Eric Ransom recently returned to Crowell & Moring as a partner in their government contracts group. As part of his role, Ransom will deliver strategic advice regarding procurement laws, regulations, best practices, and their relationship with artificial intelligence and defense technologies. Prior to his newly reinvigorated partnership at Crowell & Moring, Ransom was assigned significant…
Saul Ewing, a high-profile law firm, has recently strengthened its Los Angeles arm by hiring two experienced employment litigators, Jessica E. Bradley and Kenneth M. Jones. The firm made this announcement on Wednesday. Bradley and Jones share a rich history of practicing as litigators and trial lawyers, specializing in employment disputes. Their array of professional…
Multinational investment bank Citigroup Inc has developed a unique approach for using its own employee retirement plans to meet racial diversity goals without violating stringent federal benefits laws. Recently, the Biden administration’s primary worker benefits regulator granted Citi a rarely provided advisory opinion (Advisory Op. 2023-01A), the first one since January 2020. This advisory trails…
The private equity firm, Apollo Global Management Inc. has agreed to acquire The Restaurant Group Plc, the firm behind popular dining experience, Wagamama. The deal, which is set to be worth £506 million ($623 million) arrives on the heels of widespread dissatisfaction from activist shareholders, who have raised concerns regarding the company’s strategy and declining…
In a significant development in antitrust enforcement, Illumina Inc., a global leader in genomics, was ordered by the European Union to dismantle its $7 billion acquisition of cancer-test provider Grail Inc. The EU’s move intensifies a legal battle over the transaction, which was concluded without its approval. Bloomberg Law reported. The European Commission issued the…
Welcome to our coverage of recent trends in the legal sector, notable numbers in specific markets, such as New York, that are likely to be of interest for law firms and in-house counsels. Today’s focus is on the recent uptick in Big Law attorney headcounts in New York. Recorded over the past year, the largest…
The Writers Guild of America (WGA), in its newest agreement that put an end to strikes, has managed to obtain stronger protections against the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the script-writing process. This development is poised to have significant implications on movie studios’ approach to AI deployment, copyright registering, and legal defense. The union…
The legal repercussions felt across the academic world have become undeniable, following Winston & Strawn’s rescindment of a job offer made to a law student who publicly expressed criticisms against Israel, blaming it for fatal attacks by Hamas. This decision not only presents a stark example of the potential risks that law students and future…
The surge in M&A activity within the biotech sector in recent years is now leading to a surge in shareholder lawsuits. Investors are seeking to block or rescind these deals, launching securities lawsuits despite the limited likelihood of their success in preventing a finalized merger or overturning an approved one. As the high tide of…
The U.S Supreme Court is poised to tackle the issue of whether new businesses can legally challenge federal regulations that pre-date their establishment. This investigation comes as a result of a case called Corner Post v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, which aims to determine whether a right of action challenging a…
In light of persistent inaction at the national level, states have taken the initiative to pass their own versions of cybersecurity and privacy laws. However, these efforts are plagued by problems that arguably worsen the landscape of these issues. Technological innovations have raced past legislative attempts to supervise and monitor them, leading to rising instances…
Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made a proposition to substantially expand the scope of what is defined as an “exchange.” This proposition could have the effect of broadening the SEC’s regulatory purview over a wider range of technologies vital to the securities markets. The proposal has been recently in the limelight as…
During Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, a former Risk Manager for Deutsche Bank AG, James “Nicholas” Haigh testified, shedding light on the bank’s lending decisions concerning the former U.S. President. This legal development is of interest to both corporate counsel and practicing attorneys, due to its substantial implications for lender liability and the assessment of…
Accusations continue to surface regarding the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. Caroline Ellison, the ex-CEO of Alameda, has placed the blame squarely on FTX’s co-founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, in her recent statement. According to Ellison, the issues began in June 2022. Amidst a wider crisis in the cryptocurrency sector, Ellison and Bankman-Fried found themselves staring at…
In an intriguing development, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has instigated proceeding against Malaysia in a UK court. The driving factor behind this unexpected move appears to be an ongoing disagreement over a settlement related to the investment banking titan’s involvement in the 1MDB investment-fund scandal, an event that has significantly impacted the global financial landscape….
US companies have been given the go-ahead to digitally transfer consumers’ personal data from the United Kingdom under a new arrangement that avoids additional protective measures. The newly revised compliance framework came into operation on Thursday, enabling companies satisfying eligibility criteria to use the international data bridge. The conditions for eligibility include companies’ self-certification of…
Crabbe Brown & James, a prominent law firm known for its diversified legal and lobbying services, is set to merge with Amundsen Davis, a heavyweight in providing strategic legal solutions. The merger will take effect on Jan. 1, 2024. This move is a strategic initiative intended to broaden the reach of Amundsen Davis’s services to…
Judge Peter Russin has ordered Jack Owoc, the founder of Bang Energy, to pay a total of $63,517 in relation to a series of Instagram posts that he had authored. The posts in question disparaged company advisers involved in the sale of energy drink brand Bang to its competitor, Monster Beverage Corp. Owoc’s social media…
Davis Polk & Wardwell played a leading role advising ExxonMobil on its all-stock $59.5 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, a shale rival. This significant move is one of the largest in what has been a slow market year. The implications of this acquisition are substantial, expanding ExxonMobil’s focus on fossil fuel production. This comes…
The German lawyer, Hanno Berger, widely recognized as the central figure behind the Cum-Ex tax scandal, recently lost his appeal against his conviction. The scheme that he masterminded robbed billions of euros from government coffers and drew in a number of Wall Street’s major banks. The appeal was brought before the Federal Court of Justice,…
Argentina has recently appealed a $16 billion verdict in a lawsuit concerning its 2012 seizure of oil company YPF SA. In 2015, Petersen Energia Inversora, S.A.U., and other investors filed suit as a response to the Argentinian government’s failure to offer payouts to shareholders when the country nationalized YPF in 2012. Earlier, in March, U.S….
The US Supreme Court suggested it will reinstate a Republican-drawn congressional map in South Carolina, hearing arguments in a case that could help determine which party controls the House after next year’s election. This comes in a session that lasted more than two hours, where the court’s conservative majority voiced skepticism about a lower court’s…
Roger Wilkes has moved into the role of Chief Operating Officer of Perkins Coie, as reported on Wednesday. As part of Wilkes’ responsibilities, he will monitor several business functions within the firm, including areas such as finance, diversity and inclusion, recruitment, IT and real estate. Wilkes’ professional background wealthy of experiences in the global professional…
A Fort Lauderdale-based nonprofit group, Fort Lauderdale Food Not Bombs (FLFNB), which is known for providing food to the homeless, recently lost in its bid to receive higher attorneys’ fees from the Eleventh Circuit. The group had argued that they should be awarded $1.5 million in attorneys’ fees, following a First Amendment legal victory against…
Highly reputed law firm Barnes & Thornburg has welcomed two new partners who specialize in healthcare and public finance, M. Elizabeth Walker and Jerimi J. Ullom. Both of them will operate out of the firm’s office located in Indianapolis, Ind. (Read more) M. Elizabeth Walker is notably recognized in the field as an expert tax-exempt…