In an advisory decision Monday, a California federal jury cleared OpenAI and executives Sam Altman and Greg Brockman of allegations they breached the nonprofit's charitable trust by converting to a for-profit, handing billionaire Elon Musk a defeat in a closely watched three-week trial that threatened to shake up the artificial intelligence industry.
Law360
Private Equity
TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

APTOPIX_Musk_OpenAI_Trial_1_145.jpg

OpenAI Beats Musk Suit Over For-Profit Restructuring

By Dorothy Atkins

In an advisory decision Monday, a California federal jury cleared OpenAI and executives Sam Altman and Greg Brockman of allegations they breached the nonprofit's charitable trust by converting to a for-profit, handing billionaire Elon Musk a defeat in a closely watched three-week trial that threatened to shake up the artificial intelligence industry.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

SEC Ends 'Gag Rule' Policy For Enforcement Settlements

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday scrapped a decades-old enforcement policy that prohibited settling parties from denying the agency's allegations against them, saying the policy made it appear as though the SEC was trying to "shield itself from criticism."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ropes Steers Bain Capital's Above-Target $10.5B Asia Fund

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Ropes & Gray LLP-advised private equity giant Bain Capital has wrapped fundraising on its sixth Asia-focused fund after securing $10.5 billion in total capital.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Health Co. Wants Kirkland Off IP Case For 'Cardinal Sin'

By Elliot Weld

A healthcare company suing medical technology company Commure Inc. over alleged trade secret theft has said Kirkland & Ellis LLP should be disqualified from representing Commure because the healthcare company had tried to retain Kirkland prior to filing the suit and shared confidential information before anyone asked who the defendant was going to be.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Nikola Founder Accused Of Dodging $2.5M Settlement Share

By Lauren Berg

Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton "has not paid a dime" of his $2.5 million share of an eight-figure settlement resolving shareholder litigation over a fraud-shadowed special purpose acquisition company merger, the bankrupt electric vehicle company's trustee claims, asking the Delaware Chancery Court to hold the billionaire in contempt.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LITIGATION

Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week handled a broad mix of celebrity estate litigation, merger disputes, investor suits, record demands, sanctions fights and questions over corporate moves away from Delaware.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

EXPERT ANALYSIS

Del. Dispatch: The Hurdles To Early Fraud Claim Dismissal

Particularly where the alleged facts may suggest potentially blatant or egregious misconduct, the pleading-stage standards highlighted in the Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in Diem v. Maisonette provide a ready route for the nondismissal of claims before a trial, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LEGAL INDUSTRY

Murdaugh Sues Ex-Court Clerk Who Tried To Sway The Jury

By Jack Karp

Disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh is suing the court clerk whose attempt to influence the jury in his murder trial led the South Carolina Supreme Court to overturn his murder conviction.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Morgan & Morgan Atty Barred From Harvard Suit Over AI Error

By Chris Villani

A Massachusetts judge on Monday said a Morgan & Morgan PA attorney may not appear before him in a suit against Harvard University over the theft of body parts donated to its medical school, saying the lawyer did not learn his lesson after signing off on briefs in another case with fake case law generated by artificial intelligence.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Seeks Circuit Seats For 2 Judges He Appointed

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump's recent picks for the Eighth and Tenth Circuits mark the first time in his second administration that he's seeking to elevate judges he appointed in his first term.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Wyoming Prosecutor Confirmed Despite Misconduct Rebuke

By Courtney Bublé

Just a few days ago, federal judges tossed nine criminal indictments after President Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. attorney's office of Wyoming was accused of prosecutorial misconduct. On Monday evening, he was confirmed to permanently lead the office.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Half The Nation's Bar Apps Could Remove Rape Questions

By Cara Bayles

By next year, it's possible that about half of U.S. jurisdictions will have amended character and fitness questions to avoid dredging up aspiring lawyers' sexual trauma. But while advocates hail the reforms as progress, concerns linger about the patchwork this could create across the country.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Willkie Atty Banned By SEC For Insider Trading

By Emily Sawicki

A former Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP mergers and acquisitions attorney who earlier this month admitted to taking part in a widespread BigLaw insider trading scheme will be barred from representing a client before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a minimum of four years, according to an order the agency issued Monday.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NY Judge Largely Halts Manhattan Immigration Courts Arrests

By Rae Ann Varona

A New York federal judge Monday largely barred U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from conducting arrests at three Manhattan immigration courthouses, finding there was no good reason why "unfettered discretion" by ICE officers was better than a policy with arrest limitations.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Promo that reads Law360 Pulse 2026 AI Survey

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Actelion Ltd.

Affordable Care LLC

African Communities Together

American Bar Association

American Civil Liberties Union

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

Anthropic PBC

Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC

Chevron Corp.

Clario

Coinbase Global Inc.

Commure

CorMedix Inc.

Google LLC

Harvard University

Houlihan Lokey Inc.

Johnson & Johnson

LinkedIn Corp.

Make the Road New York

Meta Platforms Inc.

Microsoft Corp.

Mid Penn Bancorp

New Enterprise Associates Inc.

New York Civil Liberties Union

Nikola Corp.

Occidental Petroleum Corp.

OpenAI OpCo LLC

Quotient Technology Inc.

Suneva Medical Inc.

Tesla Inc.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

TripAdvisor Inc.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Ltd.

Walmart Inc.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Altman Nussbaum

Bernstein Litowitz

Bochetto & Lentz

Connolly Gallagher

Cuneo Gilbert

Dechert LLP

Emery Celli

Fried Frank

Goody Law Group

Griffin Humphries

Keches Law Group

Kirkland & Ellis

Larson LLP

Law Office of James M. Peterson

Manatt Phelps

Mazow McCullough PC

MoloLamken

Monahan & Associates PC

Morgan & Morgan PA

Morris James

Morrison & Foerster

Paul Hastings

Richard A. Harpootlian PA

Ropes & Gray

Sauder Schelkopf

Shapiro Haber

Toberoff & Associates

Wachtell Lipton

Willkie Farr

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Colorado Supreme Court

Delaware Court of Chancery

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Reserve System

Federal Trade Commission

Georgia Supreme Court

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

New York State Unified Court System

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the District of North Dakota

United States District Court for the District of Wyoming