Simpson Thacher 'Never' Explained Ill-Fated Deal, Exec Says

By Cara Salvatore

A founder seeking over $100 million from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett over a transaction he says destroyed his insurance services company testified Thursday the law firm provided him no education on various words he wasn't familiar with in the deal.

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Fireworks' Valuation Booms To $17.5B After Funding Round

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Artificial intelligence company Fireworks on Thursday revealed that it has reached a $17.5 billion valuation after raising $1.5 billion in its latest funding round.

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Consortium Wins More Time To Finalize £5.7B Energy Biz Buy

By Tom Fish

DCC PLC said Thursday a consortium led by U.S. private equity firms KKR and Energy Capital Partners LP has won more time to finalize a recommended takeover worth £5.7 billion ($7.8 billion).

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Data Center Operator Csquare Prices $1.1B IPO Below Range

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Dallas-based data center operator Csquare hit the public markets Thursday after raising $1.1 billion in its initial public offering steered by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP and Latham & Watkins LLP.

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Analysis

Biggest Sports & Betting Deals To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2026

By David Steele

The year so far has seen increased private equity investment in pro teams and college sports, U.S. pro soccer's plans to capitalize on the World Cup and the Chicago Bears' hunt for a new host city. Here, Law360 highlights the most significant sports deals to watch for the remainder of 2026.

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Feature

As Law Firms Race To Adopt AI, Cost Concerns Grow

By Phillip Bantz

Pressure is mounting on law firm leaders to dive into the AI waters or watch competitors swim away, but figuring out responsible, cost-effective methods to use high-priced legal tech remains tricky, experts say.

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High Court Ruling Shields WaPo In $2.78B Trump Media Suit

By Kelcey Caulder

A Florida federal judge cited a 1964 U.S. Supreme Court case in an explanation of his decision Thursday to end President Donald Trump's $2.78 billion defamation suit against The Washington Post, writing that if he was "deciding this case on a clean slate, the result might be different."

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Zohar Trust Wins $2.4M In Lengthy Row With Lynn Tilton Firm

By Alex Wittenberg

Distressed debt investor Lynn Tilton's Patriarch Partners must pay roughly $2.4 million to the litigation trust for a trio of collateralized loan funds she founded in the 2000s, a New York federal judge has ruled, finding that Tilton's private equity firm breached a credit contract.

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Kirkland-Led Arlington Capital To Buy Optics Biz For £346M

By Tom Fish

U.S. private equity firm Arlington Capital said Thursday it has agreed to acquire Gooch & Housego PLC in an all-cash transaction that values the U.K. optics technology company at £345.6 million ($467 million).

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Deals Rumor Mill

DeepSeek, Shein Inch Closer To IPOs, And More Deal Rumors

By Al Barbarino

China's DeepSeek and Shein and U.S. entertainment company Lionsgate Studios are among the companies nearing potential IPOs or sales, according to recent reports. Initial public offerings from DeepSeek and Shein could value those companies at $71 billion and $40 billion, respectively. A potential price tag for Lionsgate hasn't been disclosed, but the studio behind the "Hunger Games" and "John Wick" movies could attract billions as Bollore Group and Banijay Group emerge as suitors. 

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Assessing New Risks After The End Of The SEC's Gag Rule

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent rescission of its long-standing no‑deny gag rule marks a transition from a regime of enforced silence to one of strategic communication, meaning the question is no longer simply whether to settle, but how to manage the narrative that follows, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

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Series

Being A Magician Makes Me A Better Lawyer

The skills I've developed as a lifelong magician have translated directly into tangible benefits in the courtroom because performing magic and trying cases both live at the intersection of psychology, storytelling, timing and disciplined rehearsal, says Mark Dombroff at Fox Rothschild.

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How Competitive Is Your Compensation? Take Our Survey

Is your compensation keeping pace with the rate of inflation? Do you know what your colleagues made last year? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's Law Firm Compensation Survey.

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Richards Layton Apologizes For AI Errors In Chancery Case

By Rose Krebs

Richards Layton & Finger PA and one of its attorneys have apologized to the Delaware Chancery Court for submitting a filing with errors generated by artificial intelligence, asking that sanctions not be imposed.

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McDermott Atty Denies Pressuring Friend To Alter Testimony

By Rose Krebs

A McDermott Will & Schulte LLP attorney has told a Delaware vice chancellor that he is in "complete shock" and "hurt" by a longtime friend's contention that he pressured him to change his testimony in a Chancery Court case, saying the accusation "is false and without any merit."

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Blue-Slip-Backed Trump Judge Selections Advance

By Courtney Bublé

The first two judicial nominations of the second Trump administration to receive supportive blue slips from Democratic senators advanced to the Senate floor Thursday.

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Goulston Docked Ex-Partners' Pay For Joining Rival, Suit Says

By Julie Manganis

Two Goulston & Storrs PC directors who jumped to Troutman Pepper Locke LLP were stiffed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation in retaliation for leaving, according to a suit filed Thursday in New York federal court.

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Feature

In Uber Assault Trial, A Courtroom Tests Truth Face-To-Face

By Hayley Fowler

This is the first in a two-part series about the Virginia Revival Model courtroom in the Charles R. Jonas federal courthouse in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here, judges and attorneys recall how a sexual assault trial against Uber unfolded in a space designed to place focus on the witnesses.

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Tillis Might Back Blanche, As AG Pick Met Epstein Survivors

By Courtney Bublé

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday afternoon met with a group of survivors of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after retiring Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said his condition for supporting Blanche's appointment to the permanent position was for the nominee to speak to them face-to-face.

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