Business of Law

May 03, 2024
Calif. Appeals Court Calls Firm's Conduct 'Woefully Uncivil'

A California state appeals court has backed sanctions against The Vanderpool Law Firm in a dispute with Masimo Corp., finding that the firm had engaged in misconduct during discovery and noting that it was "woefully uncivil" in its emails with opposing counsel.
May 03, 2024
Harvey Weinstein Denied Win In $1M Fee Fight With Jose Baez

A New York state judge on Friday denied an early win to Harvey Weinstein in his $1 million fee dispute with criminal defense attorney Jose Baez, saying the incarcerated former media mogul produced nothing but a "self-serving affidavit" and "haphazard printout" to make his arguments.
May 03, 2024
Gen AI Shows Promise — And Peril — For Pro Se Litigants

Research on the capabilities of generative AI tools to help self-represented people has shown potential, but there is broad disagreement about how and when pro se litigants should be using them alone.
May 03, 2024
AI Legal Tools Could Be Too Pricey For Those Most In Need

At a moment when generative AI is showing potential to help poor and underserved communities address legal issues they've historically had to face without representation, some experts warn that the cost of legal AI tools could put them out of reach for those who need them the most.
May 03, 2024
How Big IP Judgment Winners Are Insuring 'Nuclear Verdicts'

Until a few years ago, intellectual property plaintiffs who scored large monetary awards — often referred to as "nuclear verdicts" — had to wait out a lengthy appellate process before knowing how much money they would end up with. But a relatively new type of insurance policy is allowing plaintiffs to insure part of their judgment in case it gets reduced or wiped out on appeal.
May 03, 2024
Colo. Jury Hits Berkshire Unit With $7M Monopoly Verdict

A Colorado federal jury on Friday awarded the rival of a Berkshire Hathaway-owned construction supplier $6.7 million for the larger company's monopolistic practices, hours after a judge scolded the Berkshire company's lawyer because he "crossed a line" during closings.
May 03, 2024
California Judge Ousted For 'Willful,' 'Prejudicial' Misconduct

A California state judge has been removed from the bench after an investigation found that he conducted a campaign of retaliation against court employees he suspected of being "moles" in a probe against him and lied about his actions to investigators afterward.
May 03, 2024
Graham Blasts Mass. Judge Nom For 'Radical' Policing Letter

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, blasted a Massachusetts judicial nominee on Friday for failing to disclose prior to his nomination hearing that his name appears on the letterhead of a 2020 public statement issued in the wake of protests following the murder of George Floyd by police.
May 03, 2024
Robbins Geller Attys To Take Stand In $8M Sanctions Dispute

A petroleum refiner will put current and former Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys on the stand May 7 in an extraordinary evidentiary hearing testing what the plaintiffs' lawyers knew about an analyst's now-discredited findings as they pursued since-nixed price-fixing claims.
May 03, 2024
Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

Clement & Murphy PLLC and Yetter Coleman LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Fifth Circuit reversed a Texas federal court's $1.6 billion ruling against IBM in an operating agreement dispute with Houston-based software company BMC.
May 03, 2024
GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

A former general counsel testified Thursday in the criminal fraud trial of former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch that the company's chief operating officer didn't want a whistleblower's claims to get into court, and a South Carolina man and his companies must pay the SEC nearly $24.9 million to settle claims that he misappropriated investors' money to make Ponzi payments. These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.
May 03, 2024
Coverage Recap: Day 7 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial

Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from day seven.
May 03, 2024
NJ Judge Kugler Reflects On 32 Years As A Federal Jurist

With the fates of his colleagues who didn't get the chance to enjoy retirement weighing on his mind, Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler decided this year it was time to call it a career on the bench in Camden, New Jersey, after three decades of service.
May 03, 2024
Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Boies Schiller's Sigrid McCawley

Sigrid McCawley was barely back from parental leave with her fourth child in February 2015 when she flew to New York City to take on a case that would turn her life upside down, and change the world.
May 03, 2024
Judge In Trump's Georgia Case Raises $320K For Election Bid

In his bid for election to his first full term on the bench, the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's Georgia election interference case is enjoying support from a broad swath of the Atlanta legal community, raising over $127,000 in the last three months.
May 03, 2024
Legal Industry Gains Jobs In April Following Downward Trend

The U.S. legal sector eased back into a positive trajectory in April, with a gain of 3,200 jobs compared with the previous month, according to preliminary data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
May 03, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

The past week in London has seen rapper Ivorian Doll hit with a copyright claim, private members club Aspinalls file a claim against a Saudi sheikh, and Motorola Solutions file a claim against the British government on the heels of its dispute over losing a £400 million ($502 million) government contract. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
May 02, 2024
No Atty Fees For Objectors To $5.6B Swipe Fees Settlement

Class members who initially objected to a $5.6 billion settlement with Visa and Mastercard cannot collect nearly $1 million in attorney fees, a New York federal judge ruled Thursday, saying they haven't shown their objections to the original 2013 settlement substantially benefited the class.
May 02, 2024
Recent BigLaw Moves Show Boston Is 'Clearly On The Map'

Three BigLaw firms' recent moves to build out physical footprints in Boston are a testament to the region's thriving technology, healthcare, life sciences and finance industries — a trend that shows no signs of slowing down, experts say.
May 02, 2024
Judgment Vacated In Suit Over Law Professor's Recording

A New Jersey federal judge has agreed to vacate judgments in a suit against a law professor who a jury determined illegally wiretapped her former son-in-law and invaded his privacy.
May 02, 2024
NJ Gov. Backs Letting Ex-Incarcerated Sit On Juries

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday that his administration is supporting efforts to restore the right to people who were previously incarcerated to serve on juries, according to an announcement by the governor's office.
May 02, 2024
Coverage Recap: Day 6 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial

Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from day six.
May 02, 2024
Rules Against Judge Shopping Move Forward At Fed Agency

Federal appellate courts should review most government agency actions, and cases involving those actions that wind up in district courts should be subject to district-wide assignment to avoid judge shopping, according to recommendations approved Thursday by a committee of the federal agency charged with improving government rulemaking.
May 02, 2024
If High Court Upends Jan. 6 Conviction, What Happens Next?

If the U.S. Supreme Court decides prosecutors overstepped by charging a rioter who stormed the Capitol with obstruction, the results will likely be mixed for hundreds of other defendants charged with the same crime, particularly those who have been convicted. That post-appeal uncertainty is nothing new, defense attorneys say.
May 02, 2024
Moses & Singer, Ex-Partner Settle Pregnancy Bias Suit

A New York federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed against litigation firm Moses & Singer LLP by a former partner who accused it of wrongfully firing her after she requested workplace accommodations for her pregnancy, saying the parties have reached "a settlement in principle."

Expert Analysis

6 Ways To Avoid Compounding Errors When Practicing Law

For lawyers and law firms, inevitable human error can lead to claims of malpractice or ethical violations, but the key is to avoid exacerbating mistakes by adding communication failures, conflicts of interest or insurance coverage losses, says Mark Hinderks at Stinson.
What Will Keep Legal Talent Professionals Up At Night In 2023

Hybrid work environments, high demand for lateral hires and a potential slowdown of the economy defined 2022 in the always-busy marketplace for legal talent, and as BigLaw looks at the year ahead, there are five major sources of concern for the teams charged with securing and retaining that talent, say advisers at Baretz+Brunelle.
The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2022

A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from the "great resignation" to potential expansion of attorney-client privilege.
Remote Work: The Top Law360 Guest Articles Of 2022

In 2022, Law360 Expert Analysis writers examined how remote and hybrid work is affecting the legal industry and many areas of law, including employment, cybersecurity, patent venue, immigration and tax.
The Most-Read IP Law360 Guest Articles Of 2022

IP Law360 guest experts dug into sanctions on Russia, Elizabeth Holmes' trade secret defense, and other key topics including non-fungible tokens, patent examiner classification and inventor testimony in a busy 2022.
Artificial Intelligence: The Top Law360 Guest Articles Of 2022

This has been a hugely transformative year for artificial intelligence, with rapid advancements in AI capabilities raising a variety of novel legal questions that Law360 Expert Analysis writers explored, including copyright conundrums, murky legal rights and the troubling possibility of deepfake evidence.
Perspectives

The Most-Read Access To Justice Law360 Guest Articles Of 2022

Law360 guest experts weighed in on a broad slate of emerging access to justice issues last year, ranging from evidence of ineffective counsel to opportunities for nonlawyers to provide legal help and the presumption of innocence.
ESG: The Top Law360 Guest Articles Of 2022

This year, as many companies embraced environmental, social and corporate governance strategies, Law360 Expert Analysis discussions revolved around increasing scrutiny from investors, regulators and state attorneys general, and the influx of anti-ESG bills and litigation.
The Metaverse: The Top Law360 Guest Articles Of 2022

As the metaverse became a popular destination to explore new business opportunities this year, it raised regulatory questions, with Law360 guest experts discussing risk assessments and compliance procedures across various industries, and NFT issues related to intellectual property, privacy and securities law.
The Most-Read Employment Law360 Guest Articles Of 2022

This year, issues related to noncompetes, no-poach enforcement and abortion access were among the most popular employment law topics in Law360's Expert Analysis section.
Trial Tips: The Top Law360 Guest Articles Of 2022

Law360 guest experts offered commentary on the high-profile trials of 2022 and highlighted best practices for attorneys, such as key principles for sound closing arguments that win over jurors, strategies to help witnesses stay focused, and how to recognize the most common cognitive distortions that can cripple witnesses' testimony.
The Most-Read Securities Law360 Guest Articles Of 2022

Ongoing regulatory uncertainty for cryptocurrencies created fertile ground for litigation and enforcement this year, with Law360 Expert Analysis writers discussing a flurry of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission actions that fulfilled the agency's promises of a clampdown.
What 3 Legal Industry Trends From 2022 Mean For Next Year

Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey & Africa looks back on the year in legal recruiting, including practice areas that saw the most movement, which regions seemed most ripe for new office openings and who was promoted to partner, and makes some look-ahead predictions for 2023.
Learning From This Year's Legal Industry Discrimination Suits

To limit the risk of lawsuits and make the workplace a more welcoming environment for female attorneys, it is important to reflect on lawyers' recent discrimination and sexual harassment claims against law firms and public employers, says Hope Comisky at Griesing Law.
Roundup

The Future Of Legal Ops

Legal operations professionals discuss the most important demands facing corporate legal departments today, and how companies are changing or are expected to change in order to adapt.