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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

LEANING INTO LEANING OUT – Many firms have reversed pandemic-induced austerity measures in recent weeks, but that doesn't mean cuts aren't still coming. As Dan Packel reports, legal industry watchers anticipate more law firms will follow in the recent footsteps of Davis Wright Tremaine, Baker McKenzie and Venable, using the pandemic as an opportunity to tighten up their operations. "For years, many firms have succeeded in spite of themselves," Zeughauser Group consultant Kent Zimmermann said. "At a time like this when the economy is choppy and uncertain, it's a little bit like when the tide goes out and you start to see the rocks better. An environment like this lays bear the inefficiencies and weakness firms have that in a strong economy are covered up."

HEALTHY COMPETITION –  As we noted yesterday, Arizona is now firmly on the cutting edge of the legal industry thanks to its recent decision to allow nonlawyers to share fees with lawyers and hold equity stakes in law firms. But there is another aspect of the reforms that could have reverberations nationwide: the state has allowed for the creation of Legal Paraprofessionals, known as LPs, which will be able to practice as affiliate members of the state bar and be subject to the same ethical and rules considerations as attorneys. As Patrick Smith reports, the idea is for LPs—who will be limited to handling what most firms would consider commodity work such as administrative and family law, debt collection and landlord-tenant disputes—to provide a lower cost alternative to those seeking legitimate legal representation. But while the measure is right now largely aimed at providing greater access to justice for the poor, it will be interesting to see whether/how law firms and their competitors in the accounting/consulting space find ways to utilize LPs. Considering that multiple in-house counsel at ALM's Legalweek 2020 event this past February expressed a desire for the legal industry to move toward more of a health care service model, the concept of what is essentially legal's answer to the nurse-practitioner is sure to pique corporate clients' interest.

I'LL NEVER LET GO – "Titanic" broke a box office record when it was released 23 years ago, but that doesn't mean director James Cameron and two major movie studios haven't suffered "substantial hardship and costs" at the hands of a Florida man who claims the iconic film was based on his life story (presumably aside from the death-by-hypothermia part). With the help of attorneys from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, plaintiffs Cameron, Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox and Cameron's production company Lightstorm Entertainment sued Stephen Cummings on Wednesday in California Central District Court over Cummings' "fanciful and delusional" copyright claims related to the blockbuster. Attorneys have not yet appeared for the defendant. Read the full complaint and stay up to date on major litigation nationwide with Law.com's Legal Radar.

EDITOR'S PICKS

Varying BYOD Policies May Leave Some Firms More Exposed Than Ever