• Viacom’s board reportedly met on Thursday and approved a still not public settlement, in which Philippe P. Dauman will be dismissed as chief executive and take home a total severance package valued at $72 million, according to anonymous sources. (Bloomberg) (DealBook)
• “Fort Lauderdale litigator Jeffery Ostrow was thrust into the international media glare this week when his client, Olympic swimming gold medalist Ryan Lochte, went from victim to villain in the eyes of many in Rio de Janeiro and around the world.” (Law.com)
• Allen & Overy breaks lockstep to reward its hires in New York, about two years after the firm introduced “superpoints” to reward its best partners. (The Lawyer)
• A side-by-side comparison of how every law firm’s partner profits have changed in the past decade. (Big Law Business)
Legal Market
• A new program at DLA Piper lets new associates spend their entire first year working exclusively on pro bono matters. Other firms such as Hogan Lovells has adopted variations. (Am Law Daily)
• With an appeals court hinting it might overrule a key pretrial ruling in the fight over whether Uber drivers must be treated as employees, the controversial ride-sharing company may come out ahead by failing to win court approval of a $100 million settlement with drivers. (Bloomberg/Big Law Business)
• Goldman Sachs wants to force into arbitration an ex-managing director who sued the firm for legal fees stemming from a U.S. probe over leaked Federal Reserve documents.(Big Law Business)
• The EPA and U.S. DOJ on Thursday announced a $15 million settlement with Harley-Davidson Inc. to resolve claims about its products’ emissions. (Law.com)
• Latham & Watkins will take more floorspace in London after poaching partners from Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy and Ashurst. (The Lawyer)
• Lawyers seeking compensation for U.S. owners of cars affected by Volkswagen AG’s emissions-cheating scandal filed a 742-page brief that relies heavily on documents provided by the automaker to support allegations that auto-parts supplier Robert Bosch GmbH worked “hand-in-glove” with the German car maker. (WSJ)
• Expedia Inc. was hit with a class action lawsuit that claims it offers “deals for vacations and hotel stays at hotels unaffiliated with its sites, then redirects users to book with nearby hotels that are.” (The Recorder)
•. Lawyers from Cox, Castle & Nicholson and Eisner Jaffe advised on the $100 million purchase of the Playbook mansion by billionaire Daren Metropoulis. (Am Law Daily)
• “The U.S. Justice Department’s plan to end its use of private prison operators could deliver a financial hit to those companies’ bottom lines, as shown by the precipitous drop in their stock prices Thursday. But the end won’t come without a fight, groups that have long opposed private prisons said.” (Law.com)
Laterals
• Chris Pardi, who has been with Fiat Chrysler since 2004 and was previously a manager in Deloitte’s tax services group, took over earlier this month as general counsel and corporate secretary of FCA US. (Big Law Business)
• ALM Media’s former vice president and editor-in-chief David Brown resurfaced as the chief content officer at the corporate counsel network, In the House, where he will help develop career-oriented content. (Big Law Business)
SCOTUS and Other Court Rulings
• An appeals court in Los Angeles made it harder for insurance firms to defend bad-faith claims. (The Recorder)
• The Vermont Supreme Court ruled a prisoner didn’t commit unauthorized practice of law by giving fellow inmates free legal help. (Bloomberg BNA/ Big Law Business)
Technology
• The man who introduced millions of people to bitcoin has soured on blockchain, and said sometimes collaboration is an asset. (Bloomberg/ Big Law Business)
• Perspective: U.S. courts’ willingness to permit broad discovery has fueled a perception that U.S. courts are a costly and inequitable forum. (Big Law Business)
• Ropes & Gray partner Douglas Meal will lead the defense of LabMD, the defunct Atlanta-based cancer testing company that is gearing up to challenge a recent FTC decision that found the company liable for lax data security. (National Law Journal)
• The legal battle between software startup Domo Inc. and former manager Jay Biederman escalated this week when Biederman sued Domo in Delaware, to obtain the startup’s financial statements so he can estimate how much his shares in the company are worth. (WSJ)
• Five things businesses may not know about the EU’s new landmark General Data Protection Regulation that replaces an over 20-year old privacy law. (Bloomberg BNA/ Big Law Business)
Legal Education
• An interview with Laura Nirider, co-director of the Center for Wrongful Convictions of Youth at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, whose client Brendan Dassey — from Netflix’s Making of a Murderer — had his conviction overturned. (Law.com)
Miscellaneous
• Illinois’ Cook County Circuit Judge Valarie English Turner was suspended after being accused of allowing a court clerk to preside over at least two cases. (WSJ Law Blog)
• The Democratic National Committee’s mascot, Donald Ducks, which is taunting GOP nominee Donald Trump about his undisclosed tax returns on the campaign trail, raises a legal question: Is Donald Ducks waddling over Disney’s intellectual property rights? (WSJ Law Blog)
Compiled by Gabe Friedman.