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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

HOT WATER – Joel Katz, founding chairman of Greenberg Traurig's global entertainment and media practice, is at the center of sexual harassment allegations made by Deborah Dugan, the recently suspended president and CEO of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Ross Todd reports that Dugan, represented by law firm Wigdor, filed discrimination charges Tuesday with the EEOC based in part on allegations that she was put on leave from her position after complaining that Katz had sexually harassed her.

 GO – Opening arguments are set to begin this morning in the Manhattan criminal trial of ex-Hollywood honcho Harvey Weinstein, who has pleaded not guilty to rape and predatory sexual assault. His lawyers are expected to argue that the alleged crimes were consensual and, in at least some cases, transactional, hinting that the women knew they were trading sex acts for career advancement. Seven men and five women were chosen as jurors last week.

ONWARD – A team of House prosecutors is set to make the case for the Senate to remove President Trump from office. The GOP-held Senate yesterday haggled over rules for the trial, voting along party lines to not decide on witnesses until after the House and Trump's lawyers have argued the case. The House is up first, but, as Jacqueline Thomsen reports, the Democratic impeachment managers have already started criticizing White House counsel Pat Cipollone over his defense of Trump, warning it could "undermine the integrity of the pending trial."

BUZZ-KILL – A new target has emerged for shareholder lawsuits: the cannabis industry. Amanda Bronstad reports that NERA Economic Consulting's annual report on trends in securities class action litigation shows that six lawsuits filed in 2019 alleged securities fraud against cannabis companies, compared with just one in 2018. In total, there were 433 federal securities filings in 2019, about the same as in 2018.

ERRATUM – An item in yesterday's Morning Minute mixed up two mergers among law firms in the Northeast. In 2018, D.C.-based Venable merged with New York's Fitzpatrick Cella, and D.C.'s Arent Fox combined with Boston's Posternak Blankstein & Lund.

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EDITOR'S PICKS

For One Roberts Clerk, Trump's Impeachment Trial Will Be Part of Experience

Former Phila. Prosecutor, Toll Brothers GC Rejoins Cozen O'Connor

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

MADRID MOVE – U.K-based DAC Beachcroft has added a 20-lawyer team to its Madrid office through a tie-up with Spanish firm Asjusa. Simon Lock reports that the local law firm will join DAC Beachcroft's Madrid base and operate under the DACB brand. Asjusa is health care focused, and the team is made up of professional liability and health care lawyers.

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WHAT YOU SAID

"It speaks well to the progress that many law schools have made toward cultivating a more hospitable environment for women, people of color and first-generation law students."

— Melissa Murray, professor at NYU law school, commenting on the fact that women are serving as editors-in-chief at flagship law reviews of the nation's top 16 law schools.

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