Business of Law

April 11, 2025
Keller Postman Denies Breaching Arbitration Deal With Tubi

Keller Postman LLC shot back at Tubi Inc.'s claims that it violated an agreement meant to cool a heated dispute amid the video streaming service's tortious interference suit over mass arbitration against its user agreement, with the firm arguing it "complied with every stipulation it made to this court."
April 11, 2025
5 BigLaw Firms Strike Deals With Trump Administration

The world's highest-grossing law firm, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, is among a group of five BigLaw firms that have reached deals with President Donald Trump's administration to stave off executive orders that could have pulled their federal security clearances and hampered their ability to serve as legal counsel to the federal government and its contractors, according to social media posts by the president Friday.
April 11, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen law firm Michael Wilson & Partners reignite a 20-year dispute with a former director over an alleged plot to form a rival partnership, headphone maker Marshall Amplification sue a rival in the intellectual property court, and a commercial diving company pursue action against state-owned nuclear waste processor Sellafield. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new cases in the U.K.
April 10, 2025
Trump Floats Using Firms That Cut Deals For Trade Dealings

President Donald Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Thursday that he wants to use BigLaw firms that have reached deals with the White House to "help us out" with making trade deals, telling Cabinet members, "I have a lot of legal fees I can give to you people, and we may as well use them."
April 10, 2025
Prosecutor's Sexting With Ex-Judge Was Misconduct, DOJ Says

The U.S. Department of Justice has concluded that a federal prosecutor in Alaska who accused former U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred of coercing her into a sexually charged "abusive relationship" committed intentional professional misconduct when she stayed silent about their interactions and continued arguing cases in his courtroom.
April 10, 2025
Dems Will Get More Answers From Pick For DC US Atty

In a compromise with concerned Democrats, the Republican leader of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday that the nominee for the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia will answer an extensive questionnaire as part of his confirmation process.
April 10, 2025
Jury To Hear Judge Had 48 Guns In Retrial Over Shooting Wife

Jurors in the upcoming retrial of a California jurist accused of murdering his wife while intoxicated can hear that he had 48 firearms and thousands of ammunition rounds in his home, after the presiding judge ruled Thursday it was relevant to show he committed an intentional act he knew was inherently dangerous.
April 10, 2025
Judge DQs Atty Suing FIFA Over Antitrust Allegations

A Puerto Rican federal judge on Thursday disqualified an attorney suing FIFA and local affiliates over allegedly blocking rival soccer leagues, saying the lawyer cannot simultaneously be a plaintiff, counsel and factual witness.
April 10, 2025
Mass. Officials, Feds On A 'Low Boil' After Midtrial ICE Arrest

The midtrial immigration arrest of a Dominican national during his Massachusetts court case has raised tensions between federal and state prosecutors and threatens to injure cooperation between the offices, experts say.
April 10, 2025
Justices Uphold Order To Return Man Deported To El Salvador

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a federal judge's order requiring the Trump administration to quickly bring back a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and imprisoned there, ordering the lower court to clarify the government's obligations and requiring the government to share the steps it has taken.
April 10, 2025
Carlton Fields Beats DQ Bid In Fla. $500M Miss America Suit

A Florida federal judge denied a bid to disqualify Carlton Fields in a $500 million lawsuit over the ownership of the company that runs the Miss America pageant, saying such a remedy is extraordinary, and that the allegations are "scattered and speculative."
April 10, 2025
Sidley Snaps Up Cadwalader Real Estate Finance Team

Sidley Austin LLP recruited a team of real estate finance attorneys from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP, including the co-head of the firm's real estate financing group and three other partners, Law360 Real Estate Authority has learned.
April 09, 2025
House Approves Bill To Restrict Nationwide Injunctions

The House voted 219-213 on Wednesday to approve a bill curbing nationwide injunctions, a move the Trump administration has thrown its support behind after district court judges paused or halted many of the administration's initiatives over the last few months.
April 09, 2025
Ill. Senator Sought Bribe In 'Politics For Profit,' Feds Say

An Illinois state senator engaged in "politics for profit" as he solicited a bribe to limit a state study on automated traffic enforcement and then lied about his conduct to investigators, federal prosecutors told a jury Wednesday.
April 09, 2025
Susman Godfrey Latest BigLaw Firm Targeted In Trump Order

Susman Godfrey LLP became President Donald Trump's latest BigLaw target when he signed an executive order Wednesday revoking its access to government resources and buildings, a directive the firm immediately blasted as "unconstitutional" and vowed to fight.
April 09, 2025
LA DA Demoted Prosecutors Over Menendez Work, Suits Say

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has been sued by two former top prosecutors who say they were demoted in retaliation for advocating to have Erik and Lyle Menendez released from prison after serving more than 35 years for murder.
April 09, 2025
Florida Won't Hire Law Firms With DEI Initiatives, AG Says

The state of Florida will no longer hire law firms with diversity, equity and inclusion programs to serve as outside general counsel, according to a new memo from Attorney General James Uthmeier.
April 09, 2025
ChatGPT Output Can't Be Defamation, OpenAI Tells Ga. Court

OpenAI LLC this week told a Georgia state court that its product ChatGPT did not defame a talk radio show host because its warnings that ChatGPT output was not factual "were repeated, prominent, clear, and specific" and the output claiming he was a defendant in a suit was not presented as actual facts.
April 09, 2025
Roberts Pauses Rehiring Of Fired NLRB, MSPB Members

Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily paused an en banc D.C. Circuit's order reinstating two fired members of the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board on Wednesday, in a dispute that challenges a 90-year-old U.S. Supreme Court ruling protecting certain government officials from presidential removal.
April 09, 2025
Trade Court Judge Beats Ethics Charges Over Clerk Boycott

A U.S. Court of International Trade judge did not engage in impermissible political activity when he threatened not to hire law clerks who attended Columbia University because of the school's handling of protests over Israel's war in Gaza, the Judicial Council of the Seventh Circuit has found.
April 09, 2025
NY Judge's Fundraising Conflicts Spur Censure And Retirement

A New York state judge was censured and agreed to retire at the end of the year after an investigation found he had failed to recuse from cases where attorneys who served as his campaign officials and fundraisers appeared before him in court, a state ethics watchdog announced Wednesday.
April 09, 2025
Pillsbury Expands Houston Office With 3 Corporate Attys

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has added three attorneys with unique dealmaking experience to its growing Houston office.
April 09, 2025
Freshfields Litigation Co-Leader Joins Baker Botts In NY

A former Freshfields U.S. commercial litigation practice co-head with expertise in cross-border disputes has joined Baker Botts LLP in New York, the firm announced Tuesday.
April 09, 2025
Conn. Justices Won't Review $1.4B Verdict Against Alex Jones

The Connecticut Supreme Court has denied a bid by bankrupt Infowars host Alex Jones to appeal a judgment awarding more than $1 billion to the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims who sued him for defamation.
April 09, 2025
Willkie Atty Says NY Post Leak Cost Him Chance At Millions

A Connecticut lawyer who tipped off the New York Post to a dispute between his landlord client and a tenant, a Willkie Farr partner, has asked a federal judge to help unravel the partner's claim that he lost a "multimillion-dollar opportunity" to work for Debevoise.

Expert Analysis

Associate Issues In The 2024 Spotlight

Law360 guest writers provided insights on a range of issues affecting associates this year, from the challenges of training new lawyers in the era of artificial intelligence, to nonfinancial factors that junior attorneys should consider before accepting a job offer.
Election Impact: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

Donald Trump's election win initiated a deluge of predictions for the incoming administration, with Law360 guest writers covering key policy areas such as immigration, tax, energy, labor and competition, plus potential congressional themes and investigations.
Cybersecurity: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

From the CrowdStrike failure to the plethora of new and sometimes tricky regulatory requirements, to early decisions interpreting cyberinsurance coverage, guest authors broke down the implications of the biggest cybersecurity developments this year.
ESG And DEI: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

In their commentary on ESG and DEI topics this year, Law360 guest authors discussed Project 2025’s potential impact, the rise of greenwashing litigation, strategies for fostering employee retention amid a shaky regulatory landscape, and more.
AI Questions: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

As the legal discourse surrounding artificial intelligence shifted from theoretical to concrete this year, guest commentary focused on the proliferation of new AI-related litigation, enforcement actions and best practices, while tracking the judiciary’s experimentation with generative AI.
Noncompetes: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

Employee noncompete issues took center stage this year, as Law360 guest writers covered everything from state-level enforceability trends and alternative methods for protecting business interests, to a National Labor Relations Board ruling and the Federal Trade Commission’s attempted ban.
The Most-Read Access To Justice Guest Articles Of 2024

Law360 guest commentary addressed several emerging access to justice issues this year, including growing case backlogs, a dearth of legal services in rural communities and amendments to long-standing sentencing policies.
The Most-Read Securities Law360 Guest Articles Of 2024

This year, popular securities guest article topics included controversial Delaware court decisions and their legislative aftermath, as well as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s focus on emerging industries amid struggles to implement its rulemaking agenda.
The Most-Read Employment Law360 Guest Articles Of 2024

Readers were drawn to employment law commentary on a range of 2024 developments, including the U.S. Supreme Court's Title VII ruling, impactful activity from the National Labor Relations Board, and state legislation targeting employee noncompete agreements.
The Most-Read IP Law360 Guest Articles Of 2024

Double-patenting was one of the top intellectual property topics tackled in Law360’s Expert Analysis section this year, along with the intersection of copyright law and artificial intelligence, case distribution in the Western District of Texas, and more.
The Most-Read Law360 UK Guest Articles Of 2024

The start of a generational shift in U.K. employment law under Labour, a ruling on artificial intelligence-driven credit scores and strategic law firm expansion were among the hot topics U.K. Expert Analysis articles explored this year.
Reviewing 2024's Crucial Patent Law Developments

As 2024 draws to a close, significant rulings and policies aimed at modernizing long-standing legal practices or addressing emerging challenges have reached patent law, says Michael Ellenberger at Rothwell Figg.
Series

Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.
2024's Most Notable FTC Actions Against Dark Patterns And AI

In 2024 the Federal Trade Commission ramped up enforcement actions related to dark patterns, loudly signaling its concern that advertisers will use AI to manipulate consumer habits and its intention to curb businesses' use and marketing of AI to prevent alleged consumer deception, say attorneys at Goodwin.
Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team

In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.