Deals & Corporate Governance
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April 17, 2024
Walgreens Investors' $36M Deal In Opioid Suit Gets First OK
An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday granted his initial approval of a $36 million settlement to end a stockholder's derivative suit accusing Walgreens and its leadership of failing to limit retail pharmacies from dispensing unreasonable amounts of opioids.
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April 17, 2024
Elliott Waives BioMarin Board Deal, Moots Del. Suit
Elliott Investment Management LP has waived an agreement with BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. that gave the activist investor three new seats on the biopharmaceutical company's board, mooting a Delaware Chancery Court lawsuit that a BioMarin shareholder filed earlier this month.
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April 16, 2024
Eli Lilly's Insulin Price Cap Deal Collapses After Cert. Denial
Eli Lilly & Co. and insulin buyers have called off a proposed nationwide settlement that would've capped insulin prices and been worth up to $500 million over several years, a decision that was made after the buyers lost a class certification bid early this year, according to the buyers' counsel.
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April 16, 2024
NC Treasurer Backs FTC On Hospital Merger Challenge
North Carolina's treasurer agreed Monday that Novant Health's $320 million plan to pick up a pair of hospitals is a bad idea, throwing its weight behind the Federal Trade Commission's challenge to the deal in federal court.
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April 16, 2024
Bankrupt Breast Implant Co. Submits Ch. 11 Plan Disclosures
Bankrupt breast implant company Sientra Inc. has asked a Delaware bankruptcy court to approve the disclosure statement for its Chapter 11 reorganization plan, which provides for a wind-down of what is left of the company after $50.5 million worth of asset sales.
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April 16, 2024
Biotechs Turn To Licensing, Collaboration Deals For Capital
Biotech companies are turning to licensing and collaboration deals amid a tough public market and larger economic slowdown.
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April 16, 2024
Healthcare Merger Deals Carefully Tread New Antitrust Terrain
Healthcare companies are changing the way they negotiate and draft merger and acquisition contracts amid heightened anxiety around antitrust scrutiny.
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April 16, 2024
Struggling Hospitals Seek Mergers As Regulators Push Back
Healthcare attorneys are seeing a slow but steady resurgence in mergers and acquisitions activity across health systems, as distressed hospitals look to combine to offset the financial pressures they've faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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April 15, 2024
Goodwin, Baker Donelson Guide MPT In $1.1B Hospital Sale
Medical Properties Trust Inc. has sold its majority stake in five Utah hospitals to a joint venture with an unnamed investment fund, in a $1.1 billion transaction advised by Goodwin Procter LLP and Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC that comes days after the real estate investment trust sold another group of hospitals for $350 million.
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April 15, 2024
Humanigen Files Ch. 11 Plan Disclosures
Bankrupt biopharma company Humanigen Inc. has filed a proposed Chapter 11 plan and disclosure statement in Delaware court that calls for the payment in full of secured and priority claims, while general unsecured creditors owed a collective $44 million will receive up to 19% recoveries.
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April 15, 2024
Hold This COVID Vax Patent Case, Judge Recommends
One of the suits over Pfizer's blockbuster COVID-19 vaccine hit a snag in Virginia federal court Friday when a judge recommended pausing the case to wait for a ruling in a related dispute over patent ownership involving one of BioNTech's other partners.
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April 11, 2024
Del. Justices OK Denial Of Icahn-Illumina Midcase Appeal Bid
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn may not put his Chancery Court litigation against biotechnology company Illumina Inc.'s board on hold for a review of a decision that struck portions of the complaint that were based on confidential information, Delaware's Supreme Court said Thursday, upholding the lower court's rejection of the midcase appeal.
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April 11, 2024
Kirkland, Jones Day Build $787.5M Sale Of Steris' Dental Unit
Medical device company Steris, advised by Jones Day, on Thursday announced plans to sell its dental segment to Kirkland & Ellis LLP-advised middle market private equity shop Peak Rock Capital for $787.5 million.
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April 10, 2024
Bankrupt Breast Implant Co. Gets OK For $50.5M Asset Sales
A Delaware bankruptcy judge said at a hearing Wednesday she would approve two sales of Sientra Inc.'s assets for a combined $50.5 million after the breast implant maker included several reservations of the rights of various businesses holding contracts with the debtor.
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April 10, 2024
3rd Circ. Skeptical Of Challenge To NLRB Bonuses Ruling
A Third Circuit panel appeared skeptical Wednesday of a nursing home's challenge to a National Labor Relations Board decision finding it unlawfully altered bonus pay it issued during the pandemic without bargaining, as judges questioned the company's argument that the bonuses were allowable under an expired contract.
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April 10, 2024
Bankrupt Hospital Co.'s $16M Deal With Ex-Execs OK'd
A Delaware bankruptcy judge agreed Wednesday to let the liquidating trustee for hospital operator Promise Healthcare proceed with a $16 million settlement with former executives to resolve his Florida federal court lawsuit, which alleged they abused the company's trust by lying to board members for their own benefit.
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April 09, 2024
Investor Can't Get Approval Of Hong Kong Award In Calif.
A California judge has thrown out a petition filed by a biotechnology company investor seeking to enforce a Hong Kong arbitral award that found she is the proper owner of the company's shares, saying the case has an insufficient connection to the Golden State.
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April 09, 2024
Calif. Healthcare Attys Working Late Thanks To New Regs
Attorneys working on healthcare deals in California are logging longer hours and getting less sleep as they grapple with new regulations that came into effect this month.
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April 09, 2024
Tech M&A Reigns Supreme In Q1 After Rare Hiccup In Q4
The technology sector logged the greatest total value of global mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter of 2024, following a rare quarter that saw the industry fall out of the top spot and into third place, data from Dealogic shows.
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April 09, 2024
Healthcare Deals This Week: Merck, J&J And More
From private megarounds to a blockbuster medtech buy, there's been a flurry of deals in the healthcare industry this past week. Among the notable transactions were a $13.1 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson and billion-dollar deals involving Genmab and Merck. Law360 breaks down those and other big healthcare and life science deals from the past week.
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April 09, 2024
Life Sciences GCs On Tighter Regs, Outside Counsel Advice
General counsel at life sciences venture capital firms are navigating increased regulation in healthcare and looking to outside counsel to act as true advisers and problem-solvers as the healthcare industry becomes more complex.
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April 08, 2024
Judge Urged To Reject UnitedHealth's Antitrust Deal Qualms
Patients who cut a $55 million antitrust settlement with NorthShore University HealthSystem are urging an Illinois federal court to reject objections by United Healthcare Services, arguing that the insurer has no standing to derail the deal and that its challenge to the agreement could dilute their recovery.
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April 08, 2024
PE Firm Calls FTC's Antitrust Claims 'Many Yesterdays' Old
A Texas anesthesiology company and the private equity firm that created it told a Houston federal judge Monday that the Federal Trade Commission has gone back "many yesterdays ago" in making its antitrust case, arguing that there's no imminent threat of a monopoly in an attempt to get the case dismissed.
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April 08, 2024
CVS Signing Bonus, Stock Pushed GC's Pay To Nearly $12M
CVS Health Corp. paid its general counsel nearly $12 million last year with a compensation package that included a cash bonus and equity awards to cover money he had to forfeit from his previous employer when he joined the executive leadership team in February 2023, according to public documents.
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April 05, 2024
New Chancery Challenge Launched To Board-Investor Pacts
A biopharmaceutical company stockholder has teed up a new Delaware Chancery Court suit challenging board-investor voting agreements, with the complaint acknowledging wide debate over the pacts and a fast-moving push to amend state corporation law to authorize them.
Expert Analysis
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In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023
Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
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How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season
Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.
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How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
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ESG Around The World: Singapore
Singapore is keen to establish itself as a leading international financial center and a key player in the sustainable finance ecosystem, and key initiatives led by its government and other regulatory bodies have helped the Asian nation progress from its initially guarded attitude toward ESG investment and reporting, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape
The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.
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Navigating Asset Tracing Challenges In Bankruptcy
A Virginia court’s recent ruling in Health Diagnostic Laboratory Inc.'s bankruptcy highlights the heightened demand for asset tracing and the strategic use of the lowest intermediate balance rule in recovering funds from commingled accounts, says Daniel Lowenthal at Patterson Belknap.
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Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.
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'Patient' Definition Ruling Raises Discount Drug Questions
A South Carolina federal court's recent decision in Genesis Health Care v. Becerra supports a broader definition of a "patient" eligible to receive discounted drugs under the Section 340B program, but raises a host of novel questions regarding how the decision will affect covered entities and enforcement actions, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct
The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.
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Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave
To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.
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Activist Short-Sellers Are The Dark Knights Of Wall Street
While so-called activist short-sellers have been subject to increased scrutiny in recent years, these investors work in the shadows like Batman to expose fraud on Wall Street, often generating leads that may move regulators to take action, say attorneys at Labaton Sucharow.
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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.