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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

MERGER BADNESS - While people are social distancing, law firms are also staying far away from each other. As David Thomas reports, two separate surveys this week—one from Altman Weil and the other from Fairfax Associates—made clear that COVID-19 has ground merger mania to a halt, with no movement visible on the horizon. Both reports found merger activity was down for the first half of 2020, with Fairfax also noting that the only merger set to be completed in Q3 was between Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton. That tie-up became official yesterday, but only after a number of pandemic-related challenges, including a delayed start date and pay cuts by both legacy firms. Still, both Altman Weil and Fairfax said law firms have not nixed mergers from their strategic plans altogether, they've just put a pin in the idea until the economy regains some stability.

LEFT BEHIND - With the pandemic's timeline still uncertain and remote work being managed successfully in many instances, law firm leaders are turning their focus from maintaining cash flow to salvaging their year-end balance sheets, consultants say. The unfortunate result, Patrick Smith reports, is that some temporary staff furloughs may become permanent layoffs, as has already happened at Katten Muchin Rosenman. "There has been a growth in the need for efficiency, which can create redundancy," said Irwin Kishner, executive chairman at Herrick, Feinstein. "And that will be felt in the mail rooms, in the physical plant and on the assistants. I suspect there isn't a law firm out there that hasn't tried to take advantage of those efficiencies."

LOUNGE CHAIRS AND LATERALS - Staff layoffs loom at some law firms, but that doesn't mean lateral hiring is necessarily off the table. In fact, at some firms, it's very much on the table—right over there by the pool, the one with the umbrella. As Dan Packel reports, firm leaders in certain regions have resumed interviewing candidates in person, face-to-six-foot-away-face. In the last several weeks, for example, Lowenstein Sandler managing partner Gary Wingens has started inviting potential new partners for poolside chats in his Livingston, New Jersey, backyard. "They stay far away, and we take the masks off," Wingens said. Meanwhile, even in areas of the country where meetings remain strictly on-screen only, firms that feel financially stable are on the hunt for hires whose value will outlast the pandemic.

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EDITOR'S PICKS

Watch the Video: Texas Judge Caught on Camera Stealing Political Opponent's Sign By Angela Morris Cuomo Signs Bill Strengthening Protections Against Evictions During COVID-19 By Ryan Tarinelli

Ahdoot & Wolfson, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy Will Lead Zoom Privacy Class Action By Alaina Lancaster

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

UP DOWN UNDER - Australia's large law firms are on track for another strong year, with earnings increasing despite the COVID-19-shaped crater in the global economy. Christopher Niesche reports that benchmarking data on revenue, hours worked and demand collected by Thomson Reuters Peer Monitor reveals that average fees worked for April and May this year were up a combined 5.4% compared with the previous year. For the 11 months to the end of May, fees worked—a proxy for revenue—was up 8.1%.

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WHAT YOU SAID

"We see a clear tension between optimism for a more inclusive and equitable workplace and skepticism that companies and business leaders will actually take the necessary steps to address disparities at the organizational level."

|— Lorraine Hariton , president and CEO of Catalyst, noting that while a new survey by the nonprofit found that seven in 10 employees believe COVID-19 will stimulate gender equity in the workplace, fewer than 41% of employees believe their workplaces are "fully committed to—and already taking steps to create—an inclusive workplace."

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