Good morning. The U.S. Supreme Court is capping its blockbuster argument week with a gun-rights case that could threaten certain firearm restrictions around the country. Plus, a bankruptcy trustee is pushing to have real estate attorney Mitchell Kossoff jailed, and Britney Spears’ attorney has some questions for her dad about how he spent the pop star’s money during her conservatorship. Get well soon, Justice Gorsuch!
Were you forwarded this email? Subscribe here.
Continuing its blockbuster week, the U.S. Supreme Court will take up a major Second Amendment challenge to an almost 100-year old New York law that could lead to more Americans being able to carry concealed firearms.
The court, which was short a judge on the bench Tuesday due to Justice Neil Gorsuch suffering from a stomach bug, will hear 70 minutes of arguments in a lawsuit brought by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association against the head of the New York state police and a New York judge over the state’s 1913 law that limits concealed-carry licenses to people who can show a "proper cause" for having one. Kirkland & Ellis’ Paul Clement, the Supreme Court veteran, will face off against Barbara Underwood, the New York state solicitor general. The U.S. Justice Department’s Brian Fletcher, a former Stanford Law School professor, will advocate for the government as a friend-of-the-court supporting New York.
New York Judge Richard McNally Jr, whose decisions denying unrestricted concealed-carry licenses are at the heart of the Supreme Court case, told Reuters he has faithfully applied the law at issue in each matter before him. "It's a law that was intended to grant broad discretion to the local licensing officers, and that takes into consideration geography and other factors," McNally said. "I think it's worked pretty well for the last 100 years."
- Al Togut, the Chapter 7 trustee overseeing the dissolution of New York real estate law firm Kossoff PLLC asked a bankruptcy judge to hold founder Mitchell Kossoff in civil contempt and jail him if he continues defying court orders to cooperate. (Reuters)
- Kei Komuro, the law clerk at Lowenstein Sandler whose marriage to Japan's Princess Mako has made international headlines, took the New York bar exam in July — but he wasn't on the pass list released Oct. 28 by the New York Board of Law Examiners. (Reuters)
- E-discovery software provider Everlaw has raised $202 million in a Series D funding round led by TPG Growth. The Oakland, California-based company joins a small but growing number of legal tech outfits to be valued at more than $1 billion. (Reuters)
- O’Melveny’s Daniel Petrocelli and Debbie Feinstein of Arnold & Porter are defending Penguin Random House against the U.S. Justice Department’s lawsuit in Washington, D.C., federal court to stop the company from buying competitor Simon & Schuster. Jessica Delbaum of Shearman & Sterling is counsel to Simon & Schuster. DOJ’s John Read is lead counsel for the government. (Reuters)
REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
That’s the highest amount the Federal Trade Commission will send to a single Amazon Flex driver as a cut of more than $60 million in tips that the retail giant illegally withheld and agreed to surrender in a settlement with the agency. The FTC said it will send 139,507 checks and 1,621 PayPal payments to drivers. The average amount is $422. Baker Botts and Davis Wright represented Amazon. Read more.
The DOJ is reopening its Office of Access to Justice, which is meant to help low-income Americans access legal representation. It comes at a time when the vast majority of those Americans receive little to no assistance with the civil legal problems they are facing, writes Hassan Kanu. With eviction and unemployment claims skyrocketing due to the pandemic, the demand is higher than ever, Kanu found.
- California state appeals court Judge Gabriel Sanchez goes before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing to the 9th Circuit. Sanchez is one of four nominees pending for the San Francisco-based federal appeals court. The committee is also set to consider a slate of district court nominees: Samantha Elliot for the District of New Hampshire; Linda Lopez and Jinsook Ohta for the Southern District of California; Katherine Menendez for the District of Minnesota; and David Urias for the District of New Mexico. The Senate on Monday confirmed two more of President Joe Biden’s appeals court picks.
- Lawyers for a group representing American computer programmers will urge the D.C. Circuit to revive a challenge to an Obama-era policy allowing international students with science and technology degrees to work in the U.S. after graduating. The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, represented by John Miano of the conservative Immigration Reform Law Institute, says the program violates federal law because upon graduating, individuals are no longer "bona fide students" eligible to extend student visas. A coalition of colleges and businesses have filed briefs supporting the program, and business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have intervened in the case to defend it.
- The Federal Circuit will consider whether veterans who seek disability benefits based on psychological impairment must first be diagnosed with a mental-health disorder, consistent with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5). The question stems from the case of Army veteran Luis Martinez-Bodon, who has never received a DSM-5 diagnosis but argues that his anxiety is a disability under a 2018 Federal Circuit decision that held “pain alone … may constitute a disability” if it impairs a veteran’s earning capacity, even without a specific diagnosis of injury or disease. Martinez-Bodon, who is represented by Christian McTarnaghan of Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick, is appealing a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, which held that a mental-health disorder could be a “disability” without a DSM-5 diagnosis but such a disability is not compensable because the Veterans Affairs Department has tied its schedule of disability ratings to a DSM-5 diagnosis.
- Donald Blakstad, an investment firm owner convicted of defrauding investors and trading on non-public information about San Diego-based biotechnology company Illumina, is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in Miami. Blakstad was convicted in the $7 million scheme after a jury trial. Blakstad, who is represented by Eugene Iredale of Iredale and Yoo, is asking for two years, while prosecutors are asking for ten.
Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.
"The SEC has never before attempted to bring an insider trading case against an individual based solely on the purchase of securities of a company about which neither he nor his employer possessed any material nonpublic information."
Matthew Panuwat, a former business development executive at Medivation Inc, whose attorneys at Skadden urged U.S. District Judge William Orrick to toss an SEC lawsuit that accuses Panuwat of “shadow trading.” Panuwat’s attorneys said the SEC stretched insider trading law by pursuing him for trades he made in a company that he expected to be impacted by information he received about another company. Read more about Panuwat’s case.
- Britney Spears’ attorney Mathew Rosengart of Greenberg Traurig wants to question the pop star’s father, Jamie Spears, under oath about how Britney’s money was spent during the 13 years of the conservatorship. Rosengart made the request ahead of a hearing to end the conservatorship altogether. (Reuters)
- The trial against Kyle Rittenhouse over the killing of two Wisconsin protesters kicked off with opposing portrayals of the teenager, as defense attorneys described him as a scared kid defending himself while prosecutors said he was a vigilante. Rittenhouse’s attorney, Mark Richards, suggested his client would testify in his own defense. (Reuters)
- Bayer AG should pay at least $180 million in damages over contamination at a Monroe, Washington school by toxic chemicals called PCBs made by its predecessor Monsanto, Richard Friedman of Friedman Rubin told jurors during closing arguments in a trial in Washington state court. Friedman is representing the students suing Bayer, which is represented by Adam Miller of Shook, Hardy & Bacon. (Reuters)
- Arent Fox has settled a legal-fee lawsuit against former client Ohemo Life Sciences in Washington, D.C., federal court for an undisclosed amount, new filings show. Responding to a judge about inaction on the docket for months, the law firm in August cited “excusable neglect” in seeking to keep the suit alive. The complaint sought $202,000.
- U.S. District Judge William Conley won’t allow construction work to begin later this month on sections of a $500 million, 102-mile Iowa-to-Wisconsin power line that are on or near federal waters in Wisconsin. Conley agreed with environmental groups, represented by Howard Learner of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, that said they were likely to suffer irreparable environmental harm if the work begins. (Reuters)
- Fenwick has added former Dechert partner Carl Morales in New York and a veteran Morrison & Foerster partner in San Francisco, Rufus Pichler, to boost the firm’s complex transactional and commercial intellectual property capabilities. (Reuters)
- Debevoise brought on Patrick Swain, a longtime commercial disputes lawyer at Freshfields, as a London-based partner. (Reuters)
- Herbert Smith Freehills said Marc Gottridge and Lisa Fried have joined the firm in New York as partners. Gottridge formerly led the financial services litigation practice at Hogan Lovells, and Fried earlier served as that firm’s New York administrative partner. (Reuters)
- Gibson Dunn said A.J. Frey has rejoined the firm in Washington, D.C., as a partner from Greenspring Associates, where he had served as general counsel. Frey will focus on private investment funds. (Gibson Dunn)
- King & Spalding hired Trevor Pinkerton as a Houston-based corporate, finance and investments partner. Pinkerton formerly was a partner at Norton Rose. (King & Spalding)
- Locke Lord has brought on Toyja Kelley as a litigation partner in Washington, D.C. Kelley arrives at the firm from Saul Ewing. (Locke Lord)
The legal industry has seen some progress on improving diversity, equity and inclusion in the year since the racial justice uprising over the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, in the hands of police, writes Kimberly Hulsey of Major, Lindsey & Africa. For many firms and legal departments, cultivating a diverse and inclusive workplace has become a renewed priority. Read more about the ways legal departments and law firms are focusing on DEI.
Copyright © 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 610 Opperman Drive, Eagan, MN 55123
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can unsubscribe from this list here.
|