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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

SPREADING – As the coronavirus has infected more than 90,000 people and killed 3,100, its impact on the legal community is inevitable. Law firms are now dealing with their own attorneys and staffers who've contracted the virus or have been exposed to it. At the same time, one law school has transitioned to providing its curriculum online. And in-house departments are quickly moving to handle the spread among employee ranks. To get the latest updates, see Law.com's comprehensive coverage of how the virus is affecting lawyers and legal professionals.  

REVEALING – Which law school in D.C. supplied Kirkland & Ellis with eight first-year associates from its class of 2019? The answer is in today's Go-To Law Schools countdown, with a sneak peek at Nos. 30-21. Law.com's Go-To Law Schools ranks law schools by the percentage of 2019 J.D. graduates taking jobs as first-year associates in Big Law. To catch up on the rest of the list so far, go here and here. Stay tuned as we count 'em down all week, with a full reveal and much more data and reporting Friday. 

KEY CASE – The U.S. Supreme Court today will hear arguments in a closely-watched case that involves a clinic's challenge to Louisiana's requirement that abortion physicians have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of the abortion facility. As a backdrop to the court's decision in the case, June Medical Services v. Russo, some 39 Senate Republicans have asked the justices to consider striking down Roe v. Wade. Meanwhile, hundreds of female lawyers, sharing personal stories with the court, have urged the Supreme Court to not restrict access to reproductive health services.

FEES PLEASE – A dozen law firms are set to earn nearly $160 million in contingency fees from more than $690 million in settlements so far involving two counties in Ohio and the state of Oklahoma. Amanda Bronstad reports that the amount is likely to increase in light of last week's global deal with Mallinckrodt, which was backed by 47 attorneys general from states and U.S. territories and thousands of cities and counties across the nation. The fees from the opioid cases come out of contingency fee contracts and are separate from common benefit fees that go to lead lawyers in the MDL.

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EDITOR'S PICKS

Libel Lawyer Lin Wood Settles Second Defamation Suit With CNN

Zynga Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Over Data Breach

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

BIGGER – Andersen Global has extended its reach further into West Africa through a collaboration agreement with Freetown-based law firm Fornah-Sesay, Cummings, Showers & Co. (FCS Legal) in Sierra Leone. Jennigay Coetzer reports that FCS Legal provides services in banking and finance, construction and engineering, energy, environmental, pharmaceutical, and oil and gas, among others. Sierra Leone is the 28th African country in which Andersen Global has developed a presence.

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WHAT YOU SAID

"If we could avoid disparaging our colleagues and just answer my question, I would be grateful."

|— Neil Gorsuch, justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, during a moment of impatience in an exchange with Kirkland & Ellis partner Paul Clement arguing Tuesday in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau case. 

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