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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

BUDGETING WITHOUT A BASELINE –  How do you set a budget following the weirdest year ever—especially when next year is fixing to be pretty weird too? That's the question law firm leaders are asking themselves right now as they try to plan for a 2021 that may or may not include costs for things like business travel and in-person client development activities that were basically wiped out in 2020. Add to that the uncertainty of the upcoming presidential election and the need for continued (and maybe even increased) investment in technology and you've got quite a puzzle. The only logical solution may be multiple potential solutions. "We're preparing various scenarios that range anywhere from back to normal immediately to another similar year, and multiple things in between," Haynes & Boone managing partner Tim Powers told Dan Packel.

CLASS IS IN SESSION  – Maybe you can put a price on the college experience after all. Proposed class actions file by students against colleges and universities, seeking refunds for tuition and fees paid during the first COVID-19 lockdowns, have been given the green light by judges in more than a half-dozen cases, reports Amanda Bronstad. About 200 class actions hit the courts soon after campuses closed this spring, most asserting breach of contract and unjust enrichment on behalf of various classes of students seeking refunds for tuition, fees, and housing and meal costs. But how far will these claims ultimately get? Peter Lake, a professor at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida, told Bronstad he foresees a number of defendants quietly settling these cases to avoid an uncertain fate in court. "I would have told you 15 years ago these claims have no chance, but today I can't be that predictive—you may see some judges who think, well, promises were made and representations made, there's some contract," he said. "My guess is somewhere, someplace, some judges are going to evolve claims against institutions in ways that wouldn't have been obvious 10 to 15 years ago."

VEXING VACCINE –  Allele Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals and its lawyers at Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders hit Pfizer, BioNTech and other defendants with a lawsuit yesterday in California Southern District Court over the companies' ongoing efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. Allele accuses the defendants of infringing on its patented technology to develop the vaccine. The dispute centers on Allele's mNeonGreen product, which the complaint describes as "a fluorescent protein used as a biological tag in genetic engineering work." "mNeonGreen was the critical link in Defendants' COVID-19 vaccine development and its continued trial success," the complaint says, adding, "While Defendants were required to obtain a commercial license from Allele, Defendants never sought a license with Allele or even contacted them." Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. Stay up to date on major litigation nationwide with Law.com's Legal Radar.

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