Ex-bankruptcy judge defeats bid for his phone records, Texas to let some paralegals give legal aid, Musk taps Toberoff to sue OpenAI and more ?
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?? Good morning from The Legal File! Here is the rundown of today's top legal news:
???? Ex-bankruptcy judge David Jones defeats bid for his phone records in tangled fee dispute
Former U.S. bankruptcy judge David Jones will not have his government cell phone records probed in a battle over attorneys' fees that he approved for his romantic partner's former law firm, a judge ruled at a court hearing on Aug. 7.
Jones resigned from the bench in October 2023 after admitting to a long-term, undisclosed relationship with bankruptcy attorney Liz Freeman, who was a partner at law firm Jackson Walker, which regularly filed cases in Jones' court.
The Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog, the Office of the U.S. Trustee, has argued that Jackson Walker should disgorge millions of dollars in legal fees that Jones approved in 33 cases. As part of the fee dispute, an administrator overseeing J.C. Penney Co's 2020 bankruptcy case had sought to subpoena records of calls and texts from Jones' government issued cell phone.
But U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Eduardo Rodriguez ruled that the proposed subpoena was not properly targeted to the current fee dispute or the administrator's concern that Jones' conduct had a negative impact on J.C. Penney's bankruptcy.
The subpoena could reveal every phone number that Jones had contact with while he was on the bench, including the non-public phone numbers of other judges or court staff, Rodriguez said.
?? Texas to allow some non-lawyers to provide legal services, joining other states
Paralegals in Texas may soon be able to provide some legal services to low-income individuals, under rules preliminarily approved by the state's top court.
The Supreme Court of Texas said in an Aug. 6 order that allowing licensed legal paraprofessionals to deliver limited legal services in areas including family law, estate planning and probate law, and consumer debt law will help close the "justice gap" and address unmet civil legal needs.
Colorado, Oregon, Arizona and Minnesota have in the past few years set up programs to license some trained professionals who are not lawyers to deliver limited legal services.
"Ensuring that people, regardless of their economic standing, have access to civil legal services is fundamental to the integrity of our judicial system," Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht said.
The court will accept public comment on the new rules for licensed paraprofessionals and court-access assistants until Nov. 1, with the rules expected to take effect Dec. 1.
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???? Elon Musk taps copyright law vet Toberoff for OpenAI lawsuit
Elon Musk has turned to Marc Toberoff, a lawyer best known for entertainment copyright battles, for his new federal lawsuit against ChatGPT maker OpenAI.
The lawsuit, filed on Aug. 5 in San Francisco accuses OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman of violating contract provisions by putting profits ahead of the public good in the push to advance artificial intelligence.
Musk in June withdrew an earlier version of the case filed by Irell & Manella and swapped out the legal team. Apart from seeking to void OpenAI's license with Microsoft, the new lawsuit adds federal fraud and other claims.
Among Toberoff's high-profile cases, he sued Disney's Marvel on behalf of four artists seeking to reclaim copyright interests in superheroes they co-created. The case settled last year. He is suing Paramount Pictures in a lawsuit claiming its 2022 blockbuster "Top Gun: Maverick" used too much from a magazine article that inspired the original "Top Gun" film.
?? Law firm Paul Weiss taps Skadden M&A duo
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has hired a pair of asset management industry dealmakers from rival law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
David Hepp, co-head of Skadden's financial institutions group and leader of its asset management transactions practice, is joining Paul Weiss in New York alongside partner Matthew Collin.
Hepp and Collin have advised BlackRock on a number of deals, including its $12.5 billion acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners, which was announced in January. The duo's other clients include Wells Fargo, Affiliated Managers Group and Dai-ichi Life.
Hepp, a nearly 25-year Skadden veteran, will lead a newly formalized asset management M&A practice within New York-founded Paul Weiss' corporate department.
?? That's all for today, thank you for reading?The Legal File, and have a great day!
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