Stephenson Harwood’s China affiliate firm, Wei Tu, has announced the launch of a new office based in Shanghai. The new establishment will be headed by corporate partner Joanna Jiang, who joined Wei Tu in the prior year. With rich international experience and an excellent reputation, Jiang plans to lead the Shanghai branch in continuing to…
Following the demise of Juan Martinez, long-time managing partner of Australia’s HWL Ebsworth, the firm has appointed a temporary leader. Mr. Martinez had been a guiding force at the firm for 26 years. In the wake of his sudden death, the law firm has moved swiftly to ensure continuity of services, stepping up an interim…
In a recent development, Uber has agreed to a settlement of $178M with Australian taxi drivers in a class action, according to details available from an article on Law.com. According to plaintiff law firm Maurice Blackburn, the rideshare platform purportedly “fought tooth and nail” against the undertaking. The class action alleged that Uber operated illegally…
Just hours after the US Supreme Court authorized the enactment of a Texas statute criminalizing unauthorized entry into the state from other nations, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit blocked its enforcement. The appeals court is set to listen to oral arguments on whether a lower court’s injunction against the law should…
A former lawyer from Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP has filed race and disability discrimination claims against the firm. The lawyer alleges that after facing health issues, the firm began removing him from cases and unjustly withholding his salary, ultimately forcing his resignation. The specifics of the health matters which purportedly led to this…
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently announced charges against a Canadian man living in China and his Chinese business associate. The duo is accused of orchestrating a ploy to sell Tesla’s confidential battery manufacturing technology. According to the DOJ, these conspiratorial activities are alarming and present a serious breach of trust. The charges…
In a development that could have implications on the diversity of the United States judiciary, U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, has publicly expressed her disapproval for Adeel Mangi, the nominee for the Third Circuit. Notably, if confirmed, Mangi would make history as the first Muslim federal appellate judge. The announcement from Sen. Cortez Masto,…
James H.M. Sprayregen, a renown figure in the corporate restructuring and mergers and acquisitions community, is preparing for a shift in his career horizon. Known for his role as the founder of Kirkland & Ellis’ restructuring practice group, he is set to carve a new mark as he joins the financial services holding company, Hilco…
An artist based in the U.K. has failed in his attempt to contest the decision of the U.S. Copyright Office, who had earlier refused to register his sculpture on the grounds of it lacking “the necessary level of creativity to warrant copyright protection,” according to a DC federal judge’s ruling. This serves to highlight the…
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer voiced praise on Tuesday for the Judicial Conference’s revised policy on random case assignments, as a safeguard to thwart litigants from judge-shopping. Schumer asserted that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is contesting the policy because it would pose difficulties for staunch right-wing partisans to manipulate court proceedings to their advantage….
In an ongoing saga of judicial politics, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has praised the recent changes in the Judicial Conference’s policy on random case assignments. The enhanced policy, designed to disrupt the practice of ‘judge-shopping,’ has been met with resistance by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who perceives it as a roadblock for hard-right…
In an effort to streamline and increase the efficacy of the patent approval process, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued a directive to patent examiners. The primary motive of this instruction was to promote a “consistent and clear analyses” during evaluation of patent applications, particularly ones containing means-plus-function claims. The USPTO believes…
In a recent development, the Federal Circuit supported a decision made by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) regarding Sisvel’s patent related to boosting the efficiency of LTE wireless networks for cell phones. According to the PTAB’s findings, a significant number of claims in this patent as presented by Sisvel are deemed invalid due…
In a decade-long legal saga regarding anti-poaching agreements, tech heavyweight, Apple, has prevailed. A proposed class derivative suit brought against Apple by a shareholder has been definitively dismissed by a California federal judge. The allegations central to this case accused Apple’s upper management of precipitating business losses through the establishment of unlawful anti-poaching deals with…
In a recent court filing, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) admitted an error in its lawsuit against a foreign exchange firm accused of defrauding its customers. However, the CFTC’s stance is firm: the now-corrected mistake does not warrant any sanctions. The defendants’ behavior is also raising concerns, as they are perceived to be…
Seeking to go public, social media giant Reddit Inc. faces a potential legal hurdle following coverage of a patent infringement complaint from Nokia Corp. The timing of the allegation could significantly impact Reddit’s forthcoming initial public offering (IPO). According to a recent report published by Law360, it was revealed on Tuesday that Reddit had received…
In a recent patent battle, Acorda Pharmaceuticals appealed to the Federal Circuit, urging them to award the company an additional $66 million over the already secured $16.5 million it won in an arbitration case against Alkermes, a Dublin-based biopharmaceutical company. The dispute lays its foundation in a licensing disagreement revolving around a drug intended for…
An administrative board of patent judges has recently taken the decision to cease their ongoing review of a disputed data communications network patent. The patent was claimed by a Finnish businessman, asserting that he was the rightful owner of the said patent. However, the situation was complicated by a previous ruling from a federal court…
In what can only be regarded as a setback for constitutional law, Texas appears to have won a contentious legal bout against the Supremacy clause— at least temporarily. The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has done little to abate this situation, as is detailed here. In an unexpected move, the former President, Donald Trump, seems to…
Over the past few years, the legal industry has seen a significant uptick in the amount of office space leased by law firms in the United States. This comes following substantial changes in working trends propelled by global events. With more attorneys and legal professionals now returning to their traditional work environments, the demand for…
In recent news, a medical software company based in Louisiana has filed a lawsuit against the law firm it originally hired to assist them in securing a patent for their platform. The company claims the law firm’s alleged negligence resulted in the application being abandoned. Details of the allegations, including specifics about the patent application…
‘Data Anonymization’ is swiftly becoming the go-to term for tech providers looking to train AI systems on user data. However, as outlined in an article from LegalTech News, many data privacy professionals are expressing concerns over its possible ambiguity and inaccuracy. (LegalTech News) Brought to the fore by an escalating reliance on Artificial Intelligence (AI)…
In a development that has caught the legal profession’s attention, George Clarke, a partner at Baker McKenzie has brought a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Filed in the federal court of Washington, D.C., this case signifies Clarke’s stand to compel the IRS into providing more detailed information regarding its intensified efforts to investigate…
In a close decision, Nicole Berner, the general counsel to the Service Employees International Union, has been confirmed by the Senate to a Fourth Circuit judgeship. Berner’s confirmation came Tuesday evening when the Senate delivered a narrow 50-47 majority in her favor. Nicole’s confirmation continues to illustrate the ongoing influence of legal counsel from prominent…
The Fourth Circuit has recently decided against reconsidering its previous ruling, which emptied a hefty $1 billion verdict against Cox Communications. This verdict had been given due to allegations that the internet service provider had permitted piracy on its networks. Both the record labels that brought the accusations and Cox Communications had expressed dissatisfaction with…