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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

OFFICIAL – And here we are. The House of Representatives is moving forward with a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump. As Jacqueline Thomsen reports, legal experts say the new claims—that the president sought to damage a political rival through the official capacity of his office—may prove to be more solid than the initial allegations of collusion investigated by former special counsel Robert Mueller.

SPENDING – Legal departments at 31 companies that signed onto an inclusion initiative have spent $1.6 billion with minority- and women-owned law firms since 2010. Dylan Jackson reports that in 2018 alone, the corporate legal departments at Google, 3M, Bank of America and Target, among others, spent $240 million with firms, as part of the initiative launched in 2010 and administered by the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms. This year, Walgreens and Honda joined the program, bringing the total amount of participating clients to 33.

ROUTINE – Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner has officially launched its service focused on high-volume legal work. Dan Packel reports that the effort, dubbed BCLP Cubed, comprises 150 people from the firm's offices in Manchester, England, and St. Louis to handle what it says are clients' "business-as-usual needs."

MARIJUANA MONEY – The House of Representatives may vote on legislation today that would allow financial services providers to work with state-legal cannabis businesses free from federal prosecution.


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EDITOR'S PICKS

US Regulator Files Sealed Appeal Over Judge's Sanctions Inquiry

5 Law Firms Crack Working Mother Top 100 Companies List


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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

CHINA GROWTH – The 45 highest-grossing Chinese law firms reported $8.7 billion in global revenue in 2018, up 17.1% from 2017. As part of our Global 100 report, Anna Zhang writes that 17 firms among the China 45 reported 2018 revenue above $100 million, compared with 10 the prior year.


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WHAT YOU SAID

"Running not only makes me a happier, healthier person, but it also makes me a better attorney."

—  ROB ROY SMITH, PARTNER AT KILPATRICK TOWNSEND & STOCKTON IN SEATTLE, ON HIS WEEKDAY WORKOUT.

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