Corporate Law

Ex-lawyer Tom Girardi’s former CFO had escape plan and lavish spending habits, ex-fiancee testifies

The former chief financial officer of the now-collapsed Girardi Keese law firm in Los Angeles asked his former fiancee to flee to the Bahamas with him in 2022, she testified Tuesday in the embezzlement trial of disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi.

Aug 21, 2024 11:09 AM CDT

Federal judge strikes down FTC rule banning noncompete agreements

A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday struck down the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on noncompete agreements, finding that the agency exceeded its authority with a rule that would have voided contracts that bar workers from moving to rival employers.

Aug 21, 2024 10:30 AM CDT

Ex-bankruptcy judge who tried to avoid deposition in romance case ordered to take ethics training

A former bankruptcy judge has been sanctioned for trying to avoid a deposition by submitting to an unauthorized off-the-record interview with the law firm that employed his romantic partner.

Aug 19, 2024 12:37 PM CDT

Lawyer who reported suspected wrongdoing can’t collect whistleblower award, DC Circuit says

An in-house lawyer who reported suspected wrongdoing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission can’t recover a whistleblower award, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Aug 19, 2024 10:31 AM CDT

Google’s foes on both coasts consider what it takes to crack a monopolist

In the wake of last week’s landmark federal court decision that deemed Google an illegal monopoly, Google’s foes are stepping up efforts to craft a legal case for something unthinkable until recently: the internet giant’s breakup.

Aug 16, 2024 11:15 AM CDT

Disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi ‘didn’t seem all there’ in late 2020, ex-employee testifies in embezzlement trial

A public defender representing disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi in his embezzlement trial asked a former accounting employee Tuesday about a secret bank account being used by other lawyers at his now-closed law firm.

Aug 14, 2024 12:47 PM CDT

Convicted lawyer’s victimhood claim is ‘absolutely delusional,’ judge says at sentencing hearing

A Chicago lawyer sentenced to prison for bank embezzlement Tuesday interrupted the judge throughout the proceeding and claimed that the case against him “is an evil that’s going on here.”

Aug 14, 2024 10:30 AM CDT

Lawyer accused of misappropriating up to $282M allegedly handed firm control to disbarred attorney

Updated: A lawyer accused of misappropriating up to $282 million from as many as 60,000 debt-relief clients, either through intentional or “grossly negligent” conduct, had employed a disbarred lawyer alleged to be running the operation.

Aug 13, 2024 3:49 PM CDT

Google monopoly ruling shows 19th-century law can police Big Tech

A federal judge’s ruling that Google broke the law to maintain a monopoly in search has dealt a blow to one of Big Tech’s main arguments against regulation: that America’s antiquated antitrust laws aren’t flexible enough to address the fast-changing nature of tech innovation.

Aug 8, 2024 1:05 PM CDT

Rule change to allow paraprofessionals to offer limited legal services proposed by top Texas court

The Texas Supreme Court is seeking comment on a proposal that would allow qualified nonlawyers to provide some legal services to low-income Texans.

Aug 7, 2024 10:19 AM CDT

Law firms are seeing ‘significant resurgence’ in financial health, new report says

Most major practice areas experienced growth in the second quarter of 2024, leading to “a significant resurgence in the financial health of law firms,” according to the Thomson Reuters Institute, which released its latest Law Firm Financial Index.

Aug 6, 2024 9:04 AM CDT

Google is an illegal monopoly, federal court rules

A federal court has found that Google illegally abused its market power to quash competition in internet search. The ruling hands the Justice Department its biggest victory in more than two decades in limiting the power of Big Tech companies to control and dominate the huge markets they have created.

Aug 5, 2024 3:15 PM CDT

Justice Department sues TikTok, alleging it broke child privacy law

The Justice Department on Friday sued TikTok and its China-based owner ByteDance, saying the popular video app had violated a children’s privacy law by collecting data on millions of Americans younger than 13.

Aug 2, 2024 3:20 PM CDT

DOJ launches corporate whistleblower awards program

The Justice Department on Thursday unveiled a corporate whistleblower pilot program targeting foreign corruption and financial fraud that authorities said could yield billions of dollars in forfeitures each year. Tipsters who are first to provide information of corporate wrongdoing could be eligible for up to 30% of the first $100 million in company forfeitures.

Aug 2, 2024 9:45 AM CDT

‘Huge market opportunity’ for some law firms during ESG backlash

Most major U.S. law firms in recent years have launched dedicated environmental, social and governance (ESG) practice groups to help clients navigate a surge of new rules and initiatives emerging across climate; sustainability; diversity, equity and inclusion; human capital; and other areas. But more recently, law firms have run squarely into the political backlash against ESG.

Aug 1, 2024 2:20 AM CDT