Wake Up Call: WilmerHale Lawyers Accused of Improperly Penning Brief in Facebook Case

• WilmerHale lawyers for Facebook Inc. improperly wrote a top business-advocacy group’s brief in a consumer privacy case to sidestep strict word limits on appellate arguments, a federal appeals suit alleges. Plaintiffs represented by Edelson PC and others claim the U.S. Chamber of Commerce failed to disclose that two WilmerHale attorneys who wrote its supporting brief also represented the social media company on related issues in the case. WilmerHale denied the accusations. The fight illustrates the potentially billion-dollar stakes in the underlying suit in which Illinois users of Facebook allege its photo-scanning technology violates a state law on biometric data. Mayer Brown represents Facebook. (Bloomberg Law via BLB)

• O’Melveny & Myers client Bird Rides Inc. is suing Beverly Hills in California over a municipal ban that led to impounds of thousands of Bird’s fleet of shared motorized scooters. The company, launched in 2017 by a former Uber and Lyft executive, has faced regulatory challenges from cities. (Bloomberg) (The Recorder)

• James Polsinelli founded his now 800-lawyer firm in Kansas City in 1972 when he was 28. He’s planning to retire Jan. 31, 2019, but meanwhile he’s one of the rare Big Law namesakes still at his firm practicing law and billing clients. (American Lawyer)

• Former directors of Yahoo Inc. agreed to a $29 million settlement with investors who alleged their failure to protect users’ data allowed one of the largest computer-security breaches in history. The agreement brings the total settlements of cases over multiple Yahoo hacks to more than $100 million. (Bloomberg Law via BLB)

• Federal financial penalties against major corporations have plunged under the Trump administration as these companies face less regulatory scrutiny, according to a study. (New York Times)

• Two former Big Law attorneys launched a “high-end” corporate boutique firm, Fairchild Morgan Law, with offices in Chicago and Milwaukee. According to their statement, founder Geoff Morgan was previously a corporate partner at Schiff Hardin in Chicago and chair of Michael Best’s business group in Milwaukee. Jessica Fairchild, previously a corporate attorney at Sidley Austin in Chicago, was later in-house general counsel for Chicago 2016, the non-profit that promoted Chicago’s unsuccessful bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. (PR Newwire)

• Google’s top policy official in Washington, former Republican U.S. congresswoman (NY) Susan Molinari, is stepping down but will continue to advise the company. (Axios)

Lawyers, Law Firms, Deals

• DLA Piper advised commercial real estate lender LaSalle Investment Management in the acquisition of the $1.2 billion debt-fund business of Latitude Management Real Estate Investors. Deal terms weren’t disclosed. (Bloomberg) (DLAPiper.com)

Laterals, Moves

• Mayer Brown said tax attorney Michael Lebovitz joined the firm as a partner in its tax transactions & consulting practice in Los Angeles. He joins from PricewaterhouseCoopers. (MayerBrown.com)

• Cargill Inc., an agricultural product producer and distributor, hired veteran pharmaceutical in-house lawyer Anna Richo as its general counsel, chief compliance officer, and corporate secretary, effective Jan. 14, 2019. Richo, is currently top lawyer at UCB, a biopharmaceutical company based in Belgium, and has had top legal roles at Baxter Healthcare and Amgen Inc., a California-based biopharmaceutical company. (Corporate Counsel)

• Topps, which makes and markets physical and digital sports cards, entertainment cards, and collectibles, has an opening for an assistant general counsel based in New York. (TheSports.biz)

• Kirkland & Ellis hired patent and trade secrets litigator Nicola Dagg as a partner in London. She arrives from Allen & Overy. Plus more recent personnel changes and other news from intellectual property law firms and other IP-related organizations. (Bloomberg Law via BLB)

Legal Actions

• Rebuffing the Trump administration, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for a trial today on lawsuits challenging the addition of a question about citizenship to the 2020 census. (Bloomberg via Bloomberg Law)

• The Supreme Court refused, for now, to stop a trial in a sweeping lawsuit pressed by young people seeking to force the federal government to take steps against climate change. (Bloomberg via Bloomberg Law)

• Plaintiffs suing President Trump will be able to seek information about customers at Trump’s hotel in Washington, after a federal judge rejected Trump’s contention that he’s too busy to deal with the lawsuit. Attorneys general for Washington, D.C. and Maryland accuse Trump of violating the Constitution’s emoluments clause by doing business with foreign governments. (Washington Post)

• India’s IT outsourcing giant Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. is in California federal court fighting racial discrimination claims by American workers. (Bloomberg)

Compiled by Rick Mitchell and edited by Molly Ward.