š§© Fidelity's multimillion-dollar noncompete fight
PLUS: A Goodwin partner's plan to leave the billable hour behind
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:
Fidelity's noncompete fight over a move to Michael Dell's family office
Court backs Florida's age limits for social media accounts
Piper Sandler and Perella Weinberg abandon merger talks
A Goodwin partner builds an AI firm around fixed fees
THE VERDICT
Arguing today's litigation news
Too young to scroll. Florida's HB3 requires covered social media platforms with features such as infinite scroll and autoplay to bar under-14 accounts and get parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. The Eleventh Circuit reversed a preliminary injunction against the law, which was already enforceable pending the appeal. Although the restrictions affect speech rights, the unanimous panel found them content-neutral and likely to survive First Amendment scrutiny.
An expensive exit. Former Fidelity portfolio manager Adam Benjamin sued parent FMR, alleging it tried to retain him before firing him in July and withholding millions in compensation under a noncompete. Benjamin joined Michael Dell's family office, DFO Management, in October. He says DFO isn't a competitor and he never worked in Fidelity's family-office business, according to the suit reported by Reuters. Fidelity declined comment.
Banking on reputation. The OCC says all nine of the largest national banks it supervises used subjective reputation-risk policies to restrict customers over political or religious views or lawful business activities. Its final report covers 2020 through September 2025. The banks deny political or religious discrimination, saying legal, financial and reputational risks drive their decisions. The regulator is considering policy changes but announced no fines or sanctions.
THE DEAL
Wheelin' and dealin' today's corporate news
Advisers can't agree. Piper Sandler and Perella Weinberg abandoned talks for an all-stock merger after disagreements over financial and personnel terms, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Perella shares closed down 19.1%.
Gileadās cancer deal. Gilead agreed to pay Vir Biotechnology $90 million upfront for exclusive rights to develop and sell three experimental cancer treatments, with milestone payments potentially bringing the total to $1.875 billion, plus royalties. Vir will discover and design the treatments, while Gilead takes over further development, manufacturing and commercialization. The technology is designed to keep the treatments inactive until they reach a tumor, with the aim of limiting harm to healthy tissue. Covington advised Gilead on the deal.
BOILERPLATE
From Goodwin to fixed fees. Goodwin private-equity partner Leon Johnson is leaving to lead OmniLex Partners, a new US firm associated with Zurich-founded Omnilex AI. It will initially focus on venture-capital and startup work and routine, high-volume litigation. Johnson's plan pairs senior lawyers with AI and charges for projects or outcomes at fixed fees instead of by the hour.
Checking the credentials. Reuters could not find attorney or bar-registration records in any US state or DC for new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, who has described a career in law. Zacharia says she practiced international transaction law with all appropriate credentials. Pepperdine confirmed her 2011 law degree, but her bar status remains unresolved.
Alright, back to billing. That's all, folks!
