Algorithms In Senate Spotlight After Social Media Suit Losses

By Emily Field

Lawyers and parents on Wednesday urged lawmakers to strengthen protections for children online, focusing on the addictiveness of social media algorithms after two recent trial losses for Big Tech.

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'Powerful' Risk For Women Using Talc, UC Prof Tells Jury

By Craig Clough

An epidemiology professor at the University of California, San Francisco testified Wednesday in a Los Angeles bellwether trial over claims Johnson & Johnson's talc products caused deadly ovarian cancer in three women, saying there are multiple studies concluding the product increases the risk of the disease, including one finding a "very powerful" risk.

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Bayer, Buyers Get Final OK Of $4.85M Benzene Settlement

By Mike Curley

A New Jersey federal judge on Wednesday gave final approval to a $4.85 million settlement to end claims against Bayer Healthcare LLC and others alleging that antifungal products were contaminated with benzene.

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Ill. Jury Awards $49.5M To Ethiopian Air Victim's Family

By Lauraann Wood

Illinois federal jurors awarded $49.5 million Wednesday to the family of a global health worker who died alongside 156 others when a Boeing jet carrying Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 crashed within minutes of takeoff.

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Conn. PFAS Plaintiffs Deny Forum Shopping In Montana Suit

By Mike Curley

The City of Stamford and a local fire district are pushing back against a bid by 3M and others to sanction them for moving their claims from Connecticut to Montana, saying the sanctions bid misrepresents the facts and circumstances motivating them to join the litigation.

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Roblox Exploits Kids' Labor To Build Games, Action Claims

By Jonathan Capriel

A Georgia mother accused gaming giant Roblox Corp. of turning her 13-year-old son into an unpaid game developer who worked more than 40 hours weekly, funneling him and millions of other children into a virtual currency system designed to trap their labor, according to a proposed class action filed in New York federal court.

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Fla. Law Makes Lyft Immune To Passenger's Assault Suit

By Y. Peter Kang

A Florida state appeals court ruled Wednesday that a state law shielding Lyft and other ride-hailing companies from liability bars a suit over a driver's alleged assault of a passenger, noting that the law's immunity provision is "very broad."

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Brief

Frito-Lay Poppables Have 'Synthetic Flavors,' Suit Says

By Jonathan Capriel

Frito-Lay Inc. was hit with a proposed class action accusing it of deceiving consumers by labeling Lay's Poppables as having "no artificial flavors" when they actually contain two ingredients that are not natural.

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EPA Must Reconsider Flame Retardant Regs, 9th Circ. Says

By Rachel Riley

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must revisit rulemaking on a flame retardant known as decaBDE, a Ninth Circuit panel said Wednesday, agreeing with a Native American tribe and environmental groups that the federal agency failed to adequately explain its past decisions declining to further regulate the chemical's disposal.

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Ore. Justices Urged To Reverse PacifiCorp Appeal Win

By Cara Salvatore

Property owners urged the Oregon Supreme Court Wednesday to overturn a decision wiping out their wildfire damages verdict against PacifiCorp, saying the ruling leaves the state "without a workable framework" for class trials and citing "unfortunate appearance-of-justice concerns" regarding the judge who wrote the opinion.

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Thompson Hine Hires Nelson Mullins, Ex-NHTSA Atty In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Thompson Hine LLP has hired a former Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP lawyer, who the firm said helped lead one of the largest and most complex consumer product recalls in U.S. history while working at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Series

The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

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Blank Rome Adds Husch Blackwell's Dallas Leader

By Lynn LaRowe

Blank Rome LLP has added a former Husch Blackwell LLP lawyer to its finance, restructuring and bankruptcy practice in Dallas as the firm continues to strengthen its investment in the north Texas market.

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Trump's 8th Circuit Pick Clears Senate Panel Vote

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump's nominee for the Eighth Circuit, who represented the president in the cases brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, advanced to the full Senate on Thursday.

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Lover's Ex-Wife Fights Sinema's Request For Therapy Notes

By Abigail Harrison

A bid by former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to unearth notes and communications from a therapist working with her lover's ex-wife should be summarily denied, as the ex-wife, Heather Ammel, told a North Carolina federal court Thursday that the request is a clear overreach.

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Fenwick Hit With FTX Suit In DC Over $525M Losses

By Emily Lever

A group of former FTX customers has sued Fenwick & West LLP in federal court in Washington over its work representing FTX from 2018 to 2022, seeking to recover more than $525 million for losses stemming from the cryptocurrency exchange's collapse.

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NJ Lawmakers Slam Attacks On Judiciary At State Bar Panel

By George Woolston

A bipartisan panel of New Jersey lawmakers condemned partisan attacks on judges and the judiciary on Wednesday, urging Garden State attorneys to uphold their oath to the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law and to "step back from the keyboard."

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NYC Bar Endorses Random Audits For Law Firm Accounts

By Emily Sawicki

The New York City Bar Association's Professional Discipline Committee on Thursday threw its support behind a statewide bill to institute a random audit program for law firm financial accounts.

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Ogletree Fights Atty's Discovery Bid For DQ Push In Bias Suit

By Lynn LaRowe

A Georgia federal court should deny a bid for discovery aimed at disqualifying Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC from defending a security company against discrimination claims because the request stems from the plaintiff's lawyer's "personal grievances," the company said Thursday.

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Exclusive

Ballard Spahr Chair Elected To Second Term

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Peter V. Michaud has been elected to a second three-year term as chair of Ballard Spahr LLP and will steer the firm through the end of 2029, Law360 Pulse has learned.

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DOJ Asserts Broad Power In BigLaw Executive Order Appeal

By Jared Foretek

A Trump administration attorney told the D.C. Circuit on Thursday that the courts have no authority to review the president's decision to revoke someone's security clearance for any reason, including race, religion, or even refusal to pay a $1 million bribe.

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Analysis

Insider Trading Case Shows BigLaw Associate Vetting Gaps

By Chris Villani

A BigLaw attorney who was able to move through three major firms while allegedly orchestrating a massive insider trading scheme may have been aided by relatively loose hiring practices for associates that firms may consider strengthening moving forward, recruiting experts told Law360.

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Insurer Says Denver Law Firm Let $825K Deal Go To Scammer

By Gianna Ferrarin

An insurance defense law firm negligently allowed a $825,000 workers' compensation settlement to be sent to an impostor, forcing Chubb unit Federal Insurance Co. to replace the misdirected funds, according to a complaint filed in Colorado state court.

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Thomas Urges Defense Of Constitution At Judicial Conference

By Carolina Bolado

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas urged attendees at the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference on Thursday to "stand up" for the U.S. Constitution and to see the positives in the country, despite its flaws, on its 250th birthday.

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Foster Garvey Names New CEO, CFO In Pacific Northwest

By Ben Adlin

Foster Garvey PC promoted two leaders in Seattle and Portland, Oregon, the law firm announced Thursday, naming Scott Flichtbeil as CEO and Andrew Randles as chief financial officer.

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