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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

SALE AWAY - That was quick. Jon Sale's legal work for Rudy Giuliani is ending about two weeks after the Nelson Mullins lawyer confirmed he was representing the former New York mayor who's serving as President Trump's personal lawyer in the congressional impeachment investigation. Christine Simmons reports that Sale, who is reported to have written a letter Tuesday telling lawmakers that Giuliani won't comply with a congressional subpoena related to House Democrats' impeachment inquiry, said his representation of Giuliani did not end prematurely and said the scope of his engagement was limited to responding to the congressional subpoena.

WHAT'S NEXT? It took just nine days for DLA Piper to part ways with Louis Lehot after another partner at the firm, Vanina Guerrero, publicly alleged that he sexually assaulted her. But the firm hasn't budged on the broader issue of resolving her claims through arbitration, based on a clause she signed when she joined the firm. Dan Packel reports on how pressure from law student groups has changed some firms' policies and why DLA Piper is unpersuaded.

SCOTUS PICKS – Sherrilyn Ifill, Deepak Gupta, Katie Porter and some 29 other non-Big Law types should be considered by Democratic presidential contenders for any new opening on the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the progressive group Demand Justice. Mike Scarcella reports that the group has pitched a shortlist of 32 plaintiffs lawyers, academics, state and federal judges, civil rights advocates and others as would-be justices. Demand Justice, which left out Big Law attorneys on purpose, has prepared the list in part to spur a broader dialogue among Democratic presidential hopefuls about the high court.

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EDITOR'S PICKS

Law Firm Cybersecurity: See Which Firms Reported a Data Breach

Skadden CFIUS Partner Goes In-House as CLO of Venture Capital Fund

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

FUNDER TIE-UP – Australian litigation funder IMF Bentham Ltd. is set to merge with Dutch litigation funder Omni Bridgeway Holdings BV to create a global litigation funder with more than $1.5 billion in capital. Christopher Niesche reports that the combined company will have 18 offices in 10 countries. As part of the deal, IMF Bentham will acquire all of Omni Bridgeway's investment and business activities for a minimum of $61 million.

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WHAT YOU SAID

"I'll take my 15 minutes however they come."

—  Steve Calandrillo, law professor at University of Washington, who's received much attention after Kim Kardashian posted three times on Instagram with photos showing her watching his BarBri video on contracts for first-year law students.

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