Blackstone-Led Group Investing $3.1B Into LNG Canada

By Al Barbarino

Blackstone and a group of Canadian institutional partners have agreed to invest $3.1 billion in a Mitsubishi Corp. subsidiary that holds the Japanese company's 15% stake in the LNG Canada natural gas project, the private equity giant and Japanese conglomerate announced Monday.

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BlackRock, State Street Get State AG Coal Suit Trimmed

By Sarah Jarvis

BlackRock and State Street have pared down a lawsuit by Republican state attorneys general accusing them of driving up coal prices, but a Texas federal judge let stand claims brought by Iowa and Nebraska on behalf of their resident electricity consumers.

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Fintech Startup OPay Halts IPO Following Regulatory Inquiry

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Nigerian digital bank and financial technology startup OPay, which announced the pricing of its $304 million initial public offering Friday, told U.S. regulators Monday that it is delaying its planned public debut.

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Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission caused a pair of playground equipment makers to abandon their planned merger, Canadian enforcers upended a deal for the Green Giant brand in the country and state attorneys general reached settlements for several regional deals.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week allowed a stockholder claim over R1 RCM Inc.'s $8.9 billion buyout to proceed, while investors in Meta Platforms Inc. sued to block a stock restructuring they say would let CEO Mark Zuckerberg sell billions of dollars in shares without giving up control of the company.

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Ex-Fairstead Partner Says Late Experts Violate Court Order

By Jarek Rutz

A former partner at affordable housing firm Fairstead Capital Management LLC urged the Delaware Chancery Court on Monday to stop the company from using newly disclosed valuation experts and documents in a fight over his canceled equity, while Fairstead argued the changes were justified and caused no harm.

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AE Industrial Wraps $850M Continuation Fund For Blue Raven

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Technology-focused private investment firm AE Industrial Partners, advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, on Monday said that it closed a new single-asset continuation fund for its portfolio company Blue Raven with approximately $850 million of capital commitments.

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Lowenstein, Loeb Guide Tokenization Firm's $350M SPAC Deal

By Katryna Perera

Fintech firm tZERO Group Inc. and FG Imperii Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced Monday they have agreed to a $350 million merger, guided by Lowenstein Sandler LLP and Loeb & Loeb LLP.

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Troutman Hires Kirkland & Ellis PE Pro In Washington

By Jack Rodgers

Troutman Pepper Locke has hired a former Kirkland & Ellis LLP partner who is joining the firm in Washington, D.C., as part of its private equity and investment funds practice group, the firm announced Monday.

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Calif. High Court Ruling Eases Path To Excess Coverage Suits

Following a recent California Supreme Court ruling in Fox Paine v. Twin City Fire Insurance, policyholders will have an easier time sustaining suits against excess insurers, leading the latter to settle more frequently, buy back more policies, increase premiums and change policy language, says Charles Grosenick at Brown & Winters.

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Opinion

A Capital Markets Agenda For The New Congress

When the 120th Congress convenes in January, it should place capital markets issues near the top of its to-do list, with a focus on legislation that can make the public company model more competitive, says David Kaufman at Thompson Coburn.

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Dems' Senate Win Reshapes Trump's Judicial Outlook

By Courtney Bublé

Democrats winning control of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday leaves the Trump administration a narrow window to fill dozens of judicial vacancies under a Republican majority, with key GOP lawmakers saying they will use the lame-duck session to confirm as many conservative judges as possible.

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Approach The Bench: Judge Wilson On Trial By Zoom

By Cara Bayles and Kelley Marcano

Before she became a state court judge in Washington, Judge Coreen Wilson worked as a trial attorney litigating hundreds of cases, including the country's first binding virtual civil jury trial during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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DOJ Says Trump Adviser Needn't Answer ABA Subpoenas Yet

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Department of Justice is arguing that Trump attorney Boris Epshteyn shouldn't have to respond to subpoenas from the American Bar Association in its challenge to the Trump administration's campaign against law firms until the presiding judge rules on the administration's preexisting motion to quash them.

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Judge Questions Federal Role In Ed Martin Ethics Case

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge struggled Tuesday to see how he could preside over a state attorney ethics proceeding if U.S. pardon attorney Ed Martin gets his way and keeps the case in federal court, as the city's ethics board fought to have it sent back to state court.

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Brownstein Hyatt Faces Suit Over Flawed Cannabis Co. Deal

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado real estate developer and his company alleged that Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP negligently drafted their settlement agreement in a dispute with members of cannabis dispensary chain Native Roots over a sale of the chain's entities, resulting in a roughly $100 million arbitration award against the developer's company.

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Texas Atty Seeks Release In Cyberstalking Case

By Lynn LaRowe

A Texas lawyer who is expected to plead guilty in a cyberstalking case involving BigLaw firm attorneys is asking a federal court to free her, saying circumstances are "materially different" because of mental health treatment she has received while behind bars.

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Adult Daycare Pushes To Revive Suit Against Fox Rothschild

By Rose Krebs

An adult daycare company is asking a New Jersey state court to undo the toss of its suit against Fox Rothschild LLP and one of its attorneys, saying the dismissal was in error because the business had sought more time to respond to a dismissal motion.

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Volunteer Exits Malicious Prosecution Suit Naming DLA Piper

By Craig Clough

A Los Angeles judge on Tuesday tossed a malicious prosecution claim against a former volunteer for Breaking Code Silence on free speech grounds, even as he called the broader case against DLA Piper and the nonprofit "stronger than most."

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Ashurst Perkins ICap Suit Stayed Amid Bankruptcy Fight

By Ben Adlin

A Washington state judge has agreed to freeze a lawsuit accusing law firm Ashurst Perkins Coie of aiding and abetting a nearly $230 million Ponzi scheme, ordering the King County Superior Court litigation be put on hold pending an outcome in a related bankruptcy dispute.

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Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of October

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires during the past month included high-profile appointments at Fox, Dell and LinkedIn. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from October.

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