Want to get this daily news briefing by email? Here's the sign-up.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

WRANGLING ROUNDUP - Bayer AG would very much like the U.S. Supreme Court to make the Roundup litigation go away. Please and thank you. As Law.com's Amanda Bronstad reports, the company, which is in the midst of negotiating settlements of existing Roundup lawsuits, filed its anticipated petition before SCOTUS yesterday in hopes of obtaining a ruling that could cap future litigation over the pesticide. Monday's petition, filed by former U.S. Solicitor General and current Wilmer Cutler partner Seth Waxman, is a key part of Bayer's strategy to resolving thousands of claims over Roundup, which remains on store shelves without a warning on the product label that the pesticide could cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma. As it has argued in lower courts, Bayer insists that the plaintiffs' claims that its Monsanto unit failed to warn of Roundup's health risks are preempted under federal law. The petition also challenges U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria's admission of plaintiffs' experts in the underlying case, which is the only federal Roundup verdict and the first bellwether case from among 3,800 cases in multidistrict litigation in the Northern District of California.

THE DOCTOR IS IN(-HOUSE)? - The pandemic has rendered the title "chief legal officer" almost quaint in its simplicity. As we've previously noted in this column, legal department leaders have, in recent months, been forced to bone up on HR topics and medical issues surrounding COVID-19 as they help their companies craft office return policies. But, as Law.com's Phillip Bantz reports, GCs' jobs have only become more complex and multifaceted over the past few weeks, as the Delta variant and lower-than-anticipated vaccination rates in some parts of the country threaten to upend even the best-laid plans for fall. Now, they're in the unenviable position of trying to strategize in a regulatory and employment law environment that, like the coronavirus itself, seems to shift and mutate by the day. "To a certain extent, general counsel must also now act as a chief medical officer in interpreting the guidance of various regulatory and advisory bodies, which definitely goes beyond our normal remit or training," said Don Riddick, Atlanta-based chief legal officer of tech firm Featurespace. "As a result, plans for office returns are more conservative and reactive to guidance than in other areas of workforce legal guidance, particularly with the changing landscape of the virus and governmental requirements."

FASHION FAUX PAS? - Buchalter sued fashion designer Alexander Wang and his eponymous brand for copyright infringement Monday in California Central District Court. The suit pursues claims on behalf of L.A.-based Jangle Vision and contends that Alexander Wang created and posted ads to social media that closely mimic female characters created by Jangle Vision artist Claudia Diroma. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 2:21-cv-06627, Jangle Vision, LLC v. Alexander Wang Incorporated et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.  

EDITOR'S PICKS

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

TAKE-PRIVATE TRANSACTION -  Sidley Austin has hired a five-lawyer private equity team from Vinson & Elkins in London, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, Law.com International's Meganne Tillay and Hannah Roberts report. Private equity partners Dan Graham, Paul Dunbar and Emilie Stewart are joining Sidley Austin alongside two associates, in the latest flux in the sector. The moves represent a rebuilding of Sidley's European private equity offering, after a significant hit to the team in 2020, when partners Christian Iwasko and Erik Dahl left to join Goodwin Procter in London. The duo was joined by private equity partners Sava Savov and Michelle Tong, and senior counsel John Van De North at the time.

WHAT YOU SAID

"You better have enough witnesses to fill up the day, Mr. Avenatti."