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

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

EXPANSION DURING CONTRACTION - Last month, when Arizona-based Fennemore Craig and California-based Dowling Aaron voted to merge to create a 180-lawyer practice with 10 offices, Fennemore CEO James Goodnow told us that, while it may seem logical for firms to be conservative about growth during a recession, "this is exactly the time firms need to be acting boldly and strategically." Looks like he's not alone in that sentiment. Dentons, for example, has announced a tie-up with 100-lawyer Salt Lake City-based firm Durham Jones & Pinegar, Dan Packel reports. The move is the latest in Dentons' U.S. expansion plan, which is dubbed "Project Golden Spike" and was rolled out pre-pandemic. Meanwhile, Samantha Stokes reports that Frost Brown Todd, which has roots in the Midwest, opened in Houston recently, recruiting lawyers from McFall, Breitbeil & Eidman; Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith; Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr; and others.

DATA DANGER - Recently, we told you about how law firms keep falling victim to so-called "spear-phishing" cyberscams and that remote work during COVID-19 has only exacerbated the risk. I wish I could say we're following that up with some good news but alas… While spear-phishing schemes involve duping a target by impersonating, via email, someone they know (i.e. a client or a fellow partner), law firms also remain particularly vulnerable right now to other types of cyber intrusions and data breaches. And, as Victoria Hudgins reports, a decentralized workforce may make such occurrences more difficult, time-consuming and costly to detect.

STREAMS OF COMMERCE - Municipal officials in Texas do not seem to be enjoying Netflix and Hulu during the pandemic as much as the rest of us. Yesterday, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the city of New Boston, Texas, filed a proposed class action alleging the streaming giants have failed to pay Texas municipalities a cut of the companies' revenue in exchange for their use of public broadband infrastructure.The plaintiffs are being represented by Texas firms Nix Patterson; Langdon & Davis; Bruster PLLC; DiCello Levitt Gutzler; and Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky Wotkyns. Read the full complaint and stay up to date on major litigation nationwide with Law.com's Legal Radar.

EDITOR'S PICKS