The Cautionary Tale of UnitedLex and LeClairRyans; Another Rudy Giuliani Associate's in Court Today; Ex-Uber Executive Hit With Trade Secrets Suit: The Morning Minute
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October 29, 2020 at 06:00 AM
4 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
UNITED WE FALL - Law firm outsourcing is all the rage right now, but, as Dan Packel reports, a $128 million lawsuit filed by LeClairRyan's bankruptcy trustee against UnitedLex makes it clear that partnering with outside vendors can be risky business. In June 2018, the law firm and the third-party vendor unveiled the launch of ULX Partners LLC, a joint venture that was intended to allow law firms to outsource back-office operations and receive equity stakes in the new company. LeClairRyan's trustee now alleges in a suit filed in Virginia bankruptcy court Tuesday that the terms of the deal with UnitedLex served only to push the cash-strapped firm "further into insolvency." Now UnitedLex itself faces substantial liability for allegedly sucking money out of the firm, at the expense of LeClairRyan's other creditors. UnitedLex spokeswoman Stacey Yonkus said in a statement yesterday that the allegations "have no merit."
ALL THE PRESIDENT'S LAWYER'S MEN - David Correia, a business partner of indicted Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, is expected to plead guilty to unspecified charges this morning in Manhattan federal court. Correia is charged alongside Parnas, a key figure in President Donald Trump's impeachment, with funneling foreign money into U.S. elections and duping investors into pumping more than $2 million into an apparently quite accurately named company called Fraud Guarantee. It was not clear Wednesday what charges Correia would plead to or if he would cooperate with prosecutors, who plan to take the case against Parnas and two other defendants to trial next year.
SECRETS OUT - Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr filed a trade secrets lawsuit Tuesday in California Central District Court against former Uber executive Fraser Robinson and his year-old London startup, Beacon Technologies Ltd. The suit, which pursues claims on behalf of Vanguard Logistics Services (USA) Inc., contends that Robinson misappropriated the shipping company's business plans and prototypes for a digital transformation while advising Vanguard as a consultant and board member. 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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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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