How new rulings restrict abortion access, Quinn Emanuel and Longford ink $40 mln deal, U.S. News' rankings waning influence, and more ➡️

☀️ Good morning from The Legal File! Here is the rundown of today's top legal stories:

⚖️ How new rulings restrict abortion access

Courts in Arizona and Florida have moved to further restrict reproductive rights in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision that overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had legalized abortion nationwide.

Arizona’s top court on April 9 revived a ban on nearly all abortions under a state law dating to 1864, some 48 years before it gained statehood. Florida's top court on April 1 cleared the way for a Republican-backed law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, down from 15 weeks, to take effect in May.

The two rulings put the two states in the “most restrictive” category for abortion access and policies, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that advocates for reproductive rights and tracks abortion access.

Both rulings could lead to the closure of clinics that provide abortions in the two states.

The Nov. 5 U.S. elections could change the state of play in the two states.

Read more about how the distance to the nearest clinic changes under new restrictions.

👁️🗨️ 2024 Election watch:

• Understanding Independents: Who comprises the nonpartisan electorate?
• Where Biden and Trump stand on key issues: A brief look at their policies

💵 Law firm Quinn Emanuel, litigation funder Longford ink $40 mln deal for private equity clients

Litigation finance firm Longford Capital Management has committed up to $40 million to finance lawsuits for law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan's private equity clients under a deal made public on April 11.

The agreement will help Quinn Emanuel's clients and their portfolio companies "pursue meritorious legal claims without diluting the valuation of their company," Longford's co-founder and managing director William Farrell said.

Under the deal, Longford will fund attorneys' fees and litigation costs and give Quinn Emanuel's private equity clients the ability to receive a portion of the value of their legal claim before the case concludes, which Farrell described as treating the legal claim "as a corporate asset capable of being monetized."

Read more about the deal.

📉 After setbacks, U.S. News law school rankings show signs of waning influence

Traffic to Spivey Consulting’s website used to skyrocket when founder Mike Spivey leaked U.S. News & World Report’s law school rankings ahead of their official release.

But Spivey, a law school admissions consultant, said traffic was down about 50% this year when he published the top 25 schools on April 3—a week before U.S. News put out its full list.

“Leaking [the rankings] used to be this huge event that people were fascinated with,” Spivey said.

Spivey’s declining web traffic is the latest hint that the influence of U.S. News’ law school rankings is waning following a widespread boycott by schools that began in 2022 and a series of data errors that plagued the rollout of the 2023 list. According to U.S. News, 53 schools out of the nation's 197 accredited by the American Bar Association declined to provide data this year.

Read more.

📃 Jewish legal aid lawyers sue NYC union over criticism of Israel

Two Jewish legal aid lawyers who represent indigent defendants filed a lawsuit against the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (ALAA) and New York City, claiming that being forced to pay dues to their union after it accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing and genocide" in Gaza violates their constitutional rights.

The lawsuit comes as Republicans in Congress are investigating the union over complaints by some members of antisemitic conduct, including passing a resolution in December calling for a ceasefire in Israel.

ALAA, an affiliate of the United Auto Workers union, represents about 2,700 lawyers who work for New York-area groups that represent indigent defendants including the Legal Aid Society, which employs plaintiffs Arnold Levine and Allen Popper. The union has defended the resolution and criticized the congressional probe as a violation of its constitutional free-speech rights.

Read more about the lawsuit.

👋 That's all for today, thank you for reading The Legal File, and have a great weekend!

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