Business of Law

July 05, 2024
Legal Jobs Continued To Tick Up In June

The U.S. legal sector added 1,400 jobs in June, continuing an uptick that began this spring, according to preliminary data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
July 05, 2024
Trump-Appointed Alaska Judge Abruptly Resigns

Judge Joshua Kindred of the District of Alaska informed President Joe Biden on Wednesday that he will be resigning Monday.
July 05, 2024
Armstrong Teasdale To Leave UK, Close 2 US Offices

Armstrong Teasdale LLP's managing partner said the firm "will likely no longer have a direct physical presence in the U.K. or Europe" as it ceases future financial support for its U.K. subsidiary, while aiming to wrap up business in Boston and Salt Lake City by the end of September.
July 05, 2024
CFTC's Pham Says CCOs Must Be Careful With Agency

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission member Caroline Pham warns that chief compliance officers at CFTC-registered firms may face individual liability for noncompliance matters at their firms, telling Law360 that this shows the need for compliance heads to carefully document their actions to potentially avoid liability.
July 03, 2024
Cooley DQ'd From IP Case Over Atty's Past Patent Work

Cooley LLP was disqualified on Wednesday from representing a pharmaceutical customer-support software company against patent infringement claims in Delaware, with the district court citing a Cooley partner's prior work representing the plaintiff and Cooley's refusal to screen its attorney.
July 03, 2024
'Who Does That?' 7th Circ. Pans Walmart's Price Audit Theory

The Seventh Circuit on Wednesday revived a class action accusing Walmart of systematically posting lower prices on shelves than it actually charges, rejecting the retailer's argument that the onus is on customers to keep track of prices as they're juggling various distractions during checkout.
July 03, 2024
Texas Court Puts FTC's Noncompete Ban On Hold

A Texas federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Federal Trade Commission from enforcing its rule banning noncompete agreements against tax preparation company Ryan LLC and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and suggested the regulation should be shot down.
July 03, 2024
NC Solicitor General Faces GOP Roadblock To 4th Circ. Bench

President Joe Biden's selection of North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Y. Park for a Fourth Circuit seat tops off a distinguished resume that includes a Harvard Law degree and a stint at Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP, but he still faces an uphill road to the bench amid pushback from Tar Heel State senators.
July 03, 2024
High Court Rulings Thwart Judge Romance Suit, Firm Says

Jackson Walker LLP urged a Texas federal court Wednesday to consider its argument that two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings on standing prevent a former shareholder in an engineering company from pursuing a racketeering lawsuit over a bankruptcy judge's concealed romantic relationship with an ex-firm attorney.
July 03, 2024
Bronx Defenders Union Braces To Strike In Less Than 3 Weeks

The Bronx Defenders Union's bargaining committee voted on Tuesday to authorize an unlimited unfair labor practice strike beginning the week of July 22, saying the organization's staff continue to face high attrition, unwieldy caseloads and some of the lowest pay rates of New York City's public defenders.
July 03, 2024
Dechert To Close Offices In Beijing, Hong Kong, Chicago

Dechert LLP is the latest BigLaw firm to announce it is dissolving operations in Beijing and Hong Kong, and the Philadelphia-founded firm also plans to close its 12-year-old Chicago office, a Dechert spokesperson told Law360 Pulse on Wednesday.
July 03, 2024
Biden's New Picks Include NC Solicitor General For 4th Circ.

President Joe Biden announced four new judicial nominees on Wednesday, including one for the Fourth Circuit.
July 02, 2024
Data Breach Suits Drive Consumer Protection Docket Growth

Federal consumer protection lawsuits are back on the rise after nearly a decade of steady decline, with disputes over increasingly prevalent data breaches fueling the uptick, according to a Wednesday report by Lex Machina.
July 02, 2024
Ex-Senior Apple Atty To Pay SEC $1.1M For Insider Trading

Apple's former director of corporate law must pay $1.1 million to securities regulators stemming from criminal insider trading charges to which he pled guilty in 2022, a New Jersey federal judge said Tuesday, finding that his "egregious" violations warrant the penalty since "his very job" was to ensure compliance with securities laws.
July 02, 2024
Northwestern Hires 'Mediocre' Minorities Over Men, Suit Says

Northwestern University's law school favors hiring women and minority faculty candidates with "mediocre and undistinguished records" over better-credentialed white men, a conservative group claims in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Chicago federal court, a year after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in higher education admissions.
July 02, 2024
YSL Judge Shares Transcript Of Secret Witness Meeting

The transcript of a secret meeting involving Fulton County prosecutors, a key state's witness and the judge overseeing the Young Slime Life case was released Monday, shortly after it was announced that proceedings in the case would be paused until an outside judge reviews motions for the judge's recusal.
July 02, 2024
Depo Gets Dad Ousted From Sesame Place Race Bias Case

The father of a child who was allegedly snubbed by costumed performers at a Pennsylvania theme park has been removed from consolidated race bias litigation after plaintiffs' counsel said the father had lied during a deposition, with a Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday granting a bid by other families to sever their case from his.
July 02, 2024
Ex-Bankruptcy Judge Will Be Deposed Over Atty Romance

The former Texas bankruptcy judge whose secret relationship with a Jackson Walker LLP attorney ignited a major judicial ethics scandal has agreed to sit for a seven-hour deposition to answer questions about the episode.
July 02, 2024
Armstrong Teasdale Pulls Back From SLC As 7 Join Dentons

Armstrong Teasdale LLP told Law360 Pulse on Tuesday that it plans to redirect resources from Salt Lake City, saying it is "not the right time for us to be there" after a Dentons member firm announced the day prior that it had hired seven of Armstrong Teasdale's Utah-based litigators.
July 02, 2024
Dentons Says Ex-Client Can't Escape $4.7M Fee Suit In Texas

International law firm Dentons Europe CS LLP urged a Texas federal court Tuesday to keep alive its suit accusing a Houston-area crisis response business of failing to pay more than $4.7 million in legal fees and said the correct venue was Texas, not England, as the business has argued.
July 02, 2024
Bond-Rigging Suit Revived Over Judge's Wife's Stock Conflict

The Second Circuit on Tuesday revived a proposed class action accusing big banks of rigging corporate bonds, ruling that the New York federal judge who previously dismissed the suit should have recused himself due to his wife's ownership of Bank of America stock.
July 02, 2024
Pa. Clerk Named After Departures Spur 'Judicial Emergency'

Dauphin County, Pennsylvania's president judge has selected an interim clerk of courts to take over the office's duties following last week's sudden resignation of the elected clerk and the Supreme Court's declaration of a judicial emergency.
July 02, 2024
After Fischer, Judge Releases Atty Convicted In Jan. 6 Riot

A D.C. federal judge ordered the release of a Georgia attorney imprisoned for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, saying his pending appeal would likely result in his freedom after the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed an obstruction of Congress law used to convict him and others involved in the assault.
July 02, 2024
DLA Piper Tells Judge Fired Associate Got Proper Discovery

Counsel for DLA Piper LLP told a Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday the firm has provided responsive information to a former associate who claims she was unlawfully fired while pregnant, adding it is confident her termination was lawful.
July 02, 2024
Giuliani Disbarred In New York Over Election Falsehoods

A New York appellate court Tuesday barred Rudolph Giuliani from practicing law in New York, citing ample evidence that the former New York City mayor made repeated false statements about the 2020 presidential election.

Expert Analysis

4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year

As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.
What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.
Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.
Legal Practice In The AI Era: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

Guest columnists explored the possibilities and challenges for the legal profession amid the rise of generative artificial intelligence, including privilege complications, demands for new types of legal skills, and the ethics of a ChatGPT-authored motion.
AI In Employment Law: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

This year, the most popular employment law topics related to artificial intelligence in Law360's Expert Analysis section included ChatGPT, new AI legislation, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
AI In Health Law: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

As the use of artificial intelligence accelerated this year, Expert Analysis writers examined AI's significant impact on the healthcare sector, ranging from key compliance considerations for companies utilizing AI tools to regulators' efforts to keep up with rapidly evolving technologies.
AI In IP Law: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

Keeping up with generative artificial intelligence was the name of the game for intellectual property lawyers in 2023 as the government worked to determine whether AI-generated output is protectable under the law and guest writers assessed the technology's risks and rewards.
The Most-Read Securities Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

Securities guest article topics that piqued reader interest this year include how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission utilized seldom-used rules to go after bad actors, and how Delaware courts increased scrutiny on boards of directors — sometimes in surprising ways.
The Most-Read Employment Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

This year, some of the most popular employment topics in articles written for Law360's Expert Analysis section focused on workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, new unionization rules from the National Labor Relations Board, and proposed regulations for implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
Managing AI Risks: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

Amid the rapidly developing legal landscape around artificial intelligence, Law360 Expert Analysis writers tackled a range of compliance and litigation challenges, providing insights on privacy in the age of AI, the role of class actions in AI risk mitigation, and the creation of corporate AI policies.
The Most-Read Law360 UK Guest Articles Of 2023

Benefits of the new EU Unified Patent Court, artificial intelligence regulation and M&A trends amid rising inflation were among the hot topics U.K. Expert Analysis articles explored this year.
The Most-Read IP Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office incentives and restrictions, Federal Circuit decisions on exact meaning, and lessons from the comedic whodunit “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” were among popular intellectual property topics guest authors tackled this year.
The Most-Read Trials Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

Law360 guest columnists provided a number of tips and insights for trial attorneys this year, including pitfalls to avoid in witness preparation, color psychology pointers that can enhance trial graphics, and strategies for excluding expert testimony.
The Most-Read Access To Justice Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

In their commentary on emerging access to justice issues this year, Law360 guest experts covered the importance of tiered legal assistance in eviction cases, the evolution of financial bail conditions, and the role of public defenders in addressing the root drivers of crime.