Analysis

Ga. Utility Board Likely To Tighten Rules For Data Centers

By Kelcey Caulder

The new Democratic majority at the Georgia Public Service Commission could mean tougher rules for big power users like data centers, experts told Law360, but legal limitations and the slow-moving nature of energy planning may blunt the near-term effect of the commission's shake-up.

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Ga. Atty Fights Sanctions Bid For Sharing Severance Talks

By Andrea Keckley

An attorney for a woman suing the investment firm that laid her off told a Georgia federal judge Wednesday that a defense lawyer's bid to sanction him for causing "reputational harm and professional embarrassment" by publicizing comments made during confidential severance negotiations suggests the firm knew those comments amounted to illegal retaliation.

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Port Workers Urge Court to Keep Union Nepotism Claims Alive

By Katherine Smith

Port of Savannah workers have asked a Georgia federal court to reject an International Longshoremen's Association local's bid for an early win in their class action alleging it divided a hiring list and funneled jobs to union leaders' family and friends, claiming officials lied about the reasons driving the split.

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Airlines Hit With Broad Antitrust Suit Over Price Info Exchange

By Rachel Riley

Major airlines including Delta, United, American, Alaska, JetBlue and Southwest have kept airfares high by sharing proprietary dynamic pricing information through a revamped data hub operated by Airline Tariff Publishing Co., two ticket buyers claim in a proposed class action filed in Washington federal court Wednesday.

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Home Depot, Others Fight Bid To Merge Tariff Refund Suits

By Jack McLoone

Home Depot said it opposed combining every proposed customer class action over increased costs from tariffs into multidistrict litigation, claiming there are too many economic differences between the suits. 

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Tax Court Denies Partnerships' $46.1M Charitable Deductions

By Zak Kostro

Two Georgia partnerships that formed to buy adjacent tracts of rural, mountainous land in Tennessee improperly claimed charitable contribution deductions of about $26.7 million and $19.4 million, the U.S. Tax Court ruled Thursday, saying the companies failed to obtain a qualified appraisal.

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23 States Look To Defend Pipeline From Tribe's Shutdown Bid

By Taylor Bowie

Attorneys general for 23 states are telling a D.C. federal judge that federal agencies won't adequately represent their economic interests in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's suit seeking to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline.

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11th Circ. Backs Order Requiring Clearer Fla. Medicaid Notices

By Carolina Bolado

The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a lower court's ruling that Florida's notices to residents cutting their Medicaid coverage were so confusing that they violated the enrollees' due process rights by depriving them of a chance to challenge the decision.

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Atlanta Tax Boutique Picks Up Former IRS Attorney

By David Aaro

Atlanta-based firm Wiggam Law has expanded its tax law team by adding a former Internal Revenue Service attorney who brings more than 24 years of experience representing taxpayers and the government.

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Series

Open-Water Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Swimming long distances in open waters is not necessarily an escape from my intellectual property practice, but a complementary discipline that similarly rewards sustained attention, intellectual curiosity, resilience and the ability to pursue a distant objective without losing command of the immediate task, says Christina MacDougall at Morgan Lewis.

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Are You Happy With Your In-House Role? Take Our Survey

Is your company giving you everything you need to succeed? What are some misconceptions about working in-house? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Satisfaction Survey.

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Alston & Bird Hires 2 Ex-Goodwin Procter Real Estate Pros

By Kevin Penton

Alston & Bird LLP has added two real estate attorneys previously with Goodwin Procter LLP as partners in Los Angeles, the firm announced Friday.

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US Charges 3 Over $129M AI Scam Using Fake UK Lawyers

By Laura Stewart Liberty

U.S. prosecutors said Thursday they have charged three men, including one facing extradition from London, for allegedly defrauding companies of $129 million through a scheme that used AI to impersonate executives and U.K. lawyers.

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Defeated Texas Justice Being Considered For Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

With the clock ticking on Republicans' control of the Senate, President Donald Trump is considering putting a Texas Supreme Court justice who just lost reelection on the federal bench.

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Ice Miller Sued Over $729K Award After Losing Federal Forum

By Andrea Keckley

A couple who hired Ice Miller LLP to defend their organization against a breach of contract suit have accused the firm in Indiana federal court of exposing them to additional litigation with a settlement that failed to preserve federal jurisdiction over future disputes.

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Japan's Anderson Mori Plans 2-Office Spring Launch In Texas

By Lynn LaRowe

Japan's Anderson Mori & Tomotsune is planning to enter the U.S. market next year with offices in Dallas and Houston, citing the Lone Star State's status as a business hub and client demand from global and Japanese businesses as factors driving the expansion.

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WilmerHale Rehires Treasury Official, Former Counsel In DC

By Jack Rodgers

A former Treasury Department official who worked as the agency's undersecretary for domestic finance has rejoined WilmerHale's financial institutions group as a partner, the firm announced Friday.

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Brief

Goldberg Segalla Adds Retail And Hospitality Partner In NJ

By Matt Perez

Goldberg Segalla LLP announced it has hired a former Reilly McDevitt & Henrich PC attorney to be a partner in its retail and hospitality practice group.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Susman Godfrey LLP, Langer Grogan & Diver PC, Hausfeld LLP and MoloLamken LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Ninth Circuit ruled that a former federal judge erred by scrapping a $4.7 billion jury verdict against the National Football League in a class action over the price of its Sunday Ticket broadcast package.

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Law Firm Sues Sierra Leone Over $361K Legal Bill

By Jared Foretek

Law firm Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC claims in a complaint filed in D.C. federal court that Sierra Leone's government stiffed it on more than $300,000 in legal fees and costs after the firm defended it against earlier claims of unpaid fees by Jenner & Block.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

The U.S. Department of Justice's new cash rewards program for tips on criminal fraud could backfire in some cases, experts say. Elsewhere, attorneys are weighing new strategies in the wake of Texas' historic blue shift during the midterm elections. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Brief

US Legal Sector Jobs Reached Record High In October

By Tracey Read

The legal industry's hot streak continued last month, adding 2,400 more jobs in October to reach a record high, according to seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Mich. Supreme Court Chief Next To Lead Chief Justice Group

By Melanie Dorsey

The Michigan Supreme Court's chief justice has been named president-elect of the Conference of Chief Justices, a national organization representing the highest-ranking state judicial officers, and she plans to focus on expanding access to legal services, reforming attorney licensing and strengthening courthouse security.

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3rd Circ. Preview: UPenn Staff Rifts, FTC $3M Fee Fight

By George Woolston

The Third Circuit began its November session by examining Tree of Life synagogue shooter Robert Bowers' appeal of his death sentence and is set to hear a number of other matters ranging from a state's bid to restore millions of dollars in food aid, to the federal government fighting a $3 million counsel fee award, to reviewing the third-party harassment test.

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Blank Rome Partner, Hotel Founder Disputes $15.6M Tax Bill

By Zak Kostro

A Blank Rome LLP partner who founded a luxury boutique hotel in Italy told the U.S. Tax Court the IRS improperly determined he owes roughly $15.6 million in taxes and penalties, disputing the agency's assertion that his hotel operations didn't qualify as a business for purposes of claiming expenses.

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Squire Patton, Baker McKenzie Hit With Data Breach Suits

By Rae Ann Varona

Squire Patton Boggs LLP and Baker McKenzie failed to protect private personal information stored in the law firms' systems from separate cyberattacks and delayed notifying affected individuals for roughly two months, two proposed class actions filed in Ohio and Illinois federal courts have alleged.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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Judge Kewalramani Warns Against Taking Sanctions Lightly

By Dani Kass

Retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Shashi Kewalramani on Friday cautioned patent attorneys to be extremely discerning when filing sanctions motions, comparing it to crying "fire" in a crowded room.

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