Clifford Chance Appoints New Leader for Tax, Pensions, and Employment Practice in the Americas Clifford Chance LLP has appointed partner Paul Seraganian as the new leader of the firm's tax, pensions, and employment practice in the Americas, effective May 1. Seraganian, who joined the firm in November 2021, has over 15 years of experience, including serving as managing partner of the New York office at Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. He is known for his expertise in... (7 views)
Dominion Voting Systems Reaches $787.5 Million Settlement In Defamation Lawsuit Against Fox News The defamation lawsuit settlement of $787.5 million, which ended Dominion Voting Systems' legal action against Fox Corp (FOXA.O), also concludes a profitable two-year legal battle for the numerous teams of high-priced attorneys from both sides. Court documents reveal that at least 31 lawyers from nine law firms were involved in the case. (5 views)
U.S. News Delays Law School and Medical School Rankings Indefinitely For the second time, U.S. News & World Report has postponed the publication of its law school and medical school rankings, yet to announce a new release date. According to a message posted on their website on Wednesday, U.S. News stated that they are currently addressing a significant amount of inquiries from schools and will publish the updated rankings as soon as this... (32 views)
US Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Biden's COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors On Wednesday, a US appeals court ruled that President Joe Biden has the power to require employees of federal contractors to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, throwing out a previous judge's ruling that had blocked the mandate in Arizona. The decision was made by a panel of the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which stated that the order that applied to... (14 views)
Tesla Settles Lawsuit Over Trade Secret Theft By Former Engineer The settlement between Tesla and Alexander Yatskov ended a lawsuit that began in May 2020, when Tesla accused the former engineer of stealing trade secrets related to its AI-training supercomputer Dojo. Yatskov, a thermal engineer on the Dojo project, resigned in May 2020 after being put on administrative leave. Tesla filed a lawsuit against him that same month, alleging... (33 views)
U.S. Supreme Court Extends Block on Access to Abortion Pill for Two Days On Wednesday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito granted a two-day extension to the temporary block on restrictions imposed by lower courts on access to the abortion pill, mifepristone. Anti-abortion groups are challenging the drug's federal regulatory approval. This move provides the Supreme Court with additional time to evaluate requests made by Danco Laboratories,... (14 views)
Purdue Global's Concord Law School Launches New Online Course on Rural Law Purdue Global's Concord Law School has launched a new online course on rural law to address the nationwide shortage of lawyers in rural areas. The study, Rural Law Practice, will focus on the legal needs of those in the agriculture industry, building relationships in rural communities, and providing succession planning for agribusiness, family law, land use, and civil law.... (35 views)
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Appeal by Whistleblowers Over Pharmacy Fraud On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in an appeal by three whistleblowers seeking to revive lawsuits against pharmacy operators for allegedly overbilling government health insurance programs for prescription drugs. Safeway Inc, owned by Albertsons Companies Inc, and SuperValu Inc, part of United Natural Foods Inc, were previously cleared of wrongdoing in... (1 views)
California Lawyer Accused of Encouraging Violence Against Black Lives Matter Protesters Cannot Dispute Charges According to the State Bar of California, a lawyer facing disciplinary action for tweets that allegedly incited violence against Black Lives Matter protesters cannot use rules of evidence to strike those charges. The State Bar Court also indicated that the lawyer could not dispute the accusations against her in the notice of disciplinary charges at this point in the... (138 views)
Alexandra Guajardo Joins Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP as Global Director of Commercial Strategy Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP announced on Tuesday that Alexandra Guajardo, a veteran legal operations professional, has joined the law firm as its first global director of commercial strategy. Guajardo, who most recently worked closely with international law departments at Shell PLC, began her new role on Monday and now leads BCLP teams responsible for pricing, project... (155 views)
NALP Foundation Report Shows Decrease in Associate Departures and Hiring Rates in 2022 According to a report released on Tuesday by the NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education, there has been a decline in the number of associates leaving their firms and the hiring rate after historic high levels were recorded in 2021. Despite the decline, both numbers are still above average. The report analyzed data from 128 law firms in the U.S. and Canada... (87 views)
Ernst & Young to Cut 3,000 Jobs in the US Amid Economic Review Ernst & Young's U.S. branch has announced plans to reduce its workforce by around 3,000, representing less than 5% of its total workforce. The decision comes as the company reviews the current economic climate, employee retention rates, and excess capacity in some business regions. The company stated that it had taken this decision and would offer comprehensive support to... (8 views)
The Challenges of Collecting Data from Social Media Influencers: Lessons Learned from a Recent Investigation The influencer economy has grown to an estimated worth of $104 billion, with projections of reaching trillions of dollars. This rapid expansion has resulted in a surge of litigation and investigations related to the social media "creator" ecosystem. As companies continue to invest in influencer advertising and partnerships, disputes are expected to increase. However,... (2 views)
Florida Governor Ron Desantis To Repeal Disney's Development Agreement, Intensifying Conflict On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the state legislature would introduce a bill to repeal an agreement between the Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) and the outgoing members of the state oversight board. This development agreement limits the power of DeSantis' appointees and allows Disney to bypass state oversight of its parks. This move has further intensified... (5 views)
Netflix Adds 2.07 Million Subscribers In Q1, Revenue Growth Slows Down It is anticipated that Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) will announce the addition of approximately 2 million subscribers in Q1, with investors keeping a close eye on the impact of recent price reductions and introducing an ad-supported plan on subscriber numbers. After losing 200,000 subscribers in the same quarter last year, the company returned to subscriber growth in H2 2022.... (1 views)
Dominion's $1.6B Lawsuit Against Fox News Proceeds with Jury Selection The $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox Corp (FOXA.O) and Fox News will proceed with jury selection resuming on Tuesday, a day later than previously scheduled, according to Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis. The trial is based on false claims aired by Fox that Dominion's machines were used to rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election... (3 views)
Juul and Altria settle teen vaping addiction claims in Minnesota lawsuit On Monday, Juul Labs Inc, an e-cigarette company, and its former largest investor, Altria Group Inc (MO.N), settled claims made by the state of Minnesota that accused them of contributing to teen vaping addiction. The settlement was announced by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Juul as a trial in the case was nearing its end. This settlement is the latest in a... (5 views)
Ropes & Gray Confirms Performance Evaluations as the Reason for Job Cuts According to a recent statement from Ropes & Gray, a leading global law firm, any job cuts result from performance evaluations. This statement was issued in response to speculation on social media platforms such as Reddit and Fishbowl regarding potential associate layoffs at the firm. Ropes & Gray stated that their quarterly performance management process is a regular part... (250 views)
Federal Appeals Court Questions Free-Speech Advocate's Challenge Against Pennsylvania's Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Professional Rule for Lawyers A federal appeals court in Philadelphia questioned the ability of a free-speech advocate and Pennsylvania attorney to pursue a challenge against the state's anti-harassment and discrimination professional rule for lawyers on First Amendment grounds. The 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel queried whether Zachary Greenberg, the plaintiff and a program officer for the... (11 views)
U.S. Supreme Court Allows $6 Billion Student Debt Settlement Despite College Opposition On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to stop a legal settlement between the U.S. Education Department and former college students that would eliminate over $6 billion in debt. Many students attended for-profit institutions and claimed the schools about academic programs and job prospects deceived them. Three colleges, including for-profit Lincoln Educational... (10 views)
Former Federal Prosecutor Christopher Clark Forms New Law Firm with Mentor, Patrick Smith Christopher Clark, a former federal prosecutor with high-profile clients like Mark Cuban and Elon Musk, and who currently represents President Joe Biden's son Hunter in a U.S. tax investigation, has left the international law firm Latham & Watkins. He has joined forces with Patrick Smith, his former mentor from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, to form a new... (1007 views)
Judge Sanctions Fox News In Dominion Voting Systems Defamation Lawsuit During a court hearing on Wednesday, the judge presiding over the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems sanctioned Fox News. This decision was made after Fox News withheld records until the trial's eve, providing Dominion with a new opportunity to gather evidence. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis also stated that he would likely appoint... (4 views)
Legaltech News: Recent Updates on Legal Technology Hirings, Product Releases, and More Legaltech News is a platform that provides the latest news on legal technology hirings, product and feature releases, new integrations, legal tech M&As, and more. The Legal Tech Rundown is a periodic update of legal tech stories that may have gone unnoticed in the past few weeks. Here are some recent stories covered in the Legal Tech Rundown: (34 views)
Cooley LLP Delays Start Dates for Incoming Associates to 2024 Cooley LLP, a leading law firm in Silicon Valley, laid off associates last year due to "overcapacity" issues. However, the firm continues to face challenges as it has recently informed incoming first-year associates that their start date has been postponed from November 2023 to January 2024, as per a source within the firm. To ease the impact of this change, the firm will... (59 views)
Shearman & Sterling Implements New Round of Staff Cuts in 'Global Reduction' of Business Services Workforce On Wednesday, Shearman & Sterling confirmed it is carrying out a fresh round of staff cuts, following other U.S. law firms that have let go of professional business roles. The New York-based company is laying off an unspecified number of individuals as part of a "global reduction" of its Business Services workforce. According to a spokesperson, the move is an opportunity... (114 views)
Oklahoma Board to Vote on Funding First Religious Charter School in the U.S. On Tuesday, the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board in Oklahoma is scheduled to vote on approving the first religious charter school in the U.S. that taxpayers would fund. The board's decision is expected to trigger a legal dispute challenging the idea of separating religion from government. The proposed school, named St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, has... (5 views)
Manhattan DA Files Lawsuit Against Republican Congressman Over Trump Criminal Case Subpoena On Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a lawsuit against Republican U.S. Representative Jim Jordan for what Bragg considers an "unconstitutional attack" on the current criminal case against former President Donald Trump in New York. The lawsuit aims to prevent the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, chaired by Jordan, from subpoenaing Mark... (11 views)
iManage Secures Growth Investment from Bain Capital Tech Opportunities to Advance AI-Enabled Platform iManage, a document management provider, has received an undisclosed strategic growth investment from Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, as announced on Tuesday through a press release. The funding is considered a minority investment that will aid iManage in advancing its cloud-based, AI-enabled knowledge work platform and to speed up organic growth. iManage CEO Neil Araujo... (19 views)
Yale and Stanford Share Top Spot in Latest US News Law School Rankings Despite a boycott by leading law schools of U.S. News & World Report's popular rankings and a revamp of its methodology, Yale Law School has retained its position as the top law school in the country. This year, however, it shares the No. 1 spot with Stanford Law School. In an unexpected move, U.S. News revealed the top 14 schools on its latest law and medical school... (147 views)
More Than 300 Biotech and Pharma Executives Urge Reversal of Abortion Pill Mifepristone Sales Halt On Monday, an open letter was signed by more than 300 executives from the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, which included Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) CEO Albert Bourla, urging for the reversal of a federal judge's decision to halt sales of the abortion pill mifepristone. The drug's two-decade-old approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was suspended by a U.S. judge on... (7 views)