Medical Supplies Giant, Drone Operator File Confidential IPOs

By Tom Zanki

Private equity-backed medical supplies giant Medline Inc. and drone operator Airo Group Holdings Inc. said Thursday that they confidentially filed plans for initial public offerings with regulators, joining a growing pipeline of IPO prospects for 2025.

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Brief

Ropes-Led Bain Capital Trims Stake In Kioxia After $800M IPO

By Tom Zanki

Bain Capital LP trimmed its majority stake in Japanese chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp. following the company's $800 million initial public offering, according to a statement Thursday by Ropes & Gray LLP, which represented the private equity giant in the transaction. 

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'Hawk Tuah' Memecoin Promoters Sued Over Crypto Flop

By Aislinn Keely

Buyers of the viral "Hawk Tuah" meme-themed cryptocurrency sued the project's promoters and developers in New York federal court Thursday for failing to register the asset as a security while they "created a speculative frenzy" that led holders to lose thousands of dollars.

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Fed, OCC 'Asleep At Wheel' On Merger Policy, Warren Says

By Jon Hill

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday accused top federal bank regulators of blowing off calls for tougher merger scrutiny and leaving the financial system exposed to dangerous megadeals, blasting them as "asleep at the wheel" as the Capital One-Discover merger inched closer to approval.

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Ex-Biopharma Exec Settles SEC Insider Trading Claim

By Emilie Ruscoe

A former biopharmaceutical executive will pay nearly $156,000 to end U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims that he bought up shares of his employer's acquisition target and the target's shareholder ahead of the announcement of the acquisition.

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Judge Says Investing Firm Owes Marketer $330K, Not $10M

By Ryan Harroff

Following a four-day bench trial, a Colorado federal judge has ruled a marketing company is entitled to $331,000 in damages from an investment advisory firm that shorted it on commission for consulting services, but rejected the $10 million liability the marketer asserted in the nearly decade-old litigation.

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Morrison Foerster, Freshfields Guide $1.8B Packaging Deal

By Al Barbarino

Toppan Holdings Inc. confirmed Thursday it has agreed to purchase Sonoco Products Co.'s thermoformed and flexible packaging, or TFP, unit for about $1.8 billion, with Morrison Foerster LLP advising the buyer and Freshfields LLP representing the seller.

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Deals Rumor Mill

Honda, Nissan Mulling Merger, And Other Deal Rumors

By Al Barbarino

Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan are discussing a potential merger as they look to compete with the likes of Tesla and Chinese automakers, according to a Wednesday report by Nikkei. A subsequent report in The Wall Street Journal laid out some eye-catching stats about China's growth in the industry, which it said has left automakers elsewhere across the globe scrambling to compete.

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Brief

Sony Ups Stake In Japanese Video Game Maker's Parent Co.

By Al Barbarino

Sony Group Corp. said Thursday it has agreed to up its stake in Kadokawa Corp. to 10% through the purchase of more than 12 million shares for approximately 50 billion yen ($317.8 million), sending Kadokawa's stock skyrocketing more than 24%.

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Atkins-Tied Crypto Group Lays Out Its Priorities For New SEC

By Aislinn Keely

Crypto industry group The Digital Chamber, which counts U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair nominee Paul Atkins as an advisory board member, has urged the Wall Street regulator to "reset its historically troubled relationship" with the crypto industry by rolling back certain rule proposals and resolving non-fraud suits against crypto firms soon after President-elect Donald Trump takes office next year.

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Tornado Cash Founder Says 5th Circ. Order Merits Dismissal

By Elliot Weld

The founder of cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash renewed his bid to dismiss his money laundering and sanctions violation charges, saying a recent Fifth Circuit decision that found the company's smart contracts were not sanctionable property is fatal to the case.

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Musk Pay Fight Shows Investor Approval Isn't Universal Cure

The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent denial of a motion revising its prior rescission of Elon Musk's nearly $56 billion compensation package is a reminder of the heightened standard corporate boards must meet in conflicted controller transactions and that stockholder approval doesn't automatically cure fiduciary wrongdoing, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

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The Story Of 2024's Biggest Bank Regs, And Their Fate In 2025

U.S. federal bank regulators were very active in 2024 with initiatives ranging from antitrust and capital to proposals regarding controlling shareholders and incentive-based compensation, but many regulations face an uncertain future under the new administration, say attorneys at Latham.

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2024 Has Been A Momentous Year For ESG

Significant developments in the environmental, social and governance landscape this year include new legislation, evolving global frameworks, continued litigation and enforcement actions, and a U.S. Supreme Court decision that has already affected how lower courts have viewed some ESG challenges, say attorneys at Katten.

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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.

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MoFo, Irell Latest Firms To Unveil Competitive Bonuses

By Aebra Coe & Hailey Konnath

Morrison Foerster LLP and litigation boutique Irell & Manella LLP have joined a chorus of firms announcing associate bonuses that meet or exceed the BigLaw standard for associate bonuses this year, with MoFo offering up to $218,200 and Irell handing its lawyers as much as $175,000.

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Podcast

Approach The Bench: What Judges Had To Say This Year

By Cara Bayles

Jurists weighed the benefits of partisan elections, praised innovations in telehearings and worried about the future of the profession in nearly a dozen interviews with Law360 this year.

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Gunster $8.5M Data Breach Deal Needs More Info, Judge Says

By Matt Perez

A Florida federal judge this week denied preliminary approval of an $8.5 million settlement in a data breach class action against Gunster and demanded more information on payouts, the plaintiffs' standing in the case and a historical breakdown of settlement rates.

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NJ Bar's Diversity Plan Isn't Biased, Panel Says

By Tracey Read

A New Jersey state appeals court reversed and remanded on Friday a lower court's ruling that found the state bar association's diversity practices to be an unlawful, discriminatory quota system.

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If Gov't Shuts Down, Judiciary Will Be Funded Until Jan. 10

By Courtney Bublé

If there is a government shutdown, the federal judiciary would be funded at least until Jan. 10, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said Friday.

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Analysis

How Lawyers May Sue The Trump Administration … Again

By Cara Bayles

During the last Trump administration, BigLaw firms challenged White House policies, focusing on immigration, environmental regulations and healthcare. This time around, attorneys could rely on old tools, and some new tactics, to stall the executive branch.

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Biden Exceeds Trump's Record On Judges By One

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate confirmed on Friday the last two judicial nominations from President Joe Biden, making his total of lifetime judicial appointments 235, just one over President Donald Trump's 234.

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High Court Bar's Future: Williams & Connolly's Sarah Harris

By Katie Buehler

Sarah M. Harris of Williams & Connolly LLP never planned on being a U.S. Supreme Court advocate, or even an appellate one. She stumbled upon that career path after realizing her initial goal of becoming a national security or government lawyer wasn't the right fit.

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No, Microsoft Isn't Driving DOJ's Google Antitrust Suit: Judge

By Bryan Koenig

A D.C. federal judge pushed back Friday on Google's efforts to paint Microsoft as the true plaintiff in the Justice Department's search monopolization lawsuit, casting doubt during a hearing that Google should get even more information about Microsoft's relationship with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.

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Feature

Litigator On The Roof: The Acting, Singing Mass. Solicitor

By Chris Villani

The top appellate lawyer in the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General will be ringing in the new year by performing a comical cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, the latest show in a lengthy side career in music.

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Hagens Berman Settles Suit Over Effexor Deal Atty Fees

By Bryan Koenig

A pharmaceutical reseller's in-house counsel and founder moved Friday to drop a Mississippi federal court breach of contract suit accusing Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP of stiffing him on his share of a $13 million attorney fees award from an antitrust class settlement, citing a resolution to the dispute.

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Q&A

A Judge Reflects: West Wing Call, 'Alford Plea?' Early Exit

By Hayley Fowler

When Chief Judge Louis A. Bledsoe III of the North Carolina Business Court hangs up his robes for the last time on Dec. 31, he'll leave behind a white-hot docket of high-profile cases and a profusion of opinions that helped mold the court into a tribunal fit to rival Delaware's Court of Chancery.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Andrea Keckley

This week's Legal Lions leader comes from the public sector, as federal prosecutors secured a $650 million settlement from McKinsey & Co. to resolve a lawsuit over the consulting giant's role in Purdue Pharma's promotion of OxyContin.

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

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen the University of Southampton sue a drone-maker over the rights to an uncrewed aircraft patent, Importers Service Corp. and its subsidiary ISC Europe take action against a former director who allegedly owes the company over £1.1 million ($1.4 million), and DAC Beachcroft face a fraud claim by a "prolific litigant." 

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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.

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