Pa. Justices Suspect 'Skill Games' Are Gambling Devices

By Matthew Santoni

In a case poised to determine the legality of the Pennsylvania Skill games proliferating in gas stations and storefronts, at least four justices on the state Supreme Court seemed ready on Thursday to consider them gambling devices, given that the skill element could be skipped or may have already been contemplated in the state's gaming code.

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Ex-Kline & Specter Atty's Video Hinted At Violence, Court Told

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Kline & Specter PC co-founder Shanin Specter said Thursday he was concerned for his safety after allegedly appearing in the background of a social media video in which former firm attorney Thomas Bosworth — whose departure from Kline & Specter sparked a contentious legal battle — purportedly mused about the return of duels as a means of resolving conflicts.

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Claims Firms Barred From Misleading Plaintiffs In Pharma MDL

By James Boyle

On the same day that a Philadelphia federal judge approved $58 million in settlements as part of an ongoing generic-drug price-fixing multidistrict litigation, she also ordered several claims recovery firms to correct allegedly false and misleading ads used to attract potential clients seeking to make claims on the settlements.

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Ex-Flooring Co. CEO Sues Over $0 Stock Repurchase

By Jarek Rutz

The former CEO of a Pennsylvania-based flooring company has filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court accusing two acquiring companies of weaponizing a cause termination to justify repurchasing his equity for zero dollars after he pursued an outside career opportunity.

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States Back Hockey Players In Antitrust Fight Over Contracts

By Elaine Briseño

More than a dozen states have thrown their support behind current and former players in an antitrust lawsuit against the National Hockey League and its pipeline junior organizations, arguing a lower court's dismissal ignores how exclusive recruiting territories reduce competition for labor.

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Thomson Reuters Balks At AI Co.'s Fair Use Appeal

By Adam Lidgett

Thomson Reuters wants the Third Circuit to back a district court's decision that an artificial intelligence-powered legal search engine's use of Westlaw headnotes did not constitute fair use, saying the AI company "pilfered" copyrightable content to make a competing business.

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Pa. Paper Asks 3rd Circ. To Stay Healthcare Restoration

By Braden Campbell

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette urged the Third Circuit to pause its obligation to restore workers' union healthcare plan while it challenges a recent ruling that its shift to a company plan violated federal labor law, saying the order threatens to impose costs it can't recover if it wins its challenge.

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Rule Amendments Pave Path For A Privilege Claim 'Offensive'

Litigators should consider leveraging forthcoming amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which will require early negotiations of privilege-related discovery claims, by taking an offensive posture toward privilege logs at the outset of discovery, says David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law.

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Series

My Miniature Livestock Farm Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Raising miniature livestock on my farm, where I am fully present with the animals, is an almost meditative time that allows me to return to work invigorated, ready to juggle numerous responsibilities and motivated to tackle hard issues in new ways, says Ted Kobus at BakerHostetler.

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Worker Says Law Firm Fired Her Over Fraud Concern

By Irene Spezzamonte

Injury law firm Morgan & Morgan PA fired a case manager after she voiced a concern about fraudulent client hospital records she said the firm gave to opposing counsel to snag more favorable settlements and failed to pay overtime, according to a suit in California state court.

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Ga. Justices Spell Out How Atty Ads Can Be Misleading

By Emily Johnson

The Georgia Supreme Court has updated the State Bar of Georgia's rule that prohibits attorneys from misleading the public in advertising their services, defining how lawyers' messaging in ads could run afoul of the state's rule and possibly lead to disbarment.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen Clyde & Co. face a claim from Yorkshire firm GWB Harthills, a property developer previously investigated over suspected bribery and corruption sue the general counsel and solicitor to HM Revenue and Customs, and sportswear giant Gymshark bring an intellectual property claim against its co-founder's rival company, AYBL. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Ex-Gordon Rees Atty Reprimanded For Mistakes Blamed On AI

By Rose Krebs

An Alabama bankruptcy judge won't sanction Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLC for a filing submitted by one of its former lawyers that contained mistakes blamed on artificial intelligence, but has reprimanded the attorney and ordered her to notify her clients about the reprimand.

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DOJ Will Speed Some Classified Discovery In Bolton Case

By Jared Foretek

Federal prosecutors agreed Friday to accelerate their classified discovery timeline in the prosecution of John Bolton, as a Maryland federal judge pressed them to move faster.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick PLLC leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a D.C. federal judge rejected a Federal Trade Commission suit accusing Meta Platforms of illegally monopolizing social media through its purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram.

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Bonus Spotlight

Texas Boutique Giving Associates Bonuses Of Up To $135K

By Tracey Read

Texas complex commercial litigation boutique Vartabedian Hester & Haynes LLP announced Friday that it will reward associates with additional year-end bonuses of up to $135,000 by Dec. 31, while more firms said they'd match or exceed the prevailing BigLaw scale.

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Ex-US Trustee Director's Firing Appeal Tossed, For Now

By Clara Geoghegan

The former head of the U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog program had her appeal challenging her abrupt firing dismissed, at least for now, while a federal agency mulls questions around executive power in separate cases.

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Fenwick & West Must Face New Claims In FTX Crypto MDL

By Madison Arnold

A Florida federal judge signed off on a bid to file new claims against Fenwick & West LLP by victims of the infamous FTX Trading Ltd. cryptocurrency scam after they argued that new information had emerged about the firm's alleged role in the trading platform's collapse.

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Longtime Administrator Tapped For Conn. Trial Court Bench

By Rose Krebs

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has announced that he will be nominating a lawyer with a lengthy career in policy development and administration who is currently secretary of the state's Office of Policy and Management for a seat on the state's Superior Court bench.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

This week's edition of GC Cheat Sheet explores which top legal officers take home the most money and why. And the general counsel of SolarWinds Corp. can finally put its data breach regulatory problems behind after the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its unprecedented case against the company and its chief information security officer.

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