Reuters Legal

Cornell Law School in June will begin providing full federal loan repayments for its graduates in public interest jobs earning up to $120,000 annually—a $40,000 increase from the current $80,000 salary cap. That change, announced this month, sets a new standard among U.S. law school loan repayment assistance programs, widely known as LRAPs, for graduates who take jobs as public defenders or in civil legal services organizations, for example. Harvard Law School and New York University School of Law previously had the highest salary caps for full loan repayment through their LRAPs at $110,000. Each of U.S. News & World Report’s 14 top-ranked law schools offer loan repayment assistance to graduates in public interest jobs, which typically pay significantly less than private sector legal jobs. The national median starting salary for civil legal services lawyers was $64,200 in 2023, while new lawyers at public service organizations earned a median salary of $69,500 and public defenders made $69,600, according to the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). By contrast, the median base salary for new law firm associates was $200,000 in 2023, NALP data shows. Karen Sloan has more: https://reut.rs/44Qg65u

What does it mean to force someone to work? A class action on behalf of people from the Philippines who say they were lured to Clinton, Oklahoma, (population 8,500) on temporary visas with false promises of well-paying jobs in the hospitality industry hinged on that question. In her latest column, Jenna Greene looks at the pro bono effort by lawyers from Skadden and nonprofits, who argued that human trafficking laws reach beyond the sex trade. Read more: https://reut.rs/3WDHGAP  

The State Bar of California is looking to develop its own bar exam, parting ways with the National Conference of Bar Examiners and rejecting its overhauled licensing test set to debut in July 2026, Karen Sloan reports. The change would save the state bar up to $4.2 million annually in bar administration costs, according to a staff memo outlining the proposal reviewed by Reuters. Read more: https://reut.rs/3wFBQEr 

The DOJ said Boeing breached its obligations under a 2021 agreement that kept it from facing criminal prosecution following fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. The finding raises the prospect of Boeing facing prosecution it had previously avoided, which could result in fresh penalties and deepen an ongoing corporate crisis that has already resulted in a management shakeup and government investigations. Subscribe to The Afternoon Docket: https://reut.rs/4aVlZjE #legal

U.S. defamation law firm Clare Locke scored a win on May 14 in a fight with an ex-client and its own former lawyers, persuading a Virginia federal judge to uphold an arbitrator's decision to freeze any money obtained by ice cream machine technology start-up Kytch in lawsuits against McDonald's and others. Clare Locke initially represented Kytch as it sued McDonald's and others for $900 million, alleging the fast food giant falsely told franchisees its device for improving the reliability of ice cream machines could cause worker injuries. McDonald's has denied the allegations but agreed to a tentative settlement. Kytch is now represented by a group of former Clare Locke lawyers who broke off in August to form their own firm, Meier Watkins Phillips Pusch. Read more in David Thomas' report: https://reut.rs/3ycFdTB

A jury was chosen on May 15 to determine whether Democratic U.S. Senator Robert Menendez broke the law in what federal prosecutors have called a years-long bribery scheme to benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar, as well as himself. Opening statements in the trial of New Jersey's senior senator are expected to begin later in the day before U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein in Manhattan. The trial could last into early July. Twelve jurors and six alternates were chosen, including an investment banker, a commercial litigator, a retired economist, a doctor, and multiple therapists. Jury selection took about 2-1/2 days, and more than 130 prospective jurors were excused. Menendez, 70, faces 16 criminal charges including bribery, fraud, acting as a foreign agent and obstruction. Read more: https://reut.rs/3yt0Tee

U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston rejected a call to disregard a key new NLRB labor ruling that a company said could be overturned on appeal. Joun ordered a cannabis dispensary operator to bargain with a #union even though its workers voted against unionizing, in the first court ruling to apply a #NLRB decision creating a new path for unions to organize workers. The NLRB’s general counsel lauded Joun’s ruling. Subscribe to The Daily Docket for more: https://reut.rs/4aBvwvO #legal #labor

A London-based comic-book artist on May 14 asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel several #trademarks covering the term 'Super Hero' that are jointly owned by #Disney's Marvel and its main rival, Warner Bros' DC Comics. Scott Richold's Superbabies told a USPTO tribunal that 'Super Hero' is a generic term that is not entitled to trademark protection, according to a copy of the petition provided by Superbabies' law firm Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP. #Marvel and #DC jointly own four trademarks covering the terms 'Super Hero' and 'Super Heroes,' the oldest of which dates back to 1967. The comic-book giants have cited their marks to oppose dozens of superhero-related trademark applications at the USPTO, according to the office's records. More from Blake Brittain: https://reut.rs/3JZCNur #legal #legalnews #intellectualproperty #comicbooks #superhero

The State Bar of California’s board of trustees will consider a proposal to hire test prep company Kaplan North America to develop multiple-choice bar exam questions comparable to those that now appear on the Multistate Bar Exam. U.S. defamation law firm Clare Locke LLP scored a win in a fight with an ex-client and its own former lawyers, persuading a Virginia federal judge to uphold an arbitrator's decision to freeze any money obtained by ice cream machine technology start-up Kytch in lawsuits against #McDonald's and others. U.S. law firm Perkins Coie LLP has opened a London outpost with a six-lawyer, technology-focused dealmaking team mainly from White & Case, marking the firm's first move into the European market. Column: #FTX law firm Sullivan & Cromwell says crypto customers' lawsuit is 'innuendo masquerading as facts' Here's your Legal File: #legal #legalnews #legalindustry #lawyers #lawfirms #lawstudents #barexams #lawfirms

Elon Musk's #Tesla should pay $121,275 in civil fines per day under the federal Clean Air Act for allegedly failing to halt excess pollution, according to a lawsuit by an environmental nonprofit. The Environmental Democracy Project said Tesla since 2021 has exposed nearby residents and workers to harmful chemicals, mainly through its paint shop operations. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit in San Francisco adds to pressure on Tesla to improve air quality surrounding its Fremont plant, its main U.S. factory. Subscribe to The Daily Docket for more: https://reut.rs/4aBvwvO #legal #pollution