Business of Law

  • August 14, 2024

    Lin Wood Defends Social Posts In Long Day Of Testimony

    Controversial ex-attorney Lin Wood was pushed on his claim that social media posts he made about three of his former law partners following the 2020 dissolution of his firm were an attempt at self-defense when he took the stand Wednesday in Georgia federal court.  

  • August 14, 2024

    Girardi Kept 'Opening A Wound,' Tearful Ex-Client Tells Jury

    A woman whose son was seriously injured in a car accident shed tears Wednesday while testifying in Tom Girardi's criminal trial, recalling her increasingly desperate attempts to get a final $1 million owed to her from a lawsuit settlement as the embattled attorney gave her varying excuses for why she wasn't getting the funds.

  • August 14, 2024

    Holland & Knight Out, Polsinelli In For Tesla After Atty Moves

    As Holland & Knight LLP steps out of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's lawsuit alleging Tesla allowed rampant racism to overtake a California factory, a California federal judge allowed Polsinelli PC to step in as the electric carmaker's counsel after three attorneys switched to the incoming firm.

  • August 14, 2024

    Denver Law Grad Sanctioned In Suit Over Externship Failure

    A University of Denver law school graduate with disabilities who was fired by the Denver District Attorney's Office during a school externship cannot sue the school for discrimination, a Colorado federal judge has ruled, sanctioning the former student for misogynistic attacks against opposing counsel and other behavior.

  • August 14, 2024

    Del. Justices Affirm $266M Atty Fee Award In Dell Class Suit

    Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday backed a Chancery Court decision awarding an almost record-breaking $266.7 million fee for stockholder attorneys who settled a class action against Dell Technologies Inc. for $1 billion, saying the Chancery "did not exceed its discretion in setting the fee percentage."

  • August 14, 2024

    Texas Atty Must Pay Volkswagen $200K In Fees For Patent Suit

    A Texas federal judge has ordered litigation firm VDPP LLC and its counsel, Texas attorney William Ramey III of Ramey LLP, to pay Volkswagen $207,543 in fees stemming from a now-dismissed patent case after determining a fee multiplier that applies to "exceptional" cases was appropriate due to the suit's "obvious lack of merit."

  • August 14, 2024

    Zantac Judge Won't Step Aside Over Wife's Reed Smith Role

    A Pennsylvania state judge overseeing the Zantac mass tort litigation against GlaxoSmithKline denied a motion to recuse himself Wednesday after expressing skepticism about the plaintiffs' contention that he could be unconsciously partial because his wife works for a firm defending the drugmaker in other jurisdictions.

  • August 14, 2024

    SC Justices Agree To Hear Murdaugh's Jury Tampering Claim

    South Carolina's Supreme Court has agreed to hear disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh's appeal claiming a clerk of court tampered with the jury that convicted him of murder, invoking a rule that bypasses intermediate appeals when "significant public interest or a legal principle of major importance" hangs in the balance.

  • August 14, 2024

    NC Court Defers Ruling To Unseal Cadwalader Coverage Suit

    The North Carolina Business Court on Monday did not outright reject a bid by a Lloyd's of London syndicate looking to unseal a complaint by Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP seeking coverage for a November 2022 data breach, though the judge did admonish the syndicate for failing to consult with Cadwalader's counsel before filing the motion.

  • August 14, 2024

    Judge DQs Ex-Overstock CEO's Atty For Discovery Violations

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge has granted Dominion Voting Systems' "extraordinary and rarely granted" disqualification bid over serious discovery violations by a lawyer defending Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne in a defamation lawsuit brought by the voting machine company.

  • August 14, 2024

    Bass Berry Delays New Associates' Start Date To January

    Bass Berry & Sims PLC confirmed Wednesday that it is delaying the start date for its incoming class of 22 first-year associates from September to January, citing a "professional development strategy" aimed at allowing current junior associates to gain more experience.

  • August 14, 2024

    Paralegal With Cancer Says In-Office Job Offer Used To Ax Her

    A paralegal with stage 4 breast cancer is suing two California law firms for wrongful termination and disability discrimination, saying that when they made plans to merge, they took away her remote work accommodations.

  • August 14, 2024

    Mansfield Participants Grow Despite Industry DEI Threats

    Even as law firms have faced legal threats in the past year over their diversity, equity and inclusion programming, the number of firms that have committed to embracing diversity via Mansfield certification continues to grow, according to an announcement Wednesday.

  • August 14, 2024

    NY Judge Rejects Trump's 'Stale' Recusal Bid A 3rd Time

    The New York judge who presided over Donald Trump's hush money trial denied the former president's third attempt to remove him from the case ahead of sentencing, ruling that the motion was "nothing more than an attempt to air grievances."

  • August 13, 2024

    Calif. Bar Officially Inks $8M Deal With Kaplan For New Exam

    The State Bar of California has officially entered into an $8.25 million agreement with Kaplan Exam Services LLC to replace the National Conference of Bar Examiners' exam after four decades of using the NCBE's Multistate Bar Examination, according to an announcement made Tuesday.

  • August 13, 2024

    Lin Wood Says Social Posts Were Defense, Not Offense

    Controversial ex-attorney Lin Wood took the stand Tuesday in a defamation case brought against him by three of his former law partners over social media posts in which Wood claimed they tried to criminally extort him after his firm's dissolution, telling jurors he only took to social media to defend himself. 

  • August 13, 2024

    Girardi's Ex-Accountant Testifies He Wasn't Always 'All There'

    A former in-house accountant for Tom Girardi's law firm broke down in tears on the witness stand under cross-examination in Girardi's California federal criminal trial Tuesday, first saying he always seemed "lucid" before describing him in the month before Girardi Keese filed for bankruptcy as slipping mentally.

  • August 13, 2024

    Former In-House Atty Says Healthcare Co. Can't Duck Suit

    A onetime assistant general counsel for Panoramic Health told a Colorado federal judge on Tuesday that her former employer could not escape the wrongful-termination suit she filed in May, arguing that a bid to dismiss the case must fail because she had plausibly alleged that her firing was a result of having reported compliance issues.

  • August 13, 2024

    Tax Court Design Violates US Law, Widow Tells 11th Circ.

    The widow of a grocery store butcher fighting a tax liability upheld by the U.S. Tax Court has told the Eleventh Circuit that the decision should be sent back for reconsideration, arguing that a provision restricting the president's power to remove Tax Court judges is unconstitutional.

  • August 13, 2024

    Federal Judge Can't Shake Discipline For Handcuffing Girl

    A review panel on Tuesday agreed with a unanimous Ninth Circuit Judicial Council finding that a federal judge in California engaged in misconduct when he ordered that a tearful 13-year-old girl be handcuffed during a criminal hearing for her father, upholding a public reprimand and three-year pause on criminal case assignments for the jurist.

  • August 13, 2024

    Sheppard Mullin Adds Depp Trial Attys From Brown Rudnick

    Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP said Tuesday it has lured five lawyers away from Brown Rudnick LLP who were members of the team that successfully represented actor Johnny Depp in his defamation trial against his former wife.

  • August 13, 2024

    JDs Linked To Higher Pay For Chief Compliance Officers

    Chief compliance officers with law degrees earn much more — sometimes as much as nearly $300,000 more — compared with those without the degree, according to a recent report. 

  • August 12, 2024

    Girardi Wasn't Confused But Tried 'To Confuse Me,' Atty Says

    An attorney who sued Tom Girardi on behalf of a woman seeking withheld settlement funds testified Monday in the disbarred lawyer's criminal fraud trial, telling a Los Angeles jury he didn't think Girardi was in cognitive decline but rather was deliberately trying to confuse him with strange excuses.

  • August 12, 2024

    'All Hell Broke Loose,' Wood's Ex-Partner Says Of Social Posts

    A former law partner of controversial ex-attorney L. Lin Wood on Monday told a Georgia federal jury that social media posts Wood made accusing her and two other former partners of defamation led to widespread online harassment, damage to her professional reputation and threats. 

  • August 12, 2024

    Transparency Act Snowball Fears A 'Mirage,' Treasury Says

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury is seeking to quell fears that the Corporate Transparency Act's disclosure requirements could set the stage for more invasive government data collection in a brief asking a Michigan federal judge to uphold the law as constitutional.

Expert Analysis

  • Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?

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    A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • Series

    Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Challenges Loom For PBGC Actions

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    After Loper Bright, two recent actions taken by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. already under scrutiny seem destined to be challenged and resolved under the new standard of judicial deference, which will greatly affect employers with potential withdrawal liability exposure, say Robert Perry and David Pixley at Jackson Lewis.

  • 3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture

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    Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Don't Let Loper Lead To Bank Compliance Lull

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    Banking organizations are staring down a period of greater uncertainty over the next few years as the banking agencies and industry navigate the post-Chevron world, but banks must continue to have effective compliance programs in place even in the face of this unpredictability, say Lee Meyerson and Amanda Allexon at Simpson Thacher.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents

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    Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    After Chevron: New Lines Of Attack For FCA Defense Bar

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    Loper Bright has given defense counsel new avenues to overcome the False Claims Act elements of falsity and scienter, as any FCA claim based upon ambiguous statutory terms can no longer stand solely on agency regulations to establish the statute's meaning, which is itself necessary to satisfy the FCA's basic requirements, says Elisha Kobre at Bradley Arant.

  • Series

    Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Delegation Of Authority And Tax Regulators

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    The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service will face higher standards following Loper Bright’s finding that courts should determine whether agency rules meet the best possible interpretation of the tax code, as well as the scope of the authority delegated by Congress, says Edward Froelich at McDermott.

  • Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act

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    As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.

  • Series

    After Chevron: What Loper Bright Portends For The NLRB

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court has a long history of deferring to the National Labor Relations Board's readings of federal labor law, the court's Loper Bright v. Raimondo decision forces courts to take a harder look at the judgment of an agency — and the NLRB will not be immune from such greater scrutiny, says Irving Geslewitz at Much Shelist.

  • Series

    After Chevron: NRC Is Shielded From Loper Bright's Effects

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Loper Bright v. Relentless decision brought an end to Chevron deference, Congress' unique delegation of discretionary authority to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will likely insulate it from the additional judicial scrutiny that other federal agencies will face, say Ryan Lighty and Scott Clausen at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    After Chevron: ERISA Challenges To Watch

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    The end of Chevron deference makes the outcome of Employee Retirement Income Security Act regulatory challenges more uncertain as courts become final arbiters of pending lawsuits about ESG investments, the definition of a fiduciary, unallocated pension forfeitures and discrimination in healthcare plans, says Evelyn Haralampu at Burns & Levinson.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

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