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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

DONE – The Ninth Circuit has put the nail in the coffin of Howrey's unfinished business claims. Ross Todd reports that the appeals court confirmed a ruling that clients, not firms, control ongoing matters. The decision stems from the 2011 bankruptcy of once-prominent Howrey, and nixes the bankruptcy trustee's claims that a waiver adopted upon the firm's dissolution to claims for unfinished business amounted to a fraudulent transfer of Howrey funds to firms where partners landed. Unfinished business claims have played a big role in the bankruptcy proceedings of law firms that collapsed in recent history, including Heller Ehrman, Coudert Bros. and Thelen. 

PRECAUTIONS – More law firms are taking steps to protect their attorneys and clients from contracting and transmitting the coronavirus, which has now spread to 47 countries and infected at least 82,000 people. Dylan Jackson reports that among those firms are Shearman & Sterling, which has issued a travel ban for China and Hong Kong, and Dorsey & Whitney, which has encouraged its 17 attorneys, plus staff, in its Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong offices to work remotely in light of the outbreak. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius is shipping supplies to its offices in Asia where its attorneys have been working remotely since the outbreak. Pillsbury Winthrop has sent masks from the U.S. to help protect its attorneys and staff. And Latham has canceled a client reception in New York at the Museum of Natural History "out of an abundance of caution."

WHY, PLEASE? – A federal judge has ordered Reed Smith lawyers representing Concord Management and Consulting in the case of a Russia troll farm indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller to explain by 5 p.m. today why their client shouldn't be held in civil contempt "for failing to comply with the trial subpoenas issued in this case." Judge Dabney Friedrich in D.C. also has ordered a hearing on the issue for Monday.

ERRATUM – An item yesterday misidentified the city where Orrick had intended to hold its partner retreat, which was postponed over concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. It was to be held in San Antonio. 

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EDITOR'S PICKS

Leaving Kirkland & Ellis for an In-House Gig: Stats Perform's GC Elizabeth Cutri

My Weekday Workout: Dechert's Nazim Zilkha

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

CHANGED MARKET – The coronavirus is not impacting all sectors equally—or even negatively. Hannah Roberts reports that restructuring lawyers and litigators expect more work as companies grapple with financial troubles and struggle to meet their contractual obligations in the face of disrupted supply chains. But this could also mean a slowdown in M&A activity as some delay or forgo strategic takeovers. 

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WHAT YOU SAID

"Our own dirty secret is that the job of dealing with society's problems, in addition to our own, sometimes takes its toll. We are often not healthy ourselves."

|— Harold Melton, chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, discussing in his annual State of the Judiciary address the mental health problems state judges face. Last year, a state judge appointed to the Georgia Court of Appeals took his own life.

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