Ex-Wachtell Lipton Atty Tied To Stolen BigLaw Info Trades

By Chris Villani

A former Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz attorney who later worked for investment bank LionTree LLC is an unindicted co-conspirator in a sweeping alleged insider trading scheme that involved stolen information from several prominent law firms, according to a review of publicly available information.

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Analysis

Social Media Litigation Gains Reveal Potential Regulatory Path

By Allison Grande

Recent suits by a social media user and two state attorneys general in their bids to hold Meta and other tech giants accountable for the allegedly addictive nature of their platforms have brought to the forefront a potentially lucrative strategy for more broadly regulating online harms, as the First Amendment and other roadblocks continue to stymie legislative efforts.

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Fed. Circ. Doubts Ability To Review Sanctions From VLSI Saga

By Dani Kass

Former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal's sanctions against OpenSky Industries LLC and Patent Quality Assurance LLC may be beyond the reach of the Federal Circuit's jurisdiction, a panel suggested Friday.

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Fed. Circ. Debates If Alice Dooms $673M Amazon Patent Loss

By Ryan Davis

Amazon urged a Federal Circuit panel on Friday to wipe out a $673 million judgment against it over data storage technology by arguing that the patents underlying the case are invalid for covering only abstract ideas, which led the judges to debate how the inventions differ from a library card catalog.

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Block Sets Aside $240M Amid Talks To Settle DOJ Probe

By Jon Hill

Jack Dorsey's Block Inc. has reserved $240 million as it works to settle a U.S. Department of Justice investigation tied to short-seller allegations that it turned a blind eye to fraud on Cash App, its mobile payment platform, according to an investor filing late Thursday.

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Musk, SEC Face Judge's Scrutiny Over $1.5M Settlement

By Jessica Corso

A Washington, D.C., federal judge says she will not approve the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed $1.5 million deal to end a lawsuit against Elon Musk until the parties answer questions about the settlement. 

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Social Media Harm To Teens Can Be Pinpointed, Judge Told

By Cara Salvatore

Social media's degree of blame for New Mexico teens' mental health challenges can be statistically isolated and quantified, a health computational scientist testified Friday in the state's $3.7 billion bench trial against Meta.

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Squires Says Yes To 7 Patent Petitions, No To A Dozen More

By Theresa Schliep

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires granted seven petitions for patent review under the America Invents Act and denied 12 other petitions, including a host of challenges by Cisco Systems and Samsung Electronics.

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Colo. Legislators Pass Bill Limiting Surveillance Pricing

By Rachel Konieczny

The Colorado General Assembly has passed a bill that limits companies and others from using consumers' and workers' personal data for setting individualized consumer prices and worker wages.

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Sports Tech Co. Says Judge Made Own Patent Eligibility Case

By Elliot Weld

Finnish sports tech company Polar Electro has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive its infringement case against a rival over a heart monitoring patent, saying a district judge made up his own case for patent eligibility when he ruled the patent was invalid.

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Levin Simes Atty Sidelined For 'Outrageous' Uber Remarks

By Hailey Konnath

A Levin Simes LLP attorney has agreed to take on a more limited role in multidistrict litigation over Uber driver sexual assaults after he made "outrageous" remarks during a meeting with Uber's lawyers, calling one a "pedophile," "rapist" and "scumbag," among other vulgar insults, according to a stipulation.

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Amazon Wins Partial Trim Of Video Streaming Patent Suit

By Adam Lidgett

A Virginia federal judge has decided to trim some of a lawsuit claiming that Amazon's video streaming capabilities infringe a series of patents, finding three claims were invalid.

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Squires Says Fitness Tracker Patent Date Key To PGR Ruling

By Adam Lidgett

Wearable technology company Whoop Inc. has shown that an Omni Medsci Inc. patent can be challenged under the America Invents Act because its effective filing was after a cutoff date in the law, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has found.

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ITC Bars Import Of Innoscience Chips Made Before Redesign

By Elliot Weld

The U.S. International Trade Commission has issued a limited exclusion order barring the importation of semiconductors made by Innoscience prior to an approved redesign, terminating an investigation that was started at the behest of a rival.

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Consumers Say Bank Can't Escape Fintech Collapse Suit

By Rachel Konieczny

Consumers who lost access to their funds following the 2024 collapse of fintech middleman Synapse Financial Technologies pushed back against an Arkansas bank's bid to escape a consolidated proposed class action, contending in Colorado federal court they sufficiently alleged fraud.

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Town Looks To Toss Firing Suit Over Pantsless Mayor Video

By Hayley Fowler

A North Carolina town and several officials have doubled down on their efforts to exit a former IT worker's suit claiming he was fired for releasing surveillance footage of the mayor walking around town hall late at night without pants, pointing to a host of alleged defects in the complaint.

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V2X Cites Lack Of Conn. Ties In Contract Suit Dismissal Bid

By Ganesh Setty

Defense company V2X Inc. told a Connecticut state court it shouldn't face a consulting firm's third-party lawsuit alleging that V2X conspired with RTX Corp. and the firm's subcontractor to remove it from an information technology contract, saying there is no connection to Connecticut.

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Netflix, Staffing Co. Denied Full Pay, Breaks, PAGA Suit Says

By Benjamin Morse

A former Netflix Animation worker has accused the company and a staffing agency in a proposed class action and Private Attorneys General Act suit in California state court of denying legally compliant meal and rest breaks, requiring unpaid off-the-clock work, and failing to pay minimum and overtime wages.

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Ex-Tech Workers' Sabotage Ruined Acquisition, Firm Says

By Kelcey Caulder

Systems implementation and integration firm Palladin Technologies sued three former employees in Georgia federal court Thursday, alleging they caused the failure of a pending acquisition by deliberately sabotaging the firm's performance and stealing trade secrets before jumping ship to work for competitors.

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EdTech Platform Canvas Accused Of Lax Security After Breach

By Allison Grande

The operator of Canvas, a popular educational software tool used by thousands of schools and universities, is facing more than a half-dozen proposed class actions filed in Utah and New York federal courts following its disclosure of a cyberattack tied to a hacking group that's claimed to have gained access to personal data belonging to more than 275 million students and teachers.

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Payment Processing Co. Sued Over Data Collection, Breach

By Sydney Price

Payment processing company Total System Services LLC has been hit with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court accusing it of failing to protect consumers' personal information from hackers, resulting in a well-established cybercriminal group stealing the data over a six-month period and likely leaking it earlier this month.

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10x, Harvard Sue Sequencing Co. Over Biology Patents

By Jarek Rutz

10x Genomics Inc. and Harvard have sued Element Biosciences Inc. in Delaware federal court, accusing the San Diego sequencing company of infringing four Harvard-owned patents through Element's AVITI24 platform and related Teton chemistry.

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Coinbase Stole Patented Blockchain Network Tech, Co. Says

By Hailey Konnath

A Texas company has asked a federal court to block Coinbase from infringing a group of patents covering improvements to blockchain technology, pointing to two of the cryptocurrency exchange's products: the Coinbase Wallet and the Base app.

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Cardiac Device Co. Says Ex-Manager Took Secrets To Rival

By Abigail Harrison

Vital Connect Inc., a company that sells wearable cardiac monitoring devices, told a North Carolina federal court that a former senior key accounts manager pilfered its confidential information only to decamp to a competitor and begin soliciting its clients.

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Communal Streaming App Says IPhone Removal Monopolistic

By Bryan Koenig

Communal video streaming app Rave has filed five separate lawsuits against Apple, including in a New Jersey federal court, accusing the technology giant of booting it from iPhones and Macs under pretextual claims of fraud and spreading malware, which the app says were invoked to protect Apple's SharePlay and its iPhone monopoly.

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Tort Report: Tesla's Legal Exposure Seen As High As $14.5B

By Y. Peter Kang

A new report stating that Tesla faces billions in legal liabilities and a $140 million football brain injury verdict against the NCAA lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen Morrisons sued by a former logistics partner, EDF and Cripps LLP face a claim brought by a family estate near Hinkley Point C and a former BBC broadcaster file a defamation claim against a Welsh news site over articles linking her to Russian state media and conspiracy theories. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Brief

Publishers Seek Default, $19.5M From 'Shadow Library'

By Ivan Moreno

Thirteen major book publishers have asked a New York federal court to enter a default judgment against Anna's Archive, seeking $19.5 million in damages after the alleged "shadow library" failed to respond to claims that it illegally distributes pirated books and research papers.

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2 Firms Advise On OnlyFans Stake Sale At $3.15B Valuation

By Al Barbarino

OnlyFans owner Fenix International Ltd. said Friday it has agreed to sell a minority stake to investment firm Architect Capital in a deal valuing the company at $3.15 billion, with the transaction aimed at expanding the platform's financial services and creator tools.

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Roundup

Taxation With Representation: Corrs, Kirkland, Linklaters

By Zak Kostro

In this week's Taxation With Representation, gold companies Regis Resources and Vault Minerals combine, Long Lake Management acquires American Express Global Business Travel and Vodafone buys out CK Hutchison Holdings to become the sole owner of their telecommunications joint venture.

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Don't Miss It: Paul Hastings, V&E Steer Latest Hot Deals

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

A lot can happen in the world of mergers and acquisitions and equity fundraising over the course of a couple weeks, and it's difficult to keep up with all the deals.

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Regulators Probe Avride Crashes Over Self-Driving Concerns

By Jonathan Capriel

Federal safety regulators have opened an investigation into Avride Inc., an autonomous driving technology developer, after its self-driving vehicles in Texas allegedly crashed into other cars and other nonmoving objects, causing property damage and at least one minor injury.

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OCC Says AI Presents A Double-Edged Sword To Banks

By Sarah Jarvis

Artificial intelligence is "significantly transforming" the cybersecurity threat landscape for banks while also presenting opportunities to help defend against those heightened risks, according to a new report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

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Calif. Hits GM With Record $12.75M Data Privacy Penalty

By Allison Grande

General Motors has agreed to pay $12.75 million — the largest penalty imposed to date under California's data privacy law — and halt its sale of geolocation and driver behavior data to consumer reporting agencies to resolve claims that it illegally kept and handed off this information to a pair of data brokers, California's attorney general and several other state enforcers announced Friday.

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Google Denied Early Bid To Pause Search Data Sharing Duties

By Matthew Perlman

A D.C. federal court rejected Google's request to pause parts of an order in the government's search monopolization case requiring it to give rivals syndicated search results and data, but will allow Google to try again once a competitor is lined up for access.

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Redgrave Adds Ex-Coinbase, AT&T Atty In DC Partner Hire

By Joyce Hanson

Electronic discovery and information law firm Redgrave LLP has hired a new partner to work in its Washington, D.C., office, saying he has played senior legal roles at a cryptocurrency exchange, a major telecommunications company and a disputes and forensic technology firm.

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Live Nation Shows States, Experts Key To Antitrust Verdicts

A New York federal jury's recent finding that Live Nation unlawfully monopolized primary ticketing services and amphitheaters demonstrates that states will not defer to federal agencies when they believe anticompetitive conduct warrants stronger action and highlights the vital role of economic expert testimony in antitrust cases, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

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OCC Proposal Frames Key Genius Act Implementation Issues

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recently proposed rule under the Genius Act previews federal expectations on permissible activities for stablecoin issuers, offering an early guide to potential compliance burdens and state-federal equivalency debates as the stablecoin regulatory regime continues to take shape, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

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How 10 Years Of Case Law Have Shaped The DTSA

As the Defend Trade Secrets Act reaches its 10th anniversary, attorneys at Ropes & Gray examine recent DTSA case law and highlight key takeaways regarding pleading requirements, damages and risk factors.

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The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

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Analysis

Trading Scheme Is A 'Wake-Up Call' For BigLaw Compliance

By Chris Villani

The breadth of a decade-long insider trading scheme prosecutors say was fueled by stolen BigLaw merger information should jolt firms to reexamine their practices to close gaps in internal security, experts told Law360, even if totally eliminating bad actors is nearly impossible.

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Quinn Emanuel Founder Exiting Executive Chair Role

By Tracey Read

Four decades after high-stakes litigation firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan first opened in Los Angeles, founding partner John B. Quinn is stepping down as executive chairman of the firm effective immediately.

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NY Ethics Panel Finds US Attorney Committed Misconduct

By Courtney Bublé

The New York Attorney Grievance Committee has found that President Donald Trump's pick leading the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York engaged in "professional misconduct" last summer, according to a letter released on Monday.

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Trump Taps 6 Judges, Including Picks Needing Blue Slips

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump announced six judicial nominees on Monday, including picks for the Eighth and Tenth Circuits and two district court picks that needed support from Democrats.

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ChatGPT Suit Points To Ups And Downs Of Pro Se AI Use

By Cara Bayles

A recent lawsuit against OpenAI highlights many of the hopes and anxieties about pro se litigants using generative artificial intelligence to churn out legal arguments. The technology raises concerns about confidentiality, hallucinations and ethical issues, but some access-to-justice advocates worry the lawsuit may hinder technology that might democratize legal services.

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Plaintiffs' Attys Sanctioned In Tylenol MDL, Sparking Appeal

By Gianna Ferrarin

A New York federal court sanctioned a plaintiffs' firm and its co-founder in federal multidistrict litigation by families alleging that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen can cause autism, saying they improperly shared confidential information from the case in related state court actions.

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Senate Confirms 13 US Attorneys In En Bloc Vote

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 46-45, along party lines, to confirm 13 U.S. attorneys on Monday as part of a larger nominations package.

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Pa. Law Firm, Doctors Can't Shake Uber, FedEx RICO Suit

By Linda Chiem

A Pennsylvania federal judge said Monday that Uber and FedEx offered extensive and detailed allegations to press ahead with their racketeering lawsuit accusing a Philadelphia personal injury firm and local healthcare providers of scheming to fabricate medical records to inflate accident claims.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week handled a varied mix of settlement approvals, political office disputes, transaction fights, emergency injunction bids and questions over how far the court can go to preserve records for litigation outside Delaware.

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