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May 21, 2024
The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms
The legal market expanded more tentatively in 2023 than in previous years amid a slowdown in demand for legal services, especially in transactions, an area that has been sluggish but is expected to quicken in the near future.
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May 21, 2024
Cisco Slips Ex-Workers' Suit Over BlackRock Funds, For Now
A California federal judge threw out a proposed class action that former workers brought accusing Cisco of breaching federal benefits law by including several BlackRock funds as options in its $16.4 billion 401(k) plan, saying the ex-employees failed to put forward meaningful comparator investments to support their claims.
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May 21, 2024
3rd Circ. Revives American Airlines Pilots' Military Leave Suit
The Third Circuit reopened a class action Tuesday accusing American Airlines of unlawfully denying pilots pay for short military assignments while compensating employees for jury duty and bereavement leave, ruling a trial is needed to determine whether time off for military service is fungible with paid absences.
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May 21, 2024
With Ex-Faegre Partner, Norton Rose Adds To ERISA Expertise
Norton Rose Fulbright has boosted its Washington, D.C., office with an ERISA litigator and experienced labor lawyer who most recently was with Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.
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May 20, 2024
Alibaba Resists Class Cert. Over Failed Ant Group IPO
Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba has again urged a New York federal judge not to certify a class of investors who claim they weren't warned about regulatory risks Alibaba faced in the lead-up to a $34 billion initial public offering of its fintech affiliate, saying the suit's challenged misstatements did not affect Alibaba's stock price.
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May 20, 2024
DOL, Fringe Benefit Co. Strike Deal In Funds Management Suit
A fringe benefits company and two of its executives have agreed to pay over $4 million to resolve a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit alleging they mismanaged funds meant for government contractor employees' benefits, the federal government told a Maryland federal court.
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May 20, 2024
Conn. Retools Bid To Deny Utility Board Member's Pension
The state of Connecticut on Monday agreed to retool two paragraphs of a complaint seeking to revoke the pension of a Norwich city employee convicted of misusing funds while serving on a public utility board, a move that a state trial court judge hoped would more swiftly adjudicate the dispute.
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May 20, 2024
2 House GOP Chairs Seek Study Of Premium Tax Credit Plan
The Republican chairmen of the House Ways and Means and Budget committees want the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation to study the impact of making the expanded Affordable Care Act premium tax credits permanent.
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May 20, 2024
Patients Urge 9th Circ. To Deny UBH Petition In Claim Fight
Patients alleging United Behavioral Health mismanaged their mental health and substance use disorder treatment claims urged the Ninth Circuit not to grant the insurance company's petition for appellate court intervention in the consolidated action, arguing the effort was inappropriate and unjustified.
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May 20, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Delaware was full of drama last week, as proposed changes to the state's corporate law statutes raised eyebrows and a professor's friend-of-the-court brief sparked a very unfriendly public exchange. Delaware's court of equity banged the gavel on pipeline and social media disputes, and shareholders filed new suits alleging insider trading, vote bungling, unfair stock buybacks and merger shenanigans. In case you missed any of it, here's the recap of all the top news last week from Delaware's Chancery Court.
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May 20, 2024
Co-Head Of Deadlocked $5B Wealth Firm Asks To Dissolve
A New York investment advisory firm managing $5 billion for elite clients including a minority owner of the St. Louis Cardinals is heading for trial in Delaware's Court of Chancery after one of its controlling members asked for a judicial dissolution, saying the company was deadlocked.
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May 20, 2024
6th Circ. Orders Sanctioned Prison Co. To Pay NLRB Atty Fees
The Sixth Circuit said a Federal Bureau of Prisons contractor has to pay the U.S. National Labor Relations Board's attorney fees from arguing the contractor should be held in contempt in a dispute over two fired union supporters, with one judge dissenting in part over 0.4 billable hour.
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May 17, 2024
Aramark Spinoff Faces Investor Action Over Slow Growth
Uniform supplier Vestis Corp. was hit with a proposed class action on Friday alleging that it concealed years of underfunding prior to being spunoff by Aramark last year, leaving it unable to grow its revenue and retain customers.
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May 17, 2024
Tech Co. Can Force Solo Arbitration In 401(k) Forfeiture Suit
A former Tetra Tech Inc. employee must individually arbitrate her suit alleging the company misused forfeited 401(k) contributions, a California federal judge said Friday, ruling federal benefits law doesn't override the arbitration agreement's bar on planwide reimbursement.
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May 17, 2024
Kohl's Directors' Aversion To Sale Was Self-Serving, Suit Says
A Kohl's shareholder has hit the retailer's brass with a derivative suit alleging they covered up the results of a disastrous shift in business strategy and takeover offers, all in a bid to protect their own positions.
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May 17, 2024
BCBS Says 'Clear' Contract Ends Ex-NBA Player's Suit
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina pressed a state district court to throw out a lawsuit brought by retired NBA star Rodney Rogers that alleges in-home nursing was suddenly denied, arguing the "clear language" of his benefits doesn't provide for long-term, in-home nursing.
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May 17, 2024
Frontier Attacks Ex-CEO's $17M Life Insurance Tax Refund Bid
Pointing to a 2004 arbitration agreement and criticizing its ex-CEO's compensation, Frontier Communications has asked a Connecticut state court judge to hang up on a call by Leonard Tow to litigate a $17 million demand for reimbursements on life insurance policies.
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May 17, 2024
Industry Emboldened After Justices Galvanize Agency Attacks
In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court said "extraordinary" and "far-reaching" attacks on administrative enforcers can skip agency tribunals and go straight to federal district court, ambitious challenges to regulatory powers are rapidly gaining traction, and the high court is poised to put them on an even firmer footing.
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May 17, 2024
3rd Circ. Seeks Briefing On Wesco's Impact In 401(k) Fee Suit
The Third Circuit asked a digital services business and employees who sued the company alleging it saddled their retirement plan with excessive recordkeeping fees to explain whether the workers' bid to revive their tossed suit should be kicked to a lower court in light of a recent precedential ruling.
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May 17, 2024
Many Plans Already In Front Of 11th Circ. Trans Health Ruling
The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision that a county health plan's coverage exclusion for gender transition surgery violated federal anti-discrimination law likely won't have a big impact on plans because they have already made adjustments for the U.S. Supreme Court ruling the appeals court applied, experts say.
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May 16, 2024
Ex-Pistons Guard Denied Bail For Healthcare Scheme Appeal
A former Detroit Pistons point guard was denied bail Thursday while he appeals his conviction and 18-month prison sentence in a case where prosecutors accused ex-players of defrauding the NBA's healthcare plan.
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May 16, 2024
3rd Circ. Revives Wesco Retirees' ERISA Fee Case
The Third Circuit reinstated a proposed class action Thursday accusing Wesco Distribution Inc. of letting its employee retirement plan pay exorbitant administrative fees, ruling a trial court's "partly valid" criticisms of the suit weren't enough to warrant dismissal.
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May 16, 2024
IQVIA To Pay $3.5M To Resolve Ex-Workers' 401(k) Suit
Healthcare technology company IQVIA agreed to pay $3.5 million to end a 9,000-member class action accusing it of choosing investments that consistently underperformed and had excessive risk and expense for its $1.13 billion 401(k) plan, a filing in North Carolina federal court said.
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May 16, 2024
DOL Unveils Long-Delayed Abandoned Retirement Plan Rules
After being sidelined for more than a decade, a plan for expanding U.S. Department of Labor rules for terminating retirement plans abandoned by employers are moving forward again, the agency reported Thursday, along with a long-delayed role in the process for bankruptcy trustees.
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May 16, 2024
Citgo Retirees Win Class Cert. In Mortality Table Data Suit
An Illinois federal judge on Thursday conditionally granted class certification to Citgo retirees accusing the fuel company of shortchanging retirees by using outdated metrics to calculate early retirement payouts, but said the class definition must be narrowed further.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.
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What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance
Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Industry Must Elevate Native American Women Attys' Stories
The American Bar Association's recent research study into Native American women attorneys' experiences in the legal industry reveals the glacial pace of progress, and should inform efforts to amplify Native voices in the field, says Mary Smith, president of the ABA.
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Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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How Mental Health Ruling Paves Road For Equal Coverage
The Tenth Circuit’s recent ruling in E.W. v. Health Net, which clarified the pleading requirements necessary to establish a Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act violation, is a win for plaintiffs as it opens the door to those who have been denied coverage for behavioral health treatment to prove a mental health parity violation, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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An Informed Guide To Mastering Retirement Plan Forfeitures
When considering how to allocate departing retirement plan participants’ forfeitures, sponsors should consider recently filed lawsuits that allege Employee Retirement Income Security Act violations for using such funds to offset employer contributions, as well as proposed IRS guidance concerning how and when they must be used, says Eric Gregory at Dickinson Wright.
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The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms
In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.
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Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary
The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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5 New Calif. Laws Employers Need To Know
Now is a good time for employers to evaluate personnel rules to keep pace with California’s newly adopted employee protections, which go into effect early next year and include laws regarding reproductive loss leave, cannabis use, workplace violence prevention and noncompete agreements, say attorneys at Farella Braun.
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DOL's Retirement Security Rule Muddies Definitional Waters
The latest proposal changing how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act defines "investment advice," which the White House framed as a narrowly tailored regulation, would implement a sweeping regulatory overhaul that changes how the retirement services industry interacts with plans, participants and account owners, says Michael Kreps at Groom Law Group.
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9th Circ. ERISA Ruling Informs DOL's New Fiduciary Proposal
The Ninth Circuit's reasoning in its recent Bugielski v. AT&T decision illustrates the importance of the U.S. Department of Labor's proposals to expand the reach of Employee Retirement Income Security Act third-party compensation disclosure rules and their effect on investment adviser fiduciaries, says Jeff Mamorsky at Cohen & Buckmann.
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AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier
Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.
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Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World
As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.
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General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI
With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.
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Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information
As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.