Ex-Big Law Partner Convicted, Zantac Makers Lawyer Up, Healthy in the Midwest: The Morning Minute
Here's the news you need to start your day.
November 22, 2019 at 06:00 AM
3 minute read
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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.
EDITOR'S PICKS
Outlook Mostly Healthy for Chicago, Midwest Law Firms—But Collections Will Be Key
GM General Counsel, Kirkland Attorneys Leveraged US Corruption Probe to Sue Fiat Chrysler
Slideshow: McKool Smith Nearly Doubles Manhattan Space in New West Side Office
Both Mayweather and Pacquiao Declared Winners in Legal Scrum Over 'Fight of the Century'
Number of SEC Enforcement Actions at Highest in 10 Years
Berkeley Law's John Yoo Courting Controversy—Again
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.
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."
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Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
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