioned for including fake case quotes and misrepresentations of the law in court filings that seek dismissal of a trademark case against a taco restaurant, a federal judge said Friday in questioning whether the documents were sullied by artificial intelligence.

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Analysis

3 Things To Know As Judge Stares Down Impeachment Push

By Kelcey Caulder

The scandal that could cost U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross her job also threatens to cause courthouse chaos in the form of recusal motions, bids to reopen suits and uncertainty for clerks. Here, Law360 looks at three things to know about the calls to impeach the judge and their potential fallout.

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Texas Court Urged To Keep Judge Romance Suit Alive

By Adrian Cruz

In multiple filings, EJS Investment Holdings LLC has asked a Texas federal judge to reject attempts by former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones and other parties to dismiss its proposed class action over his secret romance with a former Jackson Walker LLP partner.

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'Poor Lawyering': Walmart Flub Haunts Class Attys At 9th Circ.

By Jeff Overley

Amid warnings of a chilling effect on plaintiffs counsel, a Ninth Circuit panel Friday scrutinized six-figure sanctions against attorneys whose false advertising suit targeting Walmart Inc. collapsed because of crucial fine print in an avocado oil receipt.

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No Amici In Comey Seashell Threat Case, Judge Says

By Craig Clough

A North Carolina federal judge on Friday said she will not allow any amici to weigh in on former FBI Director James Comey's criminal charges alleging he threatened President Donald Trump with a social media post, finding the parties are "ably represented" by counsel and public input is not needed.

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Ill. Judge Decries Grand Jury 'Turmoil,' Tosses Fraud Charges

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge agreed Friday to dismiss fraud charges against two men ahead of an evidentiary hearing probing recent grand jury misconduct claims, but cautioned that "getting rid" of the case may not have prosecutors' desired effect, as such allegations continue causing "turmoil" throughout the district court.

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Deluge Of Video Evidence Overwhelms Criminal Cases

By Brandon Lowrey

Surveillance cameras and police body cameras are creating a flood of video evidence that can help prosecutors and defense attorneys build strong cases. But many have been struggling with the technical and logistical challenges that come with the sheer volume of footage.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Elon Musk and SpaceX's legal team blasted off with the largest IPO in history, with shares priced at $150 each at opening before briefly topping $176. And a new study shows investors have approved 11 of 17 companies' requests to move their incorporation from Delaware to Texas so far this proxy season.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Kirkland & Ellis LLP leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Los Angeles jury in a bellwether trial cleared Johnson & Johnson of any liability in the deaths of three women from ovarian cancer.

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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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