The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms

By Sam Bell and Pamela Wilkinson

The legal market expanded more tentatively in 2023 than in previous years amid a slowdown in demand for legal services, especially in transactions, an area that has been sluggish but is expected to quicken in the near future.

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Strategic Hiring Was The New Normal For BigLaw In 2023

By Emma Cueto

The 400 largest law firms by headcount in the U.S. grew more slowly in 2023 than in the previous two years, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP surpassed the 3,000-attorney threshold, according to the latest Law360 ranking.

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Banks Urged To Vote Out Exxon Leaders Who Sued Investors

By Sarah Jarvis

A group of state and city financial officials sent letters to some of the biggest banks and asset managers Tuesday urging them to vote against Exxon Mobil Corp.'s CEO and lead independent director at an upcoming annual meeting because of the company's lawsuit against a pair of environmentally minded activist investors.

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Tuna Buyers Seeking $1B In July Price-Fixing Trial

By Nadia Dreid

Tuna buyers who are taking StarKist, its parent company and a private investment firm that put money into Bumble Bee Foods to trial on allegations of conspiring to hike the price of the tinned fish will be asking for over $1 billion in damages once all is said and done.

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DOJ, VW Ask 9th Circ. To Void Jones Day Docs Release Order

By Linda Chiem

The U.S. Department of Justice and Volkswagen have told the Ninth Circuit that forcing them to release confidential Volkswagen documents that were part of a Jones Day investigation into the automaker's 2015 emissions-cheating scandal would have far-reaching, chilling implications for federal criminal prosecutions.

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Attys Accused Of Botching NC Suit By Missing Filing Deadline

By Hayley Fowler

The parents of two children who died in a car fire are suing their former attorneys in North Carolina federal court for malpractice, alleging they dropped the ball on filing the pair's wrongful death claims against a seat belt manufacturer before the deadline passed.

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Drinking Water Systems At Risk Of Cyberattack, EPA Says

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

More than 70% of the nation's drinking water systems are not in compliance with federal law requiring them to assess the risks of and develop plans for cybersecurity attacks, which could leave them vulnerable to foreign interference, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday.

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Hawaii Wins $916M From Bristol-Myers, Sanofi Over Plavix

By Lauren Berg

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Sanofi owe more than $916 million to the state of Hawaii for not warning patients of East Asian or Pacific Island ancestry of potential health risks associated with their blood thinner Plavix, a state judge ruled Tuesday, following a trip to the state's highest court.

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BASF Agrees To $316.5M Settlement In PFAS Foam MDL

By Mike Curley

Attorneys representing public water systems in a South Carolina multidistrict litigation over so-called forever chemicals in drinking water announced Tuesday that they've reached an agreement in principle with defendant BASF Corp., which will pay $316.5 million to resolve the claims.

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$93M Lipitor Antitrust Deal Sparks Dispute Over Fee Division

By Carla Baranauckas

Attorneys representing a class of buyers in antitrust litigation against Pfizer over the cholesterol medication Lipitor are squabbling over how to divide up to $31 million in attorney fees before a New Jersey federal judge even approves the total, according to court documents.

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Minn. Poised To Join State Data Privacy Law Patchwork

By Allison Grande

Minnesota is on the brink of becoming the latest state to enact comprehensive data privacy legislation, after the legislature sent to the governor's desk a measure that would give consumers more control over how companies use their personal information, including for profiling purposes, and require businesses to appoint a lead privacy official. 

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Circuit Split Could Still Derail FCC Subsidies, High Court Told

By Christopher Cole

Free market groups urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to review their challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's subsidy programs, saying the Fifth Circuit could create a circuit split "at any time" by rejecting the fee-based system.

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Uniswap Warns SEC There's 'More To Lose' In Potential Suit

By Aislinn Keely

The company behind decentralized finance platform Uniswap on Tuesday warned the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the regulator "has more to lose than gain" from bringing an enforcement action against it since its proposed case implicates pending rulemaking and its authority to regulate transactions on crypto platforms.

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FTC Chair Khan Says Corporate Concentration Creates Fear

By Matthew Perlman

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan said Tuesday that corporate concentration creates fear for many Americans, including small businesses that rely on digital gatekeepers like Google and Amazon.

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Full 5th Circ. Urged To Rethink Blocking Student Loan Rule

By Katryna Perera

The U.S. Department of Education has asked the full Fifth Circuit to reconsider a recent preliminary injunction a three-judge panel ordered blocking changes to a program providing student loan forgiveness to borrowers defrauded by higher education institutions. It said the panel wrongly held that the department doesn't have the authority to determine whether a borrower has a valid defense to repayment.

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Make Emergency Missing-Adult Codes Voluntary, FCC Urged

By Christopher Cole

A new missing-adult code that the Federal Communications Commission wants to integrate into the Emergency Alert System should be kept voluntary for existing alert systems, cable providers told the FCC.

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NTIA Explores Gov't Support For 6G Development

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Department of Commerce is looking for input on how the government can aid in the development of 6G technology.

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4th Circ. Told Justices' Ruling Dooms Bid To Delay $811M Fine

By Britain Eakin

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision finding the agency's funding structure constitutional to head off a bid by immigrant bond companies accused of abusive bonding practices to delay an $811 million judgment.

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F1's Andretti Denial Stokes Collusion Fears On Capitol Hill

By Alex Lawson

Formula One's reluctance to add an American racing team to its championship drew a sideways glance from Capitol Hill on Tuesday, as a group of U.S. senators urged the Biden administration to probe F1's governance board for potential antitrust violations.

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SEC Fines KeyBank Broker-Dealer Over Reg BI Failures

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday ordered Key Investment Services LLC to pay more than $200,000 for allegedly failing to address conflicts of interest with Regulation Best Interest.

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FCC Aims To Shut Down Scam Robocall Campaign

By Jared Foretek

The Federal Communications Commission is telling a Chicago-based voice service provider to immediately stop originating millions of illegal robocalls marketing purported debt consolidation or face sanctions.

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Realtors Want Rethink After DOJ Antitrust Probe Allowed

By Matthew Perlman

The National Association of Realtors has asked the D.C. Circuit for a rehearing after the appeals court found the U.S. Department of Justice can reopen an antitrust investigation into the trade group despite an earlier agency settlement over the association's rules.

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NJ AG Starts Antitrust Section To Protect 'Fair Competition'

By James Mills

New Jersey will establish an Antitrust Litigation and Competition Enforcement Section, a new, permanent, stand-alone section within the Division of Law, to solidify the state's ability to enforce antitrust laws and ensure fair competition, the state announced Tuesday.

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Bungie's Code Copying Claims Questioned At Seattle Trial

By Rachel Riley

A top product security engineer at Bungie told a Seattle federal jury on Tuesday that a hacker accused of exploiting a popular game to make cheat software likely never had access to the game's source code and acknowledged the game company hasn't seen the cheat code that it claims amounts to copyright infringement.

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Apple Tees Up Bid To Toss DOJ IPhone Monopoly Suit

By Bryan Koenig

Apple argued that it has the right to choose how it does business in a preview Tuesday of its upcoming explanations for why a New Jersey federal judge should dismiss the Justice Department lawsuit accusing the iPhone maker of restricting third-party app access to monopolize the smartphone market.

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9th Circ. Rejects Quick Section 230 Appeal In Casino App MDL

By Dorothy Atkins

The Ninth Circuit refused to weigh in Tuesday on whether the Communications Decency Act's Section 230 shields Google, Apple and Meta from consolidated multidistrict litigation over allegedly illicit "social casino" game apps on their platforms, finding that deciding the issue on an interlocutory appeal would be a premature, advisory opinion.

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Altria Unit Fights Bids To Toss Illegal Vape Sale Suit

By Mike Curley

Altria Group Inc. subsidiary NJOY LLC is fighting a pair of bids to dismiss its suit seeking to block illegal sales of flavored vapes, saying it has shown both how it has been harmed by their sale and how preventing the sales would redress its injuries.

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Hate Speech Watchdog Drops Atty Fee Bid Against X Corp.

By Lauren Berg

A California federal judge Tuesday signed off on an agreement that X Corp. and the Center for Countering Digital Hate reached to resolve the nonprofit organization's bid for $300,000 in attorney fees following a successful defense against the Elon Musk-led social media platform's claims that the center used improper tactics to write one of its articles.

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3rd Suit Alleges Panera's 'Charged' Drink Caused Heart Attack

By Craig Clough

An 18-year-old man sued Panera Bread Co. in Pennsylvania federal court Monday alleging its highly caffeinated "Charged Lemonade" drink caused him to suffer a heart attack, at least the third such suit filed against the franchise over the now-discontinued beverage. 

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Conn. Bank Hit With Suit Over 'Crippling' Overdraft Fees

By Emilie Ruscoe

Connecticut-based Ion Bank is the latest financial institution to face a putative class action alleging it violated its agreements with customers by imposing overdraft fees on certain transactions.

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Counties Not 'Persons' In Texas Opioid MDL Appeal

By Mike Curley

A Texas appeals panel found Tuesday that counties are not considered "persons" under the state's common law and therefore are not subject to the Texas Medical Liability Act's requirement that they serve expert reports to pharmacy defendants in the state's opioid multidistrict litigation.

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Binance User Must Arbitrate Facial Scan BIPA Fight

By Dorothy Atkins

An Illinois federal judge has sent to arbitration a proposed class action alleging Binance.US' trading platform violated Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act by scanning and storing users' unique facial geometry as part of its identity-verification process, finding the lead plaintiff hasn't shown she never agreed to arbitration.

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Pacific Seafood Beats Crab Price-Fixing Claims, For Now

By Hailey Konnath

A California federal magistrate judge on Tuesday dismissed a proposed class action claiming Pacific Seafood fixed the price paid to fishers for Dungeness crab in the Pacific Northwest but will allow the fisherman who filed the suit the opportunity to amend most of his claims.

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Molson Coors' Mimosas More Water Than Wine, Suit Says

By Henrik Nilsson

Two consumers hit Molson Coors Beverage Co. with a proposed class action Monday in Missouri federal court, alleging that the company's mimosa drinks are misbranded because they are not made with sparkling wine but rather made with sparkling water and sugar and contain only small amounts of orange juice.

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Colo. Lending Law Could Empower State-Chartered Banks

Lending programs that rely on rate exportation by state banks should pay close attention to legislative activity and ongoing litigation surrounding Colorado's decision to opt out of rate exportation, which could set a precedent that state-chartered banks have power on par with national banks, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

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Attys With AI Skills Command Pay Bumps In The US, UK

By Steven Lerner

Lawyer job listings that require artificial intelligence skills carry a wage premium of up to 49% higher in some markets, according to a report released Tuesday.

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ABA Faces Racial Bias Complaint Over Diversity Programs

By Ryan Boysen

A conservative nonprofit on Tuesday hit the American Bar Association with a Title VI complaint, claiming a handful of "nefarious" ABA-led programs meant to connect minority law school students with judges are "racially discriminatory."

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Trump Rests In NY Hush Money Trial, Declining To Testify

By Frank Runyeon and Stewart Bishop

Donald Trump rested his defense Tuesday in the Manhattan district attorney's criminal hush money case, closing out the testimony and setting the stage for deliberations next week after the former president opted not to take the witness stand.

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Coverage Recap: Day 16 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial

By Stewart Bishop

Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from Tuesday, day 16 of the trial.

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More Classified Docs Were Found After Mar-A-Lago Raid

By Carolina Bolado

Additional classified documents were found at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, including in Trump's bedroom, after the FBI's August 2022 search of the Florida property, according to a filing unsealed Tuesday in the criminal case accusing him of mishandling classified documents.

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Willis And Judge In Ga. Election Case Win Their Elections

By Kelcey Caulder

Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis and Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, two key figures in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump, won their elections Tuesday night.

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Senate Backs Federal Prosecutor For Ariz. District Judgeship

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 66-26 on Tuesday to confirm Assistant U.S. Attorney Krissa M. Lanham to the District of Arizona.

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High Court Ethics Bill In 'High Consideration,' Schumer Says

By Courtney Bublé

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Tuesday that a bill to institute an ethics code for the U.S. Supreme Court was in "high consideration" to come before the full Senate for a vote, following the report last week that an upside-down flag, which has become a symbol for former President Donald Trump's claims that the 2020 election was stolen, was flown outside Justice Samuel Alito's house after the attack on the U.S. Capitol a month later.

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Ex-LA DA Sues State Farm Over Gun Incident Legal Fees

By Elizabeth Daley

Former Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey sued her insurer in California state court Tuesday, alleging State Farm cost her more than $2.1 million by failing to cover legal fees when she and her late husband were sued because he brandished a gun against protesters at their home.

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Barrier-Breaking Conn. Chief Justice To Retire In September

By Aaron Keller

Saying it's "time for a change" after a career in government service, Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson, the first Black chief justice in state history, announced he will retire from the bench effective Sept. 6, according to statements from the Connecticut Judicial Branch and Gov. Ned Lamont.

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