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Who Got the Work?℠

BY ALM STAFF

Welcome to “Who Got the Work?℠,” a weekly column that highlights the law firms and lawyers around the country who are being brought in to handle key cases and close major deals for their clients.

Consumer Protection

Ralph H. Palumbo and Lynn M. Engel of Arete Law Group and Marjorie Nicol of Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker have entered appearances for Med-Data Inc. in a pending data breach class action. The complaint was filed Aug. 9 in Washington Western District Court by McShane & Brady and Federman & Sherwood on behalf of individuals claiming that their personal or medical information was compromised. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour, is 2:21-cv-01059, M.S. et al v. Med-Data Inc. >>Read the complaint on Law.com Radar.

Corporate Transactions

First Watch Restaurant Group, Inc., a breakfast restaurant chain, announced on Sept. 30 the pricing of its $170 million initial public offering on the Nasdaq. Bradenton, Florida-based First Watch was advised by Weil, Gotshal & Manges partner Alexander D. Lynch. Latham & Watkins partners Marc JaffeIan Schuman and Peter Sluka counseled the IPO’s underwriters, led by BofA Securities, Inc.Goldman Sachs & Co. and Jefferies>> Read the SEC filing and press release on Law.com Radar.

Cooley is advising Oxford, United Kingdom-based Exscientia PLC, an artificial intelligence-driven pharmatech company, in its $305 million initial public offering on the Nasdaq. The offering, which launches on Oct. 1, is priced at $22 per share. The Cooley team includes partners David Boles, Div Gupta, Claire Keast-Butler and Marc RechtGoodwin Procter partners Andrew HarrowRobert Puopolo and Seo Salimi are advising the IPO’s underwriters, led by BarclaysBofA SecuritiesGoldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley>> Read the press release on Law.com Radar.

Merck has agreed to acquire Acceleron Pharma Inc. for an approximate equity value of $11.5 billion. The transaction, announced Sept. 30, is expected to close later this year. Kenilworth, New Jersey-based Merck is advised by Covington & Burling and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. The Covington & Burling team includes partners Catherine Dargan, Michael Riella and Emily Leonard. The Gibson Dunn team includes partners Stephen Weissman, Attila Borsos and Ali Nikpay. Acceleron, which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was represented by Ropes & Gray. A Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom team including partners Marie Gibson and Graham Robinson counseled Centerview Partners and J.P. Morgan Securities in their role as financial advisers to Acceleron. >> Read the press release on Law.com Radar.

Gambling company Scientific Games Corporation has agreed to sell its sports betting business, OpenBet, to global sports and entertainment company Endeavor Group Holdings for $1.2 billion. The transaction, announced Sept. 27, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022. Scientific Games, which is based in Las Vegas, was represented by a Cravath, Swaine & Moore team led by partners Keith Hallam, Jenny Hochenberg and Robert Townsend III. Beverly Hills, California-based Endeavor was advised by a Latham & Watkins team that included partners Edward Barnett, Justin Hamill, Farhana Sharmeen and Jonathan Solomon>> Read the press release on Law.com Radar.

Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII L.P. has agreed to sell The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas to MGM Resorts International for $5.65 billion. Under the agreement, MGM will also sign a long-term net lease with a partnership between the Cherng Family Trust, Stonepeak Partners and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust. The transaction, announced Sept. 27, is expected to close in early 2022. Blackstone was represented by a Simpson Thacher & Bartlett team including partners Anthony King, Erik Quarfordt and Greg Ressa. The Cherng Family Trust and Stonepeak were advised by Latham & Watkins. Counsel information was not immediately available for MGM. >> Read the press release on Law.com Radar.

Electric performance car company Polestar Performance AB is going public through a SPAC merger with Gores Guggenheim Inc., formed by affiliates of The Gores Group and Guggenheim Capital LLC. As a result of the merger, Polestar will be listed on the Nasdaq with a post-transaction equity value of approximately $20 billion. Gothenburg, Sweden-based Polestar was advised by a Kirkland & Ellis team. The SPAC was represented by Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Hannes Snellman. Placement agents Deutsche Bank SecuritiesMorgan Stanley and Guggenheim Securities were advised by Latham & WatkinsSullivan & Cromwell represented Barclays, the financial advisor to the SPAC. Guggenheim Capital was advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell. >> Read the press release on Law.com Radar.

Intellectual Property

John F. Morrow Jr. of Womble Bond Dickinson has entered an appearance for cloud payment solutions provider PCI Pal (U.S.) Inc. in a pending patent lawsuit. The case, which concerns patents for protecting sensitive customer information, was filed Sept. 9 in North Carolina Western District Court by Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein and Nixon Peabody on behalf of call center software provider Semafone Ltd. and Semafone Inc. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Graham Mullen, is 3:21-cv-00486, Semafone Ltd. et al. v. PCI Pal (U.S.) Inc. >>Read the complaint on Law.com Radar.

Matthew F. Bruno of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips has entered an appearance for Relias Learning LLC in a pending patent lawsuit. The complaint, which concerns a patent for providing and managing training remotely, was filed July 21 in New York Southern District Court by the law office of David J. Hoffman and Ramey & Schwaller on behalf of Riggs Technology Holdings LLC. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe, is 1:21-cv-06229, Riggs Technology Holdings LLC v. Relias Learning LLC. >>Read the complaint on Law.com Radar.

Andrew J. Horowitz of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel has entered an appearance for Safoco Inc. in a pending lawsuit over patents in a system for hydraulic fracturing. The case was filed Aug. 25 in Pennsylvania Western District Court by Dentons Cohen & Grigsby on behalf of Clayton Dale. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter, is 1:21-cv-00238, Dale v. Safoco Inc. >>Read the complaint on Law.com Radar.

Cory C. Bell and Alissa K. Lipton of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner have entered appearances for Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Inc. in a pending patent lawsuit which asserts two patents related to the design and operation of wind turbines. The complaint was filed Sept. 9 in Massachusetts District Court by Weil, Gotshal & Manges on behalf of General Electric. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge William G. Young, is 1:21-cv-11446, General Electric Co. v. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Inc. et al. >>Read the complaint on Law.com Radar.

Labor & Employment

Elizabeth F. Lorell of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani has entered an appearance for Christian Heating and Air Conditioning in a pending lawsuit over alleged employment discrimination and wrongful termination. The action was filed Aug. 16 in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court by Bell & Bell on behalf of the company’s former HR director, who alleges that she was unlawfully terminated in retaliation for objecting to violations of overtime laws and COVID-19 regulations. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge John M. Younge, is 2:21-cv-03637, Peppelman v. Christian Heating And Air Conditioning LLC et al. >>Read the complaint on Law.com Radar.

Justin D. Harris of Reminger has entered an appearance for Cedar Fair theme park in a pending lawsuit over employee safety. The suit was filed Aug. 12 in Ohio Northern District Court by the Law Office of Owen Dunn Jr. and the Puligandla Law Firm on behalf of a former employee who contends that she was raped in the theme park’s worker dormitory. The suit accuses Cedar Point of failing to establish and enforce reasonable security policies. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey J. Helmick, is 3:21-cv-01574, Harwick v. Cedar Fair, L.P. et al. >>Read the complaint on Law.com Radar.

Aaron M. Saykin of Hodgson Russ has entered an appearance for Western Regional Off Track Betting Corp., board chairman Richard D. Bianchi, and CEO Henry Wojtaszek in a pending whistleblower lawsuit. The complaint was filed Aug. 12 in New York Western District Court by HoganWillig law firm on behalf of Michael Nolan, the organization’s former chief operating officer. Nolan alleges that he was unlawfully terminated after cooperating with state and federal law enforcement investigations. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny, is 1:21-cv-00922, Nolan v. Western Regional Off Track Betting Corporation et al. >>Read the complaint on Law.com Radar.

Christina Tellado and Jennifer Lada of Holland & Knight have stepped in to defend Louis Vuitton USA Inc. in a pending lawsuit over alleged employment discrimination. The complaint, filed Aug. 13 in Florida Middle District Court by Morgan & Morgan, pursues gender and pregnancy discrimination claims on behalf of a female employee who contends that she was unlawfully terminated on the pretext of COVID-19. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron, is 6:21-cv-01311, Tanzi v. Louis Vuitton USA, Inc. >>Read the complaint on Law.com Radar.

Mass Torts and Multidistrict Litigation

As Law.com’s Amanda Bronstad reported, 14 lawyers will lead multidistrict litigation against GoogleApple and Facebook over their casino-style apps. On Sept. 23, U.S. District Judge Edward Davilavowing to look closely at attorney billing, approved the team, which has seven women, four attorneys of color, two who identify as LGBTQ and four with six or fewer years of experience. The order comes after lead counsel Rafey Balabanian (Edelson) scaled back the size of the team, and better diversified its membership. Andrea Gold (Tycko & Zavareei) will be chairwoman of an executive committee that includes John Norris (Davis & Norris) for the Google track, Melissa Weiner (Pearson, Simon & Warshaw) for the Apple track, and Sarah Westcot (Bursor & Fisher) for the Facebook track.

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