Want to get this daily news briefing by email? Here's the sign-up.

|

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

WORKER FUNDS - Like many other law firms, Katten Muchin Rosenman is implementing furloughs and pay cuts due to the pandemic. But as Patrick Smith reports, the Chicago-based outfit joins a smaller group of law firms augmenting financial assistance to workers by creating a Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Fund. Davis Wright Tremaine has formed an Employee Disaster Relief Program for its employees, and Paul Hastings has created an "emergency fund" for staff and non-partner attorneys affected by COVID-19.

TESTING - Final exams for the spring semester are already underway at some law schools, and the usual pressure-cooker situation looks a little less intense. As Karen Sloan reports, the shift to either optional or mandatory pass/fail grading amid the pandemic at the majority of law schools this semester has reduced some of the anxiety students feel during finals, even if other aspects of their lives remain stressful.

CAUTIONARY TALE – One of the first in-person jury selections to take place since the coronavirus shuttered courthouses across the nation began this week in Ashland County, Ohio. But it ended abruptly after the defendant experienced difficulty breathing and had to be helped out of the courtroom. Now the defendant and the defense attorney are both under quarantine, and the trial involving charges of endangering children has been pushed back until mid-May. As Max Mitchell reports, the incident, which was livestreamed on the court's feed, has provided something of a cautionary tale for courts and attorneys as local justice systems across the country begin to figure out how to relax restrictions.

SPEECH – Staff for the federal judiciary's administrative arm can express themselves a little more freely following a ruling by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in D.C. Jacqueline Thomsen reports that Cooper ruled Wednesday against restrictions adopted in 2018 by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts that included bans on staff donating to candidates and on belonging to political parties.

|

EDITOR'S PICKS

Stage Set for Trump White House Lawyer Brian Miller's Confirmation for Coronavirus Watchdog

Texas Moves Forward With July Bar Exam, Adds September Option

|

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

PROMOTED – The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has appointed Stephanie Lau, a former Kirkland & Ellis partner, to help oversee the vetting of initial public offerings after her predecessor was charged with taking bribes. Anna Zhang reports that Lau will co-lead IPO vetting with managing director Lin Shi. Lau, who is currently a senior vice president at the exchange in charge of regulation and compliance of listed companies, joined the exchange in 2016 from Kirkland.

|

WHAT YOU SAID

"If lawyers can't work, if lawyers can't make a living, if lawyers are not in a position to help clients, that is a direct threat to the vibrancy of the rule of law."

— Hank Greenberg, president of the New York State Bar Association and partner at Greenberg Traurig, who asserts that lawyers and staff should be among the first allowed to return to their offices as New York reopens from the pandemic.

➤➤ Sign up here to receive the Morning Minute straight to your inbox.