The ruling this week in the U.S. Department of Justice's ad tech monopolization case against Google was a major victory but not a total win for the government, and it raises questions about what the fix should be, especially with a trial looming over remedies in a separate case over search.
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TOP NEWS

Analysis

Google May See Some Light In The Ad Tech Ruling

By Matthew Perlman

The ruling this week in the U.S. Department of Justice's ad tech monopolization case against Google was a major victory but not a total win for the government, and it raises questions about what the fix should be, especially with a trial looming over remedies in a separate case over search.

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9th Circ Won't Rethink Nixed Zillow, NAR Antitrust Case

By Bryan Koenig

The Ninth Circuit won't be rethinking a panel decision refusing to revive a defunct brokerage platform's case accusing Zillow and the National Association of Realtors of anticompetitively relegating its listings from Zillow's main page.

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KKR Blasts 'Draconian' DOJ Suit Over Alleged Filing Errors

By Al Barbarino

In a motion to dismiss a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit that could carry $650 million in penalties, private equity giant KKR accused the government of pursuing "draconian, unconstitutional and unprecedented penalties" over what it called "immaterial ... purported errors" in routine merger filings.

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Analysis

5 Takeaways From Texas Stock Exchange's SEC Filing

By Tom Zanki

The newly formed Texas Stock Exchange LLC is proposing rules that largely resemble those of the New York heavyweights it seeks to challenge, along with some notable differences, leaving questions on how the exchange will distinguish itself. Here are five takeaways from TXSE's securities filing.

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FTC's Southern Glazer's Pricing Case Preserved

By Bryan Koenig

A California federal judge refused to toss the Federal Trade Commission's price discrimination lawsuit against Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits LLC, concluding the alcohol distribution giant moves liquor around enough to trigger interstate commerce and that the FTC has adequately alleged unfair treatment of mom-and-pop stores relative to big box retailers.

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Democratic AGs Say Trump Illegally Fired FTC Commissioners

By Craig Clough

Attorneys general from 20 states and the District of Columbia filed an amicus brief Friday in D.C. federal court backing two fired Democratic Federal Trade Commission members, writing that President Donald Trump's actions violate federal law prohibiting their removal except for cause. 

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PBMs Press 8th Circ. Bid To Pause FTC Case

By Jared Foretek

The nation's "Big Three" pharmacy benefit managers are asking the Eighth Circuit to pause the Federal Trade Commission's in-house insulin price-fixing case against them, saying that their constitutional challenge to the commission's administrative proceeding process should be fully heard before the in-house case moves forward.

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Off The Bench

Off The Bench: Maine Sued Over Trans Ban, NIL Deal Tweaked

By David Steele

In this week's Off The Bench, the Trump administration takes aim at Maine's policy on transgender athletes, the NCAA's settlement with athletes stands firm on a contentious clause, and a university that displayed a controversial quiz question at a football game settles with the quiz's creator.

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MERGER REVIEW

Capital One's Discover Deal Gets Bank Regulators' Approval

By Jon Hill

Capital One on Friday received the last regulatory sign-offs needed for its $35 billion purchase of Discover, putting the megadeal on track to close for the former while also clearing the decks of a more than $1 billion enforcement matter for the latter.

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LITIGATION

Lilly Blasts Compounders' 'Scattershot' Bid To Reverse FDA

By Bonnie Eslinger

Eli Lilly urged a Texas federal judge to deny a request from pharmacies that produce copycat doses of its popular weight loss drug to have the court reverse an FDA decision taking the drug off a national shortage list, saying the bid was filled with unreliable "scattershot" arguments.

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Ohio AG Accuses Mortgage Lender Of Deceiving Borrowers

By Carolyn Muyskens

Ohio's attorney general has hit United Wholesale Mortgage LLC with a lawsuit in state court accusing the Michigan-based lender of colluding with mortgage brokers to steer loans to UWM.

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Brief

4th Circ. Pauses Software TM Trial After Atty Held In Contempt

By Hayley Fowler

The Fourth Circuit has pressed pause on an upcoming trademark trial between rival software companies while the defendant and its counsel at Womble Bond Dickinson appeal a contempt order over misrepresentations they allegedly made in a foreign tribunal.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Tribal 'Window' For New Spectrum Licenses Defended At FCC

By Christopher Cole

A pair of public interest groups asked Democrats on the Federal Communications Commission to support a tribal "window" allowing Native American bidders a chance to reserve licenses in a commercial spectrum band that's poised for FCC auction.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Reviving A Dormant Criminal Statute In Antitrust Prosecution

The U.S. Department of Justice is poised to revive a dormant misdemeanor statute to resolve bid-rigging charges against a foreign national, providing important context to a recent effort to entice foreign defendants to take responsibility for pending charges or face the risk of extradition, say attorneys at Axinn.

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An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future

Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

WilmerHale, Feds Dispute Reach Of Trump Order Against Firm

By Jack Karp

WilmerHale and the U.S. Department of Justice traded salvos in the BigLaw firm's challenge to President Donald Trump's executive order targeting it, with the firm and the government offering "starkly different" versions of what's at stake in the dispute.

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Ex-Katten Partner Hits Firm With $67M Age Bias Suit

By Lauren Berg

A former Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP partner launched a $67 million discrimination lawsuit against his one-time firm in New York federal court, alleging he was pushed out of the aircraft-finance practice group, pressured to resign and then fired because of the firm CEO's "stereotyped views of lawyers in their 60s."

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Joel Katz, Music Law's Longtime Power Broker, Dies At 80

By Chart Riggall

Joel Katz, the powerful music industry lawyer who co-founded Greenberg Traurig LLP's media and entertainment practice and helped bring the firm to the Atlanta market, has died at the age of 80, Law360 confirmed Friday.

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Sunoco Accused Of Age Bias By Ex-Chief Counsel

By Gina Kim

A former chief counsel for Sunoco LP sued her ex-employer in Texas state court Wednesday, alleging she was denied promotional opportunities and later terminated due to her age, while also accusing the company of replacing attorneys older than 50 with significantly younger attorneys with less experience.

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How They Won It

How Manatt Beat A Crypto Trader's 'Code As Law' Defense

By Aislinn Keely

After a crypto user exploited a software bug to create millions of dollars' worth of new tokens from a blockchain network, a Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP team defeated his claim to the tokens — and won an award worth millions — by showing that faulty code can't stand in for rule of law.

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Justices Temporarily Block Removals Under Wartime Law

By Britain Eakin

The U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday ordered the Trump administration to halt removals of alleged Venezuelan gang members detained in Texas under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, pending further input from the court.

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High Court's Pause Of Removals Was 'Premature,' Alito Says

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision early Saturday morning to prohibit the Trump administration from using a 1798 wartime law to remove alleged Venezuelan gang members detained in northern Texas to an El Salvadoran prison was hasty and premature, Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a dissent joined by Justice Clarence Thomas.

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Ex-DOJ Atty Convicted In 1MDB Case Ordered Disbarred In NY

By Craig Clough

A New York appellate court ordered Wednesday that a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney be disbarred due to his felony conviction as part of a sprawling, billion-dollar fraud scandal connected to 1Malaysia Development Berhad and Fugees founder Pras Michél.

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Judge Nixes Feds' DQ Bid In Migrant Kids Legal Funding Case

By Ryan Boysen

A California federal judge has denied the Trump administration's bid to remove her from a lawsuit challenging funding cuts that prevent attorneys from representing child migrants, ruling her employment at one of the plaintiffs nearly seven years ago doesn't undermine her impartiality.

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PTAB Judge Heads To Boutique, Citing Return-To-Office Order

By Andrew Karpan

An outgoing Patent Trial and Appeal Board judge based in Austin, Texas, tells Law360 that President Donald Trump's return-to-office order was a "significant factor" in her decision to return to private practice, joining boutique patent firm Smith Baluch LLP as a partner.

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Judiciary Faces Security Risks Amid Spending Freeze

By Courtney Bublé

The federal judiciary is warning congressional appropriators that funding shortfalls could threaten courthouse security.

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Wis. Sens. Renew Bipartisan Judicial Nomination Commission

By Courtney Bublé

The Republican and Democratic senators from Wisconsin announced Friday they are renewing their bipartisan commission to recommend U.S. attorney and judicial nominees to the president.

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Up Next At High Court: Preventive HealthCare & LGBTQ Books

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in five cases this week, including disputes over the constitutionality of a task force that sets preventive healthcare coverage requirements, a school district's introduction of LGBTQ-themed storybooks and whether parties can establish standing based on harms affecting third parties. 

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Google and its chief legal officer have now lost two major antitrust cases to DOJ prosecutors after a federal judge ruled Thursday the search engine monopolized markets and servers related to display advertising. Meanwhile, a new study shows companies are disclosing their business risks, and how they are trying to mitigate those risks, amid changing tariffs and the uncertainty of the U.S.-China trade war. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Schlichter Bogard LLC and the University of Virginia School of Law Supreme Court Litigation Clinic lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court revived a class action from Cornell University workers who said their retirement plans were saddled with excessive fees.

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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

Allen Chesson

Alston & Bird

Axinn Veltrop

Baker & Hostetler

Baker Botts

Ballard Spahr

Barnes & Thornburg

Blank Rome

Boies Schiller

Clarick Gueron

Cleary Gottlieb

Clement & Murphy

Cooley LLP

Covington & Burling

DLA Piper

David Boies

Dechert LLP

Ellis & Winters

Foley & Lardner

Fox Rothschild

Gibson Dunn

Greenberg Traurig

Greenspoon Marder

Habush Habush

Hueston Hennigan

Jenner & Block

Jones Day

K&L Gates

Katten Muchin

Kelly Hart

Kilgore & Kilgore

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Lanier Law Firm

Latham & Watkins

Lewis Brisbois

Manatt Phelps

Morris Nichols

Morrison Cohen

O'Melveny & Myers

Olshan Frome

Orrick Herrington

Patterson Belknap

Paul Hastings

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Pierson Ferdinand LLP

Quinn Emanuel

Reed Smith

Rule Garza

Schlichter Bogard

Seila Law

Skadden Arps

Smith Baluch

Sullivan & Cromwell

Susman Godfrey

Troutman

Vinson & Elkins

Wachtell Lipton

Willkie Farr

WilmerHale

Womble Bond

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Accenture PLC

Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

American Airlines Group Inc.

American Bar Association

American Civil Liberties Union

Apple Inc.

CTIA

CVS Health Corp.

Capital One Financial Corp.

Cboe Global Markets Inc.

Chevron Corp.

Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto

Cornell University

Costco Wholesale Corp.

DePuy Synthes Cos.

Dell Technologies Inc.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.

Discover Financial Services Inc.

Duke University

EMI Group Ltd.

Eli Lilly & Co.

Express Scripts Holding Co.

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.

FarmaKeio

Federal National Mortgage Association

George Washington University

Global Payments Inc.

GoDaddy Inc.

Google LLC

Harvard University

Intel Corp.

Johnson & Johnson

KKR & Co. Inc.

LinkedIn Corp.

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.

Match Group LLC

Meta Platforms Inc.

Michigan State University

Molson Coors Beverage Co.

Monster Beverage Corp.

NASCAR Digital Media LLC

NASDAQ Inc.

National Association of Realtors

National Collegiate Athletic Association

National Congress of American Indians

New York University

NuStar Energy LP

Optum Inc.

Otter Tail Corp.

PepsiCo Inc.

Protect Democracy Project Inc.

Public Co. Accounting Oversight Board

Rocket Mortgage LLC

SK Innovation

Sony Music Publishing LLC

Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits LLC

Sunoco LP

T-Mobile US Inc.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson

Tesla Inc.

The Cigna Group

The City University of New York

The Recording Academy

Tupperware Brands Corp.

United Wholesale Mortgage LLC

Universal Music Group NV

University of Virginia

Vital Pharmaceuticals

Walmart Inc.

Warner/Chappell Music Inc.

Worldpay LLC

Zillow Group Inc.

e.l.f. Beauty Inc.

eBay Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Dallas County, Texas

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Executive Office of the President

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Federal Judicial Center

Federal Reserve System

Federal Trade Commission

Food and Drug Administration

Internal Revenue Service

Interpol

Judicial Conference of the United States

Maine Attorney General's Office

Maine Department of Education

National Labor Relations Board

New York State Division of Human Rights

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Ohio Attorney General's Office

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Texas Legislature

U.S. Copyright Office

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth 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 Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Maine

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

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

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 New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan

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

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

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. General Services Administration

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Sentencing Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Tax Court

United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio