• When the Supreme Court term begins next week, a long-running battle over the future of class-action lawsuits will resume with a range of cases that could change rules for group lawsuits against businesses. (Wall Street Journal)
• With jury deliberations entering their 10th day at the trial of three former Dewey & LeBoeuf executives, criticism of the prosecutor’s strategy in the case is mounting steadily. By taking a “kitchen sink” approach, prosecutors failed to pare down charges to present a clear case to the jury, and the longer deliberations continue, the less likely it is that the jury will convict, critics said. (Big Law Business)
• The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has already cost BP $54.6 billion in legal and other costs, and that amount looks likely to keep mounting in the next few years. The energy company hired Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Kirkland & Ellis and Williams & Connolly for work related to the massive spill’s aftermath. In February 2014 BP reported that it had already spent over $1 billion on lawyers’ fees. (Corporate Counsel)
• As the American Association of American Law Schools prepares its speaker lineup for its 2016 annual conference in January, some conservative law professors are decrying what they call a liberal “bias” in the lineup and lack of intellectual diversity in the legal academy overall. (Big Law Business)
Legal Market
• Howard Dean, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Newt Gingrich, former Republican speaker of the House, spoke at a private reception Tuesday as global law firm Dentons launched a new public policy team formed by its July 1 merger with McKenna Long & Aldridge. A firm representative said Dentons plans to send Dean and Gingrich “on a road show,” from New York to Los Angeles and more cities, to speak their views on recent policy issues. Dentons announced a merger with Dacheng Law Offices, China’s largest law firm, in January, but the deal is still pending. (Big Law Business)
• As law firms adapt to a “new normal” of an increasingly tighter market for legal services, collaborating effectively — or getting specialists to work together across the boundaries of their expertise — can help firms provide more client-focused service and boost their revenue streams at the same time. (National Law Review)
• A recent opinion from the Delaware Chancery Court, home to many recent shareholder disputes, as well as the transcript from a hearing involving the merger of Trulia Inc. and Zillow Inc., suggests that the state’s judiciary wants to limit these suits, which often settle only for additional corporate disclosures and attorneys’ fees. (Big Law Business)
• Its not hard to understand why a merger between San Francisco-based Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and New York-based Chadbourne & Parke would make an attractive match: Pillisbury is looking for a bigger footprint in New York City, while Chadbourne seeks the same thing in California. However, issues raised in some previous aborted mergers involving the firms hint at a few possible road blocks to this one. (The American Lawyer)
• A team from Latham & Watkins represented computer hardware manufacturer Mellanox Technologies Ltd. in its merger deal with EZchip Semiconductor Ltd., valued at some $811 million. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised J.P. Morgan in the deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2016. (The Recorder)
• Slater & Gordon, the Australian legal group that has bought several legal firms in Australia and the UK in the last seven years, released audited results Wednesday that differ widely from numbers it released in August. A columnist scrutinizes the differences and their significance, noting that the firm most recently has faced criticism for its purchase of the Professional Services Division of insurance claims provider Quindell, which is under criminal investigation for its business and accounting practices. (Financial Times)
• There are many reasons why lawyers are unpopular and stressed, but this situation can, and should get better, if the profession makes changes, writes Mark A. Cohen, chief executive officer at Legalmosaic. (Big Law Business)
• The State Bar of California will not discipline Weil, Gotshal & Manges partner Edward Reines over his friendship with former Federal Circuit Chief Judge Randall Rader, according to recently filed documents. (The Recorder)
Laterals and Moves
• DWF client development director Clifton Harrison has left the firm to join Eversheds as head of marketing and business development, as top UK law firms continue to turn to “star” business development specialists to help attract and keep clients, in addition to making lateral hires. DWF replaced Harrison with David Irvine, who was Dentons head of client development for the UK, Europe and Middle East and Africa. (The Lawyer)
• International law firm Simmons & Simmons said it has hired James Coleman as a corporate partner in its Dubai office, its fourth partner hire for its corporate and commercial team in the Middle East in the last two years. The firm said its focuses include asset management and investment funds; energy and infrastructure; financial institutions; life sciences; and telecoms and media & technology. It said Coleman has been in the Middle East for five years, most recently at Allen & Overy, where he advised on public and private mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, reorganizations, investment funds and financial services regulation. (Simmons & Simmons)
Technology
• Edward Snowden, wanted in the U.S. following his leaks of confidential government documents he obtained while working at the National Security Agency, has set up a Twitter account, which already has more than 1 million followers. (ABA Journal)
Dewey
• The Dewey jury did not reach a verdict Wednesday, but in a possible sign of progress they asked Acting Supreme Count Justice Robert Stolz to reread the elements of a conspiracy charge. (American Lawyer)
Miscellaneous
• Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. Wednesday announced an agreement in which the companies will drop all pending patent infringement litigation between them and agree to work together on certain patent matters. (Law360)
• Uber Technologies Inc. on Wednesday won a nearly five-month delay of a trial in which two top executives in France face criminal charges ranging from deceptive commercial practices to illegal storage of personal data, with possible penalties of up to two years in prison and 300,000 euros ($334,456) in fines. The delay gives the ride-booking company time to deal with several regulatory and legal fights it faces worldwide. (Wall Street Journal)