Business of Law

June 18, 2024
Panel Laments 'Hunger Games' Tactics In Mich. Judicial Races

A Michigan Court of Appeals panel has expressed concern that judicial candidates are weaponizing the complexity of Michigan's filing requirements to eliminate their competition, with one judge commenting that "contests for vacant judgeships all too often have turned into the Hunger Games."
June 18, 2024
DC Bar Counsel Moves To Suspend Hunter Biden's Law License

Attorney disciplinary authorities in the nation's capital have moved to suspend Hunter Biden's license to practice law there after he was convicted of three federal gun charges last week.
June 18, 2024
Ariz. County Says New Kari Lake Vote Claims Merit Sanctions

Maricopa County officials are slamming former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake's bid to unravel a Ninth Circuit decision affirming the toss of her lawsuit over Arizona's voting machines, contending that the "fatally flawed" effort warrants sanctions.
June 18, 2024
Dems' Absences Bring Canceled Vote On Ore. Federal Judge

The Senate scrapped a vote on Tuesday for Magistrate Judge Mustafa Taher Kasubhai's nomination to a district court judgeship in the District of Oregon amid vast Republican opposition.
June 18, 2024
McElroy Deutsch Says Exec Embezzled Money For Home

McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP has doubled down on its bid for a constructive trust on the home of two former executives accused of stealing from the firm.
June 18, 2024
The 2024 Lawyer Satisfaction Survey

Firms are making their attorneys happy in most areas of professional life, including culture and compensation, but stress is a constant struggle and many are taking minimal vacations, according to the latest survey from Law360 Pulse.
June 18, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Revive Vax Mandate Case Amid Judge DQ Bid

In a nonprecedential opinion, the Ninth Circuit has refused to restore a COVID vaccine mandate suit brought by federal workers and contractors who also sought to disqualify a judge they believed was conflicted, finding the workers lacked standing because they named officials who cannot reinstate them rather than their employers.
June 18, 2024
NY High Court Denies Trump's Gag Order Appeal

New York state's highest court on Tuesday denied Donald Trump's rapid appeal of the gag order that limited his speech during his criminal hush money trial, finding it did not raise serious constitutional issues.
June 18, 2024
Akin Elects US, London Duo To Take Over From Veteran Chair

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP said on Tuesday that it has elected the partner in charge of its New York office and a corporate specialist in London to jointly lead the firm as its longtime chair prepares to step down next year.
June 17, 2024
Milbank Snags FTC Competition Trial Chief For DC Office

Milbank LLP announced Monday it has hired the chief trial counsel for the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition, bulking up its Washington, D.C., antitrust and competition practice with a veteran litigator who led the government's challenge to Microsoft Corp.'s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
June 17, 2024
NJ Firm Defends Lien On Ex-Client's Patents After Unpaid Bills

A major New Jersey law firm said it has a "common law" right to place a lien on its former client's patents without telling it, after the "failed" biopharmaceutical startup fired the firm and stopped paying its outstanding legal bills.
June 17, 2024
Man In Murder-For-Hire Plot To Kill Atty Gets Extradited To NY

An Indian national indicted in connection with a murder-for-hire plot to assassinate an attorney connected to a Punjab political revolution has been extradited to the Southern District of New York and made his initial appearance in federal court Monday, during which he pled not guilty to the criminal charges against him.
June 17, 2024
McConnell Denounces Judicial Nominee For District Of Ore.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., took to the Senate floor on Monday to criticize Magistrate Judge Mustafa Taher Kasubhai, a nominee for a district court judgeship in the District of Oregon whose confirmation vote is teed up for Tuesday.
June 17, 2024
NYC Bar Blasts Judges' Columbia Boycott Letter

The New York City Bar Association on Monday questioned the impartiality of 13 federal judges who issued a letter last month publicly refusing to hire students from Columbia Law School as clerks because of campus political protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
June 17, 2024
Attys Accused Of Judge Shopping Must Turn Over Q&A Doc

Attorneys accused of a coordinated effort to "judge shop" amid federal suits challenging an Alabama law banning certain medical procedures for transgender youth must supply a document the court believes displays the attorneys' preparations for a panel hearing in which one of the attorneys allegedly committed perjury.
June 17, 2024
Columbia Law Adds UChicago Vice Provost As 1st Black Dean

A former deputy dean at the University of Chicago Law School will take over as dean of Columbia Law School on Aug. 1, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced Monday.
June 17, 2024
Clients Say McGrath Kavinoky 'Bullied' Them Into Abuse Deal

California firm McGrath Kavinoky LLP, which inked more than $374 million in settlements for women who say they were sexually abused by a UCLA Health gynecologist, misled its clients and "bullied" them into accepting far smaller amounts than they were promised, according to a lawsuit in state court by two ex-clients.
June 17, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

Proposed amendments to Delaware's General Corporation Law that were prompted by several recent Chancery Court rulings sailed through the state Senate last week despite loud opposition from corporate law professors and other Chancery Court watchers, and Tesla shareholders filed two new suits against CEO Elon Musk.
June 17, 2024
Texas Bar Proposes Limits On Services From In-House Attys

The State Bar of Texas said in-house lawyers working for companies owned by nonattorneys are barred from providing legal services to the businesses' customers unless the work meets specific criteria because otherwise, the companies run afoul of rules forbidding the unauthorized practice of law, according to a proposed ethics opinion.
June 17, 2024
Lambda Legal Calls For More LGBTQ+ Judges

President Joe Biden has made a historic increase in the diversity of judicial appointees, but a major LGBTQ+ legal organization is hoping for more progress with LGBTQ+ judges and says the clock is ticking.
June 17, 2024
Biden: High Court 'Never Been As Out Of Kilter'

President Joe Biden said at a campaign event over the weekend that the U.S. Supreme Court "has never been as out of kilter as it is today."
June 17, 2024
NJ Power Broker, Firm CEO Brother Accused Of Racketeering

Powerful New Jersey businessman George E. Norcross III and his brother who is the chief executive officer of law firm Parker McCay have been criminally charged alongside others in a scheme to acquire waterfront property in the distressed city of Camden using threats of economic and reputational harm.
June 17, 2024
High Court Will Mull Proof Needed For Wage-Hour Carveout

The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will hear a wage and hour case from a supermarket distributor, teeing up an opportunity for the justices to articulate the standard by which an employer must demonstrate workers are exempt from overtime.
June 17, 2024
Justices To Hear Nvidia Case On Securities Pleading Standard

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal of a Ninth Circuit ruling that revived investors' claims over chipmaker Nvidia's crypto mining sales, giving the high court a chance to weigh in on the pleading requirements needed to sustain a shareholder class action.
June 15, 2024
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.

Expert Analysis

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.
The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.
So You Want To Write A Guest Article?

If your New Year's resolution is to spend more time writing, here's everything you need to know to pitch guest article ideas to Law360.