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Massachusetts
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April 29, 2024
Kirkland Adds 2nd Funds Group From Goodwin This Year
Kirkland & Ellis LLP has hired a group of four attorneys specializing in investment funds from Goodwin Procter LLP, the firm said Monday, following its addition of five investment funds lawyers from the same firm in February.
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April 29, 2024
Reebok Says TM Foe Must Foot Bill After Key Depo Called Off
Reebok asked a Massachusetts federal judge to force an Italian shoemaker to pay legal costs and produce its former CEO for a deposition in a trademark case, saying the scheduled meeting in Milan was canceled just hours before Reebok's attorneys were scheduled to board a flight.
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April 29, 2024
Aerosmith's Steven Tyler Beats NY Sex Assault Suit For Good
A New York federal judge denied a former model's request to amend her dismissed lawsuit brought under the city's Gender Motivated Violence Protection Law accusing Steven Tyler of assaulting her in 1975, ruling Friday that the law is not retroactive and the statute of limitations to pursue her claims would have expired decades ago.
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April 29, 2024
DOJ Not Required To Probe Alleged Bias In Boston Contracts
A Boston federal judge won't second-guess a U.S. Department of Justice decision not to investigate allegations of systemic racism in the city's municipal contracting practices, deferring to the department's finding that it lacked jurisdiction for the claims.
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April 29, 2024
Deciphera Stock Soars On $2.4B Deal With Japan's Ono
Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Monday it has agreed to be purchased by Japan's Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for $2.4 billion, which sent the Waltham, Massachusetts-based cancer drugmaker's stock soaring more than 72%.
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April 26, 2024
Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar
In the past year, plaintiffs have won settlements and judgments for millions and billions of dollars from companies such as Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Facebook and Fox News, with many high-profile cases finally wrapping up after years of fighting. Such cases — involving over-the-top compensation packages, chemical contamination, gender discrimination and data mining — were led by attorneys whose accomplishments earned them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2024.
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April 26, 2024
Ex-McKinsey Partner Says Firm Made Him Opioids 'Scapegoat'
A former McKinsey & Co. partner lobbed defamation claims at the consulting firm, claiming Friday that it lied to the government and the public about his purported role in deleting evidence amid government investigations into the firm's work with opioid manufacturers, an alleged scheme designed to make him the "scapegoat."
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April 26, 2024
Crypto Atty's Senate Bid Takes Detour For SEC-Coinbase Suit
The pro-cryptocurrency attorney vying to unseat Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts added to his pro bono work in the digital asset space on Friday by taking up the mantle for Coinbase users in the crypto exchange's ongoing battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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April 26, 2024
ERISA Suits Targeting Annuity Deals Could Escalate
A quartet of lawsuits targeting employers who terminate their pension plans and exchange them for annuity insurance contracts could trigger a new wave of class action litigation if they gain traction, since hundreds of thousands of retirees have been subject to pension risk transfers in recent years, attorneys say.
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April 26, 2024
Ex-Mass. Trooper Handed 5 Years For No-Work OT, Tax Fraud
A former Massachusetts state trooper convicted of stealing overtime pay, lying on his taxes and cheating to get student aid for his son was sentenced Friday by a federal judge to five years in prison for his leadership role in the sprawling overtime fraud scheme.
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April 26, 2024
Sonus $4.5M Settlement With Investors Gets Final OK
A Massachusetts federal judge has granted final approval to a $4.5 million settlement, including $1.5 million in fees for class counsel, to resolve a securities class action between the former Sonus Networks Inc. and investors over a 2015 stock price decline tied to the communications company's revenue forecasting.
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April 26, 2024
Gov't Wants Ex-Boston Celtic Imprisoned For Health Plan Scheme
Prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal judge to sentence former Boston Celtics player Glen "Big Baby" Davis to roughly three years in prison after he was convicted of scheming with a group of ex-pros to submit fraudulent invoices to the NBA's healthcare plan.
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April 26, 2024
Mass. Justices Dash Deported Man's Hope For Remote Retrial
Massachusetts' high court ruled Friday that a man deported to the Dominican Republic cannot appear remotely for his retrial on charges that the justices previously vacated, citing court rules.
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April 25, 2024
Feds Say COVID Fraud Case Against Ex-Pol Clears Early Bar
Federal prosecutors said Thursday that a former Massachusetts politician should save for trial his arguments seeking to dismiss claims that he lied to rake in COVID-19 relief funds and tried to avoid reporting income to the Internal Revenue Service.
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April 25, 2024
1st Circ. Tosses Second Vineyard Wind Challenge
The First Circuit on Thursday rejected a legal challenge to the federal government's approval of a wind energy project off the coast of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, the second such ruling in as many days.
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April 25, 2024
Tenn. Hacker Pleads Guilty In DraftKings Accounts Breach
A Memphis, Tennessee, man, on Thursday became the second defendant to plead guilty in Manhattan federal court to scheming to hack accounts on the DraftKings sports betting site.
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April 25, 2024
Dems Press DEA To Move Quickly On Rescheduling Marijuana
A coalition of Democratic U.S. senators and House members are urging the U.S. Department of Justice to complete swiftly its review of marijuana's legal status and remove the drug from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
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April 25, 2024
Ex-Burns & Levinson Life Sciences Chair Joins Polsinelli
Polsinelli PC announced that the former life sciences co-chair at New England firm Burns & Levinson LLP has joined its Boston office as a shareholder.
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April 25, 2024
Ex-Defender Says Feds Can't Hide Other Harassment Reports
A former assistant federal defender wants to make certain #MeToo evidence public following the trial in a case accusing the judiciary of botching its probe into her own sexual harassment complaint, saying the contents of similar allegations concerning the Federal Defender's Office have already been publicly revealed.
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April 25, 2024
Hospital Operator Must Face Data Privacy Suit In Mass.
A Massachusetts federal judge has ordered a hospital operator to face proposed class action claims that it exposed a patient's personal information to third parties, saying the patient had a reasonable expectation of privacy.
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April 24, 2024
Whole Foods May Have Retaliated In BLM Case, 1st Circ. Says
Whole Foods hasn't yet proven that its firing of a worker who wore a Black Lives Matter mask to work wasn't retaliatory, the First Circuit said in an opinion unsealed Wednesday, ruling that there is a "genuine dispute" as to whether she was terminated for protected conduct.
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April 24, 2024
1st Circ. Upholds Feds' Vineyard Wind Project Approval
The First Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a lower court ruling rejecting Massachusetts residents' challenge to the federal government's approval of a wind energy project off the coast of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, saying federal regulators adequately analyzed the projects' effects on right whales.
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April 24, 2024
Mass. Golf Course Manager Gets 13 Months For Tax Fraud
A Massachusetts golf course manager was sentenced to 13 months in prison after pleading guilty to tax charges, following prosecutors' accusations that he manipulated contracts with a home developer to deflate their value.
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April 24, 2024
Pegasystems Cuts $35M Deal To End Investor Suit
Pegasystems Inc. has agreed to pay $35 million to settle a shareholder suit in Massachusetts federal court alleging the software company failed to properly disclose a rival's trade secret litigation that led to a $2 billion verdict.
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April 24, 2024
Student Gets 9 Mos. For Stalking China Democracy Activist
A Boston federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a Chinese national to nine months in prison for threatening a fellow student at the Berklee College of Music who had posted a pro-democracy flier on campus, citing a desire to deter other foreigners from engaging in criminal conduct to suppress speech.
Expert Analysis
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1st Circ. Ruling Helps Clarify Test For FLSA Admin Exemption
The First Circuit’s recent decision in Marcus v. American Contract Bridge League will help employers navigate the Fair Labor Standards Act's "general business operations" exemption and make the crucial and often confusing decision of whether white collar employees are overtime-exempt administrators or nonexempt frontline producers of products and services, says Mark Tabakman at Fox Rothschild.
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How Cannabis Cos. Are Adapting In Shifting Bankruptcy Arena
Recent bankruptcy cases show that federal courts have begun to demonstrate more openness to downstream businesses in the cannabis industry, and that even though receivership can be a viable option for those denied access to the bankruptcy system, it is not without its own risks and complexities, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Series
Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.
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What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance
Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Industry Must Elevate Native American Women Attys' Stories
The American Bar Association's recent research study into Native American women attorneys' experiences in the legal industry reveals the glacial pace of progress, and should inform efforts to amplify Native voices in the field, says Mary Smith, president of the ABA.
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A Look At Mass. Sports Betting Data Privacy Regulations
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission recently approved data privacy regulations under the state's sports wagering act to promote responsible gaming, showing a trend of regulators directing companies on how to protect personal information used by artificial intelligence systems, say Liisa Thomas and Kathryn Smith at Sheppard Mullin.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: Tracking MDL Geography
In recent years, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has predominantly selected states east of the Mississippi River as venues for new MDLs — but with half of the proceedings it has created in recent months venued in Arizona and California, the panel is not neglecting the western part of the country, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.
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Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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An Overview Of Circuit Courts' Interlocutory Motion Standards
The Federal Arbitration Act allows litigants to file an immediate appeal from an order declining to enforce an arbitration agreement, but the circuit courts differ on the specific requirements for the underlying order as well as which motion must be filed, as demonstrated in several 2023 decisions, says Kristen Mueller at Mueller Law.
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The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms
In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.
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Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary
The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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What Cos. Should Know About FTC's Proposed Junk Fee Rule
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced a notice of proposed rulemaking targeting junk fees and how businesses may advertise prices to consumers — and since it would give the agency powers to seek monetary penalties against businesses that do not comply, companies should look to get ahead now, say Phyllis Marcus and Nicole Johnson at Hunton Andrews.
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FTC Orange Book Move Signals New Pharma Patent Scrutiny
The Federal Trade Commission's recent dispute against improper listing of drug patents in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book indicates heightened surveillance of the pharmaceutical industry, particularly where competition-related consequences of patent or regulatory processes are concerned, say attorneys at Fenwick.
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AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier
Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.
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Harvard's Broker Fight Shows Active Risk Management Is Key
Harvard University’s recently filed suit against its insurance broker for alleged malpractice in handling the Students for Fair Admissions claim illustrates that risk management requires the concerted effort of policyholders, brokers and insurers to protect against disastrous losses, say William McMichael and David Klein at Pillsbury.