Following a four-day bench trial, a Colorado federal judge has ruled a marketing company is entitled to $331,000 in damages from an investment advisory firm that shorted it on commission for consulting services, but rejected the $10 million liability the marketer asserted in the nearly decade-old litigation.
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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2024 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Judge Says Investing Firm Owes Marketer $330K, Not $10M

By Ryan Harroff

Following a four-day bench trial, a Colorado federal judge has ruled a marketing company is entitled to $331,000 in damages from an investment advisory firm that shorted it on commission for consulting services, but rejected the $10 million liability the marketer asserted in the nearly decade-old litigation.

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Mining Co. Wants Out Of Investor Suit Over Turkey Landslide

By Sydney Price

Colorado-based SSR Mining Inc. has asked a federal judge to drop a shareholder lawsuit alleging the company understated the likelihood of a deadly February landslide at its Turkish mine, arguing that the company sufficiently warned the public of potential catastrophes and that its executives had no knowledge of deficiencies at the mine.

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Cos. Press Justices To Review Contractors Min. Wage Dispute

By Irene Spezzamonte

Opposite opinions over the scope of the president's authority "cry out" for the U.S. Supreme Court intervention in a case challenging President Joe Biden's increase of the federal contractors' hourly minimum wage, two outdoor groups said, pointing to a Ninth Circuit's decision axing the wage hike.

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LITIGATION

Brief

Chicken Soup Settles $3.1M Pet Food Feud Wth Alphia

By Brian Steele

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul Inc. has settled a Connecticut lawsuit that accused it of breaching a deal with a manufacturer to buy more than 1.3 million pounds of pet food every month between October 2023 and September 2024, state court records show.

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PEOPLE

In-House Vet Helps Norton Rose Grow In Denver

By Adrian Cruz

An experienced in-house attorney who most recently served as general counsel of real estate developer MDC Holdings has joined Norton Rose Fulbright's Denver office as senior counsel in its corporate, mergers and acquisitions, and securities practice.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Justices May Find Gov't Can Keep Fraudulent Transfer Benefit

Based on the justices' questions at the recently argued U.S. v. Miller, the Supreme Court appears prepared to hold that the U.S. — unlike any other creditor — is permitted to retain the benefits of a fraudulent transfer to the detriment of other bankruptcy creditors, says Kevin Morse at Clark Hill.

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Ledbetter's Legacy Shines In 2024 Equal Pay Law Updates

The federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act turned 15 this year, and its namesake's legacy is likely to endure in 2025 and beyond, as demonstrated by 2024's state- and local-level progress on pay equity, as well as several rulings from federal appellate courts, say attorneys at Fisher Phillips.

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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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If Gov't Shuts Down, Judiciary Will Be Funded Until Jan. 10

By Courtney Bublé

If there is a government shutdown, the federal judiciary would be funded at least until Jan. 10, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said Friday.

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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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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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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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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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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Addleshaw Goddard

Ahmad Zavitsanos

Akerman LLP

Alston & Bird

American Center for Law & Justice Inc.

ArentFox Schiff LLP

Armstrong Teasdale

Arnold & Porter

Barrett Law Group

Blacks Solicitors

Brito PLLC

CMS Cameron McKenna

Charles Russell Speechlys

Choate Hall

Clark Hill

Covington & Burling

Cravath Swaine

DAC Beachcroft

Davis Wright Tremaine

Dechert LLP

Diserio Martin

Fenchurch Law

Fennemore Craig

Fieldfisher

Fisher & Phillips

Forsters LLP

Fried Frank

Gatehouse Chambers

Gersh & Thomaidis

Gibbons PC

Gibson Dunn

Glancy Prongay

Glenn Agre

Goodwin Procter

Gowling WLG

Graubard Miller

Greenberg Traurig

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

Law Offices of Jeffrey Hellman

LightGabler

Mayer Brown

Milbank LLP

Morgan & Morgan

Morgan Lewis

Morrison Foerster

Nabarro LLP

Norton Rose

O'Melveny & Myers

Orrick Herrington

Patterson Belknap

Paul Weiss

Paynter Law Firm

Perkins Coie

Quinn Emanuel

Reynolds Porter

Robinson Bradshaw

Ropes & Gray

Rosen Law Firm PA

Ross Aronstam

Roythornes Solicitors

Sanford Heisler

Sidley Austin

Skadden Arps

Spector Constant & Williams

Sullivan & Cromwell

TLT LLP

Trenk Isabel

Trowers & Hamlins

Vartabedian Hester

Ward Hadaway

White & Case

Wiley Rein

Wilkinson Stekloff

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

Wilson Sonsini

Winston & Strawn

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Allentown LLC

Alphia 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

Cincinnati Financial Corp.

Democracy Forward Foundation

Duke Energy Corp.

Essity AB

Federalist Society

GP Global

Google LLC

Gulf Petrochem FZC

Judicial Watch Inc.

Lambda Legal Defense & Educational Fund

LinkedIn Corp.

M.D.C. Holdings Inc.

Major Lindsey & Africa LLC

McKinsey & Co. Inc.

Meadow

Microsoft Corp.

Mozilla Corp.

Natixis SA

New Jersey State Bar Association

Our Children's Trust

Pacific Legal Foundation

Pfizer Inc.

Princeton University

Purdue Pharma LP

ROC Nation LLC

Reynolds American Inc.

SSR Mining 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.

United Steelworkers

UnitedHealth Group Inc.

Valero Energy Corp.

Walmart Inc.

Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

Wells Fargo & Co.

Western Environmental Law Center

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Central Intelligence Agency

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Companies House

Delaware Court of Chancery

European Union

Georgia Court of Appeals

Internal Revenue Service

Ohio Supreme Court

The Crown Prosecution Service

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

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

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth 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 Illinois

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

United States District Court for the District of Colorado