Meta Platforms Inc. may struggle to convince Massachusetts' top court to dismiss a suit claiming it illegally hooks kids on Instagram, according to experts, who credit the state's attorney general for a creative legal strategy to thwart web platforms' usual defenses.
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TOP NEWS

Analysis

Meta May Not Scroll Past 'Clever' Instagram Addiction Suit

By Chris Villani

Meta Platforms Inc. may struggle to convince Massachusetts' top court to dismiss a suit claiming it illegally hooks kids on Instagram, according to experts, who credit the state's attorney general for a creative legal strategy to thwart web platforms' usual defenses.

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Litigation Firms Back Perkins Coie In Suit Over Trump Order

By Jake Maher

A slew of midsize and small litigation firms took up Perkins Coie LLP's cause in its legal battle against an executive order from President Donald Trump targeting the BigLaw firm, arguing Monday in an amicus brief that the order is "anathema" to the justice system.

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WilmerHale Welcomes Back Ex-Mass. Criminal Chief

By Chris Villani

WilmerHale announced Monday the addition of a longtime Boston federal prosecutor and former criminal division head, who returns to the firm after leading major prosecutions, including a deadly meningitis outbreak and McKinsey & Co.'s work with Purdue Pharma to market OxyContin.

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Mass. High Court Ponders 'Reasonable' Wear In Lease Dispute

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts justices on Monday grappled with defining "reasonable" wear and tear on a rental property as they considered whether a property owner can require tenants to have their apartments professionally cleaned when moving out.

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AGs Announce $335M Opioid Deal With Mylan

By Emily Field

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday said her office and those of other states reached a $335 million deal with Mylan to help combat the opioid crisis.

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Mass. Firm Prevails Over Ex-Attys In Stolen Client Files Saga

By Emily Sawicki

A Massachusetts appeals panel has found that a law firm may recoup damages from its former attorneys who are accused of smuggling out client files to start a new shop while still employed, the latest ruling in a yearslong legal battle that has played out across the state's trial, appellate and supreme courts.

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LITIGATION

DraftKings Eyes 3rd Circ. Review Of MLB Players' Suit Claims

By Elaine Briseño

DraftKings has asked a Pennsylvania federal court to allow the Third Circuit to weigh in on key unsettled legal issues in a lawsuit that accuses the organization of using the photos of MLB players without permission, saying a decision in its favor could end the case.

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Policy Group Tells 4th Circ. Drug Discount Law Needs Reform

By Hayley Fowler

The Fourth Circuit on Monday allowed a Boston-based think tank to file an amicus brief supporting a district court's injunction against a West Virginia law that pharmaceutical companies and lobbyists claim unconstitutionally expands a federal drug discount program.

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DEALS

Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission sued to block GTCR BC's planned purchase of a medical device coatings company, the Justice Department's antitrust case against Live Nation survived a dismissal bid and a New York state court found a ski mountain deal hurt competition. Here, Law360 looks at the major merger review developments from March.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Trump Wants To Use Firms That Cut Deals For Coal Leases

By Keith Goldberg

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he wants to help coal companies with their leasing matters by proffering the services of BigLaw firms that signed agreements to avoid getting shut out of government work.

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Clifford Chance Lands Gibson Dunn Restructuring Co-Chair

By Tracey Read

Clifford Chance LLP announced Tuesday that it has hired the former co-chair of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's corporate restructuring practice to co-lead its global restructuring and insolvency practice.

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DOJ Shuts Crypto Unit, Shifts Focus From Intermediaries

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Department of Justice is disbanding its crypto unit and directing prosecutors to focus on cases against individuals who harm crypto investors or use digital assets to further other illegal activity, instead of bringing cases against platforms that enable the conduct, according to a memo circulated to all department employees.

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Atty Says Debevoise Fired Him Over Medical Leave

By Emmy Freedman

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP fired an attorney in its international dispute resolution practice group because he had taken medical leave, abruptly dismissing him two days after he returned, and refused to give him a chance to increase his billable hours, he told a New York federal court.

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In Trump Order Against Perkins Coie, GCs See Harm For Cos.

By Jake Maher

Nearly 70 current and former general counsel for companies including Apple Inc. and Starbucks filed an amicus brief Tuesday supporting Perkins Coie LLP in its suit against an executive order from President Donald Trump targeting the firm, saying the order "tramples on corporate independence, the right to counsel, and First Amendment rights."

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Ballard Spahr Fired Atty For Taking Medical Leave, Suit Says

By Patrick Hoff

A former attorney for Ballard Spahr LLP filed suit against the firm and the head of its employee benefits group Tuesday in New York federal court, claiming she was fired for taking medical leave and seeking a more flexible work schedule to deal with her epilepsy and a gastrointestinal condition. 

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Cravath Private Equity Co-Leader Joins Sidley In New York

By Andrea Keckley

Sidley Austin LLP announced Tuesday that the former co-head of Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP's private equity group is the latest addition to its growing mergers and acquisitions and private equity bench.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Babst Calland

Ballard Spahr

Bird Marella

Botkin Chiarello

Brody Hardoon

Brown Rudnick

Buckner & Miles

CMBG3 Law

Clifford Chance

Cohen Williams LLP

Conn Kavanaugh

Corr Cronin

Covington & Burling

Cravath Swaine

Davis Malm & D’Agostine

Debevoise & Plimpton

DiGangi Dullea

Edwards & Culver

Eimer Stahl

Fried Frank

Frost Brown

Garnett Powell Maximon

Gelber Schachter

Gibson Dunn

Governo Law Firm

Hagens Berman

Halpern May

Hogan Lovells

Holland & Knight

Horvitz & Levy

Jenner & Block

Jones Day

Kaplan Johnson

Keating Wagner

Kirkland & Ellis

Kramer Levin

Langer Grogan

Latham & Watkins

Long & Levit

Markowitz Herbold

Milbank LLP

Milberg Coleman

Mintz Levin

Munger Tolles

Osborn Maledon

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Porzio Bromberg

Quintairos Prieto

Reavis Page

Royer Cooper

Saul Ewing

Sidley Austin

Skadden Arps

Stinson LLP

Todd & Weld

Walden Macht

Wheeler Trigg

Williams & Connolly

Willkie Farr

WilmerHale

Winston & Strawn

Yetter Coleman

Zelms Erlich

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

ANSYS, Inc.

AbbVie Inc.

Allergan PLC

Amedisys Inc.

American Airlines Group Inc.

American Bar Association

American Express Global Business Travel

American Petroleum Institute Inc.

Apple Inc.

BDT & MSD Partners LLC

Boston University

CSX Corp.

CVS Health Corp.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.

DraftKings Inc.

Environmental Defense Fund Inc.

Exxon Mobil Corp.

Instagram Inc.

JetBlue Airways Corp.

Kansas City Southern

Keysight Technologies Inc.

Lindsay Goldberg LLC

LinkedIn Corp.

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.

Major League Baseball Inc.

McKinsey & Co. Inc.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Microsoft Corp.

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association

Norfolk Southern Corp.

Omnicom Group Inc.

Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America

Pharmacyclics, Inc.

Pioneer Institute Inc.

Protect Democracy Project Inc.

Purdue Pharma LP

Rite Aid Corp.

Spirent Communications PLC

Starbucks Corp.

Synopsys Inc.

The Interpublic Group of Cos. Inc.

The Kroger Co.

U.S. Anesthesia Partners

UnitedHealth Group Inc.

Viatris Inc.

Vice Media Inc.

Vodafone Group PLC

Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC

Zydus Pharmaceuticals Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Competition and Markets Authority

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Federal Trade Commission

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

New York Attorney General's Office

New York State Division of Human Rights

Superior Court of Massachusetts

Surface Transportation Board

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

West Virginia Attorney General's Office