Tom Girardi's mental competency faces test, Edward Blum sues major law firms, Office Depot eyes $2 million in attorney fees and more??

?? Good morning from The Legal File! Here are today's top legal stories:

?? Lawyer Tom Girardi's mental competency at issue in hearing set for today

Federal prosecutors and public defenders representing Tom Girardi are poised to square off today over whether the disbarred California attorney is mentally competent enough to stand trial for allegedly stealing millions of dollars from his clients. A decision on Girardi's mental competency could determine whether the government's criminal case against him can proceed.

Girardi's lawyers, in heavily redacted court papers , said "three neurologists, two neuropsychologists, one neuropsychiatrist, multiple lawyers" and others said Girardi suffers from dementia. Parts of his brain are atrophying and he is suffering from memory loss, Girardi's lawyers said in the filing. He "cannot maintain awareness" that he has been disbarred and that his clients have not been paid, they said.

The government has expressed doubt that Girardi is mentally incompetent, saying he was placed in a conservatorship "mere weeks" after he was accused of stealing millions of dollars in settlement funds from the families of the victims of the 2018 Boeing 737 MAX Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia. Girardi has pleaded not guilty.

The Girardi saga put the California state bar under new scrutiny, as it faced pressure to bolster attorney oversight in the wake of the scandal and a longstanding backlog in attorney discipline cases. Girardi, founder of now-defunct law firm Girardi Keese, was the subject of 205 attorney ethics complaints beginning in 1982 with more than half accusing him of misusing client funds, according to a state bar investigation.

?? Activist behind US affirmative action cases sues major law firms

The American Alliance for Equal Rights, a group founded by conservative activist, Edward Blum, who led the successful U.S. Supreme Court challenge to the consideration of race in college admissions, sued Perkins Coie in Dallas and Morrison & Foerster in Miami.

The federal lawsuits accused both law firms of unlawfully discriminating against white candidates by limiting which law students could be considered for paid fellowships designed in part to help support the recruitment of people of color.

Perkins Coie offers "diversity fellowships" that provide stipends of $15,000 to $25,000 and paid positions as summer associates. Applicants must belong to "a group historically underrepresented in the legal profession, including students of color, students who identify as LGBTQ+, and students with disabilities."

Morrison & Foerster has a similar program that is open to applicants who are Black, Hispanic, Native American or members of the LGBT community.

The lawsuits came amid an uptick in legal challenges to corporate diversity programs in the wake of the Supreme Court's affirmative action ruling, with companies including Activision Blizzard, Kellogg and Gannett now facing complaints.

?? Gun case ruling irrelevant to Pennsylvania anti-harassment ethics rule, lawyer says

A free-speech attorney-advocate contends that the 3rd Circuit’s recent decision in a gun case does not apply to a challenge to Pennsylvania's adoption of an anti-harassment and anti-discrimination professional rule for lawyers.

Pennsylvania bar officials said his lawsuit should be dismissed following the appeals court’s ruling that a challenge to a novel New Jersey law was premature.

Zachary Greenberg, a program officer for the non-profit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, countered in his letter to the 3rd Circuit that "many different factors distinguish" the New Jersey gun case from his lawsuit.

Greenberg said he gives presentations about free-speech laws and cases involving controversial legal positions or offensive or derogatory language, and he has argued he could be disciplined for those presentations under the anti-harassment rule. In his letter to the 3rd Circuit, Greenberg said there are "dozens" of examples of lawyers in those kinds cases being harassed or threatened for their involvement.

?? Office Depot eyes $2 million in attorney fees after beating copyright claim

Office Depot’s lawyers are seeking more than $2 million in legal fees after defeating a copyright infringement suit from data analysis company Infogroup.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed Infogroup's lawsuit in June, rejecting the data company's claim that Office Depot misused propriety data as the retailer mapped out where it should open new stores. Cannon found that the licensing agreement Infogroup and Office Depot signed did not restrict how Office Depot could use Infogroup's data.

Damon Lewis, a Hogan Lovells partner who served as Office Depot's lead counsel in this case, said in a court filing that the $2 million request is reasonable and justified.

"Infogroup’s copyright claim was frivolous and objectively unreasonable, and an award of fees will further the goals of the Copyright Act by deterring plaintiffs like Infogroup from pursuing such unreasonable claims," the fee petition said.

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