The Top In-House Hires Of June

By Sue Reisinger

Two of America's largest companies, GM and ExxonMobil, decided in June to hire from the outside to replace their top lawyers, while Volkswagen Group of America promoted its next general counsel from within. Here, Law360 looks at some of the top in-house announcements from June.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Supreme Court Widens Window To Challenge Federal Regs

By Jeff Overley

Legal challenges to federal regulations can be brought outside the normal statute of limitations if someone isn't adversely affected until after the six-year window of time to file suit, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

High Court's 1-2 Punch Sets Up Long-Standing Regs For KO

By Jeff Overley

By ending its term with a stinging combination against federal agencies, the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative bloc left behind a bruised bureaucracy and a regulatory system that's now vulnerable to a barrage of incoming attacks.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Social Media Laws Need More Analysis, Justices Say

By Ali Sullivan and Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday returned to the lower courts challenges to Florida and Texas laws prohibiting social media platforms from removing content or users based on viewpoint, saying that the Fifth and Eleventh circuits did not conduct the proper analysis on the facial First Amendment challenges to the laws.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

What To Know: The High Court's Ruling On Social Media Regs

By Hannah Albarazi

Rather than settling a circuit split over state laws curbing content moderation on the largest social media platforms, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday remanded the cases — a decision many attorneys and First Amendment experts are viewing as a win for free speech online.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson Takes Stand, Denies Fraud

By Stewart Bishop

Former Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson on Monday testified that he is not guilty of charges that he deceived financial backers of the media and entertainment company about its allegedly dire financial state, while casting himself as the founder of an idealistic and scrappy startup that had more value than the government claims.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Binance, Ex-CEO Must Face 'Bulk' Of SEC Case

By Aislinn Keely

A Washington, D.C., federal judge has ruled that Binance, its former CEO and its U.S. arm will have to face the "bulk" of a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but claims surrounding the crypto exchange's stablecoin and certain secondary sales of its proprietary token won't move forward.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOL Overtime Exemptions Rule 'Likely Unlawful,' Judge Says

By Max Kutner

A U.S. Department of Labor rule that took effect Monday and raises the salary thresholds for overtime exemptions won't apply to the state of Texas for now, a Texas federal judge said, finding that the rule "is likely unlawful."

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

IRS Faces Rulemaking Pressure Following Chevron's Demise

By Kat Lucero

The Internal Revenue Service will likely face more pressure to develop tax regulations that are more firmly grounded in the law and tailored to ensure certainty for individuals, businesses and other organizations after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision to overturn the decades-old Chevron doctrine.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Silvergate To Pay $63M Over Internal Monitoring 'Deficiencies'

By Aislinn Keely

The business behind now-defunct crypto-focused bank Silvergate has agreed to pay $63 million in combined penalties from regulators to settle claims its internal transaction monitoring and risk assessment of its customers, including of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, weren't up to par, regulators announced Monday.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Enforcers Push Antitrust Agenda, Brace For Google Ruling

By Matthew Perlman

The first half of 2024 was marked by U.S. antitrust enforcers' pursuit of groundbreaking cases alleging anticompetitive conduct.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Meta 'Pay Or Consent' Model Breaches Digital Rules, EU Says

By Eddie Beaver

Meta's "pay or consent" advertising model for Facebook and Instagram users does not comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act, the bloc's antitrust watchdog said in preliminary findings on Monday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

SEC's High Court Loss May Sting For Banking Enforcement

By Jon Hill

The U.S. Supreme Court's latest rebuke to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is poised to complicate enforcement for the federal banking agencies, providing new ammunition for challenges to the validity of their administrative proceedings, attorneys say.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Pegasystems Investors Sue After $2B Trade Secrets Verdict

By Julie Manganis

A pair of Pegasystems Inc. stockholders are seeking to hold its CEO and other officers liable for lost value following a $2 billion judgment against the company in a trade secrets case, according to a shareholder derivative complaint filed in Massachusetts state court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Calif. Law Firm CFO Charged in $1.2M Embezzlement

By Daniel Connolly

The former chief financial officer of two related San Francisco law firms now faces federal criminal charges that he embezzled at least $1.2 million from the companies, and the government is trying to seize some of his properties.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Atty Warned Not To 'Gamble' In Bid To DQ Quinn Emanuel

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge considering Bright Data's bid to disqualify Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP from representing X Corp. in the social media company's data scraping lawsuit suggested Monday that Bright Data's Proskauer Rose LLP counsel is "gambling" by withholding a document from the judge.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

CNX Says Employee Tried To Patent Its Tech For Himself

By Adam Lidgett

CNX Resources Corp. has filed a trade secret lawsuit in Pennsylvania federal court accusing a former employee of wrongfully using the natural gas company's confidential business information to file patent applications in his own name.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOL's Overtime Rule Survives Texas Marketer's Injunction Bid

By Emmy Freedman

A Texas federal judge refused Monday to grant a marketing company's request to block a U.S. Department of Labor rule that raises the salary thresholds for claiming overtime-exemption under federal law, saying the firm failed to show it will be harmed by the new standards.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Red States Get Biden Admin's LNG Export Pause Halted

By Lauren Berg

A Louisiana federal judge Monday stayed the Biden administration's pause on reviewing applications to export liquified natural gas to countries without free trade agreements, slamming the U.S. Department of Energy's decision as appearing to be "completely without reason or logic and is perhaps the epiphany of ideocracy."

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Air Taxi Startup Sued In Delaware Over Liability Shield

By Jeff Montgomery

An Archer Aviation Inc. stockholder has sued the electric air taxi startup in Delaware's Court of Chancery in a proposed class claim accusing Archer of adopting an invalid charter term shielding its officers from most damage claims despite failure of the measure to receive a supermajority vote.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GoDaddy Shareholders Balk At Further Chancery Delay

By Leslie A. Pappas

A special litigation committee that GoDaddy Inc. created in September 2023 in response to shareholder litigation over an $850 million tax asset buyout has 30 days to convince a Delaware Chancery Court judge that it is conducting a good-faith investigation and cooperating with the suing shareholders.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Leslie A. Pappas

Two multimillion-dollar settlement approvals, a $25 million fee-shifting demand, and a biotech merger spoiled by murder: This was just the beginning of the drama last week in the nation's preeminent court of equity. Shareholders in satellite companies filed new cases, a cannabis company headed toward trial, and there were new developments in old disputes involving Tesla and Truth Social.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Longtime IRS Trial Atty Joins Jones Day In NY

By Christine DeRosa

An attorney who spent his entire career at the IRS has moved to private practice at Jones Day, the firm said on Monday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Nelson Mullins Adds 9-Attorney Tax Team In Houston

By Tracey Read

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP announced Monday that five partners and four other tax attorneys have joined its new Houston office from Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry, including a former Texas Supreme Court justice.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Womble Bond Adds Int'l Tax Partner In Houston Office

By David Hansen

Womble Bond Dickinson has added a partner to its corporate and securities group in Houston who will focus on tax law and cross-border transactions, the firm announced.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

How Generative AI May Aid Merger Clearance Process

Generative artificial intelligence capable of analyzing and searching large datasets stands to revolutionize the merger clearance process, including by significantly reducing the time and effort required to respond to Hart-Scott-Rodino second requests, say Kenneth Koch and Brian Blush at BDO USA.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

What Passage Of House Crypto Bill Could Mean For Industry

While the prospects of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which recently passed the House in a bipartisan fashion, becoming law remain murky, the manner of its passage may give crypto markets a real cause for hope, say Neel Maitra and Dale Beggs at Dechert.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Antitrust In Retail: The Meaning Of 'Accessible Luxury'

In order for the Federal Trade Commission to block a deal that would put six "accessible luxury" brands, including Coach and Michael Kors, under one roof, the agency will need to prove that this category is distinct from the true luxury or mass-market categories, says David Kully at Holland & Knight.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

The second quarter of 2024 in California, which saw efforts to expand consumer protection legislation and enforcement actions in areas of federal focus like medical debt and student loans, demonstrated that the state's role as a trendsetter in consumer financial protection will continue for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Opinion

Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Northwestern Hires 'Mediocre' Minorities Over Men, Suit Says

By Lauren Berg

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.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Senior Apple Atty To Pay SEC $1.1M For Insider Trading

By Gina Kim

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.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Giuliani Disbarred In New York Over Election Falsehoods

By Alex Wittenberg

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.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump's NY Sentencing Pushed To Sept. After Immunity Ruling

By Frank G. Runyeon

A New York judge on Tuesday delayed Donald Trump's criminal sentencing from July 11 until Sept. 18 to give prosecutors and the former president's attorneys time to argue over whether the U.S. Supreme Court's immunity decision vacates his conviction.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bond-Rigging Suit Revived Over Judge's Wife's Stock Conflict

By Katryna Perera

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.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Bankruptcy Judge Will Be Deposed Over Atty Romance

By Ryan Boysen

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.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Armstrong Teasdale Pulls Back From SLC As 7 Join Dentons

By Andrea Keckley

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.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Data Breach Suits Drive Consumer Protection Docket Growth

By Allison Grande

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.

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

After Fischer, Judge Releases Atty Convicted In Jan. 6 Riot

By Brandon Lowrey

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.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

YSL Judge Shares Transcript Of Secret Witness Meeting

By Kelcey Caulder

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.

Transcript attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Pa. Clerk Named After Departures Spur 'Judicial Emergency'

By James Boyle

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.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Depo Gets Dad Ousted From Sesame Place Race Bias Case

By Matthew Santoni

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.

6 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Dentons Says Ex-Client Can't Escape $4.7M Fee Suit In Texas

By Emily Johnson

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.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DLA Piper Tells Judge Fired Associate Got Proper Discovery

By Pete Brush

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.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »