Trump Wants 'Immediate Dismissal' Of NY Hush Money Case

By Frank G. Runyeon

President-elect Donald Trump's legal team told the New York judge who presided over his hush money trial that his conviction should be thrown out due to his "overwhelming victory" at the polls, according to a filing released Wednesday.

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Archegos Founder Gets 18 Years For Massive Market Fraud

By Stewart Bishop

Bill Hwang, the founder of collapsed hedge fund Archegos, was sentenced Wednesday to 18 years in prison after he was convicted of lying to banks in order to secure billions of dollars in loans used to manipulate the market.

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Weil Litigation Leaders Jump To Paul Weiss In NY

By Tracey Read

The co-chair of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP's global litigation department and the co-head of Weil's patent litigation practice will soon be joining Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York, the latter firm announced Wednesday.

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Trump Seeks Dismissal Of Central Park Five Defamation Suit

By P.J. D'Annunzio

President-elect Donald J. Trump has told a Pennsylvania federal judge that a lawsuit brought by the Central Park Five should be dismissed, calling their allegations that he defamed them with comments about their criminal case "meritless" and saying his statements are protected as public expression under the state's anti-SLAPP statute.

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Bankman-Fried Tech Deputy Who Parsed Code Avoids Prison

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge allowed tech expert Zixiao "Gary" Wang to avoid jail Wednesday for his role in the $11 billion FTX fraud, crediting his effort to detail programming "back doors" that enabled Sam Bankman-Fried to loot the bankrupt crypto exchange.

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Adani Group Chairman Charged In Sprawling Bribery Case

By Dorothy Atkins

Prosecutors unsealed a sprawling criminal indictment in New York federal court Wednesday, accusing Adani Group Chairman Gautam S. Adani and seven others of orchestrating a $250 million bribery scheme to secure lucrative Indian government renewable energy contracts, while misleading investors about the Adani Group subsidiary's dealings.

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2nd Circ. Doubts Error In Tenant Screener's FHA Suit Win

By Brian Steele

A Second Circuit panel appeared skeptical Wednesday that a Connecticut federal judge used the wrong analysis to find that a tenant screener's criminal history reporting practices do not violate the Fair Housing Act, grilling counsel for the federal government about the lower court's process.

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Veggie Co. Hit With False Ad Suit Over E. Coli Outbreak

By Mike Curley

A proposed class of consumers is suing Grimmway Enterprises Inc., alleging that it failed to disclose that its whole and baby carrot products were or could be contaminated with e. coli, deceiving buyers into thinking they were safe for consumption.

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Apple Tapped With Patent Suit Over IMessage 'Tapbacks'

By Andrew Karpan

A lawsuit filed Wednesday in the Southern District of New York accuses Apple of infringing two patents through some of the newer features of its iMessage app that allow people to react and respond to particular texts.

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Nike Accused Of 'Smear Campaign' Over $60M Trademark Suit

By Bonnie Eslinger

A Los Angeles-based company that made customized sneakers for celebrities and athletes hit back Tuesday at Nike's $60 million trademark suit, saying that despite the companies' previous collaborations, Nike is now making knowing false claims in a "smear campaign" to crush its business.

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Atty Seeks Ruling Letting Him Sell Unlicensed NFL Merchandise

By Elaine Briseño

A man representing himself pro se has argued in a New York federal complaint that he should be allowed to sell unlicensed National Football League merchandise that features team designs and logos, because his use is "functional" and allowed without a license.

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Lululemon Execs Hit With Derivative Suit Over DEI Program

By Bonnie Eslinger

Lululemon leadership was hit with a shareholder derivative suit Wednesday claiming they made false statements related to the company's new "Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action" program that artificially boosted the company's stock price and also concealed problems with the company's inventory allocation.

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Xerox Faces Investor Suit Over 'Reinvention' Strategy

By Sydney Price

Business technology company Xerox Inc. has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action in New York federal court alleging the company's stockholders were harmed by a "reinvention" strategy it introduced in 2023 that yielded lower sales and revenue.

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US Called Upon To Lead Cross-Border Payment Overhaul

By Sarah Jarvis

A senior official with the U.S. Department of the Treasury has warned that wide adoption of a poorly designed, cross-border payment system could threaten international financial stability and economic security, advising the U.S. to take the lead in developing and governing such systems.

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Judge Opens Path For Ex-Yale Student's Asylum Bid

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut federal judge has illuminated a potential path for an expelled Yale student to send his sex assault accuser's name to immigration officials, suggesting that submitting a state trial transcript would "not seem to run afoul" of a magistrate judge's ban on otherwise naming the woman.

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Asylum Grant Rates Under Biden Drop To 35.8%

By Dorothy Atkins

Immigration judges are granting fewer asylum requests, with the latest data showing that asylum approval rates have dropped from above 50% earlier in President Joe Biden's administration to roughly 35.8% in October, according to a report published Tuesday.

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Hinshaw Brings On Ex-JPMorgan Counsel From Ballard Spahr

By Katryna Perera

A Ballard Spahr LLP attorney and former in-house counsel for JPMorgan Chase & Co. has joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP as a partner in the firm's consumer financial services practice group in New York, where he will advise banks, lenders and fintechs on state and federal regulations, compliance matters and litigation.

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Cleary Hires Milbank Atty For Capital Markets Team

By Andrea Keckley

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP announced the addition of a former Milbank LLP transactional attorney to its New York office on Wednesday, saying she will be an asset for its capital markets clients.

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Expect Surging Oil And Gas Industry Under New Trump Admin

Throughout his recent campaign, President-elect Donald Trump promised increased oil and natural gas production and reduced reliance on renewables — and his administration will likely bring more oil and gas dealmaking, faster federal permitting and attempts to roll back incentives for green energy, say attorneys at Sidley.

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BigLaw Begins Matching Milbank On Associate Bonuses

By Aebra Coe

Following the news Tuesday that Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP will pay associates year-end and special bonuses in line with those handed out by Milbank LLP this year, the firms' peers have begun to respond, with swift matches Wednesday by Paul Hastings LLP and McDermott Will & Emery LLP.

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DOJ Settles With Atty Who Reported Judge's Sexual Misconduct

By Lauren Berg

A former Alaska federal prosecutor who made allegations of sexual misconduct against then-U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred has reached an undisclosed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice resolving claims she suffered retaliation for speaking up, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Wednesday.

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Foley Shouldn't Face Data Breach Claims, Calif. Panel Says

By Dorothy Atkins

A California appellate panel affirmed the dismissal of Accellion Inc.'s cross-complaint against law firm Foley & Lardner LLP in an insurance company's lawsuit claiming the software-maker should be held liable for a $1 million ransomware attack that targeted the law firm, finding that Accellion's cross-claims are untimely.

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Akerman Opens In Charlotte With 2 Moore & Van Allen Hires

By Xiumei Dong

Akerman LLP announced Wednesday the firm opened its second North Carolina office in Charlotte and brought on two new partners from Moore & Van Allen PLLC, including the former head of its renewable energy project finance team and a tax law expert.

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Judiciary Touts Reforms In Handling Workplace Complaints

By Ryan Boysen

The federal judiciary is successfully reforming the controversial process that aims to protect its 30,000 employees from sexual harassment in the workplace, according to a new internal report released Wednesday, even as lawmakers have called for scrapping that process altogether and replacing it with a new one.

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Musk, Ramaswamy Say High Court Rulings OK Federal Cuts

By Lauren Berg

Billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, President-elect Donald Trump's picks to lead a newly created "Department of Government Efficiency," on Wednesday said two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings will give them the authority to cut off power to regulatory agencies and conduct massive federal layoffs.

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House Dem Proposes Vote Forcing Release Of Gaetz Report

By Hailey Konnath

U.S. Rep. Sean Casten on Wednesday introduced a resolution that would require the House of Representatives to vote on whether the House Ethics Committee must release its report on the allegations against former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a proposal unveiled the same day the ethics committee failed to reach a consensus.

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Fed. Judges Still Seek New Bench Seats Amid Dems' Loss

By Courtney Bublé

The Federal Judges Association is urging the House to pass the bipartisan bill that would expand the federal courts in order to meet rising caseloads, even as the Biden administration appears to be cooling on the idea it once supported.

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Calif. Judicial Nominee Asked About Race, Parenting Writings

By Courtney Bublé

A California judicial nominee's previous writing about the murder of George Floyd in 2020, which sparked a national reckoning on race, was the subject of debate during a Senate nomination hearing on Wednesday.

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Washington State, DC District Court Picks Secure Seats

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate on Wednesday voted 50-48 to confirm Washington Court of Appeals Judge Rebecca L. Pennell to the Eastern District of Washington and 50-49 to confirm Amir Ali, former president and executive director of the MacArthur Justice Center and co-director of the Criminal Justice Appellate Clinic at Harvard Law School, to the District of Columbia.

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Girardi Pushes For New Trial Over Competency Claims

By Cara Salvatore

Counsel for Tom Girardi told a federal judge the disbarred attorney is plainly mentally incompetent and deserves a new trial over charges he defrauded clients of $15 million worth of settlement money.

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