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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

THE BUCKS STOP HERE? – Has Big Law finally put its big foot down on fall bonuses? In mid-September, Cooley kicked off the controversial trend of rewarding associates for their work during the pandemic. Davis Polk set the scale shortly thereafter, prompting several other firms to follow suit. But after Kirkland & Ellis became the first Am Law 200 firm to let the bonus bandwagon pass it by, Cravath, O'Melveny & Myers, Paul Weiss, Wharton & Garrison and Fried Frank all abstained as well. As Dylan Jackson reports, the pushback on bonuses from some of Big Law's most prestigious and profitable firms may be an indication that they don't feel the need to dangle any additional lures to retain and recruit top-tier associates. Bowing out of the bonus battle may also be about optics at a time when much of corporate America is tightening the purse strings. Paul Weiss chair Brad Karp said as much in a firm memo, noting that, given the "economic trauma" COVID-19 has inflicted on clients and others, "[p]roviding a special cash reward in direct response to the pandemic does not feel right at this time."

…THEN IT'S NOT JUST A CLEVER NAME  – A pretrial conference is scheduled for this afternoon in the criminal case against Lev Parnas, a Soviet-born associate of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is accused of funneling foreign money into U.S. elections in order to buy political influence in the U.S. The remote hearing, scheduled for noon before a Manhattan federal judge, comes less than three weeks after prosecutors in the Southern District of New York added new charges against Parnas and co-defendant David Correia for allegedly duping investors into pumping more than $2 million into a company called—seriously—Fraud Guarantee. The trial, which had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is currently slated to begin in February.

DEFENDING PENN –  Michael L. Banks and Ali M. Kliment of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius have entered appearances for the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in a pending lawsuit over alleged employment discrimination. The case was filed Sept. 9 in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court by Console Mattiacci Law on behalf of Cathrine Veikos, a faculty member in the Department of Architecture. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Joshua D. Wolson. Stay up to date on major litigation nationwide with Law.com's Legal Radar.

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