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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS (FIRMS) - The Texas Freedom Caucus may have kicked a hornet's nest when it threatened Sidley Austin partners with civil and criminal penalties and disbarment in a letter last week, firm leaders in Texas and managing partners at firms with Texas offices told Law.com's Dan Roe and Andrew Maloney. Firm chair Yvette Ostolaza received the letter July 7 after Sidley signaled its intent to reimburse employees who sought abortions in other states. The letter, signed by Texas Rep. Mayes Middleton, a Republican, said litigation was underway to determine whether Sidley had already participated in illegal abortions, including out-of-state drug-induced abortions in which employees took the second of two pills after returning to Texas. The managing partners, who requested anonymity because they had not yet received similar demand letters from the Republican legislative caucus, said the threats were more likely to strengthen the conviction of lawyers and law firms that have already chosen to support the reproductive rights of their employees. "I don't know how smart it is to go after a bunch of lawyers," said the managing partner of an Am Law 100 firm with offices in Texas. "We can all spend endless time and energy playing it through, and it might not play out as well for them as it would if they went after a less well-funded organization or people less involved with making legal decisions than law firms."

LOADED QUESTIONS - It's no secret that law school can be incredibly stressful. But even at a time when the legal profession claims to be more invested than ever in mental health and wellness, bar applications' "character and fitness" questions continue to deter some law students from seeking the help they need, Law.com's Christine Charnosky reports. Last week, a Reddit user began a thread titled, "Lost a classmate to suicide." "Our class found out yesterday that one of our classmates took their own life this past weekend," the user posted. "PLEASE seek help if you need it. Character & Fitness be damned!" Several in the legal industry have sounded the alarm that law students may be forgoing mental health treatment for fear of "failing" the character and fitness portion of their bar applications. For example, the Ohio bar is considering dropping the question about mental health status from its character and fitness application, in part due to Claire Halffield, who graduated from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in May, petitioning the court. Halffield's main concern: "I saw during law school: students weren't seeking help because they thought they wouldn't be able to practice law."

WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - Connor J. Hansen and Navdeep K. Singh of Dorsey & Whitney have entered appearances for Viacom International in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit over rights to the "Double Dare" mark, originally adopted in the mid-1970s for a game show hosted by the late Alex Trebek, and later acquired by Viacom in the mid-80s for a children's game show on the Nickelodeon network. The complaint, filed May 13 in California Central District Court by attorney Richard P. Crane Jr. on behalf of Armstrong Interactive, seeks a judgment of non-infringement and an order reversing the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's March decision granting Viacom's opposition. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi, is 2:22-cv-03270, Armstrong Interactive, Inc. v. Viacom International, Inc. et al. >> Check out the most recent edition of Law.com's Who Got the Work?℠ column to find out which law firms and lawyers are being brought in to handle key cases and close major deals for their clients.