Good morning! Welcome back to The Daily Docket, your new go-to morning newsletter from Westlaw Today for the latest on courts, lawyers and the legal profession. Judges are worried about their safety, Amazon can’t catch a break in wage cases and Goodwin Procter says new associates can start soon. And even more is in store.
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Judges worried about personal, family security
The attack on U.S. District Judge Esther Salas' family in New Jersey by a self-described anti-feminist lawyer who fatally shot her son and wounded her husband is exposing the broader fears of judges nationally. Of 572 judges recently polled by the National Judicial College, 85% say they do not believe courts provide their families with adequate security, Caroline Spiezio reports.
About 75% felt their courts did not go far enough to keep the judges individually safe, said the judicial education group, which each month informally surveys its more than 12,000 alumni. Safety concerns cited were parking spots labeled "judge," little courthouse security screening and no panic buttons.
Last week, the Judicial Conference of the United States, the federal judiciary's policymaking body, said in the wake of the shooting at Salas' home it approved a series of recommendations to boost security for federal judges. Those include seeking legislation to protect judges' personally identifiable information and additional funds to bolster security. “This is a matter of life and death,” Salas said in a video backing additional measures. “We cannot just sit back and wait for another tragedy to strike.”
Amazon’s drivers keep dodging arbitration in wage cases
Amazon's delivery drivers have been on the front line in helping people stuck at home amid the pandemic obtain what they once ventured out to get. And with all those deliveries have come complaints from Amazon drivers about wage and overtime violations, which the online retailer has sought to keep in arbitration, not in court.
But on Wednesday, a divided 9th Circuit panel held Amazon's "last mile" drivers in Washington state who make local deliveries are exempt from arbitrating wage claims, Daniel Wiessner reports. Why? The court said even though the drivers don't cross state lines, their packages do, making them transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act.
The decision comes after the 1st Circuit reached the same conclusion in declining to send a nearly identical proposed class action by drivers in Massachusetts to arbitration. Amazon, which is represented in both cases by Morgan Lewis, was backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers, which warned that a broad reading of the FAA exemption could deprive "wide swathes" of the economy of the benefits of arbitration”
Goodwin debated delaying associate start dates to January. Now in deal boom, it won’t.
When COVID-19 swept the country, Goodwin Procter, like many law firms nationally, expected the worst. Many firms delayed the start dates for their new associates to January. But it turns out the worst wasn't that bad for Goodwin. Its national hiring partner, Emily Rapalino, in a Wednesday memo cited "strong demand from our clients" in telling its incoming first-year class, which has 83 associates, it could now start Oct. 19.
Rapalino told The Daily Docket the firm considered delaying the start date to January but decided against it. Robert Insolia, Goodwin's chairman, said while it initially expected a big downturn in activity due to the coronavirus, "we've been quite a bit busier this year than last year." The firm -- with its life sciences, private equity and tech focus -- has done more deals than any other this year, Refinitiv data shows.
Coming up today
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Ghislaine Maxwell faces a deadline to ask the 2nd Circuit to block the release of a 2016 deposition the associate of financier Jeffrey Epstein gave in a lawsuit that offers potentially embarrassing details about her sex life.
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Ascena Retail Group, the parent of retailers Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant, and lawyers led by Kirkland & Ellis' Edward Sassower will seek approval of its sale procedures from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Huennekens in Richmond, Virginia.
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Weil Gotshal's Caroline Hickey will ask U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan to dismiss a proposed investor class action alleging energy and chemical company Sasol concealed a Louisiana chemical plant’s construction cost overruns. Hagens Berman's Steve Berman represents the investors.
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LendingClub's lawyers led by Quinn Emanuel's Diane Doolittle will ask a San Francisco federal magistrate judge to put on hold the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit alleging the online lender deceived consumers until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the agency's power to obtain monetary relief.
"The type of law enforcement surveillance utilized in these cases is extreme. While there will be situations which may warrant the use of the techniques at issue, the strict Fourth Amendment safeguards developed over the past few decades must be observed."
Florida 4th District Court of Appeal Judge Cory Ciklin in ruling police illegally secretly recorded New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and others at a massage parlor where prosecutors said he paid for sex acts. Kraft, represented by Quinn Emanuel's Derek Shaffer, has pleaded not guilty.
Morgan Lewis partner Tess Blair on the benefits of algorithms and the firm's #MeToo bot
Could algorithms and AI become an attorney's new best friends? Morgan Lewis partner and eData practice head Tess Blair hopes so. Blair helped create the firm's eData practice in 2004, and of late, she’s pioneered an algorithm that the firm calls the #MeToo bot.
The algorithm can comb large chunks of company data (like emails) and flag anything that may be indicative of harassment or inappropriate behavior. Clients can then use that data to investigate incidents or, more proactively, use the information to create target training for employees.
"We get tons of data in, and sure we can put 10 associates on it to read all of the data, but what the algorithm does is make connections that we can't see with the human eye or the human brain because there's just too much information," Blair told The Daily Docket from an RV in Memphis, Tennessee, in the middle of a family roadtrip. "The #Metoo bot is a tool, and it's a really cool tool, and we're trying to deploy it in lots of different ways."
Industry buzz
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Emerging markets and venture capital partners Charles Torres, Imri Eisner and Adam Brenner left Perkins Coie to join DLA Piper in New York. (Reuters)
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Savannah, Georgia, law firms Lee, Black & Hollis and McManamy Jackson are merging to form McManamy Jackson Hollis. The new firm will have 38 attorneys and support staff. (Augusta Chronicle)
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Former U.S. Senator and longtime K&L Gates lawyer Slade Gorton passed away on Wednesday at the age of 92. Gorton joined the firm in 2001 after nearly two decades representing Washington state in the Senate. (AP)
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Fox Rothschild and Reed Smith are easing up on their pandemic-induced pay cuts. (Reuters, The American Lawyer)
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Fenwick & West and Mintz Levin gave all employees a paid civic holiday on Election Day, Nov. 3. Orrick has offered employees the option of taking the day as “a day of service” to volunteer or do pro bono work. (Above The Law)
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After advising on the Johnson & Johnson bid for Momenta, Latham & Watkins has passed Wachtell as the top U.S. dealmaker based on transaction value. (Reuters)
In the courts
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Bank of Nova Scotia, represented by Sullivan & Cromwell's Kenneth Raisler, will pay more than $127 million to resolve U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigations into allegations it unlawfully traded precious metals futures contracts. (Reuters)
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The state of Michigan has reached a deal to pay $600 million to resolve claims by victims of the Flint water crisis. The settlement is expected to be announced this week. (Washington Post, Mlive.com)
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Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith has pleaded guilty to falsifying a document as part of the bureau's early-stage probe into whether Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with the Russian government. His attorney, MoloLamken's Justin Shur, says he regrets his actions. (Reuters)
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A newly-obtained six-page Justice Department memo titled "Proposed Indictment of Purdue Pharma LP" in 2006 recommended indicting the OxyContin maker on charges including mail and wire fraud. Instead, Purdue and three executives in 2007 pleaded guilty to misbranding OxyContin and agreed to pay $634.5 million. (The Guardian)
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Offshore oil driller Valaris PLC has filed for bankruptcy in Houston with Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel to tackle its $7.9 billion debt load. (Reuters)
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Citigroup sued two more Revlon lenders, HPS Investment Partners and Symphony Asset Management, for allegedly refusing to return a combined $237 million. Citi has been trying to recoup $900 million it mistakenly sent to Revlon’s creditors. (Reuters)
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Next term at the U.S. Supreme Court: The justices will hear oral arguments in a religious rights/LGBTQ rights case over same-sex foster care on Nov. 4, the day after the election, and Obamacare arguments the following week. (CNN)
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President Trump’s re-election campaign sued New Jersey over the state’s decision to mail ballots to every eligible voter ahead of the November election. (Reuters)
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Lezmond Mitchell, a Navajo man scheduled to be put to death Aug. 26, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his execution while he seeks review of a lower court decision over potential racial bias in his case. (AP)
Columnist spotlight: As COVID-19 insurance cases loom, 11th Circuit restricts definition of property damage
The Miami oceanfront restaurant Berries lost nearly $300,000 in 2014, when roadside construction on its street created dust and debris that drove customers away. Berries’ parent company sued the insurer that refused to pay the restaurant’s claim. In her latest column, Alison Frankel explains how an 11th Circuit ruling in the case is likely to reverberate in nationwide litigation by other restaurants and businesses suing their insurers over coverage for losses they suffered in COVID-19 shutdowns.
Lawyer speak: What are the implications for taxpayers if the U.S. Supreme Court invalidates the Affordable Care Act?
In a recent article, McCarter & English attorneys Lawrence Sannicandro and Alan Kornstein discuss best tax practices and COVID-19 relief IRS extensions. They also suggest that those who paid net investment income tax or the additional Medicare tax file a protective claim for a refund to get ahead of any potential SCOTUS action.
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