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US Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Joe Biden has endorsed to replace him on the Democratic presidential ticket, started her political career as a California prosecutor who blended criminal justice reforms with a tough stance on some crimes. The LA Superior Court was closed on July 22 after it announced that a ransomware attack affected its systems late last week. Former AG Eric Holder and his law firm, Covington & Burling, will conduct vetting of potential running mates for Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign for the US presidency, according to two sources. The criminal tax trial for President Joe Biden's son Hunter will begin on Sept. 9, the U.S. federal judge presiding over the case said in a filing on July 22. Here’s your legal file 👇

Former Attorney General Eric Holder and his law firm, Covington & Burling, will conduct vetting of potential running mates for Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential campaign, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Subscribe to The Daily Docket: https://reut.rs/4daK2Mz

The Los Angeles Superior Court, the largest single unified trial court in the country, was closed on July 22 after it announced that a ransomware attack affected its systems late last week. The court said on July 21 that all 36 courthouse locations in the county would not open on July 22 as court personnel and security experts work to repair network systems that were 'severely impacted' by a ransomware attack that was detected on July 19. The affected systems include the court's jury duty portal and internal systems for case management and other functions, the court said. Sara Merken has more: https://reut.rs/3Ya0Sa7 #legalnews #legalindustry #judiciary

Good morning. Before she was a politician, Vice President Kamala Harris was a prosecutor who mixed criminal reform with a tough-on-crime approach. Plus, all 36 locations of the Los Angeles Superior Court were shut down after a ransomware attack; Hunter Biden gets a trial date for his tax case; and a GSK spinoff settles claims its ‘non-drowsy’ Robitussin really does cause drowsiness. Subscribe to The Daily Docket: https://reut.rs/4daK2Mz

The Los Angeles Superior Court, the largest single unified trial court in the country, was closed on July 22 after it announced that a ransomware attack affected its systems late last week.   The court said on July 21 that all 36 courthouse locations in the county would not open on July 22 as court personnel and security experts work to repair network systems that were 'severely impacted' by a ransomware attack that was detected on July 19. Parts of the website for the court remained offline on July 22 afternoon. The attackers have not been publicly identified, and a court spokesperson declined to offer an update on the timeline for reopening other than to refer to an earlier statement that said operations are expected to resume on July 23.   The affected systems include the court's jury duty portal and internal systems for case management and other functions, the court said. Read Sara Merken's story: https://reut.rs/3Ya0Sa7

The U.S. DOJ urged a federal appeals court to overturn a judge's ruling that made it tougher for the government to win a lawsuit against Regeneron and prove the drugmaker engaged in an illegal kickback scheme. Justice Department attorney Daniel Winik urged the Boston-based 1st Circuit to overturn a ruling that would make it harder for the government to hold companies that pay kickbacks accountable under the False Claims Act. He said that ruling was based on an interpretation of anti-kickback law that ran contrary to the goals of lawmakers who when amending the law in 2010 sought to strengthen the government's ability to pursue such claims, not weaken it. The False Claims Act allows the department and whistleblowers bringing cases on the government's behalf to sue companies to recover taxpayer funds paid out by government programs including Medicare and Medicaid based on false claims. Read Nate Raymond's story: https://reut.rs/3SePZjC

Elon Musk's X social media platform violates the trademark rights of PR firm Multiply, according to a lawsuit filed in California federal court that was made public. The complaint said that X, formerly known as Twitter, causes consumer confusion by using the ‘X’ trademark for social-media marketing services that compete with Multiply. Musk rebranded Twitter as X after buying the platform last year. Hundreds of other companies own 'X' trademarks, and Musk's X is already facing a separate infringement lawsuit from marketing firm X Social Media. Virginia-based Multiply has created social-media ad campaigns for drink brands including Arizona, Corona and Liquid Death. The firm said it adopted 'X' branding in 2019 and owns a federal trademark covering its 'X' logo. Read Blake Brittain's story: https://reut.rs/4daT9Nf

President Joe Biden dropped out of the race for the White House, throwing his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris, but what happens to the $95 million his campaign has in the bank? Immediately after Biden stepped aside, the campaign filed forms with the FEC scrubbing his name from registration documents and changing the official name of the presidential campaign account to 'Harris for President' from 'Biden for President.' But can the Harris campaign take control of the money that easily? Subscribe to The Afternoon Docket: https://reut.rs/4c06Rl0

The U.S. National Labor Relations Board dropped its appeal of a judge's ruling striking down a rule that would have treated many companies as employers of certain contract and franchise workers and require them to bargain with unions representing them. The NLRB in a filing, told the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit that it continues to believe its 'joint employers' rule complies with federal labor law but has decided to withdraw its appeal of a lower-court judge's March ruling. The rule issued in October, 2023, would have treated companies as 'joint employers' of contract and franchise workers when they have control over key working conditions such as pay, scheduling, discipline and supervision, even if that control is indirect or not exercised. Nate Raymond and Dan Wiessner has more: https://reut.rs/4f8w8MF

 A U.S. judge approved $284 million in settlements in a class action accusing major U.S. universities of favoring wealthy applicants for admission, short-changing students who sought financial aid. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly approved the settlements after a hearing on the fairness of the accords, reached over many months, according to an attorney representing the students who filed the lawsuit. The proposed class action on behalf of about 200,000 current and former college students was filed in 2022 against 17 prominent colleges and universities. Among the defendants, Brown, Yale and Columbia universities agreed to pay a combined $62 million to resolve claims against them. Dartmouth and Rice said they would each pay $33.75 million. Northwestern agreed to pay $43.5 million, and Vanderbilt will pay $55 million. Read Mike Scarcella's story for more: https://reut.rs/3xVEUwW