Ex-Conn. Utility Execs Can't Shake Convictions At 2nd Circ.

By Aaron Keller

The Second Circuit issued a mammoth 140-page decision Friday upholding punishments including a $748,000 restitution order for three former executives convicted of stealing from a Connecticut utility cooperative, but the court threw out the utility's bid for a $9.6 million reimbursement for fronting the defendants' attorney fees.

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Doctor Pulls Discovery Demands Against WWE Accuser

By Elaine Briseño

Celebrity doctor Carlon Colker has withdrawn his demands seeking pre-litigation discovery materials from the woman who has accused Vince McMahon and former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. executives of sexually assaulting and trafficking her.

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$147.5M Life Insurance Class Deal Gets First OK In Conn.

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut federal judge has given his initial approval to a $147.5 million settlement in a class action accusing two insurers of overcharging policyholders when deducting costs from savings accounts attached to universal life insurance plans, turning away objections from plaintiffs in parallel cases in other states.

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'Impartial' NY Judge Won't Sentence Trump Before Election

By Elliot Weld

The New York judge overseeing Donald Trump's hush money case said Friday he will not sentence the former president before Election Day, pushing the hearing date from Sept. 18 to Nov. 26 in an effort to avoid the appearance of political considerations.

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11th Circ. Revives Slip-And-Fall Suit Against Westin Hotel

By Carolina Bolado

The Eleventh Circuit reversed a win for Westin Hotel in a former guest's suit over injuries sustained in a slip and fall at an Indianapolis hotel, ruling that after the insurer that paid the guest workers' compensation benefits intervened in the suit, the case should have been sent back to state court.

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2nd Circ. Tests Trump Bid To Overturn $5M Carroll Verdict

By Frank G. Runyeon

A Second Circuit panel indicated Friday that Donald Trump faces an uphill climb in seeking a new trial after a jury found he sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll and awarded her $5 million in damages.

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Split 2nd Circ. OKs Jury Of 11 In Fox News Hosts Threat Case

By Elliot Weld

A split panel of the Second Circuit on Friday upheld a man's conviction for sending messages threatening two Fox News hosts and two members of Congress, despite the jury only having 11 people.

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Roundup

Real Estate Recap: Pol Funding, Investor Angst, Climate Risk

By Real Estate Authority Staff

Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including which presidential candidates BigLaw real estate pros have backed, where one attorney sees investor confidence despite tough conditions, and how extreme weather events are reshaping the property insurance market.

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Analysis

4 ERISA Arguments To Watch In September

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Ninth Circuit will weigh two cases involving whether class claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act can be forced into solo arbitration, and the Second Circuit will hear Yale University workers' bid to revive their retirement plan mismanagement suit. Here are four upcoming oral argument sessions that benefits attorneys should have on their radar.

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Avoiding Corporate Political Activity Pitfalls This Election Year

As Election Day approaches, corporate counsel should be mindful of the complicated rules around companies engaging in political activities, including super PAC contributions, pay-to-play prohibitions and foreign agent restrictions, say attorneys at Covington.

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Troutman Pepper, Locke Lord Deal Signals Combos To Come

By Xiumei Dong

The upcoming merger of Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP and Locke Lord LLP, set for January 2025 and expected to create a firm with over 1,600 attorneys across 33 offices, is indicative of a broader, accelerating trend of consolidation in the legal industry, according to consultants and experts.

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A&O Shearman To Cut Partner Numbers By 10%

By Marialuisa Taddia

A&O Shearman said Friday that it is cutting its global partnership by approximately 10% as the newly merged firm plows ahead with cost-cutting measures and seeks benefits from its transatlantic tie-up.

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Legal Job Market Continued Downward Trend In August

By Tracey Read

The legal industry lost 2,300 jobs in August, the fourth month in a row of declines, according to preliminary data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Procopio's Managing Partner Dies At 55 From Cancer

By James Mills

Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch LLP's managing partner, John D. Alessio, has died after a five-year battle with cancer, at age 55.

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NY Gov. Taps WilmerHale Leader For Counsel Position

By Emily Johnson

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that a WilmerHale partner and leader will be the next counsel to the governor, appointing an attorney who has served as New York deputy attorney general and the attorney general's chief of staff and as senior adviser to the New York City mayor.

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Justice Barrett Describes Life With Constant Security Detail

By Thy Vo

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett said Friday her around-the-clock protection has been the largest adjustment since joining the high court, recalling an evening when she had to explain the bulletproof vest she was issued to her 13-year-old.

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Brief

Justice Alito Reports Concert Tickets From Catholic Activist

By Katie Buehler

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito accepted $900 concert tickets from a German princess and Catholic activist in 2023, but otherwise received no free trips or other gifts, according to his annual financial disclosure, which was made public Friday.

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Judge Newman's Suspension Extended For Another Year

By Ryan Davis

Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman was barred Friday from hearing cases for at least another year due to her refusal to participate in an investigation into her health, with the appeals court's other judges deciding unanimously to extend a suspension that began last year.

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DC Circ. Considers Age Of Ex-Trump Aide's Surveillance Claims

By Nadia Dreid

Even after more than an hour of argument, the D.C. Circuit didn't seem convinced Friday that ex-Trump 2016 campaign adviser Carter Page timely accused the Justice Department, the FBI and several individuals of various violations tied to their surveillance of him as they probed Russian election interference.

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11th Circ. Judge Continues Drum Beat For Bench Use Of AI

By Bonnie Eslinger

An Eleventh Circuit judge who has explored how courts might use artificial intelligence to interpret terms in legal disputes revisited this idea in a recent concurring opinion in a criminal appeal, though he acknowledged the notion is "fairly provocative."

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Calif. Takes AI Reins With Looming Safety, Transparency Laws

By Allison Grande

A pair of groundbreaking legislative proposals aimed at ensuring the safe and transparent deployment of artificial intelligence systems are headed to the California governor's desk, raising questions about whether lawmakers are taking the right approach to regulating the emerging technology and how the state's privacy regulator will respond. 

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Colo. Justice Warns Judges: Studying Up On AI Isn't Optional

By Thy Vo

Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria E. Berkenkotter urged judges and lawyers Saturday not to wait to learn about how artificial intelligence tools is being used in the legal profession, citing thorny situations raised by the technology including litigants who push back against their lawyers based on inaccurate AI-generated information.

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Calif. Has Underpaid State Court Judges For Years, Suit Says

By Gina Kim

A Sacramento County judge has filed a proposed class action on behalf of over 5,000 current and retired bench officers alleging they've been underpaid for the last several years over the state's failure to properly include special salary adjustments when calculating the average percentage salary increase for all state employees.

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Trustee Backs Tossing Ex-McElroy Deutsch CFO's Ch. 11 Case

By Jake Maher

The U.S. Trustee's Office has urged a New Jersey bankruptcy court to dismiss a Chapter 11 petition from McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP's former CFO, who is currently incarcerated for embezzling millions from the firm, because he has stonewalled the trustee's requests for information about his finances.

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SEC Accuses Fla. Men Of Mass Tort Litigation Financing Fraud

By Jack Karp

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday accused a father and son from Florida of running a fraudulent litigation funding scheme by promising investors returns from financing mass tort litigation they were not actually funding.

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Q&A

Judge Barnard Says It's 'About Time' For Texas Biz Court

By Catherine Marfin

Law360 recently talked with Judge Marialyn Barnard, who transitioned this month from the 73rd District Court to Texas Business Court, about the newly created court.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Ross Aronstam & Moritz LLP and Selendy Gay PLLC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Delaware vice chancellor ruled that Johnson & Johnson owes over $1 billion to a medical robotics developer and entrepreneur over a post-acquisition dispute.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

A contracting company has launched a $59 million malpractice suit against Troutman Pepper, alleging the firm and a partner in its construction practice failed to provide adequate representation in two underlying cases, while artificial intelligence was atop the list of new technologies law firms have used this year. These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen Rockfire Capital sue its former director, Liam Kavanagh, after he was accused of cheating cash-strapped Thurrock Council out of £150 million ($197 million), FedEx launch a claim against an Israeli supply chain business, and a legal dispute between steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta and a former colleague. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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