Litigation Daily | Expert Perspectives On The Biggest Cases

Judge Hearing Cisco Case Won't Recuse Despite Wife's Ownership of $4,687 in Stock

Scott Graham | October 05, 2020

Judge Henry Morgan of Virginia says he didn't know about his wife's small stake in Cisco until it was time to fill out financial disclosure forms. If he had, he wouldn't have presided over an eight-week virtual bench trial without telling anyone, the judge says.

3 minute read

'Dismissed With Prejudice': Trial Lawyers Discuss the Role Race Plays in Civil Cases

Ross Todd | October 05, 2020

"We need to recognize that there is an overall systemic problem that we need to continue to address every day," said Walkup Melodia Kelly & Schoenberger shareholder Doris Cheng during Friday's event "Dismissed With Prejudice: A Discussion on Race and the Trial of Civil Cases" which was presented by the American Board of Trial Advocates.

5 minute read

Remote Deposition Lessons Learned in the COVID Era: The Inside View From a Court Reporting Agency

David Wiseman | Daniel Bender | October 02, 2020

Now sixth months into the pandemic, Digital Evidence Group, a court reporting and litigation services firm, has orchestrated more than 400 remote depositions and hearings. Here are 10 lessons David Wiseman and Daniel Bender have learned through this process.

8 minute read

2 Manhattan Commercial Division Justices to Retire as $300M New York Judicial Budget Cut Takes Hold

Jason Grant | October 02, 2020

Two longtime Manhattan Supreme Court Commercial Division judges, Justices O. Peter Sherwood and Marcy Friedman, have announced that they will retire from the bench, potentially leaving their Commercial Division roles handling Wall Street-based and other complex business litigation at a time when the state judiciary is facing a hiring freeze.

8 minute read

Litigator of the Week: Using Shareholder Litigation to Push for Policy Changes and a $310M, 10-Year Commitment to Diversity at Google's Parent Company

Ross Todd | October 02, 2020

"I'm excited to see the opportunities that are created for women because of this settlement," says Julie Goldsmith Reiser of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll.

14 minute read

A Stocked Slate of Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout Outs

Ross Todd | October 02, 2020

An extremely strong slate of runners-up includes teams Gibson Dunn, Skadden and Covington & Burling

6 minute read

Jury Research in the Time of COVID … and Beyond

Suyash Agrawal | Tara Trask | October 01, 2020

While alternative jury research methods cannot fully replace traditional in-depth research, they fill an immediate need for developing juror insights during COVID-19.

5 minute read

Can Shareholder Derivative Lawsuits Help Move the Needle on Corporate Board Diversity?

Ross Todd | October 01, 2020

Said Darren Robbins of Robbins Geller: "It seems to me like it fits like a glove."

4 minute read

New Calif. Laws Will Broaden Racial Bias Claims in Jury Selection, Conviction Challenges

Alaina Lancaster | September 30, 2020

One of the bills was at the center of a late-legislative-session struggle pitting public defenders and criminal defense attorneys who backed the legislation against prosecutors who opposed it.

3 minute read

'Holding Court' with Minneapolis U.S. Magistrate Judge Tony Leung on Virtual Settlement Conferences: 'It's Very Different But Also Very Much the Same'

Ross Todd | September 30, 2020

"Only about two cases out of 100 go to trial. So, if only two out of 100 go to trial, you have to ask yourself, 'Is this one of the two out of 100?'"

12 minute read

'Hope is Not a Plan': Georgia Judge Looking for a Test Case on Virtual Jury Selection

R. Robin McDonald | September 29, 2020

Cobb County Superior Court Judge Robert Leonard says he thought he had a test case that could go up to the state Supreme Court, before it ended in a guilty plea.

5 minute read

Did a Juror COVID Scare Affect the Outcome of a Federal Criminal Trial Against 2 Former Deutsche Bank Traders?

Ross Todd | September 29, 2020

Defense lawyers at Dechert and Ropes & Gray seem to think so.

6 minute read

In Second Virtual Asbestos Trial, Jury Awards $2.5 Million

Amanda Bronstad | September 28, 2020

The case, in Alameda County Superior Court in California, lasted 36 days and was the first all-virtual jury trial in the nation.

4 minute read

Judge Questions Fortnite Maker's Ability to Pursue Antitrust Claims Against Apple and Google

Alaina Lancaster | September 28, 2020

"As we frequently are in the Northern District of California, we're in a new world," said U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. "They don't call it the Wild West for nothing."

3 minute read

In 11th Hour, Why a DC Judge Sided With TikTok Against Trump

Mike Scarcella | September 28, 2020

In an 18-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols found that TikTok, represented by a team from Covington & Burling, was likely to prevail in arguing that the Trump administration had overstepped in pushing to prevent future downloads of the app.

5 minute read

Litigation Leaders: White & Case's Glenn Kurtz on What It Takes to Build a 'Truly Global' Practice

Ross Todd | September 28, 2020

"White & Case is one of the most, if not the most, experienced firm in coordinating large teams of lawyers on multi-jurisdictional matters," Kurtz says. "This allows us to tailor teams of lawyers that have the cultural and geographical understanding needed to provide the best advice in complex cross-border disputes."

12 minute read

California Mandates Anti-Bias Training for State Judges

Alaina Lancaster | September 25, 2020

Judicial Council members approved amendments to a Rule of Court that will mandate the training starting in 2021.

3 minute read

IP at the Supreme Court: 2 Big Cases and a Lot of Long Shots

Scott Graham | September 25, 2020

Google and Oracle will face off over copyright next month, and the USPTO appointment clause cases appear ticketed for certioarari in Term 2020. Beyond them are a handful of cases with puncher's chances.

16 minute read

Litigators of the Week: The Orrick Team Who Beat Back the Government's Pay Discrimination Case Against Oracle

Ross Todd | September 25, 2020

After eight days of trial last December and extensive post-trial briefing, Administrative Law Judge Richard M. Clark in San Francisco on Tuesday issued a 200-plus page decision dismissing the case brought by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

9 minute read

Runners-Up for Litigator of the Week and Shout Outs

Ross Todd | September 25, 2020

Where we chat about lawyers for U.S. WeChat users.

4 minute read

Jurors Swear to Decide Cases 'So Help Me God,' But How Much Help Is Allowed?

Jonathan Ringel | September 24, 2020

The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit will rehear a case in which a trial court judge removed a juror who said information from "My Father in Heaven" led to him to state at the outset of deliberations that a former member of Congress was not guilty on a host of corruption counts.

6 minute read

Want Your Firm's Litigation Teams to Be More Diverse? These Big Law Partners Say Embrace Sponsorship

Ross Todd | September 24, 2020

What does it take to put together litigation teams that reflect the increasingly diverse pool of jurors deciding cases across the United States? That's a question that Kirkland & Ellis litigation partner Atif Khawaja and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius partner Robin Nunn have given a lot of thought

6 minute read

A Florida Litigator is Bringing Goats to the Governor's Mansion in Protest Against Herd Immunity Push

Raychel Lean | September 23, 2020

"I wish I didn't have to do this," civil litigator Daniel Uhlfelder said.

5 minute read

Profile

A Man of Many Missions: Catching Up With Reed Smith Partner and California Army National Guard Colonel Jesse Miller

Ross Todd | September 23, 2020

"What the state of California and the Guard are doing here is saving lives, whether it's fire or COVID," Miller says.

8 minute read

In Case Testing New York's Choke Hold Ban, DLA Piper Partner Says City Officials Concede Its Weaknesses

Michael Riccardi | September 22, 2020

DLA Piper's Anthony Paul Coles, who represents a group of New York police unions, argued that the law, which was passed after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in May, violates police officers' due process rights.

3 minute read

Clash of International Video Game Companies Results in $8.5 Million Jury Verdict

Scott Graham | September 22, 2020

A Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton team led by partner Steven Moore piloted Japanese social media company Gree to an $8.5 million verdict in the Eastern District of Texas Friday against Finnish gaming colossus Supercell Oy.

4 minute read

This Retired Judge's Take on Mass Arbitrations: 'A Classic Case of Be Careful What You Wish For'

Ross Todd | September 22, 2020

"The defense bar fought against class actions for years," said retired U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin as part of a panel at the virtual Class Action Money and Ethics 2020 conference Monday.

6 minute read

New York's Chief Judge Sees 'Long Time' Before Return to Pre-COVID Courthouse Density

Ryan Tarinelli | September 21, 2020

New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, however, said Monday that jury summonses will start going out this week for civil jury trials expected to take place as soon as next month in New York City.

3 minute read

Consensus Hunters: Justice Kavanaugh Could Be Key to Avoiding a 4-4 This SCOTUS Term

Marcia Coyle | September 21, 2020

Court watchers note that Kavanaugh often aligns with the chief justice, who was a key swing vote last term.

4 minute read

Gibson Dunn Brings on Boies Schiller Partner, Recruiting Head in New York

Dylan Jackson | September 21, 2020

Boies Schiller Flexner partner Christopher Belelieu first joined Boies Schiller in 2014 and was head of the firm's recruitment effort in New York. He started his career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

2 minute read

The Story Behind Justice Ginsburg's Other Judicial Appointment

Jonathan Ringel | September 21, 2020

After nominating Ginsburg for the D.C. Circuit, President Jimmy Carter noted in his diary that she had been "a matter of some controversy," according to a forthcoming biography.

4 minute read

'Holding Court' With Civil Presiding Judge Pamela Gates in Phoenix Who's Asking If Technology Can—and Should—Be Integrated Into Jury Trials

Ross Todd | September 21, 2020

"Every different phase of the spread of the virus has resulted in redefining procedures and whenever we change then we have to sort of redefine and restructure."

10 minute read

Davis Wright Tremaine Joins the Fray as Judge Grants Injunction Against WeChat Ban

Anna Zhang | September 21, 2020

The plaintiffs have shown serious questions going to the merits of the First Amendment claim, U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco ruled.

4 minute read

'Same Question, Different Answer': The One Courtroom Tool You Should be Using, But Probably Aren't

Bart Williams | September 18, 2020

Impeach a witness on matters that are not trivial when you know you can.

10 minute read

Litigators of the Week: With $100M on the Line in an 'Earnout' Arbitration, This Sidley Team Left Opponents With Zilch

Ross Todd | September 18, 2020

Angela Zambrano and Yolanda Cornejo Garcia of Sidley Austin got about as definitive a defense win as possible.

10 minute read

LOTW Shout Outs and Runners-Up

Ross Todd | September 18, 2020

Snap. Crackle. Pop. Here are your runners-up and shout outs.

3 minute read

Self-Styled 'Annoyance Lawyer' Loses Pro Se Appeal Targeting Alarm.com Over Robocalls

Tom McParland | September 17, 2020

The Second Circuit ruled Wednesday that a district court judge was not required to provide any written reasoning when he dismissed a complaint from Todd Bank—who was ejected from a Second Circuit argument last year for "discourtesy"—alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

4 minute read

Gibson Dunn Gets a Chilly Reception in Early Appellate Hearing on Plaintiffs' 'Mass Arbitration' Tactics

Ross Todd | September 17, 2020

The firm's first appellate showdown with plaintiffs represented by Keller Lenkner featured one judge saying he was "completely unsympathetic" to the merits of the argument that filing large batches of individual arbitrations somehow games the system.

4 minute read

San Francisco US Attorney Names New No. 2, Launches Securities Fraud Section

Alaina Lancaster | September 16, 2020

The moves are part of U.S. Attorney David Anderson's ongoing efforts to speed up prosecution timelines.

4 minute read

Kasowitz and Robins Kaplan File Dueling Suits Over Control of Manhattan Art Gallery

Jane Wester | September 16, 2020

Marc Kasowitz argued in court papers that the ex-president of the Marlborough Gallery was removed as part of a "coup d'etat" while his father was seriously ill with COVID-19. But lawyers for the gallery at Robins Kaplan pushed back, saying its former president breached fiduciary duty and misappropriated funds to fulfill a "sense of entitlement."

4 minute read

Judge Takes SDNY Prosecutors to Task for Conduct in Prosecution of Iranian Businessman

Tom McParland | September 16, 2020

While their client's conviction was vacated, Steptoe & Johnson attorneys have pursued evidence they suspected the government had withheld. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan said Wednesday that the actions of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office had eroded public trust in the criminal justice system by making "countless" belated disclosures.

7 minute read

Can You Get a Representative Jury Pool For Remote Proceedings? Opinions (Really) Differ

Ross Todd | September 16, 2020

Let's just start by saying that the consultants we've talked to have wildly different takes on the topic.

5 minute read

Warhol Foundation Asks 2nd Circuit to Uphold Hold 'Fair Use' Win Against Prince Photographer

Tom McParland | September 15, 2020

Quinn Emanuel partner Luke Nikas represented the foundation while Williams & Connolly partner Thomas Hentoff represented photographer Lynn Goldsmith.

4 minute read

Protecting Privilege in the Age of Zoom

William Lawler, Joseph Poluka | Taylor Lake | September 15, 2020

As we work in new settings and rely more upon the technologies of remote communications, understanding the purpose of the attorney-client privilege and the way courts have handled issues of privilege in the past can help inform best practices in the era of COVID-19.

7 minute read

'We Are Guinea Pigs': Connecticut Defense Lawyers Outraged at COVID 'Double Standard'

Robert Storace | September 15, 2020

Some Connecticut defense attorneys are livid on how criminal proceedings are held. They say it's unfair that defense attorneys and their clients have to be in court in person, while judges and prosecutors and clerks can appear virtually.

5 minute read

'Holding Court' with Texas Judge Emily Miskel, a Remote Proceeding Pioneer: 'We Can't Pretend That the Traditional Way is Cost-Free'

Ross Todd | September 15, 2020

"Even if you were to say, we're not going to do it on Zoom, we're going to do it in person, it's still not going to be the way you thought it was or the way it used to be."

14 minute read

'Discretion is Not Unfettered': Sixth Circuit Pulls Trial Judge Off Case for Refusing to Follow Their Ruling

Jacqueline Thomsen | September 14, 2020

Judge Amul Thapar wrote that "despite our binding holding, the district judge refused to follow the law and impose an appropriate sentence."

4 minute read

New York Court System Going Forward With Additional Jury Trials

Ryan Tarinelli | September 14, 2020

As New York continues to navigate the coronavirus pandemic, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore reported that the state court system is moving forward with more jury trials.

2 minute read

At 'Appellate Project' Launch Event, Veteran Judges Tout Value of Diversity

Cheryl Miller | September 14, 2020

A webinar billed as the Appellate Project's "virtual launch" featured judges speaking from remote locations about their own paths to state and federal appellate bench and the role diversity and multiculturalism play a role in their work.

4 minute read

In-House Litigation Leaders: Turo's Michelle Fang on Her Path from Quinn Emanuel Litigation Associate to GC of Startup

Ross Todd | September 14, 2020

"My constant refrain for those rainmaker partners out there is to sponsor and nurture the careers of people who don't look like you. Give them meaningful opportunities for client development and client-facing work."

15 minute read

McDonald's Taps Paul Weiss' Loretta Lynch to Defend Against Discrimination Claims

Jacqueline Thomsen | September 11, 2020

The former attorney general is on the legal team representing the corporation against a discrimination lawsuit from Black former franchise owners.

3 minute read

Former SG Donald Verrilli Will Once Again Defend Obamacare at the Supreme Court

Mike Scarcella | September 11, 2020

The former Obama-era U.S. solicitor general successfully defended the Affordable Care Act at its inception. Now a partner at Munger Tolles, Verrilli, aiding U.S. House Democrats, will defend the law anew in the upcoming Supreme Court's term.

6 minute read

Newly Retired DC Circuit Judge Warns of 'Great Harm' in Politicizing Judiciary

Jacqueline Thomsen | September 11, 2020

"It's a very dangerous idea if people think judges are beholden to a political party or a partisan agenda. And those who claim we are, they do the republic great harm in that," recently retired D.C. Circuit Judge Thomas Griffith said.

11 minute read

Litigators of the Week: The Paul Weiss Team That Kept a Top IBM Cloud Computing Exec from Moving to Microsoft

Ross Todd | September 11, 2020

Bob Atkins and Liza Velazquez obtained a rare injunction based on a noncompete agreement when U.S. District Judge Philip Halpern blocked a former IBM executive from taking the position as Microsoft's corporate vice president, Latin America through May 18, 2021.

9 minute read

Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout Outs

Ross Todd | September 11, 2020

A couple of major pro bono wins top this week's Litigator of the Week runners-up.

3 minute read

Top DOJ Official Says Data Analytics Are Driving PPP Fraud Enforcement Efforts

Mike Scarcella | September 10, 2020

"The fraud section and its partners deployed the first-in-class data analytics capabilities they have developed and employed to great effect in other criminal investigative areas," Brian Rabbitt, acting head of the Justice Department's criminal division, said in remarks Thursday.

4 minute read

One Lawyer's Health Scare Prompts a Reevaluation of Professionalism ... and Video Depositions

Gerry Weber | September 10, 2020

Like the rest of America, some lawyers are plowing ahead, not fearing (and sometimes not believing) the risks, while others are of a more careful mindset.

7 minute read

Judges: They're Just Like Us ... Only Harder on Themselves

Ross Todd | September 10, 2020

"It's not always easy to get honest feedback from your colleagues because there's a kind of closedness—a 'you don't want to look bad' kind of thing. You don't think it's safe or appropriate," said Jeremy Fogel, the executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute, speaking as part of a web presentation Wednesday.

5 minute read

In Battle Over Gig Economy Employee Status, Certification Wrongly Withheld From Class of Delivery Drivers

Charles Toutant | September 09, 2020

The ruling represents a victory for plaintiffs in a case that is part of a larger battle over independent contractor status in the gig economy.

5 minute read

Boies Schiller Is Trying to Fight the Fed—or at Least Its Banks

Scott Graham | September 09, 2020

In a dispute over payment verification patents, the firm is calling on the Supreme Court to declare that the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks are part of the U.S. government, not private corporations.

3 minute read

'Holding Court' with Fulton County, Georgia Chief Judge Christopher Brasher: 'Please Don't Bring Me Problems Without Proposed Solutions'

Ross Todd | September 09, 2020

"We're in the 'making people do things' business. We have to be good stewards of that because if we're not then the criminal justice system—which is taking its lumps these days—is only going to be in worse shape."

17 minute read

Despite COVID, Chief Judge Says New Yorkers Are Showing Up for Grand Jury Duty

Ryan Tarinelli | September 08, 2020

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore reports that more than 1,700 people showed up for grand jury duty in New York City courthouses during a week in August. She says that figure is "only slightly lower" than response rates before the pandemic.

4 minute read

One Lawyer's Positive Take on Her Remote Jury Trial Experience (Despite Being Zoombombed During Closing Arguments)

Ross Todd | September 08, 2020

"No matter how many trials you've done, if you haven't done one remotely, you're a brand new lawyer all over again," says Coreen Wilson of Wieck Wilson in Bellevue, Washington, who recently won a defense verdict from a jury who heard much of a trial remotely.

8 minute read

How Lawyers Got a $1M Settlement After an Initial $10K Offer

Katheryn Tucker | September 07, 2020

"We not only believed Mr. Ferguson, we have been inspired by his determination to get answers and seek justice," said Donovan Potter of Beasley Allen's Atlanta office.

4 minute read

Texas Judge Sanctioned for Comments About Mexicans

Angela Morris | September 04, 2020

Van Zandt County Justice of the Peace Pct. 2 Judge Sandra Plaster said that truck drivers working on a solar farm near her family's property were Mexicans, they were "illegal" and they did not have driver licenses, said the public warning.

4 minute read

Jones Day Can't Escape Dad's Bias Suit Over Paternity Policy

Dan Packel | September 04, 2020

A Washington, D.C., federal judge found the firm had failed to make it definitively clear that the eight additional weeks of leave that it generally grants to birth mothers was connected to the "disability" incurred as a result of childbirth.

3 minute read

Harvard Law's Martha Minow On How Law Can Encourage Forgiveness Over Vengeance

Karen Sloan | September 04, 2020

Minow's book "When should Law Forgive?" explores the restorative justice movement, which focuses on repair and reconciliation instead of punishment.

6 minute read

Litigators of the Week: The Milbank Team That Made a Bench Trial Nearly a Decade in the Making a 'Not Close' Call for the Judge

Ross Todd | September 04, 2020

CDOs. CDSs. MBSs. RMBSs. CMBSs. If you, like me, had cleared your memory banks of exactly what's what in that world, this 211-page knockout decision from U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman of the Southern District of New York could be a good refresher.

13 minute read

The Latest Round of Litigator of the Week Runners Up

Ross Todd | September 04, 2020

Kudos go out to litigators at Cooley, Davis Wright Tremaine, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Latham & Watkins, and White & Case.

4 minute read

How Arnold & Porter Got a $200K Settlement in a Case Where Trump Officials Admitted to Lying

Jacqueline Thomsen | September 03, 2020

A new filing lays out the behind-the-scenes work attorneys did in the case, where Trump officials eventually admitted to making false statements in court—as well as the lawyers' billing rates.

5 minute read

California Civil Trial Juries Need to Be Smaller to Get Courts Back on Track

Rob Shwarts | September 03, 2020

"We need to get over the idea that there must be 12 jurors in the box to conduct a state court civil trial," writes Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe's Rob Shwarts.

7 minute read

Litigation Leaders: Wilson Sonsini's Caz Hashemi on Learning a Client's Business 'Inside and Out'

Ross Todd | September 03, 2020

"We're very committed to attracting more bet-the-company litigation matters and disputes involving complex claims and large-scale enterprises. We're looking to grow the litigation department by 20-25% in headcount, while preserving an optimal partner-to-associate ratio."

14 minute read

Longtime Chevron Foe Donziger Ramps Up Effort to Delay or Dismiss Looming Contempt Trial

Jason Grant | September 02, 2020

Steven Donziger, who once won an $8.6 billion judgment against Chevron, has intensified his battle against the special prosecutor appointed to his criminal contempt case, the civil-case judge who leveled the charges against him, and the judge presiding over the looming Sept. 9 bench trial.

11 minute read

Georgia Chief Justice Says 'We Have to Start' Finding a Way Back to Court 'Amidst the Pandemic'

Katheryn Tucker | September 02, 2020

"It won't be done the same way," Chief Justice Harold Melton said. "We're not starting up the same thing we used to do, but something different."

4 minute read

Morgan Lewis Hires Leading White-Collar, Financial Partners From Quinn Emanuel and Dechert

C. Ryan Barber | September 02, 2020

Robin Nunn, a former in-house lawyer at American Express and Capital One, was most recently the chairwoman of Dechert's consumer financial services practice. Sandra Moser arrives from Quinn, where she had been a co-leader of the firm's white-collar defense practice.

6 minute read

'Feels Good Man': Wilmer Lawyers Play Key Supporting Role in New Doc About the Travails of Pepe the Frog Creator

Ross Todd | September 02, 2020

Lawyers from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr don't appear on screen in the new feature-length documentary "Feels Good Man" until about 72 minutes in. But boy, by the time they arrive are you glad to see them.

7 minute read

California Justice Shared Views With Lawmakers Weighing Bill Aimed at Discrimination in Jury Selection

Cheryl Miller | September 01, 2020

"In these communications, Justice [Goodwin] Liu made clear that it's not his role to tell legislators how to vote on this or any other bill," a spokesperson for the Judicial Council said Tuesday.

7 minute read

With Irell Shedding Non-IP Lawyers, Firm's Litigation Vice Chair Heads to Gibson Dunn

Dylan Jackson | September 01, 2020

A securities litigator and executive committee member, Craig Varnen had been with Irell for more than 20 years.

4 minute read

'Holding Court': Broward County, Florida Circuit Chief Judge Jack Tuter on Why He's a 'Believer' in Remote Jury Trials

Ross Todd | September 01, 2020

"At the end of the day, it's the lawyers who are going to have to convince their colleagues and their clients that this is a viable option."

16 minute read

'Something Else Going on Here': Allegations Mount Against South Florida Lawyer Accused of Cheating Insurers

Raychel Lean | August 31, 2020

It's safe to say that 2020 hasn't been attorney Scot Strems' year. Though his Coral Gables practice, the Strems Law Firm, began the year with a website marketing it as "Florida's most trusted" law firm, the litigator is now suspended, pending an ethics investigation.

10 minute read

Kirkland and Quinn Emanuel Spar Over Disclosure of Litigation Funder Contracts In Patent Suit Against Google

Ross Todd | August 31, 2020

If I told you Kirkland & Ellis and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan were squabbling over disclosure of documents relating to a party's arrangement with a litigation funder, which one would you guess represents the party working with the funder?

5 minute read

New Batch of California Superior Court Appointees Includes Big Law Alums

Cheryl Miller | August 28, 2020

Gov. Gavin Newsom named 15 Superior Court judges overall, including lawyers who logged time with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Baker McKenzie, and Hinshaw & Culbertson.

5 minute read

Lost in Translation? Veteran Defender Abbe Lowell Makes Case at Extradition Hearing

C. Ryan Barber | August 28, 2020

For Winston & Strawn's Abbe Lowell, the case has called for an education in Japanese law—and the language—as he has argued against a request backed by the DOJ to extradite two men facing allegations in Tokyo that they aided auto executive Carlos Ghosn's extraordinary escape.

4 minute read

Litigators of the Week: The Plaintiffs' Team Behind the $1.6B Essure Settlement

Ross Todd | August 28, 2020

Three plaintiffs lawyers driving the deal—Fidelma Fitzpatrick of Motley Rice, Edward Wallace of Wexler Wallace, and Erin Copeland of Fibich, Leebron, Copeland & Briggs—say the judge overseeing the coordinated state court cases in California kept them moving forward even as pandemic closures pushed off scheduled trial dates this spring.

11 minute read

This Week's LOTW Runners Up and Shout Outs

Ross Todd | August 28, 2020

Runners up this week include lawyers at Steptoe & Johnson; Sullivan & Cromwell and Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

4 minute read

Profile

Katzmann Reflects on Book-End Crises During His 7-Year Tenure as Chief Judge of the 2nd Circuit

Tom McParland | August 27, 2020

Robert Katzmann took the role of chief judge as federal courts were facing possible shutdowns as the result of a contentious congressional budget process and more recently presided over the Second Circuit's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

7 minute read

Arguing Their Jury Trial Would Be Unsafe, Plaintiffs Win Continuance in $30M Commercial Real Estate Dispute

Angela Morris | August 27, 2020

Arguing that no one should get sick or die to settle a commercial real estate dispute, and that a proceeding now would not be safe, plaintiffs have won a continuance of a Sept. 8 jury trial in Houston, Texas.

4 minute read

As Bayer's $10.9B in Roundup Settlements Unravel, More Trials Become Possible

Amanda Bronstad | August 27, 2020

"What I am concerned about is that Monsanto may be manipulating this litigation process to its advantage somehow," said U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria, who oversees the Roundup MDL. He gave lawyers until Sept. 24 but said he might lift a stay on litigation and set cases for trial.

6 minute read

Long Island Federal Judge Rules that White-Collar Bench Trial Will Move Forward

Jane Wester | August 27, 2020

U.S. District Judge Gary Brown found that "unusual, if not unique, circumstances" in the case of former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission examiner Michael Cohn mean he can have a bench trial in the coming weeks, despite objections from federal prosecutors.

4 minute read

Talking Product Liability With Sheila Birnbaum, Dechert's 'Queen of Toxic Torts'

Ross Todd | August 27, 2020

Birnbaum, dubbed the "Queen of Toxic Torts" because of her standing in the defense bar, says government lawyers are using the power of the press conference to help shape public opinion on the sorts of cases she handles

13 minute read

Ninth Circuit Says Oakland Can Pursue Discriminatory Lending Claims Against Wells Fargo

Alaina Lancaster | August 26, 2020

The financial institution tapped several Big Law heavy hitters for the appeal, including a Hogan & Lovells team led by Neal Katyal, as well as attorneys from K&L Gates; Munger, Tolles & Olson; and Proskauer Rose.

3 minute read

Texas Appellate Court Finds Law Firm Had 'Procedurally Unconscionable' Arbitration Agreement

Angela Morris | August 26, 2020

Houston-based Daspit Law Firm lost its bid to force an ex-client to arbitrate a dispute over a 35% contingent fee contract, which the client alleged he was tricked into signing during a meeting at McDonald's.

5 minute read

'Holding Court' With Orange County, California Judge Kimberly Knill: 'We've Had to Create Backups to Backups to Backups'

Ross Todd | August 26, 2020

Knill had been based out of the court's Westminster courthouse prior to March's court closures and is now working from its Santa Ana base. She's seen things change rapidly over the course of the past few months.

6 minute read

Early in Antitrust Showdown Between Fortnite Maker and Apple, Lead Lawyers at Cravath and Gibson Dunn Both Irk the Judge

Ross Todd | August 24, 2020

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who is overseeing the case, broke out the Zoom mute button with one of the lead lawyers and cut off the other's attempt to argue uncited cases.

5 minute read

'How to Read the Room When There Is No Room': Tips for Successful Remote Courtroom Practice

Ross Todd | August 24, 2020

Find a quiet space with a good internet connection. Use a headset with a microphone. Be sure to take time to pause for the judge's questions. And please, put on something besides a t-shirt.

6 minute read

Did This Texas Appellate Opinion Exhibit Bad Judgment or Judicial Misconduct?

Murry Cohen | August 21, 2020

Would it violate the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct for an appellate court in an opinion to "confess to an impulse to safeguard an industry that is vital to Texas's economic well-being" and describe the "blessing" of being "a conservative panel on an intermediate court in a relatively conservative part of Texas"?

18 minute read

Litigators of the Week: The Team that Stuck Apple With a $500M Verdict In the First Patent Jury Trial of the Pandemic

Ross Todd | August 21, 2020

Litigators of the Week Jason Sheasby of Irell & Manella and Sam Baxter of McKool Smith led the trial team for patent owner PanOptis in the six-day jury trial before Chief U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap of the Eastern District of Texas, the first to get off the ground during the COVID-19 pandemic.

5 minute read

Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout Outs

Ross Todd | August 21, 2020

This week's list includes Wilmer lawyers winning a big Hatch-Waxman case and a lineup of heavy hitters reversing Qualcomm's antitrust fortunes at the Ninth Circuit.

7 minute read

Introducing 'Holding Court': A Lit Daily Series Exploring How Trial Judges Are Coping with the Pandemic

Ross Todd | August 20, 2020

"There's a frustration among the bar and among the judges that we know that there's work that we need to do, we're working through the stuff that we can do," says North Carolina state court Judge Richard Gottlieb. "When can we get to the stuff that has to be done?"

10 minute read

Ninth Circuit Finds Amazon Delivery Workers' Arbitration Agreements Invalid

Alaina Lancaster | August 19, 2020

"Amazon drivers have been essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic, and it is shameful that the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, has been able to get away with not properly paying the drivers for all of their time and depriving them of all employment protections through their misclassification as independent contractors," said lead plaintiffs counsel Shannon Liss-Riordan of Lichten & Liss-Riordan.

4 minute read

The Art of Opening Statements (Or Is It Opening Arguments?)

Ross Todd | August 19, 2020

Getting a case down to its "gist" and to its "core," retired federal judge Nancy Gertner said, involves picking the evidence that's most favorable to your side. "That kind of selection is inevitably argument," she said, as part of a webinar on openings presented Tuesday by NITA and CVN.

6 minute read

Black High School Student Won't Have to Cut His Dreadlocks After Akin Gump Pro Bono Win

Angela Morris | August 18, 2020

A pro bono team from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld won a preliminary injunction that stops a school district from enforcing a hair-length policy that would have forced two African American students to cut their dreadlocks, or face punishment.

4 minute read

Videoconferencing Rule Long-Planned for New York's Commercial Division Takes Effect Amid Pandemic

Tom McParland | August 18, 2020

The new rule allows attorneys to request permission to appear remotely on a showing of good cause.

4 minute read

Battle Over Brews: Anheuser-Busch Hit With Claims New Brand Is Posing as Miami Craft Brewer

Michael A. Mora | August 18, 2020

A recent study found consumers not only prefer craft beer over big brand beers, but that they would pay more for the purchase of craft beer, according to the complaint.

4 minute read

It's Alive! Amazon AI Could Provide 'Volition' for Copyright Infringement, Judge Rules

Scott Graham | August 18, 2020

In an early-round win for Williams-Sonoma, U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex Tse in San Francisco ruled that, whether done by human or machine, Amazon's alleged curation of user photos for product display pages takes it beyond the role of a passive host.

3 minute read

In-House Litigation Leaders: Duke Energy's Vijay Bondada on the 'Once-In-a-Generation Shift in the Legal Industry' and What it Means For Who's Getting Hired

Ross Todd | August 18, 2020

"Now, as the legal industry and judicial systems embrace virtual technology, in-house leaders need to find talent that is both substantively capable and technologically savvy."

11 minute read

Litigation Leaders: Mintz Levin's Scott Ford on 'Turning Good Lawyers into Great Ones'

Ross Todd | August 17, 2020

"We expect to see an increase in demand in our class action, securities, product liability, real estate and government investigations practices, and we are spending a lot of time with our clients in these sectors helping them stay informed and compliant so that they will be in the best position to avoid, or prevail in, any future litigation."

15 minute read

Longtime Chevron Foe Steven Donziger Fires Back After Disbarment, Vows to Appeal

Jason Grant | August 14, 2020

"This is a tremendous miscarriage of justice," Donziger said during an interview with the New York Law Journal. "The acts on which my disbarment are based are false."

7 minute read

Taking Stock of Recent COVID-19 Shareholder Litigation

Stephen Blake | August 14, 2020

The continued widespread business uncertainty caused by COVID-19 and the associated higher market volatility provide a fertile environment for event-driven securities litigation, says Simpson Thacher & Bartlett's Stephen Blake.

7 minute read

Diversity in ADR: Time for Another Uncomfortable Conversation

Marcie Dickson | August 10, 2020

It's time to put down the press release and get to work to spur transformational change in the industry once and for all.

6 minute read

Litigator of the Week: The Akin Gump Partner Who Revived a Landmark Human Rights Case Over Extrajudicial Killings in Bolivia

Ross Todd | August 07, 2020

Akin Gump partner James Tysse persuaded an Eleventh Circuit panel that the trial judge below had erred when entering judgment post-verdict on behalf of the defendants, the former president and defense minister of Bolivia facing claims stemming from the killing of more than 50 unarmed indigenous people during a period of civil unrest and political upheaval in the South American country nearly two decades ago.

9 minute read

LOTW Runners Up and Shout Outs

Ross Todd | August 07, 2020

Featuring litigators from Weil Gotshal, Boies Schiler, Wachtell, Paul Weiss, and Quinn Emanuel.

4 minute read

Covington Sues California Psychiatric Hospital After More Than 100 Patients Contract COVID-19

Alaina Lancaster | August 06, 2020

At least two patients at California's Patton State Hospital have died from coronavirus, according to a lawsuit filed by a team at Covington & Burling and Disability Rights California.

4 minute read

Talking Shop With the Leaders of Skadden's Securities Litigation Team

Ross Todd | August 06, 2020

A discussion of securities class actions in the first half of the year with Skadden's Jay Kasner, Susan Saltzstein and Scott Musoff.

12 minute read

New York's 'Future of Courts' Commission Issues Its First Recommendations

Michael Marciano | August 05, 2020

The Commission to Reimagine the Future of New York's Courts, chaired by former New York State Bar Association President Henry M. Greenberg, issued a report outlining recommended plans and goals for restarting in-person court proceedings, including grand juries and jury trials.

3 minute read

Morgan & Morgan Joins the California Rush, Bringing on Robins Kaplan Lawyers in San Francisco

Dylan Jackson | August 05, 2020

Drawn by the bevy of class action lawsuits filed against Bay Area tech companies, the Florida-based plaintiff-side goliath hired away two Robins Kaplan attorneys to lead its new San Francisco office.

3 minute read

After Arbitrator Ousted Over Racist Email Forward, NRA Wants JAMS and Winston & Strawn to Foot the Bill

Ross Todd | August 05, 2020

"Winston & Strawn learned about this email at the same time the NRA did, and we immediately agreed that it rendered the arbitrator unfit and he should be removed from the case," the firm said in an email statement.

5 minute read