Lookzy: all your daily legal news in 0.1 billable hours. Plain English coverage of deals, litigation and legal trends trusted by lawyers at Cravath, Latham, Skadden, Gunderson and elsewhere.

Welcome to Lookzy. In today's Lookzy:

• Kobe Bryant family's $29M settlement

• The federally-regulated bank down 50% pre-market today

• Activists nominate directors at Salesforce

• Fee roundup: some of this week's blockbuster legal fees

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ECON SNAPSHOT

The difference between special bonuses and layoffs

THE VERDICT

Arguing today's litigation news

Kobe. The family of late basketball star Kobe Bryant has been awarded nearly $29 million in a settlement with Los Angeles County over photos taken by sheriff’s deputies at the scene of his fatal helicopter crash in January 2020. The settlement also covers Bryant’s daughter Gianna and seven other victims who died in the crash. The photos were allegedly shared among deputies and shown to others outside the department.

McDonald's. A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by McDonald’s Corporation shareholders who accused the board of directors of breaching their fiduciary duties by approving a generous severance package for former CEO Steve Easterbrook. Easterbrook was fired in 2019 for having a consensual relationship with an employee, but later revealed to have had sexual relationships with three other subordinates and lied about it. The judge ruled that the shareholders failed to show that the board acted in bad faith or with gross negligence.

Tipping Congressman. A federal prosecutor alleged that former US Representative Chris Collins abused his position of trust by tipping off his son about confidential information he learned as a board member of an Australian biotechnology company. Collins pleaded guilty in 2019 to securities fraud and lying to the FBI for helping his son and others avoid $800,000 of losses by selling stock in Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd before news of a failed drug trial became public. He is appealing his 26-month prison sentence.

Pharma v. pharma. Genentech Inc, a subsidiary of Roche Holding AG, filed a suit against Biogen Inc for allegedly breaching a contract over royalties for a blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug called Ocrevus. Genentech claims that Biogen owes it more than $500 million in unpaid royalties and interest for Ocrevus, which was developed by Genentech and licensed to Biogen in 2003. Genentech accuses Biogen of improperly deducting certain expenses from the royalty payments and failing to provide adequate documentation.

THE DEAL

Wheelin' and dealin' today's corporate news

CRM barbarians. Elliott Management Corp., an activist investor group, has reportedly nominated a slate of directors to Salesforce Inc.'s board, just hours before the company announced quarterly earnings. Elliott is one of several activist hedge funds which owns a multi-billion dollar stake in Salesforce and has been pushing for changes in its strategy and governance. Elliott's Jesse Cohn is reportedly likely to be one of the nominated directors.

Solo NYC listing. Arm Ltd., the chip designer owned by SoftBank Group Corp., has ruled out a UK listing for now and is focused on going public in the US. The company said it has made progress in preparing for an IPO by March 2024, after its previous plan to sell to Nvidia Corp. was blocked by regulators. Arm may reportedly pursue a secondary listing in London later, but that path is more unlikely.

Bank run. Silvergate Capital Corp., a crypto-friendly federally-regulated bank and public company, is down over 50% in pre-market trading after delaying filing its annual report due to potentialinquiries from the DOJ, Congress and bank regulators over its dealings with FTX and Alameda Research. The bank disclosed that it received a grand jury subpoena from the DOJ’s fraud unit in January 2023, requesting documents related to its accounts for FTX and Alameda. The bank also said it expects to receive similar requests from other authorities.

Spin-off. German manufacturing company Siemens AG announced that it will spin off its motors and drives business into a new company called Innomotics. The move is part of Siemens’ strategy to focus on its core businesses of digital industries, smart infrastructure, mobility and medical devices. Innomotics will have annual revenues of about $6.8 billion and employ around 24,000 people worldwide.

BUSINESS OF THE FIRM

Lateral Moves:

• Jenner & Block named litigator Lindsay Harrison as head of its Washington DC office.

Fee Roundup:

• A court upheld a $503 million attorneys’ fee award for a $1.5 billion class settlement with Syngenta AG in litigation over genetically modified corn.

• Blackstone Inc. paid $53.4 million to law firm Kirkland & Ellis in 2022, the company disclosed in a securities filing.

• KKR & Co. Inc. gave $18.6 million in total compensation to its new general counsel, Kathryn “Katie” King Sudol, in 2022, according to a securities filing.

BOILERPLATE

Alright, back to billing. That's all, folks!