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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

WHEW – Both plaintiffs and defense lawyers are likely heaving a sigh of relief after the Ninth Ciruit's en banc reversal of a decision that would have made it nearly impossible to get approval of nationwide class-action settlements. Amanda Bronstad reports that the panel's split decision on Thursday upended a 2018 opinion that had de-certified a nationwide settlement involving Hyundai and Kia over fuel efficiency estimates after concluding the district judge had failed to analyze the consumer laws of several states. The panel found that in general there was no requirement for such an analysis at the settlement stage.

CLASS ACT – The Google case involving a former male engineer who filed a class action against the tech giant last year for allegedly discriminating against him and other conservative white males is set for a hearing today. Alaina Lancaster reports that a California judge in Santa Clara is scheduled to hear Google's arguments that the facts don't support a bid for class-action status. Google fired engineer James Damore in 2017 after he distributed a 10-page memo that said the company's gender gap was based on biological differences, such as women's disposition toward “agreeableness” and “neuroticism.” Damore last year withdrew from the lawsuit to pursue claims in arbitration.

PERMANENCE – Lawyers from Cleary Gottlieb, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Lite DePalma are in New Jersey Superior Court today to argue for a permanent injunction against a so-called gay conversion therapy provider, JONAH.

TECH'S TROUBLES – It's been a year of fines, complaints and calls to investigate Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook at home and abroad on the antitrust front, escalating this week with the House Judiciary Committee's probe into major U.S. tech companies' competitive practices and market share. Caroline Spiezio provides a look at a year of tech's antitrust legal tangles.

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EDITOR'S PICKS

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Am Law Firms with Zero Black Partners—How Is This Possible in 2019?

You Can Now Take a Virtual Reality Tour of Akin Gump Offices

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

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TECHIES – Asia's first legal technology-focused startup accelerator has launched in Singapore—the latest step by the city-state to make its mark as a regional hub, John Kang reports. The Global Legal Innovation and Digital Entrepreneurship, or GLIDE, is part of a two-year pilot program started last year by a Singapore government body that promotes the city-state's legal industry. The accelerator is open for tech startups around the world in the legal, compliance and regulation fields.

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WHAT YOU SAID

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“Discretion requires consistency.”

—  ANTHONY KENNEDY, RETIRED JUSTICE OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT, WHO DELIVERED THE OATH OF OFFICE DURING THE INVESTITURE THIS WEEK OF U.S. ATTORNEY DAVID ANDERSON OF THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA. IN HIS REMARKS, KENNEDY SAID THAT ANDERSON WOULD REGULARLY HAVE TO EXERCISE “VAST DISCRETION” IN HIS NEW POSITION.

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