Small Gains for Black Lawyers, Impeachment Day, Faegre Drinker Is Set: The Morning Minute
Here's the news you need to start your day.
December 18, 2019 at 06:00 AM
3 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
STILL LOW – The percentage of black associates at law firms in the United States has returned to its pre-recession level. Karen Sloan reports that in 2019, black lawyers made up 4.76% of the associate ranks, which is the highest figure since 2009 when black lawyers totaled 4.66% of all associates, according to new data from NALP. At the same time, the percentage of black partners remains discouraging low, at 1.97%. Black lawyers accounted for 1.83% of partners in both 2018 and 2017.
IMPEACHMENT – The House of Representatives is set to vote today along party lines on two articles of impeachment—one for abuse of power and the other for obstruction of Congress—against President Trump. Democrats maintain Trump withheld foreign aid to Ukraine to pressure the country to announce an investigation into Joe Biden's son and later tried to prevent officials from testifying before Congress.
MARRIED – Minneapolis-based Faegre Baker Daniels and Philadelphia-based Drinker Biddle & Reath have voted to join forces after lengthy merger talks. Lizzy McLellan reports that the merger, which is set to become official Feb. 1, will create an Am Law 50 firm with more than 1,300 lawyers and consultants across 22 locations in the U.S., U.K. and China. The combined firm will be known as Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath.
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EDITOR'S PICKS
Legal Tech Providers Want Lawyers' Feedback. Why Can't They Get It?
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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
FIRST - Shearman & Sterling has named Hong Kong partner Lorna Chen as the firm's Asia regional managing partner—the first woman to lead its Asia operations. Anna Zhang reports that Chen, an investment funds lawyer, holds the title jointly with Tokyo office head and corporate partner Masahisa Ikeda. Chen, who joined the Shearman in 2001 after graduating from Columbia Law School, also becomes a member of the firm's firmwide executive group.
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WHAT YOU SAID
"As a defense attorney, you don't ask why."
— Leonard Franco, a criminal defense lawyer in Atlanta, on the dismissal of federal charges against his client, who'd been accused of violating U.S. trade sanctions against Iran. Charges were dropped amid a swap of his client for a U.S. student imprisoned in Iran since 2016.➤➤ Sign up here to receive the Morning Minute straight to your inbox.
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Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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