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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

MINDSET – As we head into Day 3 of the Roger Stone trial, his lawyers are going with the theory that when he made allegedly false statements to the House Intelligence Committee about his attempts to contact WikiLeaks, he didn't mean to lie. Jacqueline Thomsen reports that Stone's lawyer Bruce Rogow on Tuesday asserted that the longtime Trump ally's "state of mind" at the time of the Congressional hearing undermines arguments that his statements were made "in a conscious, evil, purposeful way to mislead the committee." Stone faces charges that he lied to Congress and impeded a congressional investigation related to the 2016 presidential election.

DELEVERAGE –  Law firms have become less reliant on bank debt over the past decade, as they explore other funding options. Lizzy McLellan reports that a "a deleveraging" has occurred at law firms since the recession, when firm leaders started to reconsider how they funded operations and growth. Tried and true, however, are partner capital contributions, which have steadily increased in recent years.

CLIMATE CONTROL – Closing arguments in the New York AG's trial against ExxonMobil are set to begin this morning. During the trial two-week trial, prosecutors have argued that Exxon deceived its investors about the effects of climate change and related regulation on its business, to the tune of billions of dollars in under-estimations. Lead counsel for Exxon is Ted Wells of Paul Weiss. The assistant AGs at trial are Kevin Wallace and Kim Berger.

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EDITOR'S PICKS

Giuliani Turns to Pierce Bainbridge and Michael Cohen's Ex-Lawyer in Ukraine Scandal

Q&A with Veteran GC Susie Flook on Managing Global Legal Departments

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

 LUST FOR LIFE (SCIENCES) – Goodwin Procter has opened an office in Cambridge, England, in an attempt to break into the city's life sciences and technology market. Rose Walker reports that the move follows the firm's hire of a Taylor Wessing life science-focused team earlier this year. Goodwin launched a European life sciences practice last year with the hire of a four-lawyer team from Dechert, including two in the U.S. and two in the U.K. Earlier this year, the firm hired four life science partners from U.S. rivals Fenwick & West and Sidley Austin, in its San Francisco and Silicon Valley bases.

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WHAT YOU SAID

"You can't say you are LGBTQ friendly when you are using forced arbitration to cover up harassment, discrimination and other forms of workplace abuse."

—  Sejal Singh, policy director of the People's Parity Project, which is working with LGBTQ groups at top law schools to push law firms to end mandatory arbitration requirements for partners and employees.

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