DLA Piper, Latham Steer $1.4B Driverless Vehicle SPAC Deal

By Al Barbarino

May Mobility and blank check company ACP Holdings Acquisition Corp. said Wednesday they have agreed to merge in a deal that would take the autonomous vehicle technology company public at a $1.4 billion pro forma enterprise value.

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Debevoise-Led Portage Wraps $600M Venture Fund

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP-advised financial technology investment platform Portage on Wednesday revealed that it clinched its fourth fund after securing $600 million of investor commitments.

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EU OKs £1.3B Tinicum-Blackstone Aerospace Parts Deal

By Irene Madongo

The European Commission said Wednesday it has approved Blackstone and Tinicum's joint acquisition of AeroFlow Technologies and British company Senior PLC in an approximately £1.3 billion ($1.75 billion) transaction that the U.S. buyers expect will boost their aerospace and industrial components portfolio.

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Troutman, Latham Lead $585M Midstream Assets Sale

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Private midstream company Silver Creek Midstream Holdings LLC, advised by Troutman Pepper Locke LLP, on Wednesday revealed that it is selling its Powder River Basin crude oil midstream assets to Latham & Watkins LLP-advised Plains All American Pipeline LP and Plains GP Holdings in a deal valued at roughly $585 million.

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Weil Names New Corporate Leaders After Dept. Chair's Exit

By Anna Sanders

Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP has named two longtime private equity and mergers and acquisitions partners as the next corporate department co-chairs, promising to expand the headcount and breadth of the practice group after the former head left for Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP last week. 

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States Say DOJ's RealPage Deal Doesn't Affect Their Claims

By Isaac Monterose

A group of states told a North Carolina federal court to reject property management software company RealPage Inc.'s argument that its rent price-fixing settlement with the federal government moots the states' antitrust claims.

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4th Circ. Doubts Standing In $9B Lockheed Pension Fight

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Fourth Circuit appeared open Wednesday to shutting down retirees' challenge to a $9 billion Lockheed Martin pension risk transfer, with judges voicing doubt about a Maryland judge's holding that ex-Lockheed workers had the standing needed to keep their case in court.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Cultivating Good Judgment

Law schools generally overlook the role that solid judgment skills play in real-world practice, but attorneys can bridge the gap by strengthening their abilities to assess a case’s strengths and weaknesses, develop and execute effective strategies, and provide clear recommendations to clients, says Manny Caixeiro at Venable.

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Burford Exec, Holland & Knight Adviser Open AI-Native Firm

By Andrea Keckley

Two veterans of the legal industry announced on Wednesday that they have teamed up to launch FairPlay Law, an AI-native firm based in Manhattan and focused on representing employees.

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Michael Best Combines With NY-Based Kane Kessler

By Kevin Penton

Michael Best & Friedrich LLP announced Wednesday that it is combining with New York-based firm Kane Kessler PC, adding 36 attorneys and a Big Apple presence to a firm that ranked 143rd on Law360's list of the nation's largest law firms.

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Protesters Say Feds' Fight Shows Need For Misconduct Probe

By Lauraann Wood

The U.S. government's opposition to a special investigation of prosecutorial misconduct that "poisoned" a now-dismissed criminal conspiracy case suggests Chicago prosecutors are still shielding critical details regarding the extent of official communications preceding the prosecution, underscoring the probe's necessity, protesters argued Tuesday.

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Apple Backs Its $132K Fee Ask Over 'Bad Faith' Subpoenas

By Bonnie Eslinger

Apple has urged a California federal magistrate judge to grant its $132,700 attorney fee request as a sanction against plaintiff consumers' lead lawyer in antitrust litigation claiming Google muscles out rival search engines, but said Apple's counsel doesn't want to disclose their "highly and competitively sensitive" negotiated legal rates.

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Newman Saga Prompts Bill To Limit Judicial Suspensions

By Courtney Bublé

The long-running saga over Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's fitness to remain on the court has exposed "major flaws" in the judicial accountability system, according to a Republican member of the House who introduced a bill Wednesday to reform it.

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Brief

Senate Panel Weighs 6 Trump Judicial Picks From Red States

By Courtney Bublé

Six nominees for U.S. district judge appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for their nomination hearing.

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