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July 16, 2024
Texas Says Maritime Expert Shouldn't Testify In Barrier Fight
Texas moved to exclude a maritime expert witness for the U.S. government in its case challenging the state's barrier installed on the Rio Grande aimed at countering increasing migration, arguing on Tuesday the proposed witness, who plans to testify the barrier obstructs navigability, isn't an expert on buoys, booms or floats.
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July 16, 2024
5th Circ. Preserves Class Cert. In Fringe Benefits Fee Fight
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court's decision to certify a mega class of more than 290,000 workers in a suit against several benefits administration companies alleging mismanagement of their non-union fringe benefits, but found the action should proceed as opt-out and not mandatory class action.
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July 16, 2024
Energy Co. Says 'Abstract Harm' Of NLRB Process Merits Halt
A Texas-based energy company told a Galveston federal judge Tuesday that parties are afforded "certain rights not to face trial," pushing the court to halt an upcoming National Labor Relations Board administrative proceeding against the company on the basis that the board's process is unconstitutionally structured.
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July 16, 2024
BREAKING: Platinum Co-Founder Dodges Prison For Bond Fraud Rap
Platinum Partners co-founder Mark Nordlicht on Tuesday was spared prison time for his five-year-old conviction over a purported scheme to defraud bondholders of a Texas oil and gas company, as a New York federal judge doubted that "such a weird case" would serve any deterrent value.
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July 16, 2024
Whataburger Wants Out Of Worker's 401(k) Fund Suit
Whataburger urged a Texas federal judge to throw out a former employee's proposed class action accusing it of stocking its employees' $215 million retirement plan with poorly performing funds, saying the worker waived his right to sue when he signed a severance agreement.
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July 16, 2024
States, Legal Orgs Urge Justices To Halt Biden's Debt Relief
A U.S. Supreme Court challenge to the Biden administration's latest student debt relief program received backing from seven Republican-led states and a trio of legal groups that assert the estimated $475 billion plan exceeds the executive branch's authority.
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July 16, 2024
Baker Hughes 401(k) Participant Wants Class Cert.
An ex-worker for Baker Hughes claiming his employee 401(k) plan lost millions because of unreasonably high recordkeeping fees asked a Texas federal court to certify a class of more than 23,000 retirement plan participants accusing the company of mismanagement, following a failed attempt to mediate the dispute.
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July 16, 2024
Houston Atty Allegedly Misled Client About Past Malpractice
A man is suing the lawyer who was representing him in an employment case because the attorney didn't disclose his "extensive" history of legal malpractice, telling a Texas state court that the attorney broke his fiduciary duties by not revealing his past misdeeds.
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July 16, 2024
Fisher Phillips Adds Employment Ace In Dallas From Ogletree
Fisher Phillips announced Tuesday that it has upped the headcount at its new Dallas location with a partner who came aboard from Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC.
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July 16, 2024
The 2024 Diversity Snapshot: What You Need To Know
Law firms' ongoing initiatives to address diversity challenges have driven another year of progress, with the representation of minority attorneys continuing to improve across the board, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. Here's our data dive into minority representation at law firms in 2023.
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July 16, 2024
These Firms Have The Most Diverse Equity Partnerships
Law360’s law firm survey shows that firms' efforts to diversify their equity partner ranks are lagging. But some have embraced a broader talent pool at the equity partner level. Here are the ones that stood out.
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July 16, 2024
Corporate Pro Joins Kirkland After Role In Private Equity
Kirkland & Ellis LLP has strengthened its corporate practice in Houston with a partner who came aboard following an in-house role at private equity firm Stonepeak.
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July 16, 2024
Gibson Dunn, Kirkland Steer $737M KBR-LinQuest Deal
Gibson Dunn is steering Houston-based defense and space contractor KBR on a new deal to buy LinQuest Corp., a provider of defense analytics to the U.S. government represented by Kirkland & Ellis, for $737 million, according to a statement from KBR on Tuesday.
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July 15, 2024
EDTX Judge OKs $445M Chip Verdict Against Micron
U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap has said there is no reason for the Texas court to wait for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to rule on the validity of a patent tied to part of a $445 million jury verdict against Micron Technology that came down in May.
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July 15, 2024
Crypto Promoter Says SEC's Ripple Appeal Helps His Request
A crypto influencer fighting a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit has told a Texas federal judge that his bid for an immediate appeal of a ruling against him is supported by the SEC's own attempt to appeal an adverse ruling in its case against blockchain firm Ripple Labs.
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July 15, 2024
SEC Pans Database Privacy Challenge As Too Little, Too Late
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to rid itself of a proposed class action targeting a market surveillance tool known as the consolidated audit trail, telling a Texas federal judge that shutting down a critical market stability tool 12 years after its creation would harm the public without providing any benefit to suing investors.
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July 15, 2024
Centerpoint To Face Class Action Over Beryl Power Outages
Personal injury attorney Tony Buzbee announced Monday that he plans to file a proposed class action against Centerpoint Energy on behalf of restaurants in Houston and Galveston, Texas, affected by power outages following Hurricane Beryl.
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July 15, 2024
Logan Paul 'Willfully Ignored' Partners' Fraud, Investor Says
A Texas buyer of influencer Logan Paul's never-launched CryptoZoo project told a Texas federal judge the YouTuber shouldn't win default judgments against the business partners he says duped him as he continues to face a proposed class's claims that he defrauded investors alongside them.
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July 15, 2024
La., Miss. Utility Regulators Launch FERC Grid Policy Fight
Louisiana and Mississippi utility regulators called on the Fifth Circuit on Monday to review the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's sweeping overhaul of how major electric transmission projects are planned and paid for.
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July 15, 2024
'Hard To Imagine' Logic For Late Injury Evidence, Justice Says
A Dallas County jury will hear a dispute between an apartment complex and a resident who alleges she was injured after a 2015 carbon monoxide leak, despite the late disclosure of evidence, justification for which the Texas Supreme Court said was "hard to imagine."
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July 15, 2024
NRA's Policies Called 'Dumpster Fire' As 2nd NY Trial Opens
The New York attorney general cast the National Rifle Association as unrepentant and unreformed as a second-phase bench trial began in state court Monday, after a jury had found the group and its ex-officers liable for misspending millions.
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July 15, 2024
9th Circ. Centers On Atty's Duties In Winery TM Feud
Ninth Circuit judges appeared skeptical Monday that a Houston lawyer could represent a prominent Napa Valley vintner while also claiming partial ownership rights to the name of its popular cabernet sauvignon, with one judge saying that conflict of interest rules for attorneys operating in California are "very strict."
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July 15, 2024
Fed. Circ. Upholds Some HVAC Patent Claims In Google Fight
The Federal Circuit has affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that handed a partial win to EcoFactor Inc. in a patent challenge brought by Google LLC.
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July 15, 2024
Gray Reed Helped Water Now CEO In Fraud, Investors Say
Investors in the now-defunct water purification company Water Now have added law firm Gray Reed & McGraw LLP and attorney George Diamond to their suit against the company, saying in an amended complaint Monday the firm helped the company's CEO run the business into the ground while enriching himself.
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July 15, 2024
Insurance Groups Want DOL Investment Advice Regs Blocked
Several insurance groups urged a Texas federal court to halt the U.S. Department of Labor's new regulations that broaden who qualifies as a fiduciary under federal benefits law, saying the agency's new rule is no different from one the Fifth Circuit invalidated in 2018.
Expert Analysis
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How Tech Trackers May Implicate HIPAA After Hospital Ruling
A recent Texas federal court order in American Hospital Association v. Becerra adds a legal protection on key data, clarifying when tracking technologies implicate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, so organizations should ensure all technology used is known and accounted for, say John Howard and Myriah Jaworski at Clark Hill.
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Series
Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
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Will Texas Stock Exchange Provide Regulatory Haven?
While the newly proposed Texas Stock Exchange may represent a market reaction to increasingly complex regulations, those looking to list on a national securities exchange should consider that their choice of an exchange may not relieve them of some of the most burdensome public company requirements, say Elizabeth McNichol and Ryan Lilley at Katten.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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Opinion
Cell Tech Patent Holdup Is Stalling Automaker Innovation
Courts and Congress should seek to stem anticompetitive harm caused by standard-essential patent holders squeezing automakers with unfairly high royalties for cellular connectivity technology, says Charles Haake at Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
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Criminal Enforcement Considerations For Gov't Contractors
Government contractors increasingly exposed to criminal liability risks should establish programs that enable detection and remediation of employee misconduct, consider voluntary disclosure, and be aware of the potentially disastrous consequences of failing to make a mandatory disclosure where the government concludes it was required, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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FLSA Conditional Certification Is Alive And Well In 4th Circ.
A North Carolina federal court's recent decision in Johnson v. PHP emphasized continued preference by courts in the Fourth Circuit for a two-step conditional certification process for Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions, rejecting views from other circuits and affording plaintiffs a less burdensome path, say Joshua Adams and Damón Gray at Jackson Lewis.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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Why High Court Social Media Ruling Will Be Hotly Debated
In deciding the NetChoice cases that challenged Florida and Texas content moderation laws, what the U.S. Supreme Court justices said about social media platforms — and the First Amendment — will have implications and raise questions for nearly all online operators, say Jacob Canter and Joanna Rosen Forster at Crowell & Moring.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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Opinion
It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections
While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Supreme Court's ALJ Ruling Carries Implications Beyond SEC
In its recent Jarkesy opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the types of cases that can be tried before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house administrative law judges, setting the stage for challenges to the constitutionality of ALJs across other agencies, say Robert Robertson and Kimberley Church at Dechert.