* The FTC is appealing its case against the Microsoft-Activision merger. There’s a lot of talk about the FTC “failing” but even in losing they forced Microsoft to publicly claim it wouldn’t make key franchises XBox exclusives and… that’s a victory in itself. Successful litigation doesn’t have to end in a win to have been a smart case to bring. [Law360]
* But, because everything is stupid now, the FTC is going to get grilled in a congressional hearing. [Reuters]
* Gun ban in state parks upheld because the law has never been enforced and may never be… haven’t these people heard of 303 Creative? You don’t need any of that anymore. [Hartford Courant]
* Allen & Overy’s managing partner has stepped down in the midst of the Shearman merger negotiations. [Bloomberg Law News]
* The Titanic sub disaster underscores the need for robust anti-SLAPP laws. [Daily Beast]
* NCBE unveils its nextgen bar exam questions. They are not much better than the existing questions. [Law.com]
* A new wrinkle in the hybrid office reality: small firms sharing office space. A new ethics opinion deals with this issue and hopefully settles who gets to decide if the toilet paper is overhanded or underhanded. [ABA Journal]
* Remember when Donald Trump lost that defamation case to E. Jean Carroll and immediately went out and repeated the same claims about her being a liar? Because E. Jean Carroll does and she’s seeking another $10M. [Law360]
* Complaints against federal judges jumped 22 percent last year. You don’t think this could be a knock-on effect from putting unqualified judges on the bench and blessing widespread financial ethical breaches, do you? [Legal Intelligencer]
* Wells Fargo piling up NLRB complaints to go with the $1B they had to pay over the Fed, Treasury, and CFPB complaints. [Bloomberg Law News]
* TikTok sues Montana over state’s performative ban. [Reuters]
* Federal judge temporarily blocks Mississippi law designed to give white state officials control over the court system but only in majority Black areas. This briefing is going to read like a timewarp. [AP]
* Expect the rest of the Magic Circle to reevaluate their U.S. strategies in response to A&O merging with Shearman. [LegalCheek]
Adam Hakki, Co-Chair of Executive Committee and US Chair
St. John’s University School of Law, JD
Khalid Garousha, Senior Partner and Co-Chair of Executive Committee
Sheffield University, LLB
Hervé Ekué, Managing Partner
University of Paris V Descartes