Bar exam alternatives make inroads, Sullivan & Cromwell's new AI practice, Musk may testify again in SEC's Twitter takeover probe, and more ??

?? Bar exam alternatives, long out of favor with ABA, make inroads

The American Bar Association’s legal education arm may soon endorse lawyer licensing pathways that don’t involve passing the bar exam , potentially softening a pro-bar exam stance the organization has held for more than a century.

While still in preliminary stages, such a move would represent a shift in the hard-line position on bar admission held by world's largest voluntary organization of lawyers. And some legal education professionals say it's overdue.

The potential change comes in response to the growing alternative attorney licensing movement, said William Adams, the ABA’s managing director of accreditation and legal education.?

The ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar is slated to weigh a draft policy statement urging states to “create diverse pathways to licensure” when it meets May 17.

That draft was submitted by a task force formed last year to reevaluate the ABA’s longstanding policy statement that “every applicant for admission to the bar should be subject to examination by public authority.” ?Learn more.

?? Law firm Sullivan & Cromwell joins AI gold rush with new practice

New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell said on Thursday that it has formed a new artificial intelligence practice , as large firms compete to handle clients' growing AI-related legal needs.

The 800-lawyer firm said the group would be headed by leaders of its intellectual property and finance practices in Silicon Valley, New York and London.

?"We see AI as having implications across our entire client base," said Palo Alto-based partner Nader Mousavi, a co-head of the firm's IP and technology group who is helping lead the new practice.

Several other large U.S. law firms have also established dedicated AI practice groups over the past year and a half, hoping to capitalize on a surge in AI-related dealmaking, regulatory and litigation work.

Formalizing a practice group can help firms market and expand the work in buzzy, lucrative areas like AI. More on this.

??? Elon Musk may be compelled to testify again in SEC's Twitter takeover probe

A federal judge on May 9 indicated a willingness to compel Elon Musk to testify again in the SEC's investigation into his $44 billion takeover of Twitter.

Lawyers for the billionaire appeared in a San Francisco courtroom on Thursday to urge U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley to decide against the SEC, which is seeking to force Musk to testify as part of its probe into his 2022 purchase of social media giant Twitter. Another judge previously ruled in favor of the agency.

The SEC?sued Musk in October ?to compel the Tesla?and SpaceX CEO to testify after he refused to attend a September interview for the investigation, saying the SEC was trying to "harass" him with a number of subpoenas.

The judge did not issue a decision on Thursday.

"I don't think that the deposition subpoena is unreasonable. What I don't know is why does the deposition have to be at an SEC office?" Corley said at a hearing at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

The investigation concerns whether Musk broke federal securities laws in 2022 when he bought stock in Twitter, which he later renamed X. It is also reviewing statements and SEC filings he made in relation to the deal, the agency has previously said. Learn more.

?? Litigator Mark Perry wins ruling in pay fight with ex-firm Gibson Dunn

U.S. law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher must make future retirement payments and hand over $557,000 to its prominent former partner Mark Perry, a California judge has tentatively ruled.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kevin Brazile?said Wednesday?he would confirm an arbitrator's finding that Perry is a retired partner, not a resigned partner, entitling him to retirement payments once he no longer competes with Gibson Dunn.

Perry co-led the appellate and constitutional law practice at Gibson Dunn before leaving the firm to join Weil, Gotshal & Manges?two years ago . His current and former litigation clients include?Amazon's MGM Studios,?Apple,?Comcast?and?Pfizer.

Gibson Dunn had asked the California court to vacate the January arbitration award, arguing that the arbitrator improperly refused to hold an evidentiary hearing and made other errors.?

Brazile said in his tentative ruling that was no basis to review the arbitration award for legal errors and no requirement for an evidentiary hearing under rules to which the firm had agreed. Learn more.

?? That's all for today, thank you for reading?The Legal File, and have a great weekend!

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