Good morning. The Supreme Court will take up President Donald Trump's unprecedented effort to bar illegal immigrants from census totals, Stroock partners are wrapping up anti-racism training, a Nelson Mullins associate is using her soccer background to build a sports law practice, ex-bankruptcy judge Kevin Carey talks judicial pet peeves, and Hogan Lovells' pro bono practice is going strong after 50 years. Welcome back from the eating holiday!
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SCOTUS weighs Trump bid to bar illegal immigrants from census totals
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will take up President Donald Trump's unprecedented and contentious effort to exclude illegal immigrants from the population totals used to allocate U.S. House of Representatives districts to states.
The case focuses on one of several policy moves the Trump administration is rushing to complete before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Jan. 20, Lawrence Hurley reports.
The challengers to Trump's July directive include various states led by New York, cities, counties and immigrant rights groups. They have argued that the president's move could leave several million people uncounted and cause California, Texas and New Jersey to lose House seats.
New York Solicitor General Barbara Underwood will argue for the government appellees and ACLU lawyer Dale Ho represents immigrant groups in the case. They will face off against Acting U.S. Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall.
The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority including three justices appointed by Trump, is scheduled to hear an 80-minute oral argument by teleconference. Read more about the census case here.
Stroock leader looks toward more diverse future as partners wrap up anti-racism training
By Dec. 8, nearly half of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan's 75 partners will have gone through anti-racism leadership training, making it what may be the first law firm urging its lawyers to go through specific anti-racist training.
Jeff Keitelman, Stroock co-managing partner and a graduate of Leadership Greater Washington, which runs the course, said it caught his eye this summer amid widespread protests against racism, Caroline Spiezio reports. The six-month program includes monthly classes with lectures, films and discussions with a diverse group of people, including from outside the firm. There's homework, too.
The firm now allots 50 diversity equity and inclusion work hours to count as billable hours for associates and special counsel and mandates that partners spend at least 10 hours on those efforts. More partners are signed up to start the program next year.
Has the training changed anything? Keitelman thinks so. "I'm much more conscious of things," he said. "I might have been a little bit reticent to buck a trend, for example, than I am now." Read more here.
Industry buzz
- Meet the motley lawyer crew who have promised to "release the Kraken" on President Donald Trump's baseless allegations of voter fraud. Two lawyers spearheading new lawsuits, L. Lin Wood and Howard Kleinhendler, are facing their own accusations of fraud and legal malpractice, respectively, in other civil cases. (Reuters)
- Goodwin private equity leaders Michael Kendall and John LeClaire are surveying practice growth and looking ahead to the new presidential administration. They say cross-border investing and U.S.-China trade relations could remain tense under President-elect Joe Biden. (Reuters)
- Five months after Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders made its official debut in a rare 2020 Big Law merger, one of its partners, David Chaiken, has branched out on his own with a new white-collar boutique, ChaikenLaw. (Reuters)
- Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia George Carley died on Nov. 26 from COVID-19. He was 82. He served on the state's high court from 1992 until he retired in 2012. (Daily Report)
- Labor and employment laterals heat up and more in Career Tracker. (Reuters)
Coming up today
- The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to limit the type of conduct that can be prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in a case involving a former Georgia police officer who was convicted in an FBI sting for checking official records to learn whether a purported local stripper was an undercover cop. Jeffrey Fisher of Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic will argue for ex-officer Nathan Van Buren and will face Deputy Solicitor General Eric Feigin. Learn more about the case that has the tech law world buzzing.
- U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken in Manhattan will hold a pretrial conference in the criminal case of two former associates of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Federal prosecutors say Ukraine-born Lev Parnas and Belarus-born Igor Fruman used a shell company to make an illegal $325,000 donation to a committee supporting Trump’s re-election. Prosecutors say Parnas also defrauded people into sinking more than $2 million into an insurance company called Fraud Guarantee.
- The 7th Circuit will consider whether to revive a lawsuit in which investors accused Cboe Global Markets Inc, the parent of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, of letting anonymous traders rig Wall Street's main gauge of future stock market volatility at their expense. Quinn Emanuel's Daniel Brockett will argue for the investors in the proposed class action and will face Jenner & Block's Adam Unikowsky for Cboe.
- Charter Communications and other companies will push U.S. District Judge Richard Andrews in Wilmington, Delaware, to bar expert testimony by Sprint Corp and prevent it from being able to seek lost profits in lawsuits alleging they infringed patents related to VoIP technology that allow consumers to make telephone calls over the internet. Lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis and Arnold & Porter are defending Charter against claims by lawyers at Shook, Hardy & Bacon.
Later this week
- The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on Tuesday over whether American corporations can be sued for alleged human rights abuses occurring abroad under a 1789 law as it hears appeals by two companies - Cargill Inc and a Nestle SA subsidiary - accused of knowingly helping perpetuate slavery at Ivory Coast cocoa farms. Hogan Lovells' Neal Katyal will press the companies’ case with the support of the Trump administration and Deputy Solicitor General Curtis Gannon. They will face Paul Hoffman of Schonbrun DeSimone Seplow Harris & Hoffman.
- Bill Cosby's lawyers on Tuesday will urge the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to conclude that the former comedian's sexual assault conviction was marred by as errors in legal procedure that allowed the presentation of trial testimony and evidence the defense contends should have been excluded. Cosby is seeking a new trial.
- The 2nd Circuit on Wednesday will consider whether to revive more than 900 lawsuits by women who said they developed a rare neurological condition after using Bayer's Mirena contraceptive device. Find out more about the arguments.
- The full 11th Circuit will on Thursday hear arguments on whether to undo a 2007 non-prosecution agreement that prevented victims of the financier Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuses from suing him and his alleged co-conspirators for damages. A divided three-judge panel ruled in April that prosecutors did not violate the Crime Victims' Rights Act by keeping victims in the dark about the controversial agreement.
- The states of New York, Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey will urge the 2nd Circuit on Thursday to revive their lawsuit that challenges cap on a popular tax break for filers in high-tax states that President Donald Trump signed into law as part of 2017's tax overhaul. U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken in Manhattan said they failed to show the $10,000 cap on federal deductions for state and local taxes exceeded Congress' constitutional power to levy income taxes.
- The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Thursday will consider whether to create two additional insurer-specific MDLs for Covid-19-related coverage claims, one against Erie Insurance Group for denying business interruption insurance coverage and the other against Assicurazioni Generali Group by people seeking to recover under travel insurance policies.
- The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will on Friday consider whether to uphold a ruling requiring Facebook Inc to turn over material to the state’s attorney general about thousands of apps that the social media company suspected may have misused customer data. Attorney General Maura Healey's investigation into Facebook's privacy practices began in 2018 following news that the company had let British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica access data for as many as 87 million users.
Former soccer player turns 'competitive fire' into budding practice at Nelson Mullins
Source: Nikia Williams Wilson
Not all lawyers who advise professional athletes can also claim to have played sports themselves. But for Nelson Mullins associate Ariel Roberson, her years playing soccer in the NCAA and the National Women's Soccer League have only helped as she's been building a growing sports law practice.
A soccer coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill first suggested Roberson consider a law degree. She was at the time still aiming to go pro, which she did for a year with the Boston Breakers. Knee injuries prompted her to leave soccer, and she pursued a degree at the North Carolina Central University School of Law.
Now in the Raleigh and Charlotte offices of Nelson Mullins, the 34-year-old focuses much of her practice on commercial disputes and employment litigation. Going to court, she said, allows her to fulfill the "competitive fire that I still have."
But she hasn't left sports behind. Roberson said her soccer connections have helped her segue into sports law, at times even advising former teammates. It's a broad practice she's been building, in contrast to many attorneys who focus on a single specialty. She said that's just how she wants it: "I am a person who does not want to limit myself in any way."
"After you leave (the bench) what remains is your body of written work, but I thought what I did in the courtroom was my better contribution."
Former bankruptcy judge Kevin Carey, who after 18 years on the bench in Delaware and Pennsylvania is now one year into his role as a partner at Hogan Lovells. He spoke with Reuters reporter Maria Chutchian about the courts, COVID and judicial pet peeves. Read the full Q&A here.
In the courts
- The Supreme Court will continue hearing oral arguments via telephone through January due to the pandemic. (The Hill)
- The North Carolina Supreme Court chief justice race recount will resume today. With 91 of the state's 100 counties done with recounts Republican Paul Newby led Democrat Cheri Beasley by more than 400 votes, but three large counties were unable to finish by Wednesday. (AP)
- The 3rd Circuit on Friday rejected an attempt by the Trump campaign to block President-elect Joe Biden from being declared the winner of Pennsylvania. "Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here," U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, who was nominated by Trump, wrote on behalf of a three-judge panel. (Reuters)
- Then on Saturday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit from Republicans challenging the Nov. 3 election in the battleground state and threw out a lower court order preventing the state from certifying the election results. "Courts should not decide elections when the will of the voters is clear," Justice David Wecht wrote in a concurring opinion. (AP)
- The 4th Circuit revived an asylum petition by a retired Colombian police officer and his family, concluding that threatening messages he received from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebel group were enough to show his fear of persecution was credible. (Reuters)
- Takeda Pharmaceutical lost a bid to limit claims in a case accusing its predecessor Shire of conspiring with generic rival Actavis to delay the launch of a generic version of Shire's ADHD drug Intuniv through illegal patent settlements. Takeda is repped by Joshua Barlow of Haug Partners and Christopher Holding of Goodwin Procter reps Teva, which owns Actavis. (Reuters)
- U.S. District Judge Dee Benson in Salt Lake City gave the green light for a claim under a federal computer fraud law to go forward in a broader dispute between two technology companies. Benson ruled that Podium Corporation had adequately stated a claim under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act with its allegations that Chekkit Geolocation Services fraudulently obtained access to its platform by using a false identity and creating a fake account. Podium was repped by lawyers from Wilson Sonsini and Holland & Hart. Chekkit was repped by lawyers from Stoel Rives. (Reuters)
Columnist spotlight: After 50 years, Hogan Lovells' pro bono heroes won't back down
In October, Jenna Greene launched the "pro bono heroes" feature, spotlighting Jenner & Block. For November, Greene is spotlighting Hogan Lovells. Fifty years ago, the firm (then known as Hogan & Hartson) launched what it describes as the first stand-alone pro bono practice of any law firm in the country. "Eschewing safe, non-controversial cases, the newly-formed 'Community Services Department' led by former partner John Ferren promptly took on pro bono representation of the Black Panther Party," Greene writes. Hogan lawyers successfully represented the Black Panthers in litigation against the D.C. police department for assault and battery, false arrest and malicious prosecution, winning what was then a record payment of $6,300. Read her full column for more about Hogan’s pro bono history.
Check out other recent pieces from all our columnists: Alison Frankel, Jenna Greene and Hassan Kanu.
Lawyer speak: SEC increases fund of funds options for closed-end funds and BDCs
The SEC recently voted to adopt a new rule which streamlines and enhances the regulatory framework that applies to funds that invest in other funds. Eversheds Sutherland's Cynthia Krus, Cynthia Beyea, Sabrina Arnold and Jennifer Howard take a look at how the rule will provide flexibility for closed-end funds and business development companies and how such flexibility is not likely to result in hostile intentions becoming credible threats to regulated funds.
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