Massachusetts

  • September 10, 2024

    Retention Bonus Not Wages Under Mass. Law, Court Finds

    A retention bonus does not count as wages under Massachusetts' wage laws because it is a form of "contingent compensation," a state appellate division court ruled.

  • September 10, 2024

    Womble Bond Dickinson To Merge With Lewis Roca

    Womble Bond Dickinson said Tuesday that its U.S. business is merging with regional law firm Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP at the start of the new year, the third law firm merger to be announced in the last week.

  • September 09, 2024

    Biotech Execs Face Investor Suit Over Medicare Claims

    Executives and directors of biopharmaceutical company Ardelyx have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit in Massachusetts federal court alleging the company misled investors over its intentions and ability to apply for a Medicare reimbursement program for its kidney disease treatment.

  • September 09, 2024

    Mass. High Court Hints At Notice Rule To Open Clerk Hearings

    Justices of Massachusetts' highest court on Monday appeared to signal that 28 men accused of patronizing high-end brothels catering to attorneys, political figures and other high-profile clients should have been given a chance to oppose a request by news organizations to open what are normally closed-door hearings.

  • September 09, 2024

    Court Won't Nix Flyers' Case Over JetBlue-American Pact

    A New York federal court has refused to toss a proposed class action from airline passengers who allegedly overpaid for flights while an agreement was in place between JetBlue and American Airlines, an alliance the airlines dropped after a successful government challenge.

  • September 09, 2024

    Owner Of Mass., NH Eateries Cops To $2M Tax Fraud

    The owner of three restaurants in Massachusetts and New Hampshire has pled guilty to failing to pay approximately $2 million in employment and state and local meals taxes over a six-year period, the U.S. attorney's office in Massachusetts announced Monday.

  • September 09, 2024

    DLA Piper, Kirkland Guide $875M Cloud Software Deal

    DLA Piper is representing artificial intelligence-powered infrastructure software company Progress on a new agreement to buy ShareFile, a business unit of Cloud Software Group Inc., for $875 million, with Kirkland & Ellis LLP advising the seller, Progress said in a Monday statement.

  • September 09, 2024

    No Re-Do In Ex-Defender's Sex Bias Case Against Judiciary

    A Massachusetts federal judge declined on Monday to reconsider his ruling that the federal judiciary did not violate the rights of a former North Carolina public defender because the attorney had not adequately put her office on notice of her sexual harassment claims.

  • September 09, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's Court of Chancery made some expensive decisions last week, ranging from a $130 million stockholder award and a freeze on $450 million in equity financing to a whopping $1 billion bill for fraud and breach of contract damages. New cases aimed at Virgin Galactic, settlements pulled in Hemisphere Media Group Inc. and court hearings involving Apollo Global Management heated up. In case you missed it, here's the roundup of news from Delaware's Court of Chancery.

  • September 06, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: Pol Funding, Investor Angst, Climate Risk

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including which presidential candidates BigLaw real estate pros have backed, where one attorney sees investor confidence despite tough conditions, and how extreme weather events are reshaping the property insurance market.

  • September 06, 2024

    Abortion Provider Says Activist Group Intercepted Patient Info

    A Massachusetts reproductive health clinic says an anti-abortion group operating a "pregnancy resource center" next door is secretly intercepting messages from patients trying to schedule treatment, then taking steps to cancel appointments or divert the patients to its own offices.

  • September 06, 2024

    AstraZeneca Unit Owes $130M In Chancery Scuttled-Drug Suit

    The Delaware Chancery Court awarded $130 million to former shareholders of biopharmaceutical company Syntimmune in their breach of contract fight against AstraZeneca PLC unit Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc., finding that Alexion failed to make promised payments after it acquired Syntimmune in 2018 and breached key terms of their merger agreement.

  • September 06, 2024

    2nd Circ. Won't Revive Solar Cos.' National Grid Tax Suit

    The Second Circuit declined to revive one of two proposed class actions brought by solar companies against National Grid alleging it illegally charged them for taxes in an effort to dampen competition from renewables, finding on Friday that the district court properly determined it lacked subject matter jurisdiction.

  • September 06, 2024

    Property Co. Not Covered By Excess Carriers In Antitrust Row

    A property management company is not owed coverage from two excess insurers in an underlying multidistrict litigation surrounding allegations of a price-fixing conspiracy involving software company RealPage Inc., a Massachusetts federal judge ruled, finding the excess insurers had no obligations under the management company's primary policy.

  • September 06, 2024

    Morgan Stanley Fined $2M Over First Republic Exec's Trades

    Massachusetts' top securities cop on Friday imposed a fine of $2 million on Morgan Stanley for failing to ensure that a New Republic Bank chairman hadn't relied on insider information when he dumped millions of dollars of the bank's stock in the days and months before its collapse.

  • September 06, 2024

    Mass. Justices Not Wedded To Engagement Ring Precedent

    A fight over a $70,000 Tiffany diamond ring could upend a decades-old Massachusetts precedent that treats engagement rings differently from other gifts, justices on the state's highest court hinted Friday.

  • September 06, 2024

    Workers At GE Aviation Plant Were Paid Late, Suit Claims

    More than 100 employees of a General Electric aviation manufacturing plant in Massachusetts say they were paid late on multiple occasions, in violation of the state's Wage Act, according to a proposed class action filed in state court.

  • September 06, 2024

    Goodwin-Led Cancer Biotech Eyes Roughly $200M IPO

    Drug developer Bicara Therapeutics Inc., advised by Goodwin Proctor LLP, announced on Friday plans to raise around $200 million in its initial public offering, with the proceeds going toward developing bifunctional antibodies designed to treat solid tumors.

  • September 05, 2024

    Clubman Talc Settles Prominent Developer's Asbestos Claims

    The company behind Pinaud Clubman talcum powder products has settled claims that its merchandise contained asbestos and caused cancer in a real estate developer described by attorneys for co-defendant Johnson & Johnson as the "Donald Trump of Springfield, Massachusetts."

  • September 05, 2024

    Mass. Bar Association Prez Aims To Keep New Attys In State

    With so many top law schools in Massachusetts, the state has no problem attracting aspiring attorneys, but keeping them in the state is another matter, said new Massachusetts Bar Association president Victoria "Tori" Santoro, who spoke to Law360 about her plans for her tenure.

  • September 05, 2024

    Circor Dodges SEC Fine As Ex-Exec Faces Falsified Docs Suit

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday said industrial valve manufacturer Circor International Inc. has avoided a penalty after it self-reported and remediated an alleged accounting scheme, while the agency sued a former executive accused of falsifying the financial results for one of the company's business units.

  • September 05, 2024

    Shoemaker Can't Avoid Birkenstock's Copycat Suit

    A Massachusetts-based shoemaker and its manufacturer must face almost every intellectual property claim brought against it by Birkenstock after a federal judge declined to dismiss all but one claim in the popular brand's suit alleging design patent, trademark and trade dress infringement.

  • September 05, 2024

    Liberty Mutual Settles Call Center Workers' Pay Complaint

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday signed off on a settlement between Liberty Mutual and a group of workers at a call center in Pennsylvania over allegations the insurer forced the employees to perform various tasks before and after their shifts without pay.

  • September 05, 2024

    Flyers Denied $34M Fee For JetBlue, Spirit Deal Challenge

    Airline passengers who launched an antitrust lawsuit over JetBlue's since-scrapped plan to merge with Spirit won't recoup any of the $34 million in legal fees they urged a Massachusetts federal court to award because the travelers can't be considered to have won on their claims, a federal judge in Boston said Thursday.

  • September 05, 2024

    Ex-Defender Wants Judge To Reassess Judiciary Bias Ruling

    A former assistant public defender in North Carolina has asked a Massachusetts federal judge to reconsider his bench ruling siding with the federal judiciary in her due process and equal protection case, saying the facts all point in her favor and the judge misapplied the law in rendering his decision.

Expert Analysis

  • Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act

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    As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.

  • PE Firms Should Prepare For Increased False Claims Scrutiny

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    The impact private equity firms may have over medical decisions and care is increasingly attracting potential liability under the False Claims Act and attention from states and the federal government, so investors should follow best practices including conducting due diligence both before and after acquisitions, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Menendez Corruption Ruling Highlights Attorney Proffer Risks

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    The recent admission of slides used in a preindictment presentation as evidence during U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial highlights the potential pitfalls of using visual aids in attorney proffers, and the increasing importance of making disclaimers regarding information presented at the outset of proffers, say Carrie Cohen and Savanna Leak at MoFo.

  • Eye On Compliance: New Pregnancy And Nursing Protections

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    With New York rolling out paid lactation breaks and extra leave for prenatal care, and recent federal legislative developments enhancing protection for pregnant and nursing workers, employers required to offer these complex new accommodations should take several steps to mitigate their compliance risks, says Madjeen Garcon-Bonneau at Wilson Elser.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Patent Lessons From 5 Federal Circuit Reversals In June

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    A look at June cases where the Federal Circuit reversed or vacated decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal district court highlights a potential path for branded drugmakers to sue generic-drug makers for off-label uses, potential downsides of violating a pretrial order offering testimony, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • The Rise Of State And Local Environmental Leadership

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    While Congress is deadlocked, and a U.S. Supreme Court with a hostility toward the administrative state aggressively dismantles federal environmental oversight, state and local governments are stepping up with policies to shape a more sustainable future for all species, says Jonathan Rosenbloom at Albany Law School.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • New State Climate Liability Laws: What Companies Must Know

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    New legislation in Vermont and New York creating liability and compliance obligations for businesses deemed responsible for climate change — as well as similar bills proposed in California, Massachusetts and Maryland — have far-reaching implications for companies, so it is vital to remain vigilant as these initiatives progress, say Gregory Berlin and Jeffrey Dintzer at Alston & Bird.

  • Opinion

    Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism

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    As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.

  • A Look At State AGs Supermarket Antitrust Enforcement Push

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    The ongoing antitrust intervention by state attorneys general in the proposed Kroger and Albertsons merger suggests that states are straying from a Federal Trade Commission follow-on strategy in the supermarket space, which involved joining federal investigations or lawsuits and settling for the same divestment remedies, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.

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