4 Firms Build Defense Tech Co. Shield's $5.3B Echodyne Buy

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Defense technology company Shield on Thursday announced plans to buy radar company Echodyne Corp. in a $5.3 billion deal that was built by four law firms.

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Wendy's Rejects $1.4B Trian-Led Take-Private Offer

By Al Barbarino

Wendy's said Thursday that an independent committee of its board unanimously rejected a $1.4 billion Trian Fund Management-led buyout offer that was made public last week, adopting a shareholder rights plan to deter the group from acquiring additional shares without board approval.

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Kirkland Guides DTE Energy On $3B Non-Utility Business Sale

By Nate Beck

Detroit, Michigan-based DTE Energy said Thursday it has agreed to sell its DTE Vantage business for about $3 billion to institutional investors with advice from Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

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Analysis

Blue Congress, Red Regulators: 5 FinReg Predictions

By Jon Hill & Sarah Jarvis

Lawmakers are set to return to Washington, D.C., next week for the final stretch of Republican control on Capitol Hill before Democrats take over, a reversal that is reshaping the outlook for financial services oversight in the remainder of President Donald Trump's term.

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Deals Rumor Mill

Oracle Scraps $7B China Chip Deal Under Pressure, And More

By Al Barbarino

Oracle has called off a $7 billion microchip leasing deal with China's Tencent, a tungsten mining company affiliated with President Donald Trump's sons is planning to go public at a $2 billion valuation, and Clayton Dubilier & Rice is exploring the purchase of the $40 billion payments processor Global Payments. 

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Brief

Linklaters, Cyril Amarchand Lead Adani's $2.9B Evos Buy

By Nate Beck

India-based Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. said Thursday that it plans to acquire Evos BV, a liquid storage operator based in the Netherlands, in a $2.9 billion deal advised by Linklaters LLP and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.

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5 Firms Guide Brains Bioceutical's $750M SPAC Merger

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Cannabinoid life sciences and pharmaceutical company Brains Bioceutical Corp. on Thursday unveiled plans to go public by merging with special purpose acquisition company Armada Acquisition Corp. III in a deal that values it at roughly $750 million and that was built by five law firms.

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DOJ Says Willow Bridge's RealPage Deal Needs No Tweaks

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Department of Justice responded to commenters pushing for changes to the rent price-fixing settlement it reached with Willow Bridge Property Co. LLC, arguing there's no need to add a distinction in the deal between rent renewals and first-time leases.

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Chancery Won't Allow Redo Of Fight Over Fund's $9M In Cash

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday declined to revise rulings in a yearslong dispute over a distressed credit fund's records and more than $9 million of withheld cash, disagreeing with arguments that the fund's former managers and controllers had been improperly swept into the orders.

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Tax Court Denies Partnerships' $46.1M Charitable Deductions

By Zak Kostro

Two Georgia partnerships that formed to buy adjacent tracts of rural, mountainous land in Tennessee improperly claimed charitable contribution deductions of about $26.7 million and $19.4 million, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Thursday, saying the companies failed to obtain a qualified appraisal.

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Sullivan & Cromwell Brings On Weil Capital Markets Leader

By Isaac Monterose

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP has hired the co-leader of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP's capital markets team for a capital markets partner role in its New York City office, the firm announced Thursday.

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Justices' Intel Ruling Could Aid 401(k) Alternative Asset Push

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent oral arguments in Anderson v. Intel, a decision favoring Intel over a prudence claim against fiduciaries based on underperformance by comparing two funds that aren't meaningfully similar would undercut the most common litigation theory against including alternative investments in 401(k) plans, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

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6 Ways RE Projects Can Balance Campus, Commercial Needs

Recent mixed-use campus developments show that housing, research, hospitality, retail and recreation can share infrastructure and institutional identity while operating under diverse requirements, as long as the underlying agreement structures are carefully thought out and drafted, says Bob Burton at Winstead.

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Series

Open-Water Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Swimming long distances in open waters is not necessarily an escape from my intellectual property practice, but a complementary discipline that similarly rewards sustained attention, intellectual curiosity, resilience and the ability to pursue a distant objective without losing command of the immediate task, says Christina MacDougall at Morgan Lewis.

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Are You Happy With Your In-House Role? Take Our Survey

Is your company giving you everything you need to succeed? What are some misconceptions about working in-house? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Satisfaction Survey.

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Alston & Bird Hires 2 Ex-Goodwin Procter Real Estate Pros

By Kevin Penton

Alston & Bird LLP has added two real estate attorneys previously with Goodwin Procter LLP as partners in Los Angeles, the firm announced Friday.

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US Charges 3 Over $129M AI Scam Using Fake UK Lawyers

By Laura Stewart Liberty

U.S. prosecutors said Thursday they have charged three men, including one facing extradition from London, for allegedly defrauding companies of $129 million through a scheme that used AI to impersonate executives and U.K. lawyers.

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Defeated Texas Justice Being Considered For Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

With the clock ticking on Republicans' control of the Senate, President Donald Trump is considering putting a Texas Supreme Court justice who just lost reelection on the federal bench.

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Ice Miller Sued Over $729K Award After Losing Federal Forum

By Andrea Keckley

A couple who hired Ice Miller LLP to defend their organization against a breach of contract suit have accused the firm in Indiana federal court of exposing them to additional litigation with a settlement that failed to preserve federal jurisdiction over future disputes.

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Japan's Anderson Mori Plans 2-Office Spring Launch In Texas

By Lynn LaRowe

Japan's Anderson Mori & Tomotsune is planning to enter the U.S. market next year with offices in Dallas and Houston, citing the Lone Star State's status as a business hub and client demand from global and Japanese businesses as factors driving the expansion.

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WilmerHale Rehires Treasury Official, Former Counsel In DC

By Jack Rodgers

A former Treasury Department official who worked as the agency's undersecretary for domestic finance has rejoined WilmerHale's financial institutions group as a partner, the firm announced Friday.

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Brief

Goldberg Segalla Adds Retail And Hospitality Partner In NJ

By Matt Perez

Goldberg Segalla LLP announced it has hired a former Reilly McDevitt & Henrich PC attorney to be a partner in its retail and hospitality practice group.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Susman Godfrey LLP, Langer Grogan & Diver PC, Hausfeld LLP and MoloLamken LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Ninth Circuit ruled that a former federal judge erred by scrapping a $4.7 billion jury verdict against the National Football League in a class action over the price of its Sunday Ticket broadcast package.

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Law Firm Sues Sierra Leone Over $361K Legal Bill

By Jared Foretek

Law firm Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC claims in a complaint filed in D.C. federal court that Sierra Leone's government stiffed it on more than $300,000 in legal fees and costs after the firm defended it against earlier claims of unpaid fees by Jenner & Block.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

The U.S. Department of Justice's new cash rewards program for tips on criminal fraud could backfire in some cases, experts say. Elsewhere, attorneys are weighing new strategies in the wake of Texas' historic blue shift during the midterm elections. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Brief

US Legal Sector Jobs Reached Record High In October

By Tracey Read

The legal industry's hot streak continued last month, adding 2,400 more jobs in October to reach a record high, according to seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Mich. Supreme Court Chief Next To Lead Chief Justice Group

By Melanie Dorsey

The Michigan Supreme Court's chief justice has been named president-elect of the Conference of Chief Justices, a national organization representing the highest-ranking state judicial officers, and she plans to focus on expanding access to legal services, reforming attorney licensing and strengthening courthouse security.

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3rd Circ. Preview: UPenn Staff Rifts, FTC $3M Fee Fight

By George Woolston

The Third Circuit began its November session by examining Tree of Life synagogue shooter Robert Bowers' appeal of his death sentence and is set to hear a number of other matters ranging from a state's bid to restore millions of dollars in food aid, to the federal government fighting a $3 million counsel fee award, to reviewing the third-party harassment test.

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Blank Rome Partner, Hotel Founder Disputes $15.6M Tax Bill

By Zak Kostro

A Blank Rome LLP partner who founded a luxury boutique hotel in Italy told the U.S. Tax Court the IRS improperly determined he owes roughly $15.6 million in taxes and penalties, disputing the agency's assertion that his hotel operations didn't qualify as a business for purposes of claiming expenses.

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Squire Patton, Baker McKenzie Hit With Data Breach Suits

By Rae Ann Varona

Squire Patton Boggs LLP and Baker McKenzie failed to protect private personal information stored in the law firms' systems from separate cyberattacks and delayed notifying affected individuals for roughly two months, two proposed class actions filed in Ohio and Illinois federal courts have alleged.

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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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Judge Kewalramani Warns Against Taking Sanctions Lightly

By Dani Kass

Retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Shashi Kewalramani on Friday cautioned patent attorneys to be extremely discerning when filing sanctions motions, comparing it to crying "fire" in a crowded room.

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