Ex-Atty Not Covered In $750K Law Firm Purchase Dispute

By Hope Patti

An insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify a disbarred attorney, who is currently serving a 90-month sentence for embezzling funds from his clients and law firm, in an underlying suit claiming he owes more than $750,000 for the purchase of a firm, an Illinois federal court ruled.

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AGs Urge Congress To Reject Trump's Ban On State AI Laws

By Rachel Riley

Attorneys general from 32 states are urging Congress to preserve their ability to pass laws regulating artificial intelligence, contending that the Trump administration's renewed proposal to insert a moratorium into a federal spending bill would leave states powerless in the face of AI-powered scams, harmful chatbot hallucinations and other emerging dangers.

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GTCR Drops FTC Constitutional Challenge Over Merger Case

By Matthew Perlman

GTCR BC Holdings LLC has agreed to dismiss its constitutional claims against the Federal Trade Commission after enforcers dropped their case challenging the private equity firm's $627 million purchase of medical device coatings company Surmodics Inc.

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21 AGs Sue USDA Over SNAP Rollbacks For Permanent Residents

By Ben Adlin

Twenty states and the District of Columbia sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday over new agency guidance barring certain categories of permanent residents from receiving federal food assistance benefits.

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Ill. Judge Trims DraftKings Sports Betting Promos Suit

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge refused to dismiss outright a proposed class action claiming that DraftKings's advertisements fuel gambling addiction, but trimmed a few claims from the suit, finding several of the lead plaintiffs failed to specify when they saw the ads in question.

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Abbott Accused Of Miscalculating Workers' Overtime

By Irene Spezzamonte

Abbott Laboratories miscalculated employees' overtime by failing to include periodic award pay in the regular rate of pay when they worked more than 40 hours per week, a former employee said in a proposed collective action in Illinois federal court.

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Health Plans Defend Renewed Biogen MS Drug Scheme Suit

By Lauraann Wood

Health plans claiming Biogen Inc. illegally stifled competition for its multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera have said an Illinois federal judge should let their latest complaint proceed to discovery because it fixes earlier pleading deficiencies and better outlines the drugmaker's allegedly anticompetitive scheme.

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Bonus Spotlight

Magic Circle Firms Enchant Associates With Top-Tier Bonuses

By Tracey Read

U.S. associates at Linklaters LLP and Clifford Chance LLP have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, as the Magic Circle firms Wednesday became the latest to match the BigLaw standard for this year's associate bonuses.

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Analysis

After Big Win For 2 Trump Foes, A Third Faces 'Tougher Job'

By Phillip Bantz

The recent dismissal of federal criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey does little to help President Donald Trump's ex-national security adviser John Bolton, whose defense in a classified-materials case presents a thornier set of legal and factual issues, experts say.

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Roundup

Up Next At High Court: ISP Liability & State Subpoena Suits

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will return Monday for the first week of its December oral argument session, during which the justices will consider whether internet service providers can be held liable for contributing to their customers' infringing activity online and whether the subjects of state subpoenas are required to first challenge them in state court. 

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Interview

For Covington's Adrian Perry, Music Is A Family Affair

By Theresa Schliep

Despite having a famous rock star dad, Covington & Burling LLP partner Adrian J. Perry wasn't all that interested in being a musician as a young child, but he knew as early as 6 years old that he wanted to be a lawyer.

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Analysis

Calif. Privacy Agency Gaining Steam Ahead Of 5th Anniversary

By Allison Grande

California's data privacy regulator has taken several notable steps in recent months, including handing down its first penalty upward of $1 million and finalizing long-awaited rules on topics such as cybersecurity audits and technologies that use artificial intelligence, and the groundbreaking agency shows no signs of slowing down as its fifth anniversary approaches. 

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Split 6th Circ. Shields Baker Donelson, Not City Councilman

By Matt Perez

In a published opinion, the Sixth Circuit has found that Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC is shielded by qualified immunity as outside counsel for the city of Nashville in litigation over the law firm's firing of a city election commission chair and member of the firm.

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Foley & Lardner Hit With Malpractice Suit Over Chancery Loss

By Rose Krebs

Foley & Lardner LLP has been sued in Delaware Superior Court by three officers of a now-defunct food recycling company who say the firm was negligent when representing them in a Chancery Court case that led to a $1.6 million judgment against them and another officer.

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DOJ Asks Court If It Can Release Epstein Files Under New Law

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking a New York federal court's permission to publicly release the files related to the investigation of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, clarifying Wednesday that it wants to release search warrant results, travel and financial records, police reports, and other materials.

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Keesal Young Poaching Suit Against Stradley Ronon Trimmed

By Madison Arnold

A California state judge cleared Keesal Young & Logan to pursue most of its lawsuit alleging Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young crossed the line when it recruited 10 former Keesal Young attorneys, finding that claims such as inducing breach of contract could move forward, in part, because of conversations among the attorneys.

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DOJ Says Ex-Employees Can't Challenge Firings In Fed. Court

By Rose Krebs

The government says a D.C. federal court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate a lawsuit filed by a former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and two other ex-Department of Justice employees, alleging they were unlawfully fired.

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Hub Hires: Todd & Weld, Freshfields, Shipman

By Julie Manganis

It was a busy November in Boston's legal community as another firm expanded into the market, and a longtime judge traded his gavel for the ability to address his growing concerns about the Trump administration.

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