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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

FORWARD - The House is expected to vote today to send articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate. The House voted nearly a month ago to impeach Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in connection with his push to have Ukraine announce an investigation into Joe Biden and his son.

DEAL OR NO DEAL? A Manhattan federal judge is scheduled to hear closing arguments this morning in a lawsuit filed by New York, California and several other states seeking to block the proposed merger of Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. on antitrust grounds. The DOJ approved the tie-up in July, a month after the group of states sued in New York's Southern District, claiming that the deal would lead to higher prices for consumers. A two-week trial in the case wrapped in late December.

REFRESHED – Axiom Managed Solutions, one of the two spinoffs created last year from alternative legal service provider Axiom, is rebranding as Factor and says it will double in size with a renewed financial commitment from its initial investors, Dan Packel reports. The company, which says it focuses on relatively complex work such as contract negotiations rather than commoditized work like e-discovery, has about 500 employees, more than half of whom are lawyers. Investors include private equity firm Carrick Capital Partners and venture capital firm Benchmark Capital.

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EDITOR'S PICKS

Wiley Rein Drops 'Rein,' Adds New Look and Moves to .Law Domain

Subway Remains Quiet About New Chief Legal Officer

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

BIGGER FOUR – KPMG's legal arm has boosted its legal operations in Germany by hiring a three-lawyer energy team from rival PwC Legal. Varsha Patel reports that the expansion is the latest in a slew of global moves by KPMG in the legal market. In December it expanded in China with the launch of an affiliated law firm in Shanghai. Also last year it hired 144 lawyers from French firm Fidal in what became known as the biggest law firm raids in recent times.

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WHAT YOU SAID

"It was amazing at the way dean candidates would shoot themselves in the foot during the interview process."

—  Melanie Leslie, dean of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, on how ill-prepared and unenthusiastic some candidates vying for law dean jobs can be.

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