Dealmakers to Keep Investing in Private Equity Practices in '24: The Morning Minute
The news and analysis you need to start your day.
January 18, 2024 at 06:00 AM
3 minute read
Want to get this daily news briefing by email? Here's the sign-up.
|
WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
PRIVATE EQUITY EXPECTANCY - The vibes continue to be high among transactional lawyers. While private equity deals fell in the last two years, dealmakers told Law.com's Patrick Smith they have high hopes about 2024—especially the second half—and they have kept up staffing in M&A practices, regardless of deal volume in any given quarter. This year appears to be one in which creative dealmaking—such as carve-outs, minority-stake deals and even some debt covenant deals—could meet pent-up demand, several M&A and private equity lawyers noted. "I expect it to be busier and I think the consensus is that more work will be done," noted Sonny Allison, co-chair of Cooley's private equity practice.
ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE - Everybody and their tech-savvy grandmother is dabbling in AI right now—and a lot of them are bound to (allegedly) screw up. With that in mind, corporate legal departments are bracing for a surge of litigation and regulatory enforcement in 2024, Law.com's Maria Dinzeo reports. Litigation trend reports from law firms Norton Rose Fulbright and Crowell & Moring show that AI will drive litigation and regulatory risk this year across the board, from cybersecurity and data privacy to antitrust, intellectual property and employment. "In-house counsel are eager both to respond to new uncertainties around generative AI and to take advantage of the efficiencies it promises. This tension informs many of the trends we highlight for 2024, including cyber risk, IP and expectations for outside counsel," said Steve Jansma, Norton Rose Fulbright's San Antonio-based U.S. head of litigation and disputes.
ON THE RADAR - Talos Energy has agreed to acquire QuarterNorth Energy for $1.3 billion. The transaction, announced Jan. 15, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024. Houston-based Talos Energy was advised by a Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld team led by partner John Goodgame. QuarterNorth, which is based in Houston, was represented by a Holland & Knight team led by partner Tim Samson. Stay up on the latest state and federal litigation, as well as the latest corporate deals, with Law.com Radar.
|
EDITOR'S PICKS
|
|
|
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
A Look Back at High-Profile Hires in Big Law From Federal Government
4 minute read
'Appropriate Relief'?: Google Offers Remedy Concessions in DOJ Antitrust Fight
4 minute read
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Customers: Developments on ‘Conquesting’ from the Ninth Circuit
8 minute read
Legal Departments Gripe About Outside Counsel but Rarely Talk to Them
4 minute readLaw Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Federal Judge Sets 2026 Admiralty Bench Trial in Baltimore Bridge Collapse Litigation
- 2Trump Media Accuses Purchaser Rep of Extortion, Harassment After Merger
- 3Judge Slashes $2M in Punitive Damages in Sober-Living Harassment Case
- 4Georgia Supreme Court Honoring Troutman Pepper Partner, Former Chief Justice
- 5Insurer Not Required to Cover $29M Wrongful Death Judgment, Appeals Court Rules
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.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
