Good morning. Opening statements begin today in R. Kelly's criminal trial in Brooklyn, the first of three criminal cases against the R&B star to go before a jury. Personal injury firm Morgan & Morgan is offering $100,000 to the winner of a contest to develop its advertising jingle; David Sackler said his Purdue Pharma-owning family bears a "moral responsibility" to help abate the opioid crisis, to a certain extent; and a New York state judge had tough questions for Fox Corp as it tries to escape a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit by voting technology firm Smartmatic. Welcome to Wednesday!
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R. Kelly to face racketeering charges in sex abuse trial starting today
E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Pool via REUTERS
R. Kelly goes on trial today in Brooklyn federal court, as the R&B star faces charges he ran a 20-year scheme in which he used a web of managers and bodyguards to recruit women and underage girls for sex.
Kelly, a Grammy winner best known for hits like "I Believe I Can Fly," is also facing criminal sex abuse charges in Minnesota and Chicago, but the Brooklyn case is the first to go to trial, with lawyers set to deliver opening statements today, Brendan Pierson reports. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied wrongdoing.
In New York, Kelly is facing racketeering charges — more commonly used in organized crime cases — as well as bribery and extortion. Prosecutors have accused Kelly of abusing five unidentified victims, some of whom are expected to testify at trial.
He is also accused of bribing an Illinois official in 1994 to obtain fake identification so he could marry the pop star Aaliyah, who was 15 years old at the time. She died in 2001.
The trial, which is expected to last a month, will be among the most-watched of the #MeToo era. Read this for more on what's expected during the trial.
Industry buzz
- Real estate attorney Mitchell Kossoff can't rely on the threat of indictment or the bankruptcy of his law firm Kossoff PLLC to avoid a civil suit accusing him of stealing at least $4.5 million in client funds, Manhattan U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams said. Kossoff, who is represented by Aaron Barham and Christopher Skoczen of Furman Kornfeld & Brennan, hasn't responded to the suit's allegations other than to argue that indications he could be indicted on similar charges should be enough to stay it. Abrams said there will be no stay without an indictment in hand (Reuters)
- Fresh off of helping negotiate a landmark $26 billion opioid litigation settlement, Lieff Cabraser's Elizabeth Cabraser has been tapped by a federal judge in San Francisco to lead related multidistrict litigation by cities, counties and others accusing the consulting firm McKinsey & Co of "turbocharging" painkiller sales through its advice to drugmakers like Purdue Pharma. (Reuters)
- A "THX GS" vanity license plate on a Dallas-based lawyer's red Ferrari is getting the meme treatment after a popular finance-focused social media account began using an image of it to bash Goldman Sachs for not raising junior bankers' pay. The plate belonged to Rogge Dunn, who frequently represents brokers and had bought the car after winning a $7.6 million arbitration award against the bank in 2014. (Advisor Hub)
- McDermott, Will & Emery recruited three attorneys who bring an energy component to their transactional practices. Kevin Brophy, most recently the general counsel at Kayne Anderson Energy Funds, will bolster the firm's M&A and private equity capabilities in Houston, while Jim Salerno and Robert da Silva Ashley join the firm in New York from Jones Day. (Reuters)
- The University of Miami School of Law has a new interim dean, following the turmoil prompted by its firing of former dean Tony Varona. The law school is turning to Nell Newton, who previously served as the dean of Notre Dame Law School. Varona was the school's first Latino and openly gay dean. (Miami Herald)
- In what appears to be a first among CLE providers, Practising Law Institute said that starting Oct. 1, it will require lawyers and faculty attending continuing legal education programs in person in New York and San Francisco to provide proof that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19. (Above the Law)
Number of the day:
$100,000
That's how much personal injury firm Morgan & Morgan is offering an amateur musician who wins its jingle contest. The firm is looking for a 30- to 60-second song showcasing its slogan, "For the people." The prize is up for grabs at MorganJingle.com until September 26, with the winner selected by firm founder John Morgan himself. (Reuters)
Coming up today
- Lawyers for three wealthy parents charged in the U.S. college admissions scandal will appear before U.S. District Judge Nathanial Gorton in Boston for a final pretrial conference ahead of the first trial to result from the headline-grabbing case, which is slated to begin next month. Those parents include Gamal Abdelaziz, the former president of Wynn Resorts' Macau unit; private equity executive John Wilson; and liquor distribution company CEO Marci Palatella. They are repped by Nixon Peabody's Brian Kelly, White & Case's Michael Kendall and Skadden's Michael Loucks, respectively. They recently asked the judge to bar prosecutors from presenting evidence about their wealth, spending or lifestyles, saying it could taint the trial.
- That's not the only college admissions scandal action today. Netflix will urge U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf in Boston to dismiss a defamation lawsuit by John Wilson, the private equity executive, stemming from streaming giant's documentary "Operation Varsity Blues." Prosecutors say Wilson paid $120,000 to secure his son's admission to the University of Southern California as a water polo recruit. Wilson alleges in a lawsuit, which also includes Wilson's wife and son as plaintiffs, that the documentary destroyed their reputations. Jonathan Albano of Morgan Lewis is defending Netflix and is up against Howard Cooper of Todd & Weld.
- The 2nd Circuit will consider whether to revive a proposed class action accusing Starbucks of deceptively marketing its drinks as the "best coffee for you" while using noxious pesticides at several New York locations. Plaintiffs' counsel David Gottlieb of Wigdor LLP will face defense lawyer Gregory Silbert of Weil Gotshal.
- U.S. District Judge John Bates in D.C. has scheduled a status conference in a 2019 antitrust lawsuit the FTC filed accusing Virginia-based health information network Surescripts of anticompetitive tactics in the market for e-prescription services. The FTC notified the court in May that the agency, thanks to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limited the agency's powers, is no longer permitted to seek monetary relief from Surescripts. Amanda Reeves of Latham & Watkins is on defense.
- The owner of the luxury San Jose Fairmont hotel will ask U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey in Wilmington, Delaware, to approve its reorganization plan, which proposes bringing in Hilton's Signia Hotel Management LLC as the new manager. The company, represented by Patrick Potter of Pillsbury, filed for bankruptcy in March with $175 million in secured debt.
"How is that not defamatory?"
New York State Supreme Court Justice David Cohen, questioning attorneys for Fox Corp about how unsupported claims that voting technology firm Smartmatic was banned in Texas could not be actionable. Cohen was conducting a hearing on the media company's motion to dismiss Smartmatic's $2.7 billion defamation suit. Cohen asked Fox's attorney, Paul Clement of Kirkland & Ellis, whether there was any truth to claims Trump attorneys Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani made while appearing on Fox News, which included comments about a Texas ban. (Reuters)
In the courts
- David Sackler, a member of the wealthy Sackler family that owns Purdue Pharma, testified in federal bankruptcy court in White Plains, New York, in defense of the OxyContin maker's proposed restructuring plan and settlement of opioid claims, saying the family bears a "moral responsibility" to help abate the opioid epidemic but that it will not contribute money to that effort unless it receives broad legal protections. (Reuters)
- An investor lawsuit is accusing billionaire hedge fund manager William Ackman of failing to register his blank check company, Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, with federal regulators. Investor George Assad, who is represented in part by former SEC Commissioner Robert Jackson and Yale Law School Professor John Morley, says the special purpose acquisition company is just an extension of Ackman's hedge fund. Ackman pushed back on the claims, saying the SPAC has no securities that would require it to register. (Reuters)
- The SEC accused a former executive at drug company Medivation of illegally trading a competitor's stock ahead of a pending merger with Pfizer. The lawsuit in San Francisco federal court against Matthew Panuwat marked a rare attempt to police "shadow trading," in which an insider trades in a second company that could be affected by an announcement. Defense lawyer Jack DiCanio of Skadden declined to comment. (Reuters)
- A mother represented by the conservative New Civil Liberties Alliance asked the full D.C. Circuit to revive her challenge to a recent Consumer Product Safety Commission rule governing infant bath seats that adopted voluntary manufacturing standards developed by private standards-setting body ASTM International. Lisa Milice argues that the CPSC's 2019 rule must be vacated because the standards were not made reasonably available to the public. (Reuters)
- The 8th Circuit upheld 3M's defense win in the first bellwether trial to result from thousands of lawsuits alleging that its Bair Hugger surgical warming blanket causes bacterial infections. The ruling, which concerned claims by South Carolina retiree Louis Gareis, came a day after the appellate court revived nearly 6,000 similar lawsuits following a finding a judge wrongly excluded the plaintiffs' expert witnesses. Genevieve Zimmerman of Meshbesher & Spence and Aaron Van Oort at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath argued for Gareis and 3M, respectively. (Reuters)
- Delaware Vice Chancellor Joseph Slights threw out a lawsuit by a shareholder represented by lawyers at Robbins LLP challenging the fairness of the $2.8 billion merger between Genomic Health Inc and Exact Sciences Corp, saying her "attempt to conjure inferences of bad faith fails at every turn." Robert Saunders of Skadden defended the companies. (Reuters)
Industry moves
- Meredith Greene has joined Day Pitney as a partner in its individual clients department and trusts and estates practice in Boston. Greene was previously the chair of Fletcher Tilton's special needs practice group. (Day Pitney)
- Finance lawyer Alexis Schostak has joined Schiff Hardin as a partner in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She was previously the assistant practice group leader of the corporate finance team at Dykema. (Schiff Hardin)
- Corporate lawyer C. Scott Murray has joined Duane Morris as a partner in Dallas. He was previously the general counsel at Gramercy Capital Partners. (Duane Morris)
 Remembering two Harvard Law grads who were killed in Afghanistan. With the abrupt and tragic end to the war in Afghanistan, Jenna Greene recalls two best friends from Harvard Law School’s class of 1997 who lost their lives there. Helge Boes quit Latham & Watkins to join the CIA as a spy. He was killed in 2003 when a grenade prematurely exploded. Six years later, Boes’ widow, fellow Harvard alum Cindy Tidler, married his best friend from law school, Mike Weston. A DEA agent, Weston died five months after their wedding in a helicopter crash following a nighttime raid on a drug and weapons bazaar. Both men earned the ultimate legal pedigree, only to eschew practicing law and its comfortable rewards, choosing instead to put their lives on the line to fight for what they believed in. Read more about their bravery and the woman they left behind.
 Orrick thumbs nose at Jones Day in fight over subpoenas in lateral partner arbitration. In 2019, a Jones Day partner named Michael Buehler moved to Orrick. Jones Day subsequently brought an arbitration against him, apparently because Buehler represented a Jones Day client before an arbitration panel that included an Orrick partner while Buehler was negotiating his deal with Orrick. Jones Day obtained a subpoena for documents and testimony from Orrick, which Orrick refused to comply with. Jones Day filed a petition in D.C. Superior Court, which held that it didn’t have personal jurisdiction. Now Jones Day is trying again, with a new case in federal court in California. As Alison Frankel reports, the firm has come up with some novel arguments, but Orrick said in a brief last week that this petition is not better than the last one. See why Orrick contends Jones Day can’t find a court to hear its case -- and why the firm has no one but itself to blame for that predicament.
Lawyer speak: Benefits of a pre-filing investigation of a trade secret claim
Plaintiffs looking to win trade secret misappropriation lawsuits must submit proof of existence, ownership, notice and access -- the EONA proofs. R. Mark Halligan of FisherBroyles argues that trial courts need to require plaintiffs to make those EONA showings at the outset of a case, because too often defendants face trade secret misappropriation claims that are not well grounded in fact or law. "These requirements should be strictly enforced to discourage 'bad faith' trade secret misappropriation lawsuits," he writes. Read more.
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