Analysis

Real Estate Attys 'Not Going In Blind' Amid Data Center Boom

By Chris Villani

The explosion of artificial intelligence has created a sharp demand for new data centers with no signs of slowing down, posing challenges that have some real estate attorneys turning to well-worn playbooks from other industries.

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Google Hit With TM Suit Over 'Gemini' AI Speaker Plans

By Lauren Berg

Google, which launched its "Gemini" artificial intelligence services in 2023, is knowingly infringing a decades-old trademark registration with its expansion into the market of consumer electronics, according to a new lawsuit filed in Florida federal court.

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Amazon Says Shoppers' Labeling Suit Is Corrupted By AI Errors

By Adrian Cruz

In customers' latest filing in their proposed class action accusing Amazon of failing to make required disclosures on dietary supplement product pages, the e-commerce giant alleges that the plaintiffs have submitted a document riddled with errors derived from the use of generative text.

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Virginia Senators Ask DHS IG To Investigate Surveillance Tech

By Ganesh Setty

Virginia's Democratic senators have urged the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's inspector general to investigate the agency's technology procurement amid the Trump administration's immigration enforcement push, warning that DHS' various information collection tools put Americans' privacy rights under threat.

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OpenAI Challenges X's Deposition Bid In Antitrust Case

By José Luis Martínez

OpenAI said one of its former executives shouldn't be deposed in an antitrust case brought by X Corp. regarding ChatGPT integration on Apple devices, saying he had nothing to do with the deal.

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Google Says Publishers Shouldn't 'Hijack' AI Copyright Suit

By Elliot Weld

Google told a California federal judge that publishers Hachette Book Group and Cengage Learning can file their own case if they want to allege copyright infringement, but should not be allowed to "hijack" an ongoing class action over Google's alleged use of copyrighted material to train artificial intelligence.

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Tesla Gets Del. Justices To Cut $100M From Investor Atty Fees

By Lauren Berg

The Delaware Supreme Court on Friday handed Tesla a win, reducing by roughly $100 million the attorney fees awarded to shareholder counsel as part of an excessive director compensation suit settlement, rejecting the lower court's fee calculation.

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Illinois Apple Users Granted Class Status For Siri BIPA Claims

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois state judge has decided to give class treatment to claims that Apple Inc. illegally mishandled biometric voice data the technology giant obtained from residents who've used Siri on its devices.

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Apple Hit With Patent Claims Over Liquid Glass Design

By Hailey Konnath

Peer Global Inc., a company behind an operating system for artificial intelligence, has accused Apple in Texas federal court of infringing a trio of patents with the new Liquid Glass material used to craft its iOS software design.

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Analysis

Defamation Litigation Roundup: Grok, Drummond, Bravo Star

By Theresa Schliep

In this month's review of defamation fights, Law360 highlights a suit against Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company over reported sexualized deepfakes of women generated by its flagship model, as well as a verdict in favor of a coal company in its defamation and racketeering case against a former Conrad & Scherer LLP managing partner.

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Feds Say Alleged $100K H-1B Fee Harm Only Speculative

By Britain Eakin

The Trump administration asked a California federal judge to dismiss a suit challenging President Donald Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee, arguing it rests upon multiple what-ifs that deprive the groups that challenged the fee of standing.

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Google Can't Ditch $425M Privacy Verdict, But Won't Owe $2B

By Hailey Konnath

A California federal judge on Friday refused to decertify a class of Google users who scored a $425 million jury verdict in their privacy suit; however, he also shot down the consumers' request that Google shell out an additional $2.36 billion in disgorgement of profits.

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Calif. Senator Floats Bill To Expand Data Deletion Rights

By Allison Grande

A California senator is pushing to update the state's landmark data privacy law to expand the type of personal information that consumers can ask businesses to delete and to require companies to provide residents with more ways to submit data deletion, access and correction requests. 

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FCC Urges Cos. To Tamp Down Ransomware Risks

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission called on companies to take tough measures against ransomware attacks and report data breaches and outages from cybersecurity incidents.

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Undersea Cable Cos. Seek Slash In FCC License Paperwork

By Christopher Cole

Submarine cable providers want the Federal Communications Commission to replace its current "ad hoc" procedure for approving license applications with one that's more streamlined and clearly spelled out in FCC rules.

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Schlumberger Sues Ex-Employees Alleging Trade Secrets Theft

By Elliot Weld

Oil field services firm Schlumberger Technology Corp. sued two former longtime employees and two companies, alleging that its trade secrets were stolen during a business collaboration.

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Court Backs Southwest's Interpretation Of Loss In Outage Suit

By Hope Patti

A Texas federal court handed Southwest Airlines Co. a win in its suit seeking $10 million in coverage for a 2016 computer outage under its excess cyber risk policy, agreeing that the term "but for" within the policy's definition of loss means "except for."

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5th Circ. Gives Lumen Investors Another Shot In Lead Suit

By Sydney Price

The Fifth Circuit determined Friday that a group of shareholders should get another chance to amend their proposed class action accusing Lumen Technologies Inc. of not disclosing potential liabilities related to its lead-wrapped cables, saying the lower court did not sufficiently explain why it would not allow them to amend their suit after dismissing it.

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Oracle Accused Of Infringing Wireless Technology Patents

By José Luis Martínez

A wireless technology licensing company has sued Oracle, accusing it of selling products and services on its website that infringe its patents related to technology underpinning mobile communication systems, such as 4G and 5G networks.

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Fla. Panel Tosses Punitive Damages From Turo Car Crash Suit

By Y. Peter Kang

A Florida appeals court on Friday tossed a punitive damages claim in a suit accusing car-sharing platform Turo Inc. of allowing a negligently maintained truck to be rented, resulting in a fatal crash, saying there were insufficient allegations of intentional misconduct.

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1st Circ. Says Worker's Cold Feet Can't Halt Wage Deal

By Irene Spezzamonte

A former Siemens Industry union electrician's change of heart on an $84,000 settlement to end her suit seeking unpaid wages cannot undo the deal, the First Circuit ruled, calling the former employee a "disgruntled" litigant.

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Insurer Says No Coverage In $20M Marine Cable Damage Case

By Rachel Riley

Great American Insurance Co. is asking a Washington federal court to find it has no legal obligation to defend a buoy installation company from a lawsuit alleging damage to an underwater electric cable that could cost upwards of $20 million to replace.

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Roundup

Taxation With Representation: Clifford Chance, Ropes & Gray

By Zak Kostro

In this week's Taxation With Representation, real estate investment trust Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Inc. announces plans to sell a loan portfolio to retirement services company Athene Holding Ltd., engineering and technology company Leidos acquires Entrust Solutions Group, and Prosperity Bancshares Inc. and Stellar Bancorp Inc. announce a merger.

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Blackstone-Backed Liftoff Mobile Joins Growing IPO Pipeline

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Private equity-backed technology firm Liftoff Mobile has launched plans to raise an estimated $711 million in its initial public offering, joining a crowded pipeline of IPO prospects that are slated to go public during the first week of February.

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Startup Founder Ran $37M 'Ponzi-Like' Scheme, SEC Says

By Emilie Ruscoe

A Silicon Valley software startup owner faces U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims he defrauded at least 100 would-be investors as he raised $37 million, using their money to cover his and his company's expenses in a Ponzi-like scheme.

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1st Circ. Upholds Atty's 7-Year Sentence In Email Fraud Case

By Carolyn Muyskens

A panel of the First Circuit has affirmed a more than seven-year prison term and $2 million restitution order for an Illinois lawyer convicted of collecting proceeds from a romance and real estate email fraud scheme.

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Ex-CFO Says Gov't Can't Seize $35M In Funds He Never Had

By Ben Adlin

A former software executive convicted of illegally transferring $35 million to his own startup, only to lose the money in a cryptocurrency collapse, urged a Washington federal judge to reject the government's effort to seize the funds, arguing that he never personally obtained them.

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Privacy Ruling Shows How CIPA Conflicts With Modern Tech

A California federal court's recent holding in Doe v. Eating Recovery Center that Meta is not liable for reading, or attempting to read, the pixel-related transmission while in transit reflects a mismatch between the California Invasion of Privacy Act's 1967 origins and modern encrypted, browser‑driven communications, says David Wheeler at Neal Gerber.

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Viewing The Merger Landscape Through An HPE-Juniper Lens

If considerations beyond antitrust law were taken into account to determine whether Section 7 of the Clayton Act was violated in the Hewlett Packard Enterprise-Juniper Networks deal, then legal practitioners advocating deal clearance may now have to argue that deals should be justified by considerations not set forth in the merger guidelines, says Matthew Cantor of Shinder Cantor.

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Aerospace And Defense Law: Trends To Follow In 2026

Some of the key 2026 developments to watch in aerospace and defense contracting law stem from provisions of this year's National Defense Authorization Act, a push to reform procurement, executive orders that announced Trump administration priorities, the upcoming Artemis space mission and continuing efforts to deploy artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

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4 Quick Emotional Resets For Lawyers With Conflict Fatigue

Though the emotional wear and tear of legal work can trap attorneys in conflict fatigue — leaving them unable to shake off tense interactions or return to a calm baseline — simple therapeutic techniques for resetting the nervous system can help break the cycle, says Chantel Cohen at CWC Coaching & Therapy.

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Paul Weiss Chair's Emails To Epstein Include Apollo Info

By Aebra Coe

Files released by the Department of Justice over the weekend belonging to the late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein show a yearslong relationship between Epstein and Paul Weiss chair Brad Karp, which included dinners, phone calls and meetings, as well as communication related to Paul Weiss client Apollo Global Management.

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Ex-Goldstein Employee Claims Accountants Made Mistakes

By Jared Foretek

Defense attorneys for SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein presented evidence Monday that his firm's tax accountants made serious mistakes in tax filings for Goldstein's wife, Amy Howe, in 2021.

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6th Circ. Clears Judge Boasberg In DOJ Ethics Complaint

By Courtney Bublé

The complaint the U.S. Department of Justice filed against Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia has been dismissed.

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Fenwick Reaches Deal In FTX Crypto Scam Suit

By Madison Arnold

Fenwick & West LLP and victims of the infamous FTX Trading Ltd. cryptocurrency scam are working toward a settlement in a case over the firm's alleged role in the trading platform's collapse.

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NYC Bar Opinion Warns Attys On Use Of AI Recording Tools

Attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools to record, transcribe and summarize conversations with clients should heed the New York City Bar Association’s recent opinion addressing the legal and ethical risks posed by such tools, and follow several best practices to avoid violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

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Watchdog Renews Halligan Bar Complaint After Court Rulings

By Emily Sawicki

The nonprofit Campaign for Accountability on Monday once again launched a bar complaint against former interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan in Virginia, after the Virginia State Bar declined to pursue an ethics investigation against the attorney last year, calling it a matter for the courts to determine.

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Brief

Judiciary Open As Usual Until Thursday Despite Shutdown

By Courtney Bublé

The federal judiciary has enough funding to sustain normal operations until Thursday, following the partial government shutdown that started at midnight on Saturday.

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DOJ Defends NJ US Atty Office Funding Amid Scrutiny

By Matthew Santoni

Defending the three-person leadership structure of New Jersey's federal prosecution operations since the departure of Alina Habba, an administrator told a federal court that two of the attorneys running the office are paid through the office's budget and the third is funded through the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Matthew Perlman

U.S. enforcers reached three new merger settlements, while the Federal Trade Commission successfully blocked a $945 million heart valve deal and lodged an appeal for its case targeting Meta's past acquisitions.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jeff Montgomery

A pair of new high-dollar suits in Delaware's Court of Chancery showed last week that post-deal stock appraisal suits still have legs, despite some efforts to reduce potential from deal-price gains challenges. The week ended with Delaware's justices nipping $100 million from the attorney fees owed by Tesla founder Elon Musk from $176.2 million to roughly $70.9 million, rejecting part of a Court of Chancery fee calculation.

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The Top In-House Hires Of January

By Sue Reisinger

Legal department hires over the first month of 2026 included high-profile appointments at SiriusXM, at a host of West Coast tech companies including Microsoft and Meta, and at Black & Decker. Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from January.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2026 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2026 editorial advisory boards.

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