Greg Craig Expected in Court, Russian Election Hackers Are Coming, Legal Tech's Benefits Unclear to Lawyers: The Morning Minute
Here's the news you need to start your day.
August 28, 2019 at 06:00 AM
4 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
ON THE STAND - Former Obama White House Counsel Greg Craig is expected to testify today in D.C. federal court in the trial over charges that he misled the DOJ about his work for Ukraine while he was a partner at Skadden, C. Ryan Barber reports. Craig has denied deceiving the DOJ and has argued he faced no obligation to report his activities under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
HACKERS POISED - Forget the federal government. Counties and states are all that stand between the 2020 presidential election and Russia's horde of hackers, says election law expert Rick Hasen. In reporter Alaina Lancaster's interview with the UC Irvine School of Law prof, Hasen says one of the most important lawsuits is ongoing in Georgia, where there's been a fight over the security of voting machines. Notes Hasen: There's a divide among election reform and integrity proponents as to whether the newest wave of voting technology, which uses ballot marking devices, is secure enough. Hasen's interview is in the latest issue of Law.com affiliate The National Law Journal.
OWNING IT – Utah is poised to radically revamp how law can be practiced in the state, after a working group earlier this week unveiled a proposal that would allow nonlawyers to invest in and own legal businesses. Dan Packel reports that the group, led by a justice on the Utah Supreme Court and a former president of the Utah Bar, wants the state's high court to adopt the recommendations, which they say will expand access to civil justice.
HUH? Legal tech and alternative legal service providers are largely missing the mark in explaining how their products and services can help lawyers, Victoria Hudgins reports. A Baretz+Brunelle survey of 100 corporate legal department senior executives and Am Law 100 and 200 law firms found that only 34% of respondents agree that legal tech or ALSPs understand lawyers' business challenges. Moreover, 46% of respondents said that "uncertainty about whether the product would solve our problems" was the first or second biggest reason they didn't buy a product.
EDITOR'S PICKS
When a Managing Partner Exits a Firm, Does It Signal New Career Goals or Firm Troubles?
From Glass Walls to Free Snacks, Associates Dish on What They Love, Hate and Fear
'Public Hearings Are Exactly What Judges Do:' Epstein's Post-Death Proceeding
Sign Up for the Higher Law Weekly Cannabis Newsletter
ABA Secures Loan Forgiveness Status After 3-Year Battle
Cred Names Ex-Bryan Cave Fintech Head as New General Counsel
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
CROWDED? Amid ongoing merger discussions between the U.K's Allen & Overy and U.S.-based O'Melveny & Myers, A&O litigation partner Marc Florent has left the Magic Circle firm's London office to join Baker McKenzie. Rose Walker reports that Florent's exit is the second A&O London partner departure to emerge within recent weeks, as banking, finance and regulatory practice co-head Mona Vaswani is leaving to join Milbank. O'Melveny & Myers has a strong focus on litigation and disputes work.
WHAT YOU SAID
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Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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