International Swimming League Accuses Farella Braun + Martel of Negligence The Zurich-based International Swimming League (ISL) and its founder, Konstantin Grigorishin, have filed a lawsuit against their former U.S. law firm, Farella Braun + Martel, seeking more than $7 million. The lawsuit, filed on December 30 in San Francisco Superior Court, accuses the firm of…
Generative AI as a Scholarly Tool Suffolk University Law Dean Andrew Perlman, a noted expert in law and technology, recently employed ChatGPT to co-author an article that explores how generative AI could transform legal scholarship. In his December 26 piece titled “Generative AI and the Future of Legal Scholarship,” Perlman asked ChatGPT to devise a…
Kirkland & Ellis Leads Global M&A Advising In 2024, leading U.S. and international law firms capitalized on a surge in M&A mega-deals. Kirkland & Ellis, the world’s largest law firm by revenue, dominated the global mergers and acquisitions landscape, advising on transactions with the highest combined value. According to the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG),…
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a stark warning on Tuesday about rising threats to the judiciary’s independence. He highlighted increasing violence, intimidation, and troubling rhetoric from elected officials, which he argued jeopardize the rule of law. Growing Threats to Judges and the Judiciary Roberts revealed a sharp increase in violent threats and online…
For the first time in over two years, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will resume hearing cases, this time as a visiting judge on the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. The court’s recently released calendar confirmed that Breyer, now 86, will join three-judge panels to preside over appeals from New England…
Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, revolutionized the federal judiciary during his single term by appointing an unprecedented number of women and people of color to the bench. Carter, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 100, reshaped a judiciary historically dominated by white men, leaving an enduring legacy of…
The new year is set to bring a wave of significant law firm mergers across the United States, driving further consolidation in the legal industry. These strategic combinations reflect shifting client demands, market pressures, and a push for broader capabilities. High-Profile U.S. Mergers On January 1, several major law firm mergers will take effect, creating…
Two Democratic lawmakers in Congress, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Hank Johnson, are pushing for more transparency in the U.S. judiciary’s rules on disclosing travel-related gifts. They have raised concerns about the recently implemented financial disclosure policy, which they believe falls short in addressing past omissions. Lawmakers Question Limited Scope of New Policy In a…
In 2024, major U.S. law firms rapidly reduced their presence in Greater China, signaling an uncertain future for foreign legal practices in the world’s second-largest economy. At least 11 prominent firms, including Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, either closed or announced plans to shutter offices in Shanghai,…
A federal judge recently acknowledged violating judicial ethics rules by delivering presentations to a politically affiliated club. To address the issue, the judge removed his presentations from the club’s YouTube channel and pledged not to speak at future meetings of the organization. Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Jerome Holmes of the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court…