Nike Accused Of 'Smear Campaign' Over $60M Trademark Suit

By Bonnie Eslinger

A Los Angeles-based company that made customized sneakers for celebrities and athletes hit back Tuesday at Nike's $60 million trademark suit, saying that despite the companies' previous collaborations, Nike is now making knowing false claims in a "smear campaign" to crush its business.

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Attys Slam Deceptive NIL Settlement Services In NCAA Case

By Elaine Briseño

Class counsel in the massive NCAA name, image and likeness lawsuit have asked a California federal court to intervene with third-party servicing companies that are using misleading information while offering claims-filing services to class members in order to profit from the proposed $2.78 billion settlement.

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Pa. Jury Finds Clothing Co. Infringed Penn State Trademarks

By Matthew Santoni

Online retailer Vintage Brand infringed Pennsylvania State University's trademarks by selling unlicensed merchandise with "historic" images associated with the university, a Keystone State federal jury has found.

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Mountain West Says Trans Athlete Policy Was No Secret

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

The Mountain West Conference has said that a motion for an emergency injunction that would force it to ban a transgender athlete from competition ahead of a volleyball tournament comes way too late and is a "manufactured" emergency, while Utah State University lodged an intervening complaint in support of banning the athlete.

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Atty Seeks Ruling Letting Him Sell Unlicensed NFL Merchandise

By Elaine Briseño

A man representing himself pro se has argued in a New York federal complaint that he should be allowed to sell unlicensed National Football League merchandise that features team designs and logos, because his use is "functional" and allowed without a license.

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$2.6M Deal Proposed To End Chancery Lottery.com Suit

By Katryna Perera

Five executives of the special purpose acquisition company that took Lottery.com public have reached a $2.6 million settlement with company shareholders to resolve claims that the 2021 take-public deal misled investors about the potential value of the business.

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Davis Polk-Led Comcast To Spin Off NBCUniversal TV Assets

By Al Barbarino

Comcast Corp. said Wednesday it plans to spin off a suite of NBCUniversal cable television networks, including the USA Network, CNBC and MSNBC, along with additional digital assets, which generate a combined total $7 billion in annual revenues.  

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Bonus Spotlight

BigLaw Begins Matching Milbank On Associate Bonuses

By Aebra Coe

Following the news Tuesday that Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP will pay associates year-end and special bonuses in line with those handed out by Milbank LLP this year, the firms' peers have begun to respond, with swift matches Wednesday by Paul Hastings LLP and McDermott Will & Emery LLP.

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DOJ Settles With Atty Who Reported Judge's Sexual Misconduct

By Lauren Berg

A former Alaska federal prosecutor who made allegations of sexual misconduct against then-U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred has reached an undisclosed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice resolving claims she suffered retaliation for speaking up, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Wednesday.

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Foley Shouldn't Face Data Breach Claims, Calif. Panel Says

By Dorothy Atkins

A California appellate panel affirmed the dismissal of Accellion Inc.'s cross-complaint against law firm Foley & Lardner LLP in an insurance company's lawsuit claiming the software-maker should be held liable for a $1 million ransomware attack that targeted the law firm, finding that Accellion's cross-claims are untimely.

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Weil Litigation Leaders Jump To Paul Weiss In NY

By Tracey Read

The co-chair of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP's global litigation department and the co-head of Weil's patent litigation practice will soon be joining Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York, the latter firm announced Wednesday.

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Akerman Opens In Charlotte With 2 Moore & Van Allen Hires

By Xiumei Dong

Akerman LLP announced Wednesday the firm opened its second North Carolina office in Charlotte and brought on two new partners from Moore & Van Allen PLLC, including the former head of its renewable energy project finance team and a tax law expert.

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Judiciary Touts Reforms In Handling Workplace Complaints

By Ryan Boysen

The federal judiciary is successfully reforming the controversial process that aims to protect its 30,000 employees from sexual harassment in the workplace, according to a new internal report released Wednesday, even as lawmakers have called for scrapping that process altogether and replacing it with a new one.

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Trump Wants 'Immediate Dismissal' Of NY Hush Money Case

By Frank G. Runyeon

President-elect Donald Trump's legal team told the New York judge who presided over his hush money trial that his conviction should be thrown out due to his "overwhelming victory" at the polls, according to a filing released Wednesday.

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Musk, Ramaswamy Say High Court Rulings OK Federal Cuts

By Lauren Berg

Billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, President-elect Donald Trump's picks to lead a newly created "Department of Government Efficiency," on Wednesday said two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings will give them the authority to cut off power to regulatory agencies and conduct massive federal layoffs.

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House Dem Proposes Vote Forcing Release Of Gaetz Report

By Hailey Konnath

U.S. Rep. Sean Casten on Wednesday introduced a resolution that would require the House of Representatives to vote on whether the House Ethics Committee must release its report on the allegations against former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a proposal unveiled the same day the ethics committee failed to reach a consensus.

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Fed. Judges Still Seek New Bench Seats Amid Dems' Loss

By Courtney Bublé

The Federal Judges Association is urging the House to pass the bipartisan bill that would expand the federal courts in order to meet rising caseloads, even as the Biden administration appears to be cooling on the idea it once supported.

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Calif. Judicial Nominee Asked About Race, Parenting Writings

By Courtney Bublé

A California judicial nominee's previous writing about the murder of George Floyd in 2020, which sparked a national reckoning on race, was the subject of debate during a Senate nomination hearing on Wednesday.

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Washington State, DC District Court Picks Secure Seats

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate on Wednesday voted 50-48 to confirm Washington Court of Appeals Judge Rebecca L. Pennell to the Eastern District of Washington and 50-49 to confirm Amir Ali, former president and executive director of the MacArthur Justice Center and co-director of the Criminal Justice Appellate Clinic at Harvard Law School, to the District of Columbia.

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Girardi Pushes For New Trial Over Competency Claims

By Cara Salvatore

Counsel for Tom Girardi told a federal judge the disbarred attorney is plainly mentally incompetent and deserves a new trial over charges he defrauded clients of $15 million worth of settlement money.

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