Google aims to dodge ad business breakup as antitrust trial wraps

REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Today, Google will make its final plea to avoid the breakup of its ad tech business. Here’s what to know:

The closing arguments before U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria mark the end of evidentiary hearings in Google's yearslong battle with the DOJ over its dominance in online advertising and search.
In April, Brinkema ruled that Google holds two illegal ad tech monopolies, and is now considering what the company must do to restore competition. Read her April ruling here.
The DOJ and a coalition of states have asked the judge to make Google sell its ad exchange where online publishers pay Google a 20% fee to sell ads in auctions that happen instantly when users load websites.
Google tried to show that a breakup would be technically difficult, resulting in a long and painful transition that would hurt customers. The company has asked Brinkema to take the same cautious approach as U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in D.C. who recently rejected most of the DOJ's proposals in a separate case over Google's monopoly in online search. Read more about that case here.
Next, the fight will shift to appeals courts, a process that could take years.
Jody Godoy has more on today’s closings here.

Coming up today

President Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton will appear in court before U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Greenbelt, Maryland. It is Bolton’s first court appearance since he was charged earlier this year with unlawfully retaining classified information he allegedly emailed to family members in preparation for his upcoming memoir. He has pleaded not guilty.
U.S. prosecutors are set to respond to claims from New York Attorney General Letitia James that a mortgage-related criminal case against her is a vindictive prosecution by the Trump administration.
Today, Manhattan federal prosecutors face a filing deadline to respond to alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter Luigi Mangione's motions to dismiss his murder case and bar the government from seeking the death penalty.
The 9th Circuit will hear an appeal challenging the lower court’s dismissal of a consumer class action alleging that Campbell Soup Company deceptively labels and advertises its Kettle Brand Air Fried potato chips as being air fried when they are really cooked in oil.

Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.

GOP-backed litigation funding reform legislation is facing fresh opposition from both Democratic lawmakers and some influential conservative groups. Read more in this week’s Billable Hours.
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, one of the largest law firms to face scrutiny over its lawyers' use of AI, avoided sanctions, but a federal bankruptcy judge reprimanded its attorney for submitting court filings with inaccurate and non-existent AI-generated citations.
Elon Musk’s social media platform X ended its lawsuit against Wachtell seeking to recover most of a $90 million legal fee the firm received for beating Musk’s bid to walk away from his multibillion-dollar purchase of the company. Read the filing.
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced President Trump's four judicial and U.S. attorney nominees in Mississippi whose nominations had been held up for months by a lone member of the president's own party, Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Read more here.
Blackstone invested $50 million in Norm Ai, a legal and compliance technology startup that also said it is launching an independent law firm that will offer “AI-native legal services.” Read more here.
Just one move this morning: Kati Orso moved to Husch Blackwell’s real estate group from Jackson Walker.
New partners: Foley Hoag promoted nine to partner … Holland & Hart elected 14 new partners.