Greg Craig’s Trial Set to Start, Law Firm’s Big Concerns, Trade War Tips: The Morning Minute
Here's the news you need to start your day.
August 12, 2019 at 06:00 AM
3 minute read
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WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
ON TRIAL – Former Skadden partner Gregory Craig is scheduled to stand trial today in D.C. federal court over charges he lied about the scope of his work for the government of Ukraine. The former Obama White House counsel, represented by lawyers from Zuckerman Spaeder, has strongly denied the claims. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson is presiding over the trial, which is expected to last two weeks.
FASTER, CHEAPER – Operational efficiency and pricing pressure remain the top challenges for law firms as they try to maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly crowded legal services market, Meredith Hobbs reports. According to a survey by Aderant of about 150 nonlawyer legal business pros mostly at large firms, 31% said operational efficiency was a top concern and 29% cited pricing pressure—outpacing increasing business from existing clients, winning new business and cybersecurity.
AND WE’RE BACK – EX-Dewey & LeBoeuf CFO Joel Sanders is battling to have his criminal conviction overturned, having filed a 180-page appellate brief arguing that prosecutors, his former defense lawyer and the trial judge all violated his rights to a fair trial and due process. Jack Newsham reports that Sanders’ brief, filed by his lawyers at DLA Piper, among other things assails the testimony of Francis Canellas, the firm’s ex-director of finance, who took a plea deal and implicated Sanders in criminal acts.
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EDITOR’S PICKS
Good-Bye Big Law, Hello Boutiques. Why These Young Lawyers Are Sold on Smaller Firm Careers
How Law Schools’ Online Classes Are Supporting Rise of ‘Virtual Law’
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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
UNHAPPY – Night shift cleaners working at Addleshaw Goddard’s London office protested their wages and working conditions. Meganne Tillay reports that around 13 protesters on Friday played music and blew into vuvuzela-esque instruments while brandishing Cleaners and Allied Independent Workers Union flags outside the firm’s London headquarters. One representative for the night shift cleaners told Law.com affiliate Legal Week that they are currently paid lower rates than day shift cleaners, and receive fewer holiday days than their day shift counterparts.
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WHAT YOU SAID
“The quality control across all offices is really hard to maintain.”
— QUYNH VU, LAWYER AT KAUFHOLD GASKIN IN SAN FRANCISCO, ON THE DIFFICULTY OF LARGE LAW FIRMS TO CONSISTENTLY PROVIDE EFFECTIVE TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS FOR ASSOCIATES.➤➤ Sign up here to receive the Morning Minute straight to your inbox.
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Who Got The Work
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Who Got The Work
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Who Got The Work
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