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

President Biden’s recent cannabis proclamations mark the most significant shift in federal marijuana policy in decades. Still, the move to wipe out all federal possession convictions is mostly symbolic, as the drug is most aggressively policed at the state level. Law360’s senior cannabis reporter Sam Reisman joins the show to break down what Biden’s moves will mean for the industry, and where legalization advocates are taking the fight next. Also this week, an update in the Alex Jones Sandy Hook defamation saga, a former BigLaw partner stands trial for cyberbullying his colleagues, and a former staffer for the Los Angeles Angels gets over 20 years in prison for his role in the death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.

Four years since the FBI’s inquiry into alleged sexual misconduct by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, questions linger as to how the agency handled the mountain of tips it received and what that could mean for future high court nominees. Law360 features reporter Cara Bayles joins Pro Say this week to discuss what we've learned since 2018, what we still don't know, and why lawmakers are still questioning the FBI about the investigation so many years later. Also this week, President Joe Biden’s marijuana possession pardons, Alec Baldwin’s settlement with the family of the “Rust” cinematographer killed on set last year, Elon Musk’s change of heart and a rare instance of sanctions issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Finally, satirical heavyweight The Onion filed an absolute banger of an amicus brief with the Supreme Court.

Federal prosecutors’ decision to drop charges against a Massachusetts state judge accused of impeding the arrest of an undocumented immigrant in her courtroom turned up the heat on an already fraught case, stoking fears that quickly changing political winds played an outsized role in the matter from the start. Law360’s Boston courts reporter Chris Villani joins the show this week to break down the case and the fallout from the DOJ’s decision to stand down. Also this week, financial regulators crack down on texting bankers, and lawsuits challenging the Biden administration’s plans for student loan forgiveness begin to roll in. Finally, the convicted fraudster known as Anna Delvey in Netflix’s ‘Inventing Anna’ finds herself at odds with her former counsel.

Residents of Jackson, Mississippi, have thrust the city’s failure to provide clean water into federal court, suing numerous public officials and engineering firms that they say have degraded the city’s water through negligence and mismanagement. This week on Pro Say, the hosts dive into the specifics of the proposed class action and break down the lengthy battle that likely lies ahead. Also on this week’s show, a California judge raps Gibson Dunn for its questionable discovery conduct representing Facebook in a suit over the Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal, and the New York attorney general fixes her sights on the Trump Organization amid allegations of massive banking fraud. Finally, the Pro Say crew catches you up on the legal machinations that led to the freeing of “Serial” podcast subject Adnan Syed after 23 years behind bars for allegedly murdering his high school girlfriend.

Litigants and lawyers involved in bringing high-profile lawsuits are increasingly facing threats and harassment. That’s bad enough on its own but becomes even worse when it stops people from turning to courtrooms in the first place or impacts the outcome of cases that do get filed. On this week’s episode of Pro Say, Law360 senior reporter Jack Karp drops by to help us understand how harassment is damaging the legal system. Also this week, Los Angeles County settles a massive $236 million lawsuit over its handling of the city’s homelessness crisis; Georgia’s supreme court reopens a longstanding malpractice case against BigLaw fixture Proskauer Rose; and finally, attorneys from the Department of Labor point the finger at legal data company Westlaw after filing an incomplete court brief.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing shift to remote work led many employers to begin using software to monitor workers’ productivity. But are these trackers all they're cracked up to be? Today we're joined by senior employment reporter Amanda Ottaway to discuss the downside of productivity tracking. Also this week, we share the latest on Twitter’s lawsuit over Elon Musk’s decision to walk away from his $44 billion bid to acquire the social media network; a rare jury win for a policyholder seeking insurance coverage for a pandemic business interruption; and we discuss what it takes for a celebrity pose to become a registered trademark.

Earlier this month the FBI searched President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, turning up 33 boxes of documents taken from the White House with more than 100 classified records. The action set off a firestorm of reactions, but what if instead of the political punditry you just want to understand exactly what happened with the search and the courtroom fallout? That’s the focus of today's episode of the Pro Say podcast with one of our Florida court reporters Carolina Bolado. Also this week, we'll discuss Moderna's suits accusing Pfizer of infringing patents related to mRNA vaccine technology; "Matrix" producer Joel Silver escaping liability for the drowning death of his assistant while on a trip to attend Jennifer Aniston's wedding; and some peculiar trademark filings that included dead and made-up attorneys.

On a special episode of the Pro Say podcast we go behind the scenes of HBO’s hit miniseries We Own This City. The show explores the true story of a corrupt Baltimore Police Department task force that was ultimately charged with an array of crimes, a depiction that lays bare the systemic problems with policing in America and the war on drugs. Lucas Van Engen, one of the stars of the show, and Leo Wise, the federal prosecutor he portrayed join Pro Say this week to discuss the show and the real-life prosecution.

Until recently, contract provisions meant to guard against unforeseen disasters and “Acts of God” were fairly routine, and even seasoned attorneys didn’t pay them much mind. But that all changed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has sent attorneys scrambling to make sure their bases are covered in the event of the next global calamity. On this week’s episode of Pro Say, we welcome Law360’s seasoned real estate pro Andrew McIntyre to dish on “force majeure” and the new direction of post-COVID contract law. Also this week: the latest twist in a opioid crisis document dispute involving Arnold & Porter; a lawsuit claiming top universities colluded on financial aid underpayments gets the green light in federal court; and finally, a real stinker of an offbeat as a former Ohio court mediator stands accused of mailing feces to a sitting congressman.

The typically subdued and etiquette-filled sport of professional golf is anything but these days, as a highly contentious battle between the establishment PGA Tour and its newly formed rival LIV Golf has spilled into federal court. LIV and its players allege the PGA operates as a monopoly that violates antitrust laws, while the PGA insists it’s under attack from a well-funded venture that’s successfully luring PGA players away with highly lucrative contracts. On this week’s episode of Pro Say, we tee up a segment with Joseph Hanna, co-chair of Goldberg Segalla’s sports industry practice, to unpack this whole saga and help us make sense of it. Also this week: The Federal Circuit definitively decides that artificial intelligence can’t be named as inventors on patents; A former Twitter employee is found guilty of sharing data on users who were critical of the Saudi royal family; and finally, new research that shows judges sometimes channel their inner college freshman by using Wikipedia as a shortcut.

The trial to determine how much right wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay for spreading lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was adversarial, emotional, and at times downright bizarre. The proceedings saw both Jones and his legal team repeatedly reprimanded by the judge, while opposing counsel also delivered a bombshell about Jones’ lawyers inadvertently turning over evidence they tried to bury. On this week’s episode we welcome Law360’s Christine DeRosa to break down the surreal scenes coming out of the Texas courtroom. Also this week, Visa stays mired in a lawsuit over its alleged financing of child pornography, and the hosts take a look at a sweeping challenge to Trump-era China tariffs in the return of Trade Law With A-Law. Finally, the Tennessee judge already booted from an opioids case for being too outspoken gets suspended from the bench for a far more salacious infraction.

Texas federal Judge Alan Albright has spent the last few years turning his Waco court into a patent litigation hot spot. But one judge having that much power over IP cases brought scrutiny from lawmakers and Chief Justice John Roberts that came to a head when a new policy was announced to randomly assign patent cases filed in Waco to one of 12 judges. On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Law360 reporters Ryan Davis and Dani Kass to discuss the rise and fall of Albright’s patent court. Also this week, we talk about a $7 billion jury verdict against cable giant Spectrum over the stabbing death of an 83-year-old woman by one of the company’s field technicians; a former Fisher Phillips attorney who is facing the possibility of a new murder trial stemming from the shooting of his wife; and a no-good boyfriend who allegedly eavesdropped on the work of his BigLaw girlfriend to engage in insider trading.

A fairly mundane lawsuit over oil and gas royalties in West Virginia has been jolted by the revelation that the judge overseeing the case purportedly brandished a gun at an attorney who had previously tried to get him booted from the case. On this week’s all-host edition of Pro Say, the crew breaks down the truly wild development out of the Mountain State. Also on the show this week, Tesla is found negligent in a fiery car wreck that killed two teenagers, but assigned only 1% of the blame in the case; and New York law firm Kasowitz fights allegations that it helped to frame a woman for a hate mail campaign after she became involved in a neighborly dispute with one of the firm’s powerful clients. Finally, a California attorney gets smacked down after lobbing a vaguely coded sexist slur at two opposing female attorneys.

Elon Musk’s months-long dalliance with Twitter has finally spilled into court, as the social media platform sued the Tesla billionaire for backing out of his commitment to buy the company for $44 billion. With months of litigation likely ahead in Delaware’s notorious Court of Chancery, we welcome Law360 Delaware courts expert Leslie Pappas to unpack the complaint, the legal arguments from both sides and all the uncertainty of what happens next. Also this week, we discuss the sudden retirement of New York chief judge Janet Difiore in the midst of an ethics probe by the state’s judicial watchdog; the criminal fraud and conspiracy conviction of Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani as the Theranos drama winds down; and finally some more legal problems for the former stock trader who inspired the film “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

A Supreme Court term that by any measure was historic has concluded, and it takes a village of podcasters to untangle everything that happened. So this week, hosts from Pro Say team up with the hosts of The Term to discuss this momentous term. We take a look at the conservative supermajority’s turn toward originalism and the shifting power dynamics among the justices. We also dive into the biggest decisions of the term, from a trio of rulings about religion to a climate change fight that has big implications for administrative law, to blockbuster opinions on guns and abortion. And we end the show with a look at how the so-called “shadow docket” along with the abortion ruling leak and a break from stare decisis are causing some to question the court’s legitimacy moving forward.

The Supreme Court’s landmark decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and remove constitutional abortion rights is not even a week old and already its reverberations are massive. This week, the Pro Say hosts bring you an all-Dobbs show to examine the immediate fallout from the court’s ruling. First, we look at the early reactions from the legal industry and corporate America, along with a spate of legal challenges in state courts across the country that have already put some new abortion restrictions on ice. Finally, the hosts break down what a post-Roe abortion landscape means for the workplace, from employee benefits implications to collective bargaining. And stay tuned to the Pro Say feed this week as we join forces with our sister show The Term on Friday to wrap up all the big news from a historic session at the Supreme Court.

It is blockbuster Supreme Court decision season, and this week was historic with rulings on abortion and gun rights. On Pro Say, we’ll explore the court's most consequential expansion of the Second Amendment in over a decade. Also this week, we're joined by Law360 senior reporter Xiumei Dong, who's been investigating an alarming spike in data breaches at smaller law firms; we discuss South Dakota's Attorney General who was removed from office after he killed a man with his car; and, finally, we dive in to the website of a small liquor company that's been blocked from selling its whiskey using hilarious descriptions and names inspired by Lehman Brothers.  If you want to hear more about the takeaways from the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, check out a special episode of our sister show, Law360's The Term.

In a packed U.S. Supreme Court term with blockbuster issues like abortion rights, guns and religion some other key cases may have flown under the radar. So this week, we’re joined by appellate pro and Mayer Brown partner Andy Pincus to talk about a trio of employment arbitration rulings you should know. Also this week, we discuss an industry first where a defendant was served via NFT; touch down on some wisdom from the Burton Awards which honors achievements in the law; and consider the habeas corpus rights of elephants.

The legal fallout from Larry Nassar's sexual abuse of gymnasts took a new turn this week as more than 90 victims sued the FBI for botching the early stages of its investigation. The claims add to growing scrutiny over law enforcement’s purported oversights that allowed Nassar to evade scrutiny for years before he was eventually convicted. But the victims' path forward is murky, butting up against legal protections for federal law enforcement. We're joined by Law360 senior reporter Jack Queen to discuss the latest developments. Also this week, we discuss a law clerk being removed from a high-stakes IP case because of their ties to Google; how a hold out juror led to a mistrial in a fraud case against a man charged with looting a $25 million fund that was supposed to pay for the border wall; and a look at a copyright dust-up over the new Top Gun movie.

For the last six weeks America has been transfixed by a defamation case between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard that featured dueling testimony about abuse. The salacious details dominated headlines, obscuring the legal strategies that allowed Depp to mostly prevail. On this week's show we break down the legal arguments and expected appeals with Jeff Lewis, a Southern California defamation and appellate attorney who co-hosts the California Appellate Law Podcast. Also this week, the acquittal of a former Perkins Coie attorney deals a blow to a Trump-era special prosecutor tasked with uncovering malfeasance in the investigations of the former president’s ties to Russia, and a Texas judge skewers the NFL retirement plan for refusing to grant more robust benefits to former players. Finally, the hosts break down a scintillating tale of corporate intrigue as two lovers are accused of conspiring to infiltrate a rival home mortgage company in Alabama.