Google Antitrust Suit?; Legal Weed; Law Firm Mega-Merger Mania
Latest from Bloomberg Law.
Big changes may be in store for Google. The tech giant was given an ultimatum by FTC Chairman Jonathan Leibowitz to settle its pending antitrust probe in the coming days or face a lawsuit, sources tell Bloomberg News. The agency has been investigating Google for almost two years for favoring its own services in search results, providing exclusive search services to online publishers and a whole host of other issues. If it chooses to file a complaint, the FTC can do so in either its own administrative court or the Federal court system.
Next, voters in Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana for recreational use last week, but the federal government still bans the drug. So what to do? State AGs from Washington and Colorado are meeting with US Attorney General Eric Holder’s office to see if the federal government plans to sue to block the measures. Does the federal law trump the state pot measures? We wouldn’t be surprised to see the issue eventually end up in court.
Finally, more big firms are feeling the urge to merge. On Wednesday, the UK’s Norton Rose announced it is merging with U.S. firm Fulbright & Jaworski, creating a 3,800-attorney firm with 55 offices worldwide. It’s not the first time Fulbright has considered a merger. Earlier this year, it was reportedly in talks with Pillsbury Winthrop. And it’s the second major cross-border merger announced in as many weeks. Last week, SNR Denton announced a three-way merger with Canadian and European firms, creating a 2,500-lawyer conglomeration.
Full video below.
Tsipras the great?
The Greek drama has been unfolding over the past year(s). We have read of corruption, to much debt, creative accounting, riots and much more. During the past weeks, the extreme parties have gained a lot of popularity, and of the main questions Mr Alexis Tsipras is asking goes; “Is this debt legal”? You can’t really blame the guy. After all, Alexis means “defender (and warrior)”. Tsipras is probably just warming up. From Golem.
Predictably the bully-boy chorus, shouting insults and threats at the Greek people, has begun to swell. One of the UKs best known Tory Bully-boys, Ken Clark, Justice Secretary(!), recently described those Greek politicians who are opposed to the terms of the EU enforced austerity measures, as “cranky extremists”.
The object of this jibe was, of course, Alexis Tsipras, whom even The Guardian newspaper described as
…leader of the radical left Syriza party, [who] is demanding a renegotiation of Greece’s bailout package.
What is it that Syriza and Mr Tsipras have actually said they want, which qualifies them for being described as ‘radical’ and ‘cranky’?
Well Mr Tsipras is on record as saying that if given a mandate to set up a government, he would set up a Debt Commission to investigate the legality of the various debts the Greek Nation and its banking system have accumulated. Is this radical and cranky?
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