Ill. Sen. Planned To Report Red-Light Camera Exec, Jury Hears

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois state senator accused of taking a bribe to help a red-light camera company testified Thursday that he "didn't have a chance" to report his questionable interactions closer to when they occurred in summer 2019, but he intended to raise his concerns later that fall.

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Firms Seek Fee Relief Over 'Grossly Unfair' Seresto MDL Snub

By Jonathan Capriel

Two New Jersey law firms say they were cut out of their fair share of $4.5 million in attorney fees, awarded as part of a $15 million settlement they helped secure against Bayer and others in a flea collar multidistrict litigation, asking an Illinois federal court to order lead counsel to open their wallets and share the reward.

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Students Sue DHS In Ill. Over Terminated Records And Visas

By Celeste Bott

Eight unnamed international students sued President Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Illinois federal court Thursday, saying DHS terminated student and exchange visitor information system records without due process or legal justification, barring them from continuing to study or work and risking their detention and deportation.

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High Court Sets Arguments Over Birthright Pause

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ordered special oral arguments over President Donald Trump's bid to pause or limit three nationwide court orders prohibiting implementation of his executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship, keeping the president's mandate on hold until at least mid-May.

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Insurer Owes No Coverage For Fatal Facade Collapse

By Ganesh Setty

An insurer has no duty to defend a roofing contractor in a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that two individuals died from the collapse of a building facade, an Illinois federal court ruled, finding a prior works exclusion applicable.

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Co. Seeks 2nd Shot At Asbestos RICO Suit, Citing New Info

By Emily Sawicki

New information supplied by confidential whistleblowers is cause for an Illinois federal court to allow a Los Angeles pipe manufacturer a second chance at pursuing a racketeering case against a Chicago area law firm, the company has argued in a motion to alter or amend the judgment.

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Petersen Health Gets Initial OK To Take Votes On Ch. 11 Plan

By Alex Wittenberg

A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Thursday provisionally approved skilled nursing facility operator Petersen Health Care's bid to send its Chapter 11 liquidation plan out to creditors for voting, months after the company sold off most of its assets.

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Copyright Office Opines On Harper Lee 7th Circ. Appeal

By Ivan Moreno

The U.S. Copyright Office is lending its opinion in a dispute over who has the rights to authorize stage adaptions of Harper Lee's iconic book "To Kill A Mockingbird," saying in an amicus brief to the Seventh Circuit that the company that once had the rights for the play cannot prevent others from creating new adaptions after the late author terminated those rights.

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Tracking The Evolution In Litigation Finance

Despite continued innovation, litigation finance remains an immature market with borrowers recieving significantly different terms as lenders learn to value cases, which firms need a strong handle on to ensure lending terms do not overwhelm collateral value, says Robert Wilkins at Lightfoot Franklin.

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Series

Volunteer Firefighting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While practicing corporate law and firefighting may appear incongruous, the latter benefits my legal career by reminding me of the importance of humility, perspective and education, says Nicholas Passaro at Ford.

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PTAB Judge Heads To Boutique, Citing Return-To-Office Order

By Andrew Karpan

An outgoing Patent Trial and Appeal Board judge based in Austin, Texas, tells Law360 that President Donald Trump's return-to-office order was a "significant factor" in her decision to return to private practice, joining boutique patent firm Smith Baluch LLP as a partner.

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Ex-DOJ Atty Convicted In 1MDB Case Ordered Disbarred In NY

By Craig Clough

A New York appellate court ordered Wednesday that a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney be disbarred due to his felony conviction as part of a sprawling, billion-dollar fraud scandal connected to 1Malaysia Development Berhad and Fugees founder Pras Michél.

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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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Sunoco Accused Of Age Bias By Ex-Chief Counsel

By Gina Kim

A former chief counsel for Sunoco LP sued her ex-employer in Texas state court Wednesday, alleging she was denied promotional opportunities and later terminated due to her age, while also accusing the company of replacing attorneys older than 50 with significantly younger attorneys with less experience.

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PI Firm Sues Its Own Expert For Being 'Out Of Touch' At Depo

By Rae Ann Varona

A New Jersey personal injury law firm filed suit in state court against an expert witness it alleges had threatened to withdraw if he didn't receive an advance payment for preparing and attending his deposition, and then turned up to the deposition "confused, disoriented and out of touch."

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Venezuelans Ask High Court And 5th Circ. To Pause Removals

By Katie Buehler

A group of Venezuelans detained in northern Texas launched a multipronged effort Friday to prevent the Trump administration from removing them to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act before they can have their day in court, asking the U.S. Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit and two district courts for emergency relief.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Google and its chief legal officer have now lost two major antitrust cases to DOJ prosecutors after a federal judge ruled Thursday the search engine monopolized markets and servers related to display advertising. Meanwhile, a new study shows companies are disclosing their business risks, and how they are trying to mitigate those risks, amid changing tariffs and the uncertainty of the U.S.-China trade war. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Schlichter Bogard LLC and the University of Virginia School of Law Supreme Court Litigation Clinic lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court revived a class action from Cornell University workers who said their retirement plans were saddled with excessive fees.

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Judiciary Faces Security Risks Amid Spending Freeze

By Courtney Bublé

The federal judiciary is warning congressional appropriators that funding shortfalls could threaten courthouse security.

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Judge Nixes Feds' DQ Bid In Migrant Kids Legal Funding Case

By Ryan Boysen

A California federal judge has denied the Trump administration's bid to remove her from a lawsuit challenging funding cuts that prevent attorneys from representing child migrants, ruling her employment at one of the plaintiffs nearly seven years ago doesn't undermine her impartiality.

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Joel Katz, Music Law's Longtime Power Broker, Dies At 80

By Chart Riggall

Joel Katz, the powerful music industry lawyer who co-founded Greenberg Traurig LLP's media and entertainment practice and helped bring the firm to the Atlanta market, has died at the age of 80, Law360 confirmed Friday.

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WilmerHale, Feds Dispute Reach Of Trump Order Against Firm

By Jack Karp

WilmerHale and the U.S. Department of Justice traded salvos in the BigLaw firm's challenge to President Donald Trump's executive order targeting it, with the firm and the government offering "starkly different" versions of what's at stake in the dispute.

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Wis. Sens. Renew Bipartisan Judicial Nomination Commission

By Courtney Bublé

The Republican and Democratic senators from Wisconsin announced Friday they are renewing their bipartisan commission to recommend U.S. attorney and judicial nominees to the president.

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