Calif. Judge To Resign Over Misconduct Amid Office Romance

By Jack Karp

A California state judge will resign and be barred from serving on the bench after engaging in misconduct that included pretending to be the lawyer for his judicial secretary with whom he was having an affair, according to a Thursday decision.

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Jenner & Block Fights DOJ Bid To Toss Exec Order Suit

By Ryan Boysen

Jenner & Block LLP on Thursday urged a D.C. federal court to reject the government's bid to dismiss its lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the firm, saying the "legal profession as a whole is watching."

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LegalZoom Scores Arbitration In Unlawful Practice Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A suit accusing online legal services provider LegalZoom of engaging in the unauthorized practice of law will head to arbitration, after a New Jersey federal judge ruled the claims fall within the scope of an enforceable arbitration agreement.

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Former Law Firm Leader Launches Whistleblower Suit In Fla.

By Madison Arnold

The former Jacksonville office managing partner of Matthiesen Wickert & Lehrer SC has launched a whistleblower lawsuit in Florida state court against the firm alleging she was forced to leave because a paralegal was engaging in the unauthorized practice of law.

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Akerman Sues To Block Malpractice Claim, Secure $750K Fees

By Jake Maher

Akerman LLP sued the healthcare services company Rennova Health Inc. and three medical laboratories in Florida state court this week, alleging that they owe the firm about $750,000 in unpaid fees and are now threatening to sue the firm for malpractice even though they have already released any claims.

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K&L Gates Bungled Crypto Co.'s Bankruptcy Claim, Suit Says

By Aislinn Keely

Gryphon Digital Mining has sued its former counsel K&L Gates LLP, claiming it dropped the ball on a bankruptcy filing that cost the company millions of dollars and complicated another legal case, all while allegedly overbilling the crypto mining firm by $1 million for related matters.

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Ga. Judicial Watchdog To Weigh Cases Against Pair Of Judges

By Emily Johnson

Separate hearings have been set for a Georgia Superior Court judge accused of intervening in a legal matter on behalf of her uncle and locking a woman in a cell during her parents' divorce hearing, as well as a state probate judge accused of causing extensive case delays.

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Judge Accused Of Sexting, Misusing Bench For Ex-Client

By Thy Vo

A Colorado state judge improperly used his position to help a former client with legal advice and exchanged sexually explicit texts with her while on the bench, according to a judicial disciplinary complaint that also alleged the judge failed to disclose their "prior sexting" when he later presided over her case.

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Fla. Legal Consultant Says La. Atty Stole Info, Started Own Biz

By David Minsky

A Florida company that advises small law firms on how to run successful businesses has sued a lawyer and former manager for allegedly stealing confidential information, saying he quit and ran off to Louisiana to start a competing business using trade secrets he learned at his previous job.

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Debt Firm's Successor, Ch. 11 Trustee End Latest Pay Dispute

By Daniel Connolly

A law firm that bought thousands of client files left over from the collapse of bankrupt California-based debt relief business Litigation Practice Group PC has agreed to pay nearly $1 million to the bankruptcy estate to help settle a payment dispute that began months ago.

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'Latter-Day Machiavelli' Defamed Calif. Law Firm, Court Told

By Rose Krebs

California employment law firm Lawyers for Justice PC has filed a suit in state court accusing one of its former clients of defamation in what the firm calls "a scorched-earth crusade against her former attorneys."

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No Redo In Ex-CEO's $6M Stock Case Against Co., Law Firm

By Aaron Keller

The former CEO of WorldQuant Predictive Technologies LLC cannot reargue failed $6 million stock loss claims against the company from which he was ousted or its law firm Pullman & Comley LLC, a Connecticut trial judge has ruled.

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Ex-NJ Prosecutor Says Whistleblower Suit Should Go To Trial

By Emily Sawicki

A former deputy director of the Union County Prosecutor's Office who says she was demoted to "girl Friday" status after becoming a whistleblower told a state judge that her lawsuit should survive to go to trial because there are many factual disputes that a jury should decide.

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Judge Grants Reduced Atty Award in Bowling Alley Chain Suit

By Elaine Briseño

A Virginia federal judge trimmed just over $150,000 in attorney fees requested by a bowling alley chain after winning summary judgment in a suit against its former chief information officer, whom it accused of hacking into its computer system and CEO's email.

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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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Judge Refuses To Recuse Himself In Ga. Defamation Case

By Lynn LaRowe

A Georgia federal judge on Thursday refused to disqualify himself from presiding over a defamation case arising from a family dispute related to a tax preparation business, while also rejecting a bid to transfer the matter to a federal court in California.

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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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Man's Deportation Looms After Tax Evasion Plea Stands

By Kevin Pinner

A Connecticut federal judge denied a man's attempt to vacate his guilty plea for tax evasion, despite accepting that his lawyers had misled him into believing that if he received no prison time he could avoid mandatory detention and likely deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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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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