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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

LAWYER UP – More lawyers are joining the fray as the House proceeds with its inquiry into whether to impeach President Trump. In court papers filed last night arguing for the House's access to grand jury materials redacted from the Mueller Report, a pair of House attorneys appeared in the matter for the first time. Jacqueline Thomsen reports that Adam Grogg and Jonathan Schwartz both quietly joined House general counsel Douglas Letter's team in recent months. Schwartz spent more than three decades as an attorney for the State Department, including as a deputy legal adviser. Grogg previously worked as a trial attorney for DOJ's civil division. He was most recently senior counsel at the anti-corruption nonprofit Democracy Forward Foundation.

BE HERE NOW – "Mindfulness" is one of those words buzzing around workplaces, but what the heck does it mean and what good is it? As part of our Minds Over Matters project, Law.com columnist Jonathan Jordan cuts through the self-help clutter and explains how practicing mindfulness, even just one minute each day, can steady nerves, improve concentration and make lawyers more effective at their jobs. At the concept's core: going off autopilot and being aware and tuned in to your body, your environment or your task.

UPWARD – Career opportunities for GCs are increasing. Dan Clark reports on the growing number of general counsel moving into the C-suite. Legal recruiter Major, Lindsey & Africa says about 30% of requests for general counsel or chief legal officer candidates mention the candidate could be considered for the C-suite someday.

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EDITOR'S PICKS

Judiciary Reprimands Federal Judge for Sexually Harassing Court Employees

Sanford Heisler Repping Family of Facebook Employee Who Died by Suicide

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

NEW GIG- Clifford Chance's former Tokyo head of its banking and finance practice has left the firm and moved in-house to a Japanese online brokerage. John Kang reports that Masayuki Okamoto joins Tokyo-listed Monex Group Inc. as general counsel and executive director. At Clifford Chance, he focused on structured finance, merger and acquisition finance, and regulatory and investigation issues. Okamoto is the latest partner in Tokyo to leave Big Law in recent times. Among others, litigation partner David Case in March left Orrick and relocated back to the U.S. to start his own practice.

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WHAT YOU SAID

"It's surprising this year that we haven't seen the big mergers we have seen in the past."

—  Lisa Smith, analyst at consultancy Fairfax Associates, commenting on law firm mergers for the third quarter, which continued to lag behind 2018′s record-setting pace.

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