Trump's 'zombie case,' Indian legal market open to international firms, White & Case sues former client and NFL poised to win painkillers case ??

?? Trump hush-money charges would bring 'zombie case' back to life

Manhattan has started and stopped its investigation into Donald Trump's hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels so many times that it has come to be known as a "zombie case" like the mythical character who returns from the dead.

A grand jury of New Yorkers is expected to decide within days whether to bring charges against the former president for his role in a $130,000 payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen made in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg launched the probe after his predecessor Cyrus Vance twice looked into the payment and did not bring charges, in part because winning a conviction would rely on untested legal strategies, according to a new book, "People vs. Donald Trump" by Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor in the office.

Read more about the theories Pomerantz says the office was considering in the case.

?? India's law firms fret about poaching, plan fee hikes as foreigners gain a foothold

India's decision to allow foreign law firms to establish offices in the country is set to shake up its legal services industry, with local firms fretting star performers could soon be poached and predicting that fees will shoot higher to retain them.

As of March 10, foreign law firms can now set up shop in India to offer M&A and corporate advisory services as well as to handle arbitration disputes for foreign clients.

"Pricing for legal services will go up very significantly," said Cyril Shroff, founder of Cyril Amarchand, one of India's biggest law firms, noting that local firms will in general need deeper pockets to go up against their foreign rivals.

"Indian firms that do not increase their prices and (don't) focus hard on profitability do so at their own peril. They will lose their best talent and eventually perish."

Foreign law firms have yet to announce plans for new offices in India, but international firms like Allen & Overy and Herbert Smith Freehills told Reuters they are examining the new rules.

DLA Piper said in a statement it will work with its clients to devise a strategy for the Indian market, while Clyde & Co said there were "opportunities for growth" in India.

?? With no merger deal, failed SPAC faces lawsuit over legal fees

Law firm White & Case has sued its former client, special purpose acquisition company Colonnade Acquisition Corp II, for more than $8.2 million in legal fees, claiming it stiffed the firm after failing to consummate a planned $480 million merger and then announcing plans to wind down this month.

New York-founded White & Case?sued ?Colonnade and its directors in New York state court late Monday, arguing the firm will be "irreparably harmed" if the blank-check company liquidates and dissolves before paying the fees it owes.

The SPAC market has sagged?as ?regulatory scrutiny tightens and rising volatility spooks investors, triggering higher redemptions. Several SPACs have?returned money ?they raised after failing to find suitable targets.

Two engagement letters with Colonnade described White & Case's rates and the scope of its work and said the firm would seek payment at a later date, with the earlier?letter ?noting the firm would bill the company once it closed or abandoned a deal and the?latter ?saying payment would be due upon closing the deal, the firm said.

?? NFL poised to beat players' bid to revive lawsuit over painkillers

Judges on a 9th Circuit panel in Pasadena, California, seemed unlikely to revive a proposed class action lawsuit accusing the National Football League of allowing teams to over-prescribe painkillers to players so they could stay on the field while injured.

The panel repeatedly pressed a lawyer for the eight retired players who filed the lawsuit on why he had not enlisted medical experts to testify about the impact the drugs had on players.

Circuit Judge Jay Bybee told the players' lawyer Phillip Closius that evidence showing the large amount of drugs that teams prescribed to players was "staggering (and) shocking," but that he had failed to link it to medical conditions suffered by the plaintiffs.

"You're off to a good start but you didn’t connect all the dots and I think it's a serious problem."

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