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

|

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

UPWARD – Cory Wilson has been deemed "well qualified" by the ABA for a seat on the Fifth Circuit ahead of his expected hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee later this week. As Jacqueline Thomsen reports, Wilson was originally nominated by President Trump for a judgeship in the Southern District of Mississippi and faced senators at a hearing for that seat in January. But he was elevated for consideration for the Fifth Circuit after Trump's original nominee for the seat, Judge Halil Suleyman "Sul" Ozerden, fell flat with Republicans over questions on his religious liberty credentials.

DOWNWARD – Irell & Manella is at a turning point. Defections have syphoned off millions in revenue, and rainmaker Morgan Chu is carrying much of the weight of the Los Angeles-based IP boutique. As David Thomas and Dylan Jackson report, the situation is reminiscent of a rough patch the firm hit around 2015. Last year, profits per equity partner dropped by more than 25%—from $3.63 million in 2014 to $2.68 million.

NEW ROLE – President Trump plans to nominate Justin Herdman, the top federal prosecutor in Cleveland, as the U.S. attorney in D.C., putting the former Jones Day partner in line to lead an office reeling from the DOJ leadership's unusual interventions in the cases of Roger Stone and Michael Flynn. As C. Ryan Barber reports, Herdman, if confirmed, would take charge of the largest U.S. attorney's office in the country.  The tenure of Timothy Shea, the interim U.S. attorney, is set to expire this summer.

|

EDITOR'S PICKS

SCOTUS Passes on Facebook Fight Over Criminal Defendants' Social Media Access

Can Firm Tech Help Corporate Legal Bring Employees Back to the Office?

|

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

NEW RULES – Several top law firms in Milan have begun lifting restrictions and reopening offices on a limited basis although remote working is still being recommended. As Varsha Patel reports, wearing masks is the general rule for lawyers and staff other than those in single occupancy rooms. Other strategies following the spread of the pandemic in the area include dividing lawyers into two teams who never meet, with one team going in two days of the week and another going in for the remaining three days, before switching the following week.

|

WHAT YOU SAID

"This is as strange for us as it is for you."

— Matthew Pearson, a lawyer at Pearson Legal in San Antonio, speaking to potential jurors in one of the first proceedings of its type in which a jury pool was invited to a Texas court proceeding over video teleconference.

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