Law360's Pro Say - News & Analysis On Law And The Legal Industry

The latest criminal indictment against Donald Trump paints a detailed picture of the former president’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election by spreading misinformation and pressuring state and federal officials to break the law. The four counts brought by special counsel Jack Smith turn on a number of unique laws and theories, including obstruction charges that have also surfaced in the Jan. 6 prosecutions and a voter intimidation statute first drafted to target the KKK in the late 19th century. Columbia law professor Richard Briffault joins Pro Say this week to break down the indictment and a few of its more intricate elements. Also this week, an application of the Supreme Court’s recent decision on religious accommodations to a teacher fired for refusing to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns, and California suspends 1,700 attorneys for failing to comply with new rules about client trust accounts.

This week saw a California federal judge block the Biden administration’s attempt to place new restrictions on asylum seekers, ruling that the White House cannot curtail where and how migrants fearing persecution in their home countries can seek shelter in the U.S. Joining Pro Say this week is Law360 senior immigration reporter Britain Eakin to explain why the court faulted the Biden administration, and what the ruling means for the future of asylum law as the government continues to push its policy on appeal. Also this week, a D.C. federal judge ordered Covington & Burling to reveal seven of its clients to assist the government with investigations stemming from a cyberattack from the firm, despite objections from dozens of BigLaw shops who see the move as threat to attorney-client privilege. Next, the 11th Circuit shifts from its very recent precedent to rule that a single unwanted text message is enough to bring a consumer protection claim. Finally, it’s time to talk “Barbenheimer,” as Alex and Hailey break

The Biden administration’s efforts to combat “disinformation” online by coordinating with tech giants have long been the subject of partisan sniping, but are now at the center of a testy legal battle that has already yielded a number of twists and turns. First came a 155-page ruling from a Texas judge on the Fourth of July barring the White House from certain engagements with social media companies, which was quickly halted this week by the Fifth Circuit. But the litigation appears poised to settle pressing questions about the government’s role in policing speech online. Also this week, Tesla executives agree to pay back $735 million to settle a stockholder suit accusing them of receiving “outrageous” compensation packages, and the Ninth Circuit revisits a crucial precedent to allow the embedding of Instagram posts without fear of copyright violations. Finally, a truce in the taco marketing wars as “Taco Tuesday” returns to the people.

Microsoft, the maker of XBox, and Activision Blizzard, creator of Call of Duty, cleared an early stage this week in the multilevel game of getting their $68.7 billion dollar merger approved. The gaming giants saw a California federal judge refuse the Federal Trade Commissions’ move to block the merger, but the government is appealing and other countries aren’t sold on the tie-up either. We discuss what it will take to beat the merger challenge game. Also this week, we talk with Law360 senior reporter Jack Karp, who has been investigating the struggle to clear old felony pot convictions under New York’s recent law legalizing marijuana. Finally, we break down a recent fight between Twitter and law firm Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz over fees the BigLaw firm charged last year related to Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition.

Another U.S. Supreme Court season is in the books, and while the final week of opinions featured some supermajority holdings along party lines on divisive issues like affirmative action and gay rights, we also saw a number of decisions with unexpected lineups on issues like voting rights and religious freedom. This week, the hosts of both Pro Say and The Term team up to discuss the surprising unanimity we saw in many of the justices’ opinions, the impact we should expect following some of the blockbuster opinions handed down in the final week, and finally what, if anything, we can take away from the ethics conversation that dominated the headlines throughout the term.

Among its flurry of blockbuster end-of-term decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of an Evangelical postal worker who objected to working on Sundays due to religious reasons. The high court held that the Third Circuit shouldn’t have found that the USPS lawfully denied the worker’s religious accommodation request, raising the bar on what kind of accommodation is so burdensome that an employer cannot be expected to honor it. On this week’s Pro Say, Law360 Employment Authority editor-at-large Vin Gurrieri walks us through the ruling, what it means for employers and the lingering questions in its wake. Also this week, the slow unraveling of federal prosecutors’ $140 million healthcare fraud case in Texas and a looming retrial. Next, we dig into 3M’s massive, $12.5 billion settlement over drinking water contamination from so-called forever chemicals, the largest deal over drinking water in U.S. history. Finally, a Mayer Brown associate is competing on the latest season of “The Bachelorette.”

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has had a busy first year as the Volunteer State’s top legal officer. A keynote speaker at this year’s Burton Awards, which recognize excellence in the law, Skrmetti joined Pro Say to talk about his defense of anti-drag show legislation, gun rights and the delicate balance between litigation and policy work. Also at the Burton’s, former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer opens up about originalism, his label as a pragmatist and potential reforms to the high court. This week’s episode also features a sitdown with World Justice Project Executive Director Betsy Andersen, who discussed the rule of law and its application to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finally, former Library of Congress general counsel Elizabeth Pugh joins the show to discuss what it means to be the top lawyer of the country’s oldest federal cultural institution and the legacy of Nicolas Cage’s National Treasure on the duty of federal recordkeeping.

Former President Donald Trump has once again been indicted, this time by a special federal prosecutor honing in on Trump’s stashing of sensitive documents after he left office. This week on Pro Say, the hosts break down the charges against Trump and shine a light on two men who figure to loom large as the case surges ahead: Trump’s personal aide and co-defendant Walt Nauta and his attorney M. Evan Corcoran. Also this week, a white former Starbucks manager wins $25.6 million after proving that she was illegally fired following the arrests of two Black men in a Philadelphia location sparked public outrage. Next, JPMorgan Chase agrees to pay $290 million for its role in bankrolling Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes. Finally, Alex shares a book recommendation that tackles the finer points of England’s 18th century naval court martials.

The bitter legal dispute that has swallowed up the golf world for the past year vanished in a flash this week, as the PGA Tour and its Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf rolled out a blockbuster agreement to join forces. The union would create a new golf organization, the exact shape of which is still taking place. Those particulars will be crucial, as any arrangement between the former competitors is likely to get a long look from antitrust watchdogs and national security regulators. This week on Pro Say we break down what the deal means for the legal fracas and the blowback over the PGA Tour’s new close ties with the Saudi government and its litany of alleged human rights abuses. Also this week, the law firm founded by a former Lewis Brisbois team has effectively collapsed after a month following the revelation of racist and sexist emails from its named partners, and parents fighting Florida’s ban on medical care for transgender adolescents get an initial win. Finally, a New York attorney is indicted for a scheme

Already impeached over a raft of ethics violations, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is expected to pursue an unusual legal argument to exonerate himself in the state senate: that voters knew about his purported misdeeds and voted him into office anyway. The so-called “voter forgiveness” doctrine has roots in Texas caselaw, but looks to be a longshot for Paxton. Joining Pro Say this week to lay out Paxton’s dilemma and his unique legal calculus is Law360 editor-at-large Andrew Strickler. Also this week, rapper T.I.’s intellectual property suit against a series of dolls comes up short, and the bar exam gets a post-pandemic facelift. Finally, ChatGPT can certainly write a legal brief faster than you can, but it might also cite to cases that don’t exist. It’s a Faustian thing.

Montana’s decision to ban the popular social media app TikTok has drawn fierce legal backlash, with the company itself and some of its most prominent users immediately suing to reverse the unprecedented ban. This week on Pro Say, the hosts break down the testy litigation brewing in Montana, and how battles over prior attempts to ban the app might inform the saga to come. Also this week, South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh, already sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife and son, gets rung up on new charges of defrauding clients, and a pair of Biden administration judicial nominees bow out within a week of one another. Finally, Amazon’s formatting flub prompts a roundtable discussion on the misadventures of page limits, margins and footnote alignment.

The Federal Circuit is in the middle of a sensitive inquiry to determine whether 95-year-old judge Pauline Newman is mentally fit to remain on the bench in light of what colleagues have termed “bizarre” and “paranoid” behavior from the judge. Tensions on the court are running high, as Newman has now filed a lawsuit against the court arguing that the investigation into her fitness violates her constitutional rights. Joining Pro Say this week to lay out the saga in full and explain its ramifications for court is Law360 editor-at-large Ryan Davis. Also this week, Proskauer Rose LLP cannot escape a malpractice suit claiming it botched a client’s nine-figure hedge fund stake with sloppy contract drafting, and the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts steps down amid a series of vast ethics investigations. Finally, Alex and Hailey have one shot, one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted: To give you an update on how 8 Mile is coloring the defamation dispute between Michael Rapaport and Barstool Sports.

A Manhattan jury has found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll and then defaming her with his subsequent denials, following a contentious and sometimes ugly trial in federal court. Law360’s New York court reporter Frank Runyeon joins the show this week to break down the trial, which resulted in an order for Trump to pay Carroll $5 million in damages. Also this week, the controversial Republican Congressman George Santos is rung up on a bevy of fraud charges, and the government’s ‘Varsity Blues’ prosecution takes a hit after two parents swept up in the college admissions scandal see their convictions reversed. Finally, the hosts examine the apparent difficulty in serving Shaq with court papers.

It’s not every day an international pop star plays guitar on the stand. But that’s precisely what happened just before a New York jury decided that Ed Sheeran’s 2014 ballad “Thinking Out Loud” did not infringe on Marvin Gaye’s iconic hit “Let’s Get it On.” This week on Pro Say, the hosts probe the latest in a series of copyright decisions that have kept the pop music scene on its toes. Also this week, Law 360 senior reporter Nathan Hale cuts through the politics and explains exactly what is going on in the legal fracas between the Walt Disney Company and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Also, the Justice Department comes up empty in its push against anti-poaching deals in the defense sector, the latest in a downward trend for the government’s labor-side antitrust efforts.

If you were building a fictional legal dream team, who would you include? That's the question we try to answer on this week's episode, as the hosts draft a roster of fictional lawyers. The Pro Say gang looks to the world of television and film to build a legal dream team with five categories: general counsels and fixers; defense counsel; plaintiffs' attorneys and prosecutors; judges; and wild cards. Will first round picks include heroes like Atticus Finch or Elle Woods, an inspiration to legions of women in the law? Do the hosts have any unexpected surprise picks in store? Tune in this week to find out.

No one loves participating in jury duty, but would you like it more if you found yourself empaneled with actor James Marsden? How about if after weeks of hearing a case you found out the entire endeavor was an elaborate hoax, where the case is fake, everyone around you is an actor, and you are the only one who didn’t know. That's the premise of Amazon Freevee's new comedy, “Jury Duty,” and on this week's Pro Say we sit down with three of the show's stars who are also real-life attorneys. Also this week we discuss the $787.5 million settlement that resolves the Fox News-Dominion defamation saga and what legal headaches still remain for the network.

By now you’ve certainly heard about the historic prosecution of Donald Trump, as the former president pleaded not guilty this week to a rash of charges stemming from an alleged hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. Law360 New York courts reporter Frank Runyeon was in the room when Trump entered his plea and joins Pro Say to discuss that scene as well as his extensive reporting about criminal prosecutions in Manhattan court and what they portend for Trump. Also this week, Dominion gets a partial win in its defamation suit against Fox News ahead of trial, and a right-wing Twitter influencer is convicted of election interference. Finally, a police raid on the home of iconic rapper Afroman spawns a song, a music video and a heated lawsuit.

Artificial intelligence has swept across the culture, animating everything from philosophy to linguistics to cooking, and the legal industry is no different. This week on Pro Say, the hosts dive deep into whether and how lawyers are grappling with how to deploy generative AI tools like ChatGPT into their work across a number of areas. Legal aid groups have been eager to use AI, often covering for small staffs and budgets to farm legal services out to those that can’t afford them through traditional channels. Also, we explore the travails of one company that may have played fast and loose with the use of a “robot lawyer” to resolve legal issues. Finally, an appropriately blithe accounting of the Gwyneth Paltrow skiing crash trial.

The litigation finance industry has boomed over the past several years, with investors looking to bankroll contentious cases in the hopes of securing a big payday. But what happens when the financiers begin to take a heavy hand on case strategy? That question is at the center of a new suit against litigation funding behemoth Burford Capital, which has been accused of blocking a client from accepting “reasonable” settlement offers. Joining Pro Say this week is Law360’s Hannah Albarazi who will discuss the case against Burford and its implications for the lucrative litigation funding industry. Also this week, a feud between Littler Mendelson PC and one of its former attorneys over allegations of stolen documents has spilled into the courtroom and onto social media. Plus, a Delaware judge prepares to rule in a bitter dispute between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News over the network’s reporting on false claims that the voting technology company meddled in the 2020 presidential election.

Last week’s collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has jolted the economy, forcing the government to step in and attempt to restore order after the largest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. Now, politicians, regulators and SVB customers hope to stave off another banking calamity. Joining Pro Say this week is Law360’s senior banking reporter, Jon Hill, to explain how and why SVB failed, and what its implosion means for tech, finance and the economy at large. Also this week, a California appeals court backs a law allowing tech giants like Uber and Lyft to classify their workers as contractors and not employees, and a Texas judge appears ready to strip a crucial abortion drug of its FDA approval. Finally, the hosts’ wine glasses runneth over with legal news from the Bravo reality television universe.