A Second Circuit panel appeared conflicted Thursday on whether the dormant commerce clause applies to federally illegal marijuana and, if so, whether New York cannabis regulators still had an interest in ensuring that some cannabis licenses went to locals.
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2024 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

2nd Circ. Mulls Dormant Commerce Applicability To Marijuana

By Sam Reisman

A Second Circuit panel appeared conflicted Thursday on whether the dormant commerce clause applies to federally illegal marijuana and, if so, whether New York cannabis regulators still had an interest in ensuring that some cannabis licenses went to locals.

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Cannabis Co. Proper Brands Purchased As Part Of $397M Deal

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Missouri cannabis operator Proper Brands, advised by Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, on Thursday announced plans to merge with medical cannabis company Vireo Growth Inc., advised by Dorsey & Whitney LLP, as part of a series of all-stock transactions totaling $397 million.

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Fed. Circ. OKs $95M Altria Vape Patent Win Against Reynolds

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit on Thursday upheld a $95.2 million jury verdict against R.J. Reynolds for infringing Altria vape patents, rejecting Reynolds' arguments that the finding was not supported by the evidence and was based on expert damages testimony that was unreliable.

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Vape Cos. Challenge Iowa Law Banning Many E-Cigarettes

By Jonathan Capriel

Iowan vape interests are looking to stop state officials from enforcing a new law prohibiting the sale of many e-cigarettes, claiming in a federal lawsuit that the statute was pushed by "Big Tobacco" company Reynolds American Inc. and targets products that help people quit smoking.

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Feature

The Spiciest Quotes Heard In Mass. Courts In 2024

By Chris Villani

Another year of hard-fought litigation was replete with quips, barbs, and both attorneys and defendants put on blast — plus one litigant who simply wished for the return of a nine-foot bedazzled grand piano.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team

In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

MoFo, Irell Latest Firms To Unveil Competitive Bonuses

By Aebra Coe & Hailey Konnath

Morrison Foerster LLP and litigation boutique Irell & Manella LLP have joined a chorus of firms announcing associate bonuses that meet or exceed the BigLaw standard for associate bonuses this year, with MoFo offering up to $218,200 and Irell handing its lawyers as much as $175,000.

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Podcast

Approach The Bench: What Judges Had To Say This Year

By Cara Bayles

Jurists weighed the benefits of partisan elections, praised innovations in telehearings and worried about the future of the profession in nearly a dozen interviews with Law360 this year.

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Gunster $8.5M Data Breach Deal Needs More Info, Judge Says

By Matt Perez

A Florida federal judge this week denied preliminary approval of an $8.5 million settlement in a data breach class action against Gunster and demanded more information on payouts, the plaintiffs' standing in the case and a historical breakdown of settlement rates.

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NJ Bar's Diversity Plan Isn't Biased, Panel Says

By Tracey Read

A New Jersey state appeals court reversed and remanded on Friday a lower court's ruling that found the state bar association's diversity practices to be an unlawful, discriminatory quota system.

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Analysis

How Lawyers May Sue The Trump Administration … Again

By Cara Bayles

During the last Trump administration, BigLaw firms challenged White House policies, focusing on immigration, environmental regulations and healthcare. This time around, attorneys could rely on old tools, and some new tactics, to stall the executive branch.

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Biden Exceeds Trump's Record On Judges By One

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate confirmed on Friday the last two judicial nominations from President Joe Biden, making his total of lifetime judicial appointments 235, just one over President Donald Trump's 234.

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High Court Bar's Future: Williams & Connolly's Sarah Harris

By Katie Buehler

Sarah M. Harris of Williams & Connolly LLP never planned on being a U.S. Supreme Court advocate, or even an appellate one. She stumbled upon that career path after realizing her initial goal of becoming a national security or government lawyer wasn't the right fit.

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Legislators Key To Court Fee Relief, Chief Justices Say

By Cara Salvatore

Two state high court chief justices and a top judicial administrator have told the National Center for State Courts that while they've been able to make significant progress in abolishing unfair court fines and fees, lawmakers have been vital in enacting these changes.

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No, Microsoft Isn't Driving DOJ's Google Antitrust Suit: Judge

By Bryan Koenig

A D.C. federal judge pushed back Friday on Google's efforts to paint Microsoft as the true plaintiff in the Justice Department's search monopolization lawsuit, casting doubt during a hearing that Google should get even more information about Microsoft's relationship with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.

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Feature

Litigator On The Roof: The Acting, Singing Mass. Solicitor

By Chris Villani

The top appellate lawyer in the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General will be ringing in the new year by performing a comical cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, the latest show in a lengthy side career in music.

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Another Texas Judge Exits X's Advertising Boycott Suit

By Lauren Berg

The second Texas judge to oversee litigation filed by Elon Musk's X Corp. accusing the World Federation of Advertisers and others of conspiring to withhold advertising revenue from the company has recused himself from the case.

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Hagens Berman Settles Suit Over Effexor Deal Atty Fees

By Bryan Koenig

A pharmaceutical reseller's in-house counsel and founder moved Friday to drop a Mississippi federal court breach of contract suit accusing Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP of stiffing him on his share of a $13 million attorney fees award from an antitrust class settlement, citing a resolution to the dispute.

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Girardi's Mental Health To Be Evaluated At NC Federal Prison

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge said Friday she will order Tom Girardi to receive a psychiatric evaluation at a North Carolina federal correctional facility after she recently delayed his wire fraud sentencing to determine if he should be committed to a medical facility instead of prison due to his dementia diagnosis.

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Q&A

A Judge Reflects: West Wing Call, 'Alford Plea?' Early Exit

By Hayley Fowler

When Chief Judge Louis A. Bledsoe III of the North Carolina Business Court hangs up his robes for the last time on Dec. 31, he'll leave behind a white-hot docket of high-profile cases and a profusion of opinions that helped mold the court into a tribunal fit to rival Delaware's Court of Chancery.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Andrea Keckley

This week's Legal Lions leader comes from the public sector, as federal prosecutors secured a $650 million settlement from McKinsey & Co. to resolve a lawsuit over the consulting giant's role in Purdue Pharma's promotion of OxyContin.

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen the University of Southampton sue a drone-maker over the rights to an uncrewed aircraft patent, Importers Service Corp. and its subsidiary ISC Europe take action against a former director who allegedly owes the company over £1.1 million ($1.4 million), and DAC Beachcroft face a fraud claim by a "prolific litigant." 

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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.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Altria Group Inc.

American Civil Liberties Union

American Constitution Society

Apple Inc.

Association of Corporate Counsel

Atlantic Coast Conference

BNP Paribas SA

Beazley PLC

Boy Scouts of America

British American Tobacco PLC

CVS Health Corp.

Cincinnati Financial Corp.

Cynosure Inc.

Democracy Forward Foundation

Discord Inc.

Duke Energy Corp.

Essity AB

Federalist Society

GP Global

Google LLC

Gulf Petrochem FZC

JUUL Labs Inc.

Judicial Watch Inc.

Lambda Legal Defense & Educational Fund

Major Lindsey & Africa LLC

Mars Inc.

McKinsey & Co. Inc.

Meadow

Microsoft Corp.

Mozilla Corp.

NJOY Inc.

Natixis SA

New Jersey State Bar Association

Our Children's Trust

Pfizer Inc.

Princeton University

Purdue Pharma LP

ROC Nation LLC

Reynolds American Inc.

Saint-Gobain SA

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Spotify Technology SA

Starr International Co. Inc.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

The New York Times Co.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC

The Walt Disney Co.

TikTok Inc.

Twitter Inc.

Unilever PLC

United Steelworkers

UnitedHealth Group Inc.

Valero Energy Corp.

Walmart Inc.

Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

Wells Fargo & Co.

Western Environmental Law Center

World Economic Forum

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Addleshaw Goddard

Ahmad Zavitsanos

Akerman LLP

Alston & Bird

American Center for Law & Justice Inc.

Armstrong Teasdale

Arnold & Porter

Barrett Law Group

Bates & Bates

Blacks Solicitors

Boies Schiller

Bradley Arant

Brito PLLC

CMS Cameron McKenna

Cantey Hanger

Cassels Brock

Charles Russell Speechlys

Choate Hall

Covington & Burling

Cravath Swaine

DAC Beachcroft

Davis Wright Tremaine

Dechert LLP

Dhillon Law Group

Dorsey & Whitney

Fenchurch Law

Fieldfisher

Fisher & Phillips

Forsters LLP

Fried Frank

Gardner & Rosenberg

Gatehouse Chambers

Gibbons PC

Gibson Dunn

Girardi & Keese

Glancy Prongay

Glenn Agre

Goodwin Procter

Gowling WLG

Gunster Yoakley

Gupta Wessler

Hadsell Stormer

Hagens Berman

Halunen Law

Haynes & Boone

Hogan Lovells

Holman Fenwick

Holwell Shuster

Hueston Hennigan

Hugh James

Irell & Manella

Jenner & Block

Jones Day

Keker Van Nest & Peters

Kirkland & Ellis

Kutak Rock

Latham & Watkins

Law Office of Rajeh A. Saadeh

Mayer Brown

Milbank LLP

Morgan & Morgan

Morgan Lewis

Morrison Foerster

Nabarro LLP

Norton Rose

Nyemaster Goode

O'Melveny & Myers

Orrick Herrington

Patterson Belknap

Paul Weiss

Paynter Law Firm

Perkins Coie

Quinn Emanuel

Reynolds Porter

Robinson Bradshaw

Ropes & Gray

Ross Aronstam

Roythornes Solicitors

Sanford Heisler

Sidley Austin

Skadden Arps

Spector Constant & Williams

Sullivan & Cromwell

TLT LLP

Thompson Hine

Trenk Isabel

Trowers & Hamlins

Vartabedian Hester

Vinson & Elkins

Ward Hadaway

Weil Gotshal

White & Case

Wiley Rein

Wilkinson Stekloff

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

Wilson Sonsini

Winston & Strawn

Womble Bond

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Central Intelligence Agency

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Companies House

Delaware Court of Chancery

Federal Bureau of Prisons

Food and Drug Administration

Georgia Court of Appeals

Internal Revenue Service

International Trade Commission

Iowa Department of Revenue

New York Attorney General's Office

Ohio Supreme Court

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Texas Supreme Court

The Crown Prosecution Service

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

UK High Court

US Office of Management and Budget