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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

NOT IMMUNE – Firms in the Am Law Billion-Dollar Club are showing signs of duress from the coronavirus pandemic. Samantha Stokes reports that despite an extra-thick cushion of cash that initially shielded them from compensation cuts, furloughs and layoffs, more of the law firms in the Am Law 25—including Quinn Emanuel on Monday—are tightening their belts. Layoffs, however, don't appear widespread.

TAXES – SCOTUS returns today for its fifth day of telephonic arguments, and the cases carry personal implications for President Trump: whether U.S. congressional investigators and New York prosecutors can get access to his financial records. Patrick Strawbridge of Consovoy McCarthy will argue for Trump in two cases involving congressional subpoenas. He'll face Douglas Letter, the U.S. House GC. The DOJ's Jeffrey Wall will argue for the government as an amicus. Separately, the justices will take up a New York district attorney push for Trump's records. Jay Sekulow is arguing for Trump, and Carey Dunne, GC to District Attorney Cy Vance, will argue for prosecutors. Noel Francisco, the U.S. solicitor general, will appear as an amicus counsel for the DOJ in the New York case.

BACK IN ACTION? The former Chris Christie aide whose Bridgegate fraud conviction was tossed by SCOTUS last week faces a bumpy road to actually practicing law again. Charles Toutant reports that William Baroni Jr., who wants to practice again in New Jersey, New York and D.C., could find himself the subject of an investigation and ethics charges for his role in the Bridgegate case.

EDITOR'S PICKS

'Rolling With the Punches': Litigators Use Creativity to Manage Their Cases Without Jury Trials on Tap

CA Appeals Court Partially Reverses Federal Preemption in Risperdal Lawsuits

Latham's Virtual Experience Program Attempts to Bring Life in Big Law Online

A Century-Old Supreme Court Decision Might Not Kill Patent Suits Against 80 Amazon Customers

Hold the Phone! The Supreme Court Is in (Virtual) Session

Sixth Circuit Allows Michigan's Redistricting Commission to Go Forward

 

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

BIGGER – K&L Gates has hired a team of seven restructuring and insolvency lawyers in Frankfurt. Meganne Tillay reports that Georg Bernsau and six of his colleagues are joining from local firm Bernsau Brockdorff & Partner in anticipation of an increase in work due to the economic effects of the coronavirus.

WHAT YOU SAID

"We're focused on building up our cash reserves, given who knows what the future holds."

— John Quinn, partner at Quinn Emanuel, on the firm's decision to delay partner distributions originally scheduled for April until July and to adjust the amount of partner draws due to the pandemic.

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