Lookzy: all your daily legal news in 0.1 billable hours. Litigation, deals, lateral moves and industry news; we cover it all.

Welcome to Lookzy. In today's Lookzy:

• The new SCOTUS cases on the docket

• Greenberg's challenge in withdrawing from Kanye

• Emerson Electric's hostile $7.6B bid for National Instruments

• The interesting company making a bid for Manchester United

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NEW SCOTUS CASES ON THE DOCKET

The Supreme Court granted review in 11 new cases this past week, taking on a number of new issues. These cases will likely be argued in late April, with decisions announced later that summer.

The cases address issues such as how employers must accommodate their employees' religious practice, when a threatening statement is protected by the First Amendment and whether a house confiscation for failure to pay property taxes violates the Takings Clause, among other issues.

Despite adding these new cases following the Justices' latest private conference, no SCOTUS opinions have yet been released this term. The term's first oral argument took place on October 3, 2022, marking 106 days of no opinions being released.

This represents the longest time the Court has ever taken between oral arguments and issuing its first opinion, far longer than the 65 days the Court once took previously. Court observers suggest this delay may be related to the ongoing leak investigation and ideological divides on the Court.

ECON SNAPSHOT

The difference between special bonuses and layoffs

THE VERDICT

Arguing today's litigation news

Microsoft v. regulators. The EU is reportedly preparing to issue Microsoft a statement of objections, an antitrust warning, over Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision, which is also facing antitrust challenges in the US.

Laid off tweeps. A California federal judge ruled that workers laid off from Twitter cannot pursue claims via class action suit, instead requiring that they go before an arbitrator, given that certain of the plaintiffs signed individual arbitration agreements.

Jury awards. A jury in East Texas federal court determined that AT&T Mobility LLC must pay $166.3 million in damages to Finesse Wireless LLC for violating its 4G/LTE and 5G wireless network patent rights.

Withdrawing from Kanye. Greenberg Traurig, one of the several law firms which previously represented Kanye and has been seeking to withdraw, claims that they've been unable to get in contact with him, noting he had even deactivated the phone number previously used to speak with him. Therefore, Greenberg is reportedly considering "alternative means" to reach Kanye, potentially publishing ads in two LA newspapers and publishing the order from the judge, which would allow the firm to withdraw from the case.

Dolphin-unsafe. San Francisco District Court Judge William Orrick ruled that CostCo Wholesale Corp must face a lawsuit from a proposed class action claiming that Costco fraudulently pledged adherence to a higher dolphin-safe standard for its canned tuna than federal law requires, and then broke its "heightened promise" by selling canned tuna which uses dolphin-harming fishing methods.

THE DEAL

Wheelin' and dealin' today's corporate news

Bidding billions. Following National Instruments announcement that it was conducting a strategic review, Emerson Electric made public an all-cash bid to acquire National Instruments for $7.6 billion. Emerson claimed that this public bid followed eight months of National Instruments' refusals and delayed engagement behind closed doors.

Expensive rum. Alcohol conglomerate Diageo agreed to purchase Don Papa Rum, a high-end dark rum from the Philippines, for $281 million in cash plus additional consideration subject to performance up to $473 million in aggregate.

Data purchase. KKR agreed to purchase S&P Global's engineering solutions unit for $975 million in cash. KRR has long been a customer of the engineering solutions unit. Simpson is representing KKR and Skadden is representing S&P.

SPAC time. Spectaire agreed to merge with Perception Capital Corp. II, a SPAC, which will allow Spectaire to be publicly listed at an approximately $200 million valuation. Spectaire makes a carbon emissions monitoring device which claims to lower carbon offset payments. Latham is representing Spectaire and Skadden is representing Perception.

Manchester United. INEOS, the petrochemicals firm and one of the largest private companies in the world, confirmed it entered the bidding process to buy Manchester United, the first entity to publicly do so. INEOS already owns the French team Nice and is involved with others sports teams. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire founder and majority shareholder of INEOS, has often involved his personal interests in the company, such as by co-owning the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team or by having INEOS create the INEOS Grenadier, a car company.

BUSINESS OF THE FIRM

Lateral Moves:

• Paul Weiss hired partner Katherine Forrest from Cravath. Forrest is a former SDNY judge and marks a rare and high profile departure from Cravath.

• DLA Piper hired Anthony Lombardi from Schulte Roth.

• Morrison Foerster hired Sam Riley from the Bank of England.

• Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP hired a 44-member cybersecurity team from Lewis Brisbois.

• Weil Gotshal hired Sarah Flaherty from Linklaters.

Industry News:

• Walt Disney General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez received a nearly $15.2 million pay package in 2022, according to a proxy statement.

• Norton Rose Fulbright's Frankfurt office was the subject of an investigation by German authorities Tuesday, as a probe into the European cum-ex tax evasion scandal continues.

• The 3rd Circuit proposed setting a 5pm ET deadline for electronic filings in an attempt to stop lawyers needing to work until midnight for filings. Comments on the proposal are due February 18th.

• Still waiting on your bonus? Check out the Lookzy Reverse Bonus Tracker to see who else is left to announce.

BOILERPLATE

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