The Top In-House Hires Of December

By Sue Reisinger

Legal department hires in the past month included high-profile appointments at Eaton Corp., Conde Nast, Constellation Energy Corp. and Turing. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from the past few weeks.

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Apple Reaches $95M Privacy Deal With Millions Of Siri Users

By Craig Clough

A proposed class of tens of millions of Apple customers asked a California federal judge to approve a $95 million settlement that would end the litigation accusing the tech company of privacy violations over its voice-activated software Siri eavesdropping on conversations. 

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Feds Ask High Court To Unpause Corporate Transparency Law

By Jared Foretek

The federal government is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a Texas judge's injunction against the Corporate Transparency Act, telling the justices in a new application that the 2021 anti-money laundering law's compliance deadlines should take effect while the Fifth Circuit hears the full case.

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Del. Courts Gavel Out 2024 With Fox, Opioid Case Rulings

By Jeff Montgomery

2024 went out with a flurry of rulings in Delaware's corporate and commercial law courts, while the new year saw a Chancery veteran become that court's first senior magistrate. Here's a quick roundup of the latest news in First State courts.

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FTC Asks 5th Circ. To Revive Noncompete Ban

By Lauren Berg

The Federal Trade Commission told the Fifth Circuit on Thursday the agency is authorized to make rules like the one that would ban enforcement of most employee noncompetes, arguing that a Texas district court took a "cramped view" of the agency's authority to promulgate rules that define unfair competition methods.

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Terraform Founder Arraigned In NY, Denies $40B Crypto Fraud

By Pete Brush

Terraform Labs creator Do Kwon appeared Thursday before a Manhattan federal judge to deny charges that he orchestrated a $40 billion fraud on customers and investors who backed the cryptocurrency platform based on promises that it had real-world viability.

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Tesla Investors Appeal Chancery Rulings In Musk Pay Suit

By Jeff Montgomery

Three Florida-based Tesla Inc. stockholders have moved ahead with Delaware Supreme Court appeals aimed at Court of Chancery decisions that short-circuited the electric car company's 10-year, $56 billion compensation plan for Elon Musk and granted a $345 million cash award for class attorneys who won the decision.

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IBM And GlobalFoundries Settle Contract, Trade Secret Suits

By Rae Ann Varona

IBM and semiconductor maker GlobalFoundries US Inc. have settled lawsuits lodged against each other in which IBM accused GlobalFoundries of breaching a $1.5 billion manufacturing deal, while GlobalFoundries accused IBM of unlawfully disclosing its confidential trade secrets, the companies announced Thursday.

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Monsanto Appeals $175M Roundup Verdict In Pa.

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Bayer AG unit Monsanto has asked the Pennsylvania Superior Court to overturn a Philadelphia jury's award of $175 million to a man who claimed Roundup weedkiller caused his cancer, arguing that a court officer coerced the jury into coming up with a verdict that was not based on science.

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Amazon Used Forfeited 401(k) Cash For Self Gain, Suit Says

By Grace Elletson

Amazon violated federal benefits law by using millions in abandoned retirement plan funds to its own benefit by offsetting its own contributions instead of using the extra cash to cut down on expenses, according to a worker's proposed class action filed in Washington federal court.

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Meta Seeks To Pause Social Media MDL Coverage Fight

By Hope Patti

Meta has urged a California federal court to find that its insurers cannot yet litigate to attempt to avoid covering thousands of pending lawsuits accusing the social media giant of deliberately designing its platforms to be addictive to adolescents, arguing that the coverage issues overlap with issues in the underlying cases.

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Amazon Gets Zulily's Antitrust Suit Trimmed, For Now

By Lauren Berg

A Seattle federal judge trimmed a lawsuit brought by now-defunct online retailer Zulily that accuses Amazon of using its monopoly power to shut out competition from other online retailers, tossing conspiracy and state consumer protection law claims, but allowing Zulily to rework its complaint.

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Ga. County Sues 3M, Daikin To Remove PFAS From Landfill

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia county has filed a lawsuit against 3M Co., Daikin America Inc. and several other manufacturers and users of so-called forever chemicals, alleging the sale and use of the toxic chemicals in carpet manufacturing has caused a "public-health crisis" across the northwestern part of the state.

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Ex-Trader Joe's Exec Can't Revive Sex Bias Suit At 2nd Circ.

By Grace Elletson

The Second Circuit backed the dismissal Thursday of a Trader Joe's executive's suit claiming she was fired out of sex bias, stating she failed to put forward proof that her termination resulted from discrimination rather than her decision to take a vacation during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Edwards Brass Face Investor Suit Over Heart Valve Sales

By Sydney Price

The executives and directors of medical device maker Edwards Lifesciences have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit in California federal court alleging the company understated how industry trends and macroeconomic factors would impact the success of its mainstay device.

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8 Trends And Predictions Following PE's Late 2024 Surge

Private equity will remain at the forefront of value creation in 2025, and anticipated market trends include sponsors' desire to return capital to investors and a more business-friendly tack by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, say attorneys at Weil.

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Lessons From The SEC's 2024 Crackdown On AI Washing

AI washing was the subject of increased scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2024 following a surge in the commercial adoption of generative artificial intelligence technologies in 2023, highlighting the importance of transparency, accuracy and accountability when communicating about AI, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

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The 6 Most Significant FCRA Litigation Developments Of 2024

From a key sovereign immunity decision at the U.S. Supreme Court to a ruling on creditworthiness out of the Seventh Circuit, several important Fair Credit Reporting Act cases wound their way through the courts in 2024, each offering takeaways for both plaintiffs and defendants, say attorneys at Shipkevich.

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Lessons Learned From 2024's Top ADA Decisions

Last year's major litigation related to the Americans with Disabilities Act highlights that when dealing with accommodation requests, employers must communicate clearly, appreciate context and remain flexible in addressing needs, say attorneys at Dechert.

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Series

Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.

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Bonus Spotlight

Holland & Knight Matches BigLaw Bonuses In Major Markets

By Anna Sanders

Holland & Knight LLP announced associates in major U.S. markets will receive year-end and special bonuses matching those given by other BigLaw firms, with attorneys working in regional offices making smaller figures, according to a report.

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Biden Honors Del. Jurist For Role In Brown V. Board Ruling

By Jeff Montgomery

President Joe Biden issued a top civilian award, posthumously, to former Chancellor Collins J. Seitz of Delaware Chancery Court, father of the state's current chief justice, for his role in decisions woven into the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

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Clyde & Co. Merges With Dallas Insurance Boutique

By Emily Sawicki

Clyde & Co. LLP has announced a merger with Dallas boutique Tillman Batchelor LLP, expanding the global law firm's insurance capabilities in Texas amid its ongoing growth in North America.

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Taft Hired BCLP Comms Director Ahead Of Merger

By Andrea Keckley

Once its merger with Sherman & Howard LLC became effective at the start of the new year, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP announced Thursday it had hired Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner's former director of communications.

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AI Chatbots Will Transform Legal Scholarship, AI Chatbot Says

By Matt Perez

Generative artificial intelligence like OpenAI's ChatGPT software will redefine legal scholarship, according to a new paper primarily produced by the chatbot.

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States Debate High Court Solution To Election Map Catch-22

By Katie Buehler

Louisiana has implored the U.S. Supreme Court to decisively resolve litigation over its federal election map in one of three ways, suggesting the justices could toss the case on standing, decide the merits, or, preferably, find that federal courts have no role in refereeing redistricting disputes.

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Ex-GMU Prof.'s Accusers Say He Can't Prove $108M Damages

By Aebra Coe

Former FTC Commissioner Joshua Wright allegedly failed to provide information to back his $108 million defamation damages claim and then walked out of a deposition, according to a Virginia court filing by two former students whom Wright sued over their statements to Law360.

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Atty Wants Free Speech Suit Over Tenn. Court Rule Kept Alive

By Jack Karp

A free speech challenge to a Middle District of Tennessee rule barring attorneys from making "any extrajudicial statements" about cases in the district should be allowed to move forward since the court is not entitled to sovereign immunity, according to the Nashville civil rights lawyer behind the suit.

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Giuliani Says Memory Faulty In Meandering NY Contempt Row

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge mulled a bid to hold Rudy Giuliani in contempt of a $148 million defamation judgment Friday, during a day of sparring in which the former New York City mayor repeatedly told counsel for two defamed Georgia poll workers that he doesn't remember case details.

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Battling Berts: Judge Enjoins Ga. Law Firm In Trademark Row

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia federal judge Friday temporarily barred an Atlanta-based law firm from advertising and promoting its personal injury legal services through messaging like "If You're Hurt ... Call Bert!" and "If You're Hurt, Call Bert," ruling that it is too similar to another personal injury firm's trademarked slogan.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

How to deal with diversity, climate change and artificial intelligence are the key issues giving general counsel night terrors at the start of the new year. And in Delaware, the Chancery Court is allowing a stockholder suit to move forward against Fox Corp., related to its false reports of voting fraud in 2020.

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen Chris Eubank Jr. hit with a libel claim from a boxing promoter, a perfume boss face proceedings from his businesses following sanctions violations claims, and Israeli broadcasters file intellectual property claims against BT and Sky. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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