 //sli.reutersmedia.net/imp?s=126591700&li=&e=gjjtuyu768@gmail.com&p=31588550&stpe=pixel” width=”2″ height=”6″ border=”0″ /> |
//sli.reutersmedia.net/imp?s=126591701&li=&e=gjjtuyu768@gmail.com&p=31588550&stpe=pixel” width=”2″ height=”6″ border=”0″ /> |
//sli.reutersmedia.net/imp?s=126591702&li=&e=gjjtuyu768@gmail.com&p=31588550&stpe=pixel” width=”2″ height=”6″ border=”0″ /> |
//sli.reutersmedia.net/imp?s=126591703&li=&e=gjjtuyu768@gmail.com&p=31588550&stpe=pixel” width=”2″ height=”6″ border=”0″ /> |
//sli.reutersmedia.net/imp?s=126591704&li=&e=gjjtuyu768@gmail.com&p=31588550&stpe=pixel” width=”2″ height=”6″ border=”0″ /> |
|
|
|
| //sli.reutersmedia.net/imp?s=874768&li=&e=gjjtuyu768@gmail.com&p=31588550&stpe=static” border=”0″ style=”max-height:12px;” /> |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Good morning. We just got new information about what’s going to be tested on the new bar exam. Reporter Karen Sloan has the details. Plus, Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling are eying a July vote on their tie-up; the Biden administration says the Supreme Court should not take up an Apple-Caltech patent case; and a U.S. court panel today will weigh which venue should host civil suits over the FTX crypto exchange collapse.
Were you forwarded this email? Subscribe here.
|
The National Conference of Bar Examiners today unveiled what the overhauled bar exam — set to debut in July 2026 — will cover, our colleague Karen Sloan reports. The newly released 42-page outline identifies the specific lawyering skills and areas of the law that will be tested on the NextGen Bar Exam, and it clarifies those areas of the law that test-takers must memorize and those that will be assessed with the help of resources.
The new test gets rid of the current exam’s three separate components — the Multistate Bar Examination, the Multistate Essay Examination and the Multistate Performance Test — in favor of an exam designed to better integrate knowledge and skills. Cynthia Martin, a Missouri judge who is leading development of the new test, said the new exam may use a common fact pattern to test two or three areas of the law and a variety of legal skills over five or six questions of various formats.
A committee collected public comments and spent more than a year weighing what topics to retain and remove from broad subject areas, as well as which topics must be memorized. It is nearing a final decision on the length of the exam, which officials have said will be no longer than the existing test, and likely shorter.
|
|
|
|
- Jabari Wamble, President Joe Biden’s nominee for a federal judgeship in Kansas, asked the president to withdraw his nomination. Wamble, originally picked for the 10th Circuit but nominated to Kansas district court after that first nomination expired, said “it is best” that he instead remain in his current position as a Kansas federal prosecutor. (Reuters)
- U.S. congressional Democrats are pursuing legislation to bar “judge shopping,” where lawsuits are filed in small courts to increase their chances of being assigned to sympathetic judges. The lawmakers sponsoring the bill said it was spurred by a recent ruling from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, limiting access to the abortion pill mifepristone nationwide. (Reuters)
- Disbarred South Carolina lawyer Richard “Alex” Murdaugh, convicted of killing his wife and son, was indicted by a federal grand jury on 22 counts of financial fraud, including charges involving his housekeeper’s death. Prosecutors said he fatally shot his wife and son to distract from his financial crimes, including the theft of millions of dollars from his law partners and clients. Murdaugh at trial denied murdering his family members. (Reuters)
- U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert was asked to unseal bond records in the prosecution of U.S. Rep. George Santos of New York. Santos was charged this month with fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds. The New York Times in a letter to Seybert argued the requested files — including the identities of bond guarantors — are “judicial records that are properly open to the public.” The newly elected Republican, who has resisted calls to resign for lying about his resume, said after appearing in court recently he would “fight my battle.” Santos was released on a $500,000 bond and is due back in court for his next appearance on June 30.
|
That’s the percentage of partners at both Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling who need to vote to approve the firms’ plans to merge for the deal to go through, according to a Shearman spokesperson. The firms are hoping to hold the vote in July. London-founded Allen & Overy and New York-founded Shearman said their proposed tie-up would create a firm with nearly 4,000 lawyers in 49 offices and a combined global revenue of about $3.4 billion.
|
“The EPA doesn’t need this hammer — it has lots of other hammers.“
|
—Attorney Andrew Simpson, arguing on behalf of Port Hamilton Refining and Transportation at a 9th Circuit hearing. Simpson told the court the EPA has other tools available to ensure existing refineries don’t violate emissions limits, making a costly new permit unnecessary. The appeals court panel expressed skepticism that the EPA can require the idled oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands to obtain a new pollution permit before restarting operations. Port Hamilton sued the EPA in January after the agency said the permit would be necessary.
|
|
|
|
- The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation is meeting in Philadelphia to consider consolidating cases. Among the cases before the panel are nearly two dozen lawsuits brought against FTX, celebrities like Tom Brady and teams like the Golden State Warriors by customers of the crypto exchange who say they were conned by FTX’s sophisticated marketing scheme into purchasing securities from the now-bankrupt company. The panel will also hear arguments over lawsuits accusing Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops of using software embedded in the companies’ websites to illegally spy on customers.
- Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is set to be sentenced after he was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. Rhodes, a Yale Law School-educated former Army paratrooper and disbarred attorney, was accused by prosecutors during an eight-week trial of plotting to use force to try to block Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s election victory. Rhodes was convicted on three counts and acquitted on two. Prosecutors have asked for a sentence of 25 years. Reporter Sarah N. Lynch previews the hearing.
- In Delaware federal court, U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura Hatcher will hold an early hearing in the bid by Indian airline Go First to enforce arbitration orders against U.S. aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney. The Indian airline, represented by Wilson Sonsini, wants the Delaware court to enforce an arbitration order in Singapore against Pratt, which it blames for its financial troubles. Pratt allegedly failed to supply engines on time, according to Go First. Pratt’s lawyers at Reed Smith told the judge in a recent filing that Go First was not a “victim in need of urgent legal redress” but in reality an “insolvent airline that materially breached its contractual obligations.” Hatcher wants to discuss the status of the case.
|
Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.
|
- Swedish telecoms company Ericsson beat a lawsuit by U.S. shareholders, when U.S. District Judge William Kuntz in Brooklyn ruled it did not mislead investors about its compliance with U.S. anti-bribery laws. A Boston-based pension fund claimed that Ericsson had overstated the extent to which it had eliminated the use of bribes after it settled the DOJ’s corruption allegations. (Reuters)
- The Biden administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an appeal by Apple and Broadcom stemming from their $1.1 billion trial loss to the California Institute of Technology in a patent infringement case. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said the Federal Circuit was correct when it ruled last year that the companies could not seek to invalidate Caltech’s patents in court after Apple failed to raise its invalidity arguments at the U.S. Patent Office. (Reuters)
- The DOJ urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to review a legal fight won by Google against song-lyric website Genius over Google’s alleged copying of Genius’ lyric transcriptions. In a court brief, the Biden administration argued that the justices should let stand the 2nd Circuit decision that Genius’ case was preempted by federal copyright law. (Reuters)
- Online wholesale platforms Tundra and Faire filed competing lawsuits against each other in California federal court, as the rivals fight to gain an edge. Tundra’s Sidley team lodged antitrust claims against Faire. Fenwick attorneys, for Faire, accused Tundra of unauthorized access to nonpublic information. (Reuters)
- The FTC is investigating whether Abbott Laboratories and other companies that make baby formula colluded in bidding on state contracts to provide formula for the USDA’s Women, Infants and Children program that provides free formula to low-income families. Studies showed that in addition to the money made from the contracts, the contract win tended to lead to better commercial sales, according to the FTC. Abbott did not respond to a request for comment. (Reuters)
|
|
|
- Dechert rehired IP litigation partner Nisha Patel Gupta from social media network LinkedIn, where she was senior lead litigation counsel. Gupta is based in the firm’s Palo Alto office. (Reuters)
- Jenner hired litigator Alex Romain as a Los Angeles-based partner. Romain joins the firm from Milbank. (Reuters)
- Paul Weiss added executive compensation partner Andrea Wahlquist Brown in New York from Wachtell. (Reuters)
>> More moves to share? Please drop us a note at LegalCareerTracker@thomsonreuters.com.
|
|
|
Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletter or other Reuters news content.
Get Reuters News App
Want to stop receiving this newsletter? Unsubscribe here.
To manage which newsletters you’re subscribed to, click here.
|
|
|
|
