Business of Law

March 28, 2025
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.
March 28, 2025
Trump Grants Clemency To Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson

President Donald Trump has granted clemency to former Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson, who was facing nearly a decade in prison for lying to banks and investors to secure funding for his now-shuttered multimedia company, the White House confirmed Friday.
March 28, 2025
Trump Pardons BitMEX Crypto Co., Four Ex-Executives

President Donald Trump has pardoned the business entity behind cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX and four of the firm's former executives years after they copped to Bank Secrecy Act violations and lax anti-money laundering controls, the White House confirmed Friday.
March 28, 2025
Tubi Says Keller Postman Breached Deal In Arbitration Fight

The D.C. federal judge overseeing video streaming service Tubi Inc.'s tortious interference suit against Keller Postman LLC over mass arbitration claims ordered the parties on Friday to schedule a status conference for next month, in light of Tubi's claims that the firm violated an agreement.
March 28, 2025
GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

As a growing number of companies and their general counsel consider moving their incorporation out of Delaware, the state's governor has quickly signed into law a measure revising its corporation statutes, though there are still critics. And 98% of legal leaders in a recent survey said their budgets are increasing in 2025 to handle the extra work stemming from new diversity risks, tech changes and cybersecurity threats.
March 28, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen sparkling winemaker Nyetimber hit a rival distillery with an intellectual property claim, Newcastle United's former owner Mike Ashley target the club's ex-vice president for damages tied to a fraudulent investment, and a real estate agency file a legal claim against law firm Winston & Strawn LLP. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
March 28, 2025
Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

UCLA School of Law's Supreme Court Clinic and Gair Gallo Eberhard LLP head this week's list of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Seventh Circuit ruling that upheld the conviction of a former Chicago alderman for making false statements about loans from a defunct bank.
March 28, 2025
Skadden Offers $100M In Pro Bono Work To Avoid Trump Order

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP has reached a deal with President Donald Trump to avert an impending executive order that could have prevented it from taking on work connected to the federal government and its contractors, according to an announcement by the president Friday on social media platform Truth Social.
March 28, 2025
Ex-Paralegal Sues Ga. Personal Injury Firm Over 658 OT Hours

An Atlanta-based personal injury law firm didn't pay a former paralegal for 658 hours of overtime, and it erroneously considered her a salaried-exempt employee, according to a lawsuit filed in Georgia federal court.
March 28, 2025
Judges Block Trump's Jenner & Block, WilmerHale Orders

Jenner & Block LLP and WilmerHale both won temporary restraining orders late Friday blocking President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting the firms, with two Washington, D.C., federal judges determining the firms have shown the orders are likely retaliation for their representation of certain clients.
March 27, 2025
Trade Court Skewers ITC Over Secretive Redaction Policy

The U.S. Court of International Trade issued a stinging rebuke of the U.S. International Trade Commission Thursday, clarifying disclosure laws and accusing the quasi-judicial agency of being too protective of information it deems "confidential" in violation of basic transparency rules.
March 27, 2025
Trump Targets WilmerHale In 5th BigLaw Executive Order

WilmerHale became the fifth large law firm to be on the receiving end of an executive order restricting its ability to practice law, with President Donald Trump on Thursday targeting the firm over its ties to former special counsel Robert Mueller as well as its immigration pro bono work and diversity practices.
March 27, 2025
Alibaba Investors' Attys Awarded $108M In IPO Settlement

A New York federal judge on Thursday granted final approval to Alibaba Group's $433.5 million settlement with investors suing the company over alleged misstatements about its exclusivity practices and its planned initial public offering of a fintech affiliate, awarding the investors' attorneys 25%, or roughly $108 million.
March 27, 2025
Full 7th Circ. Urged To Review Law Prof's Retaliation Suit

The full Seventh Circuit was asked on Thursday to revisit a panel's ruling reviving a retaliation claim from a law school professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago who was disciplined for including a redacted racist slur on an exam, saying the opinion "raises, without answering, questions of exceptional importance that will have sweeping implications for university officials."
March 27, 2025
Texas IP Attys Get $60K Sanction For Unauthorized Practice

A San Francisco federal magistrate judge has leveled more than $60,000 in personal sanctions against Texas intellectual property lawyer William Ramey III and two other attorneys from his high-volume patent firm, saying two of them practiced law without a California license in numerous cases to escape paying out-of-state admission fees of $328 per lawyer.
March 27, 2025
Guo Trustee Settles Clawbacks From Versace, Firms

The Chapter 11 trustee handling convicted Chinese exile Miles Guo's estate has asked a Connecticut bankruptcy judge to approve 10 clawback settlements with Hodgson Russ LLP, BakerHostetler, luxury retailer Versace and others, ending claims totaling $8.6 million but keeping the terms under wraps for six months.
March 27, 2025
Ga. Restrictions On Litigation Funders Near Final Passage

Georgia's House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Legislature's first attempt to rein in third-party litigation funders with new restrictions on the industry, advancing the other half of a sweeping civil litigation reform package championed by Republicans this spring.
March 27, 2025
Ex-Troutman Atty Says Racial Bias Suit Should Go To Trial

A former Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP associate who says she was fired for calling out racial bias told a Washington, D.C., federal judge that the firm's own documents and testimony show it saw her as a valuable attorney, despite saying she was let go over performance.
March 27, 2025
1st Circ. Denies Gov't Bid To Enforce Funding Freeze

The First Circuit has declined to interfere with a Rhode Island federal judge's order that the government continue releasing federal funds while the Trump administration appeals a ruling blocking its efforts to enforce the freeze.
March 26, 2025
Sotomayor Urges Caution On Nondelegation Doctrine Revamp

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor cautioned her colleagues during oral arguments Wednesday against using a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's administration of a broadband subsidy program as a way to resurrect the long-dormant nondelegation doctrine. Several conservative justices, however, seemed willing to disregard that admonition.
March 26, 2025
Judge Newman Maintains Fitness Probe Must Be Transferred

Counsel for suspended 97-year-old Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman on Wednesday told the D.C. Circuit that its decision to transfer ethics complaints against a senior district court judge, lodged by his own colleagues, supported her contention that her fellow circuit judges shouldn't investigate her fitness to remain on the bench.
March 26, 2025
Baker McKenzie Partner Joins DOJ Antitrust Leadership Team

The new head of antitrust enforcement at the U.S. Department of Justice has landed a Baker McKenzie partner for her leadership team who previously worked in the office during the administration of Barack Obama.
March 26, 2025
Senate Confirms Aaron Reitz To Lead DOJ Legal Policy Office

Aaron Reitz, chief of staff for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and a former deputy attorney general in the Lone Star State, was confirmed on Wednesday to lead the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Policy by a 52-46 vote in the Senate.
March 26, 2025
New Bill Would Make Supreme Court Televise Future Sessions

The U.S. Supreme Court could conduct oral arguments in front of television cameras for the first time if a bipartisan pair of senators get their way and succeed in passing a new bill that would require the high court's open sessions to be open to the public via video.
March 26, 2025
Women Make Up 13% Of Attys In Front Of The PTAB

Women account for 13% of attorneys appearing in front of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in post-grant proceedings going back to the board's founding in 2012 despite comprising up to 30% of all patent attorneys, according to a report from the PTAB Bar Association.

Expert Analysis

New Strategies For Enhancing Firm Culture

How can law firms work toward retaining legal talent and meeting business goals? This year, Law360 guest commentary dove into tips like embracing cognitive diversity and conducting so-called stay interviews.
The Latest Legal Writing Tips

In 2024, Law360 guest experts provided advice for improving many kinds of legal writing — explaining how attorneys can use syllogistic reasoning, emulate master chefs, and clean up drafts produced by generative artificial intelligence tools.
2024 Pointers On Persuading Jurors

In a year where nuclear verdicts continued to proliferate, Law360 guest commentary focused on how trial attorneys can better select and connect with jurors, offering strategies for identifying anti-corporate sentiments and tactics to land one’s closing argument.
Associate Issues In The 2024 Spotlight

Law360 guest writers provided insights on a range of issues affecting associates this year, from the challenges of training new lawyers in the era of artificial intelligence, to nonfinancial factors that junior attorneys should consider before accepting a job offer.
AI Questions: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

As the legal discourse surrounding artificial intelligence shifted from theoretical to concrete this year, guest commentary focused on the proliferation of new AI-related litigation, enforcement actions and best practices, while tracking the judiciary’s experimentation with generative AI.
ESG And DEI: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

In their commentary on ESG and DEI topics this year, Law360 guest authors discussed Project 2025’s potential impact, the rise of greenwashing litigation, strategies for fostering employee retention amid a shaky regulatory landscape, and more.
Election Impact: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

Donald Trump's election win initiated a deluge of predictions for the incoming administration, with Law360 guest writers covering key policy areas such as immigration, tax, energy, labor and competition, plus potential congressional themes and investigations.
Cybersecurity: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

From the CrowdStrike failure to the plethora of new and sometimes tricky regulatory requirements, to early decisions interpreting cyberinsurance coverage, guest authors broke down the implications of the biggest cybersecurity developments this year.
Noncompetes: The Top Guest Articles Of 2024

Employee noncompete issues took center stage this year, as Law360 guest writers covered everything from state-level enforceability trends and alternative methods for protecting business interests, to a National Labor Relations Board ruling and the Federal Trade Commission’s attempted ban.
The Most-Read Access To Justice Guest Articles Of 2024

Law360 guest commentary addressed several emerging access to justice issues this year, including growing case backlogs, a dearth of legal services in rural communities and amendments to long-standing sentencing policies.
The Most-Read Employment Law360 Guest Articles Of 2024

Readers were drawn to employment law commentary on a range of 2024 developments, including the U.S. Supreme Court's Title VII ruling, impactful activity from the National Labor Relations Board, and state legislation targeting employee noncompete agreements.
The Most-Read IP Law360 Guest Articles Of 2024

Double-patenting was one of the top intellectual property topics tackled in Law360’s Expert Analysis section this year, along with the intersection of copyright law and artificial intelligence, case distribution in the Western District of Texas, and more.
The Most-Read Securities Law360 Guest Articles Of 2024

This year, popular securities guest article topics included controversial Delaware court decisions and their legislative aftermath, as well as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s focus on emerging industries amid struggles to implement its rulemaking agenda.
The Most-Read Law360 UK Guest Articles Of 2024

The start of a generational shift in U.K. employment law under Labour, a ruling on artificial intelligence-driven credit scores and strategic law firm expansion were among the hot topics U.K. Expert Analysis articles explored this year.
Reviewing 2024's Crucial Patent Law Developments

As 2024 draws to a close, significant rulings and policies aimed at modernizing long-standing legal practices or addressing emerging challenges have reached patent law, says Michael Ellenberger at Rothwell Figg.