Good morning! I'm Litigation Daily editor Jenna Greene, here with your Daily Dicta.

You'll notice the newsletter looks a bit (OK, a lot) different. Our goal is to keep Lit Daily's distinctive voice and features like Litigator of the Week, but to offer expanded content from across the Law.com network, as well as more ways for you as readers to be part of the conversation. To do that, we're replacing your morning headlines with a briefing that delivers commentary on mega-court battles, winning strategies and the day's biggest litigation news in a format you can read on the go.

As a longtime legal industry watcher—over the past 20 years, I've been a reporter at The Recorder, Legal Times and The National Law Journal—my aim is to offer insight on the issues that matter most to litigators. From deep dives into big cases and the lawyering behind them to quick takes on the latest litigation developments, I'll call it like I see it—the good, the bad and (my personal favorite) the just plain ridiculous.

We'll be trying some new things along the way, and I'd love to know what you think. Please drop me an email at [email protected].

Fresh Off Two Wins, Petrocelli Is Ready to Defend AT&T/ Time Warner Merger

Here's a clear sign that AT&T and Time Warner aren't backing down in the face of Justice Department resistance to their merger: They've hired O'Melveny & Myersas trial counsel, tapping star litigator Daniel Petrocelli.

“They've asked me to lead the charge. It's a big responsibility,” said Petrocelli, who chairs O'Melveny's trial practice committee. “We're on the side of angels.”

Petrocelli represented Donald Trump in the Trump University lawsuit. But in this case, potential meddling by the president (who has made his hatred of Time Warner-owned CNN abundantly clear) in the Justice Department's merger review could be an issue if the case winds up in court.

Petrocelli said he's been working behind the scenes on the case “for some time” with a team that also includes O'Melveny antitrust chair Richard Parker and the firm's deep bench of experts.

Merger cases are rarely litigated, but when they are, they're typically the provenance of antitrust specialists.

Petrocelli, however, is a vanishing breed—a true generalist who has tackled everything from suing O.J. Simpson on behalf of the Goldman family to representing Enron CEO Jeffery Skilling.

Consider the pair of wins he racked up in the past week—an appellate decision on behalf of Fox Broadcasting and its television show “Empire,” and a jury win in a bellwether product liability case against Janssen Pharmaceutical and Johnson & Johnson involving the anti-psychotic Risperdal.

(Seriously, the guy is on a roll. He also won a copyright case for Disney on Nov. 8.)

The “Empire” trademark fight was well-covered—read my colleague Michael Booth's story here.

But the Risperdal case was under the radar. It was the first bellwether trial in a California coordinated proceeding involving allegations that Risperdal can cause gynecomastia, or glandular breast tissue growth in males.

Other gynecomastia cases have gone to trial, mainly in Philadelphia, where the plaintiffs have racked up a series of wins. (The sole defense verdict was reversedlast week.)

But here, the Los Angeles Superior Court jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding for the defense on Nov. 14.

“The best decision we made was that less is more,” Petrocelli said. “We simplified and streamlined our presentation.”

For more on the case, check out my close look at Petrocelli's closing argument. Suffice to say he doesn't pull his punches.

If you like the new Litigation Daily, check out other premium briefings from Law.com writers. Sign up here for a complimentary trial subscription.

Shout-out: McKool Smith and Greenberg Traurig Win One for Katy Perry and the L.A. Archdiocese

Talk about unlikely co-plaintiffs: pop star Katy Perry and The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles.

After a 10-day trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court, a jury on Friday awarded Perry and the archdiocese $5 million in legal fees, and will consider additional punitive damages on December 1.

The dispute involved an attempt by developer Dana Hollister to interfere with the archdiocese's $14.5 million deal to sell a former convent to Perry and her company, The Bird Nest LLC.

The archbishop and the California Institute of the Sisters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary were represented by McKool Smith Hennigan lawyers J. Michael Hennigan, Kirk Dillman, Robert King and Robert Mockler. They were awarded nearly $3.5 million in fees.

Perry, represented by Eric Rowen of Greenberg Traurig, was awarded $1.57 million.

“As we maintained throughout the trial, the actions of the defendant forced our clients into court, and fueled this two-and-a-half year legal dispute,” Dillman said in a statement. “We are pleased with the jury's decision that our fees are fair and reasonable.”

Good morning! I'm Litigation Daily editor Jenna Greene, here with your Daily Dicta.

You'll notice the newsletter looks a bit (OK, a lot) different. Our goal is to keep Lit Daily's distinctive voice and features like Litigator of the Week, but to offer expanded content from across the Law.com network, as well as more ways for you as readers to be part of the conversation. To do that, we're replacing your morning headlines with a briefing that delivers commentary on mega-court battles, winning strategies and the day's biggest litigation news in a format you can read on the go.

As a longtime legal industry watcher—over the past 20 years, I've been a reporter at The Recorder, Legal Times and The National Law Journal—my aim is to offer insight on the issues that matter most to litigators. From deep dives into big cases and the lawyering behind them to quick takes on the latest litigation developments, I'll call it like I see it—the good, the bad and (my personal favorite) the just plain ridiculous.

We'll be trying some new things along the way, and I'd love to know what you think. Please drop me an email at [email protected].

Fresh Off Two Wins, Petrocelli Is Ready to Defend AT&T/ Time Warner Merger

Here's a clear sign that AT&T and Time Warner aren't backing down in the face of Justice Department resistance to their merger: They've hired O'Melveny & Myersas trial counsel, tapping star litigator Daniel Petrocelli.

“They've asked me to lead the charge. It's a big responsibility,” said Petrocelli, who chairs O'Melveny's trial practice committee. “We're on the side of angels.”

Petrocelli represented Donald Trump in the Trump University lawsuit. But in this case, potential meddling by the president (who has made his hatred of Time Warner-owned CNN abundantly clear) in the Justice Department's merger review could be an issue if the case winds up in court.

Petrocelli said he's been working behind the scenes on the case “for some time” with a team that also includes O'Melveny antitrust chair Richard Parker and the firm's deep bench of experts.

Merger cases are rarely litigated, but when they are, they're typically the provenance of antitrust specialists.

Petrocelli, however, is a vanishing breed—a true generalist who has tackled everything from suing O.J. Simpson on behalf of the Goldman family to representing Enron CEO Jeffery Skilling.

Consider the pair of wins he racked up in the past week—an appellate decision on behalf of Fox Broadcasting and its television show “Empire,” and a jury win in a bellwether product liability case against Janssen Pharmaceutical and Johnson & Johnson involving the anti-psychotic Risperdal.

(Seriously, the guy is on a roll. He also won a copyright case for Disney on Nov. 8.)

The “Empire” trademark fight was well-covered—read my colleague Michael Booth's story here.

But the Risperdal case was under the radar. It was the first bellwether trial in a California coordinated proceeding involving allegations that Risperdal can cause gynecomastia, or glandular breast tissue growth in males.

Other gynecomastia cases have gone to trial, mainly in Philadelphia, where the plaintiffs have racked up a series of wins. (The sole defense verdict was reversedlast week.)

But here, the Los Angeles Superior Court jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding for the defense on Nov. 14.

“The best decision we made was that less is more,” Petrocelli said. “We simplified and streamlined our presentation.”

For more on the case, check out my close look at Petrocelli's closing argument. Suffice to say he doesn't pull his punches.

If you like the new Litigation Daily, check out other premium briefings from Law.com writers. Sign up here for a complimentary trial subscription.

Shout-out: McKool Smith and Greenberg Traurig Win One for Katy Perry and the L.A. Archdiocese

Talk about unlikely co-plaintiffs: pop star Katy Perry and The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles.

After a 10-day trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court, a jury on Friday awarded Perry and the archdiocese $5 million in legal fees, and will consider additional punitive damages on December 1.

The dispute involved an attempt by developer Dana Hollister to interfere with the archdiocese's $14.5 million deal to sell a former convent to Perry and her company, The Bird Nest LLC.

The archbishop and the California Institute of the Sisters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary were represented by McKool Smith Hennigan lawyers J. Michael Hennigan, Kirk Dillman, Robert King and Robert Mockler. They were awarded nearly $3.5 million in fees.

Perry, represented by Eric Rowen of Greenberg Traurig, was awarded $1.57 million.

“As we maintained throughout the trial, the actions of the defendant forced our clients into court, and fueled this two-and-a-half year legal dispute,” Dillman said in a statement. “We are pleased with the jury's decision that our fees are fair and reasonable.”