The D.C. Circuit refused Friday to revive an energy company's lawsuit against Angola over $1.1 billion worth of nixed power plant contracts, agreeing with courts in New York that the dispute must be litigated in the African country.
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TOP NEWS

DC Circ. Backs Dismissal Of Energy Co.'s $1.1B Angola Suit

By Caroline Simson

The D.C. Circuit refused Friday to revive an energy company's lawsuit against Angola over $1.1 billion worth of nixed power plant contracts, agreeing with courts in New York that the dispute must be litigated in the African country.

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Fla. Judge Orders Ky. Tower Sale Laundering Case To Proceed

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge denied a request by two Miami businessmen to toss a civil forfeiture lawsuit brought by the U.S. government in an attempt to seize $9.1 million from the sale of a Kentucky office tower with alleged links to a Ukrainian money laundering scheme.

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Halliburton Tells High Court That Age Bias Battle Can't Go On

By Grace Elletson

Halliburton told the U.S. Supreme Court that an ex-worker is attempting to create a "back door" to challenge an arbitration award that resolved his age bias suit, urging the justices to join the Tenth Circuit in finding that the case had run its course.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Trade Panel Strikes Down Mexico's Curbs On Biotech Corn

By Alex Lawson

Mexico's 2023 restrictions on the use of genetically modified corn to make tortillas and animal feed violated the country's trade accord with the U.S., a dispute settlement panel ruled Friday, finding that the policy was not based on sound science. 

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COMMERCIAL

11th Circ. Won't Reconsider Nixing $440M Cuba Dock Claim

By Jonathan Capriel

The Eleventh Circuit said it won't take a second look at its decision upending a $440 million judgment against four cruise lines that were accused of participating in prohibited tourism in Cuba by way of utilizing a dock that once belonged to a U.S.-based company.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Series

Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.

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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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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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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

Black Srebnick

Blacks Solicitors

Boies Schiller

Bradley Arant

Brito PLLC

CMS Cameron McKenna

Cantey Hanger

Charles Russell Speechlys

Choate Hall

Clement & Murphy

Colson Hicks

Covington & Burling

Cravath Swaine

DAC Beachcroft

Davis Wright Tremaine

Dechert LLP

Dhillon Law Group

Ehrenstein Sager

Ellis George LLP

Fenchurch Law

Fieldfisher

Fisher & Phillips

Forsters LLP

Freedman Normand

Fried Frank

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

Jones Walker

Kasowitz Benson

Kaufman Dolowich

Keker Van Nest & Peters

Kirkland & Ellis

Kontnik Cohen

Kullman Firm

Kutak Rock

Latham & Watkins

Law Office of Rajeh A. Saadeh

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

Ross Aronstam

Roythornes Solicitors

Sanford Heisler

Sidley Austin

Skadden Arps

Spector Constant & Williams

Sullivan & Cromwell

TLT LLP

Trenk Isabel

Trowers & Hamlins

Vartabedian Hester

Venable LLP

Vinson & Elkins

Ward Hadaway

White & Case

Wiley Rein

Wilkinson Stekloff

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

Wilson Sonsini

Winston & Strawn

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

American Civil Liberties Union

American Constitution Society

Apple Inc.

Atlantic Coast Conference

BNP Paribas SA

Beazley PLC

Boy Scouts of America

British American Tobacco PLC

CVS Health Corp.

Carnival Corp. & PLC

Cincinnati Financial Corp.

Democracy Forward Foundation

Duke Energy Corp.

Essity AB

Federalist Society

GP Global

General Electric Capital Corp.

Google LLC

Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America

Gulf Petrochem FZC

Halliburton Co.

Judicial Watch Inc.

Lambda Legal Defense & Educational Fund

Mars Inc.

McKinsey & Co. Inc.

Meadow

Microsoft Corp.

Mozilla Corp.

National Corn Growers Association

Natixis SA

New Jersey State Bar Association

Norwegian Cruise Line

Our Children's Trust

Pfizer Inc.

Princeton University

Purdue Pharma LP

ROC Nation LLC

Reynolds American Inc.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

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

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Central Intelligence Agency

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Companies House

Delaware Court of Chancery

Federal Bureau of Prisons

Georgia Court of Appeals

Government of Mexico

Internal Revenue Service

Ohio Supreme Court

Spanish Supreme Court

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 District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second 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. District Court for the Southern District of New York

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