3M, Bain Buying Madison Fire & Rescue For $1.95B

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Worker safety and consumer goods conglomerate 3M, advised by King & Spalding LLP, and private equity giant Bain Capital, led by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, on Thursday announced that they have agreed to acquire Paul Hastings LLP-advised Madison Fire & Rescue from Madison Industries in a $1.95 billion deal.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Prologis, GIC Ink $1.6B Build-To-Suit Logistics JV

By Grace Dixon

Logistics real estate leader Prologis and investor GIC announced Thursday that they have formed a $1.6 billion joint venture to develop and own build-to-suit logistics facilities across major U.S. markets.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Tulane Panel Flags Growing Political Influence On Dealmaking

By Al Barbarino

At the annual Tulane Corporate Law Institute on Thursday, panelists warned that politics is increasingly shaping dealmaking and complicating how transactions are negotiated and executed, with one likening the discussion to a "hostage" situation.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

PE Behemoths Eye $10B OpenAI JV, Plus More Rumors

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Private equity firms, including TPG and Bain Capital, are considering forming a $10 billion joint venture with OpenAI, Finnish lift maker Kone Oyj is mulling an acquisition of its rival TK Elevator, and Australian investment firm Macquarie has backed out of a bidding war for a stake in Kuwait's oil pipeline network due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Depo Stay Kept As Trump Media Settles Merger Docs Dispute

By David Minsky

A Florida state judge on Thursday kept a roughly one-month pause on the deposition of certain individuals in Trump Media's lawsuit alleging an investor botched the platform's initial public offering, allowing an arbitrator to resolve a dispute over who controls documents related to the merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fed. Circ. Rejects Last Challenge To Squires' Discretion

By Dani Kass

The Federal Circuit on Thursday shot down Volkswagen's mandamus petition claiming that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director shouldn't have "unfettered discretion" to deny Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenges, closing the last of 14 related appeals.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Workers Ask 11th Circ. To Overturn ERISA Exhaustion Rule

By Kellie Mejdrich

Former workers for a seafood company urged the full Eleventh Circuit to overturn precedent that led a three-judge panel to uphold dismissal of their suit alleging mismanagement of an employee stock ownership plan, arguing the court's strictest-in-the-nation standard on exhausting administrative remedies didn't align with federal benefits law.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

6 Noteworthy Changes From SEC Enforcement Manual Update

Recent updates to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement manual represent a commitment to transparency and fair process, with the signature change being a requirement that staff make certain probative evidence available during the Wells process, say attorneys at Debevoise.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Coaching Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Coaching youth soccer for my 7-year-old son's team has sharpened how I communicate with clients, prepare witnesses, work within teams and think about leadership, making me a more thoughtful and effective lawyer in many ways, says Joshua Holt at Smith Currie.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

HSF Kramer Hires Axinn Antitrust Lawyer In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP has hired a former Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider LLP partner, who represented Google in an antitrust investigation into its advertising technology, and who has represented other global companies in competition and related matters.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen an ex-professional footballer revive a dispute with Charles Russell Speechlys, Virgin Media face a group data protection claim after hundreds of thousands of customers' personal details were exposed online for months, and Mishcon de Reya sued by a real estate private equity firm founded by a former Morgan Stanley executive.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

Major shareholder groups sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, claiming the agency violated the Administrative Procedure Act. In the meantime, some attorneys think the sanctions that judges are issuing to lawyers over AI-generated errors won't be enough to stop the problem. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Rebuked Over Lack Of Candor For 'Imperious Client'

By Jack Karp

A Florida federal judge has rebuked government attorneys for failing to be up-front about legal authority that contradicts their position in a habeas case, warning them not to let their "imperious client" get between them and their ethical obligations.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Beasley Allen Can't Halt DQ Ruling In J&J Talc Litigation

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state appeals court has refused to pause its decision disqualifying the Beasley Allen Law Firm from representing plaintiffs in multicounty litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder, according to a court order.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Where Calif. State Courts Landed On Generative AI Use Rules

By Emily Sawicki

The majority of California's 58 superior courts — together making up the country's largest trial court system — have decided to greenlight the use of generative artificial intelligence in their work this year, a Law360 investigation found.

25 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Baron & Budd PC, Walden Macht Haran & Williams LLP and Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Ninth Circuit revived a major hospital chain's False Claims Act suit accusing large pharmaceutical companies of massive overcharges in a prominent drug discount program.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Top SEC Enforcer Signals Continuity After Ryan Departure

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's acting enforcement chief said Friday that the agency will continue to "focus on quality over quantity" when it comes to the cases it brings, projecting continuity with his predecessor's approach after her abrupt departure from the agency earlier this week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

Balancing The Scales: $3M Jury Verdict, GEO Appeal Denial

By Orlando Lorenzo

A Philadelphia federal judge rejected bids to disturb a $3 million jury award and impose sanctions on plaintiff's counsel arising from proceedings he described as "near-daily Festivus celebrations, where everyone got to air their grievances 'for the sake of the record'" and a Detroit man saw his murder conviction vacated after 27 years due to the case's reliance on a coerced confession and a lack of physical evidence, among other access to justice stories you may have missed.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bondi Keeps Ousted Wisconsin US Atty With New Title

By Lauren Berg

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi swapped Brad D. Schimel's title from interim U.S. attorney to first assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in order to keep him in charge of the office after his tenure expired earlier this week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

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.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »