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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

ALTERNATIVE NATION - Contrary to what that lady in front of you with no mask on may be yelling at the cashier, the coronavirus epidemic is still a very real health threat in the U.S. And the longer it lingers, the further away a full-scale return of in-person civil jury trials gets. In this edition of our Law.com Trendspotter column, we look at how litigators are being urged to find other ways to resolve their cases as courts strain under the weight of growing backlogs.

REMAKING THE GRADE - California's recent decision to permanently lower its notoriously tough bar exam cut score is great news for law grads going forward. But what about all those test-takers who would have passed in the past if they'd had the benefit of the revamped scoring scheme? Cheryl Miller reports that California law school deans and more than 100 alumni have asked the state Supreme Court to make the newly lowered score retroactive to those who sat for the February 2020 exam. The deans, representing ABA-accredited schools in California, argue that students who failed in February with what would now be a passing score "are being double-penalized, both by the score not applying to the February exam and by the fact that they, and only they, will have achieved that now-passing score and yet must wait several additional months beyond the usual timing of the regularly scheduled exam for a new exam and that exam's results."

FROM FACEBOOK TO FACEPALM - If you'd rather not wait until Thanksgiving to witness arguments over a middle-aged man's ill-advised Facebook posts, you can tune in today to the State Bar of Texas' Board of Directors meeting, which will be streamed live on (where else?) Facebook at 9 a.m. CT. Today's topic is the controversy surrounding Facebook comments made by Texas Bar President Larry McDougal, which discussed Black Lives Matter, a photo of an officer holding a man to the ground, and a female attorney looking "hot" in one photo but like a "meth head" in a news article. Lawyers and bar directors, as well as McDougal himself, will have a chance to weigh in. Meanwhile, a number of attorneys have already sent written comments, with some calling for McDougal's resignation while others pledge support for him and express concern about "cancel culture" and the suppression of free speech.

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EDITOR'S PICKS

Slideshow: Courthouse Set Ablaze Amid Protest in Oakland By Jason Doiy Doug Letter and Chuck Cooper Tangle Over Shield for Lawmakers in House Proxy Voting Suit By Jacqueline Thomsen

IBM Springs Patent Surprise on Zillow—and Judge Zilly By Scott Graham

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

MEASURED MEASURES - U.K. firm Irwin Mitchell has extended a 10% pay cut for its executive board until October, according to a statement on Friday, and its partnership has agreed to the same pay reduction. However, as Simon Lock reports, while some staff at the firm will continue to work reduced hours or remain furloughed, the statement said a large proportion of staff on reduced hours will return to full-time work at the beginning of August. Irwin Mitchell group CEO Andrew Tucker said in a statement that the relaxation of measure was "due to the measures we've already taken and our business performance being ahead of forecast."

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WHAT YOU SAID

"I go over the scorecard that I have for their firm and the people, the women and people of color, who are engaged in our work. I know what they're working on. I'm asking questions about, 'Is this work accretive to their development? If it's not, what work would be accretive to their development? I have a very large portfolio of work and I would be more than happy to participate in their development by giving them the work they need so they can develop.' I also manage the people that bill on our account. We have a billing system that you have to get people approved as billers before they can do the work. So you can't show up and pitch me with a diverse team and then do something different later."

— Bradley Gayton, Ford Motor Co. general counsel and soon-to-be top lawyer for Coca-Cola Co., on how he holds his outside counsel accountable on diversity.

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