21st Century Fox

  • Morning Docket: 04.26.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.26.17

    * Can you hear me now? Modern marvels of technology like cellphones and other electronic devices are barred from the Supreme Court during oral arguments, but yesterday, justice was interrupted by the ringing of… a Justice’s cellphone. Who was the culprit? The offending phone belonged to Justice Stephen Breyer. Oopsie! [AP]

    * After a week charged with sexual harassment allegations and the ouster of Bill O’Reilly, just when Fox News thought its troubles were over, a group of current and former employees filed a class-action lawsuit against the network alleging “abhorrent, intolerable, unlawful and hostile racial discrimination.” The plaintiffs’ lawyers got in this zinger of a statement: “When it comes to racial discrimination, 21st Century Fox has been operating as if it should be called 18th Century Fox.” [DealBook / New York Times]

    * Ever since it dumped Eversheds, Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner has been out on the prowl for another merger partner, and it looks like the firm has finally found its ideal mate in New York boutique Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman. The whole thing seems to be a bit “incestuous” if you ask us. We’ll have more on this later today. [Am Law Daily]

    * Ahead of his confirmation hearing todays, Makan Delrahim, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the antitrust division of the Department of Justice who’s been called a “centrist nominee,” has pledged to recuse himself from all matters involving his prior work as a lobbyist, including the merger between Anthem and Cigna. [Big Law Business]

    * At some firms, like Ballard Spahr, senior partners must “transition[] their practices” by age 60, but at other firms, like Cozen O’Connor, age is nothing but a number. “We have so many lawyers who are extremely productive and terrific lawyers and if they want to work well into their 70s, God bless ’em,” says CEO Michael Heller. [Philly Inquirer]

  • Morning Docket: 04.21.17
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.21.17

    * “I really am amazed that a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific can issue an order that stops the President of the United States from what appears to be clearly his statutory and Constitutional power.” AG Jeff Sessions seems to have forgotten that Hawaii is actually a state and that when he was still a senator, he voted for the judge who ruled against Trump’s travel ban. Oopsie! [CNN]

    * 21st Century Fox, the parent company to Fox News, will wind up paying out more than $85 million as a result of the network’s sexual harassment scandal. The sick thing about this is that the vast majority of the money will be paid to accused harassers Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly as part of their multimillion-dollar exit packages. [New York Times]

    * Good news, everyone! Although it might have seemed like it, the Trump administration isn’t planning to ignore white-collar crime at this time. “Our aim is to motivate companies and individuals voluntarily to comply with the law,” says Trevor McFadden, a deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department. That’ll work well. [Reuters]

    * A Republican lawmaker wants to rename the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau to the “Consumer Law Enforcement Agency.” Along with the name change, a leadership change is being recommended. Rep. Jeb Hensarlin of Texas has proposed that the agency remain with a single-director structure, but that the president be able to say two of his most favorite words at any time, at will: “You’re fired!” [National Law Journal]

    * “The people of Alabama who cherish the rule of law are not going to miss the Ayatollah of Alabama.” Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore’s suspension has been upheld by the state’s Court of the Judiciary. As a result, Moore will remain under suspension without pay for the rest of his term, effectively ending his career on the bench as he will be unable to run for reelection again due to his age. [ABA Journal]

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