REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
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Judicial nominees …
President Joe Biden announced his first six new judicial nominees of 2024, including civil rights lawyer Amir Ali tapped to become the first Muslim American federal judge in D.C. … Meanwhile, three of Biden’s previous nominees have withdrawn their names, including San Diego-based Judge Marian Gaston … On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed the first new federal judge of 2024 by approving John Kazen to serve as a trial judge in Texas.
M&A in the legal industry …
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton announced a combination with smaller firm HMB Legal Counsel in Chicago … Fennemore Craig is expanding into the Seattle market through a tie-up with12-lawyer litigation firm Savitt Bruce & Willey … Italian law firm PedersoliGattai, created from the merger of two Milanese legal firms Pedersoli and Gattai, Minoli, started operations on Jan. 1.
Antitrust …
Google’s $2.7 billion EU antitrust fine should be upheld by Europe’s top court, an adviser to the court said … HP was sued by consumers, claiming the company’s printers would not accept third-party replacement ink cartridges … Amazon has not offered remedies to address concerns of EU antitrust regulators over its $1.4 billion acquisition of iRobot … Walgreens agreed to pay $360 million to insurer Humana to settle claims that it overcharged for prescription drug … SCOTUS rejected an appeal over chicken suppliers’ defense pact… The National Association of Realtors and a group of major residential brokerages sought to undo a $1.8 billion verdict in real estate commission case … Microsoft’s financial backing for OpenAI may be subject to EU merger rules, EU antitrust regulators said … A U.S. judge ruled that debit card users in several states can sue American Express over high fees as a class.
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The 8th Circuit ruled on Wednesday that the Chinese government and related defendants must face Missouri’s accusations of hoarding face masks and other protective medical equipment in anticipation of COVID’s spread across the world. Alison Frankel explains why two judges on the appellate panel accepted the Missouri AG’s argument that China’s purported market manipulation is not shielded by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, even though the 8th Circuit refused to revive the state’s other allegations.
Check out other recent pieces from our columnists: Alison Frankel and Jenna Greene
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Additional writing by Kuheli Biswas.
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Correction: The Jan. 10 Afternoon Docket misspelled the name of new Finnegan copyright practice leader Anna Chauvet.
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