GIG ECONOMY GIANTS Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. scored a legal win Thursday, when the California Supreme Court cleared them to continue classifying California drivers as independent contractors, Maia Spoto and Natalie Lung report.

• The state’s highest court unanimously upheld California’s Proposition 22, finding that the voter-passed law, which the companies spent tens of millions of dollars to promote, doesn’t wrongly curtail the legislature’s power over worker protections. The case was brought specifically over the constitutionality of the provision.
• The ruling removes what investors regarded as a major regulatory overhang. Prop 22, enacted through a ballot initiative, carved out gig workers — meaning most app-based ride-share and delivery drivers — from a 2019 state law that codified a stringent test for determining when wage-earning workers can be classified as employees. Had Prop 22 been invalidated, the gig companies would have faced the threat of millions of dollars in additional cost to pay drivers if they were to be reclassified as employees, upending their business models.
• Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash Inc. poured more than $200 million into the campaign that led to the initiative’s passage. Drivers and unions argued the law improperly shifts the cost of doing business onto gig workers and denies them other protections, such as minimum wage, sick leave, and overtime pay. Read More

RED STATES are poised to continue fighting broader access to abortion medication despite a recent setback at the Ninth Circuit, raising the possibility that litigation over mifepristone could return to the US Supreme Court, Ian Lopez reports.

• The appellate court this week refused to let Idaho and six other states intervene in a legal battle that a host of Democratic-led states are waging to expand mifepristone’s availability. The majority delivered a victory for the blue states, holding in a case out of Washington that the conservative-led states had different motives than their liberal counterparts and couldn’t show a direct-enough injury from the FDA’s decisionmaking to warrant a legal battle.
• Bound for SCOTUS? Idaho, Missouri, and Kansas have another avenue to apply pressure, though. They have taken up litigation originally brought by a group of doctors who persuaded a Texas federal judge to restrict the drug’s access but ultimately lost when the Supreme Court ruled they lacked legal standing to sue. If both cases continue to progress, it’s possible the Fifth and Ninth circuits could come down on opposite sides, giving SCOTUS an opening to take up mifepristone anew.
• “Both sides are unhappy with the FDA. Both sides think the FDA is doing the wrong thing in different directions, and you might have courts that come out saying the exact opposite,” said Greer Donley, a University of Pittsburgh law professor. Read More

TODAY Bloomberg Law debuted the 2024 honorees of “They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40,” our fourth-annual award recognizing the accomplishments of stellar young lawyers nationwide. Read More

How We Picked: Our team of editors evaluated a slate of nominees from across the country, examining how well they balanced client responsibilities, leadership roles, and pro bono legal service. Nominees weighed in on what they learned in their first years in practice and how they define success, among other questions.

Excellence First: The 2024 class navigated complex — and often cross-border — M&A deals. They provided counsel to the government, law firms, and others in the face of crises. They led on strategic artificial intelligence products, among many other high-stakes matters. They also used their legal skills to help the underserved. Our list includes honorees with a range of life experiences, cultures, and practice areas.

• “Our 2024 They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40 honorees represent the best of the future of the legal profession. They now take their place in our storied Bloomberg Law tradition,” said Executive Editor Lisa Helem.

Read our data dive, “By the Numbers,” to learn the most popular practice areas for the 40 Under 40 — along with a selection of other fun items, such as their favorite songs of summer. Read More

In a new feature for 2024, “They’ve Got Next: Where Are They Now?” we look back at past honorees who have since made big career moves. Read More

THE FOUNDING OFFICES of four of six major Chicago-launched law firms have shrunk, with headcounts down at Sidley Austin, McDermott Will & Emery, Winston & Strawn, and Baker McKenzie compared with a decade ago, Roy Strom writes in his latest Big Law Business column.

At Mayor Brown, the headcount was virtually flat, and only Kirkland & Ellis saw its founding office grow over that period. But while headcounts may be down, revenues aren’t — and a talent war could be on the horizon. Read More

LAWYERS ARE STARTING to test how far they can push the US Supreme Court ruling that struck down Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement, despite the high court’s intent for the opinion to not take on wide-ranging ramifications, Thomas Gleason and Evan Ochsner report.

• The bankruptcy world has long relied on liability shields for non-bankrupt people and companies. The legal landscape is being recalibrated on the fly after the high court found liability releases for members of Purdue’s billionaire Sackler family owners were illegal because not everyone who sued the family over its opioid sales tactics gave consent.
• The 5-4 ruling is now playing out in complex corporate bankruptcy cases, including those involving electric scooters and genetic tests, with lawyers and judges alike applying it to restructuring plans and temporary restraining orders. It has also popped up in one surprising place. Read More

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