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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

GUILTY – Former Locke Lord partner Mark Scott has been convicted in Manhattan federal court of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to launder $400 million in proceeds from a cryptocurrency scam. Jack Newsham reports that prosecutors said Scott, who left the firm in 2016, played a key part in laundering the money that poured into a bunk cryptocurrency business called OneCoin. He was represented by Covington & Burling partner Arlo Devlin-Brown and Miami-based white-collar defense lawyer David Garvin.

BET THE COMPANY – Drug makers sued over last month's recall of over-the-counter heartburn medication Zantac have brought in some of the biggest names in the defense bar, Amanda Bronstad reports. Pfizer has retained Joe Petrosinelli, chairman of Williams & Connolly. Sanofi, which is the company that instituted the recall, brought in Anand Agneshwar, who co-chairs Arnold & Porter's product liability litigation practice. Mark Cheffo, co-chair of the product liability and mass torts practice at Dechert, is stepping in for GlaxoSmithKline, which first received FDA approval to sell Zantac in 1983. Zantac was voluntarily recalled after the FDA discovered it contained an ingredient linked to cancer.

AT RISK – All companies face cybersecurity threats, but the legalized cannabis industry is especially vulnerable, Victoria Hudgins reports. Regulations requiring seed-to-sale tracking and storage of personal information of those in the distribution chain place the industry firmly within hackers' crosshairs.

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EDITOR'S PICKS

Outlook Mostly Healthy for Chicago, Midwest Law Firms—But Collections Will Be Key

Berkeley Law's John Yoo Courting Controversy—Again

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

BIGGER - Perkins Coie is increasing its presence in China—a move that sets it apart from other U.S. firms that have pulled back in recent years. John Kang reports that the firm has launched an IP agency with offices in Beijing and Shenzhen and is moving its Beijing legal services office to a bigger space.

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WHAT YOU SAID

"The most important test is whether the individual is a good teacher and scholar, and in John Yoo's case, the answer to both is a resounding yes."

—  Christopher Edley Jr., professor and former dean at UC Berkeley Law, on law schools supporting their controversial professors. Comments Yoo made on a Fox News show linking Alexander Vindman to espionage prompted a letter from Vindman's lawyer to the network demanding a correction.

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