GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

In technology, the increasing use of artificial intelligence by legal departments will be a major concern for general counsel seeking to control costs in the New Year. And in labor matters, the National Labor Relations Board has a new general counsel along with a quorum and is ready to start deciding cases again.

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Calif. Climate Laws Violate Free Speech Rights, 9th Circ. Told

By Dorothy Atkins

A coalition of business groups urged a Ninth Circuit panel Friday to preliminarily block new California laws requiring large companies to disclose financial risks tied to climate change, arguing the laws are unprecedented and violate the First Amendment, in part by being "completely untethered" to any product or transaction.

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SEC Drops Action Against Ex-Rio Tinto CFO After 8 Years

By Rae Ann Varona

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday dropped an enforcement action accusing Rio Tinto PLC's former chief financial officer of violating accounting and auditing rules, bringing a close to long-running litigation the regulator launched against the mining giant in 2017.

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Roundup

Up Next At High Court: Pollution Lawsuits & Trans Athletes

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will kick off the new year by hearing disputes over the constitutionality of state laws banning transgender female athletes from female-only sports and whether state or federal courts are the proper forum for lawsuits seeking to hold major oil companies accountable for harm caused by their oil production activities along Louisiana's coast. 

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Roundup

Employment Authority: Oral Args, NYC Wage Rules To Watch

Law360 Employment Authority covers the biggest employment cases and trends. Catch up this week with a roundup of oral arguments to watch in discrimination cases, an update on the status of National Labor Relations Board fill-in laws, and a preview of how New York City wage laws could look under Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

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AI Can Help Advisers With Proxy Voting, SEC Official Says

By Sarah Jarvis

Artificial intelligence can assist investment advisers with handling corporate proxy voting decisions, an official with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said in a speech decrying the proxy advisory landscape as dysfunctional.

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Ex-Doximity Exec Cops To $2.5M Insider Trading Scheme

By Sydney Price

The former chief revenue officer of publicly traded medical professional networking platform Doximity pled guilty Friday in New York federal court to securities fraud in connection to allegations that he illegally profited more than $2.5 million by trading on private information about the company's finances and layoff plans.

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Energy Co. Members Sue In Del. Over 'Musk-Like' Power Grab

By Jeff Montgomery

Principals of a Delaware-chartered solar energy venture serving developing areas, including in Africa, have sued for Delaware Court of Chancery rulings affirming control of the business, citing moves by a manager who allegedly "hijacked" it, likening himself to Elon Musk and enriching himself, his family and friends.

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Bernstein Litowitz Asks To Exit $13B Endeavor Stock Suit

By Lauren Berg

Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP asked the Delaware Chancery Court on Friday to allow its attorneys to withdraw as lead co-counsel for the shareholder class action over sports and entertainment company Endeavor Group Holdings Inc.'s $13 billion take-private merger.

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Skechers, Tech Co. Investors Sue For Stock Appraisals In Del.

By Jeff Montgomery

New entrants have joined two stock appraisal suits now before Delaware's Court of Chancery, potentially adding millions to the stakes in existing battles over the value of shares of footwear venture Skechers Inc. and restaurant software company Olo Inc.

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Rakoff Hints 'Baby Shark' Mail-Service Precedent Is Unpopular

By Pete Brush

U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff on Friday critiqued a Second Circuit decision requiring mail service to alleged Chinese infringers of "Baby Shark" trademarks, which he said may slow Google's effort to shutter an alleged China-based global phishing scam.

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Roundup

Real Estate Recap: Predicting '26

By Real Estate Authority Staff

Catch up on this past week's developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including key asset classes and pending litigation to watch in the new year.

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Bradley Arant Grows In Atlanta With United Homes Group GC

By Emily Johnson

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has added the general counsel of United Homes Group Inc. to its Atlanta office, strengthening its public companies team and its corporate and securities practice.

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Examining Privilege In Dual-Purpose Workplace Investigations

The Sixth Circuit's recent holding in FirstEnergy's bribery probe ruling that attorney-client privilege applied to a dual-purpose workplace investigation because its primary purpose was obtaining legal advice highlights the uncertainty companies face as federal circuit courts remain split on the appropriate test, say attorneys at Proskauer.

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Shopify Suit Is An Early Antitrust Test Of 'Buy Now, Pay Later'

An ongoing antitrust suit in Minnesota federal court filed by Sezzle against Shopify — one of the earliest such lawsuits focused on buy now, pay later services — could play a particularly informative role in how short-term credit offerings and the broader market develop, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

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Hot Topics For Family Offices In 2026

For family offices, the throughline of 2026 is disciplined readiness, as navigating impact from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and platform maturation will be necessary to preserve flexibility and enhance client outcomes, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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Opinion

The Case For Emulating, Not Dividing, The Ninth Circuit

Champions for improved judicial administration should reject the unfounded criticisms driving recent Senate proposals to divide the Ninth Circuit and instead seek to replicate the court's unique strengths and successes, says Ninth Circuit Judge J. Clifford Wallace.

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House Passes Bill To Double Ch. 7 Trustee Fee

By Clara Geoghegan

A bipartisan bill doubling the fixed per-case fees for Chapter 7 trustees is headed to President Donald Trump for a signature, after the U.S. House of Representatives passed it Monday night.

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Paul Hastings Taps DOJ Alum From Cravath As Litigation Head

By Andrea Keckley

Paul Hastings LLP announced Monday that it is continuing to expand its litigation department with the hire of a former high-ranking U.S. Department of Justice official who most recently chaired Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP's investigations and regulatory enforcement practice, calling him "one of the nation's top litigators."

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Sitting Judges Advocate For Bill To Allow Them To Carry Guns

By Courtney Bublé

Three federal judges have come out in support of a Republican-led bill to allow judges and prosecutors to carry concealed firearms across state lines.

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Bruce Fein Axed As Counsel In Maduro's NY Drug Case

By Rachel Rippetoe

A New York federal judge on Monday said constitutional lawyer Bruce Fein could not represent Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro after Fein admitted to having never spoken to or entered into an agreement of representation for the foreign leader, who was indicted on narco-conspiracy charges this month.

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Hughes Hubbard Acquires Schulman Bhattacharya In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP has acquired Schulman Bhattacharya LLC, a commercial litigation and arbitration boutique, according to a Monday announcement from Hughes Hubbard.

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Fenwick Adds Former SEC Corporate Finance Division Atty

By Jack Rodgers

Fenwick & West LLP has hired a longtime financial law-focused attorney in Washington, D.C., who is joining the capital markets and public companies practice as a counsel after more than 17 years with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Haynes Boone Opens Boston Office Led By Ex-K&L Gates Atty

By Tracey Read

Dallas-founded Haynes Boone announced Monday that it has opened its 20th office in Boston, and that it has added a former K&L Gates LLP asset management and investment funds partner to lead the Beantown launch.

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Collaborative Approach Helps Chartwell Grow To 300 Attys

By James Boyle

With the addition of a handful of lateral hires at the start of the new year, Chartwell Law Offices LLP has crossed the 300-attorney mark and evolved from what started 24 years ago as a four-person insurance law boutique operating in the Philadelphia suburbs into a 39-office firm.

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Compromise Funding Bill Gives Judiciary $9.7B

By Courtney Bublé

Congressional appropriators have unveiled a bipartisan compromise funding bill for the federal judiciary for fiscal 2026, which includes the judiciary's requested funding for court security and federal public defenders.

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