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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

WEB DINGS - What could go wrong with a little website redesign? Change a couple fonts here, some sweet stock art over there, maybe a new color scheme and bam! But as Slaughter and May found out last week, designing a law firm website is a major undertaking in which even seemingly innocuous changes can have big repercussions. As Patrick Smith reports, internal politics and a lack of continuity on firm goals can lead to less than optimal results for what is often the "first responder" when it comes to engagement. "Every single visitor to a law firm's website processes how hard, or easy, it is to find what they are looking for," said Dan Jaffe, CEO of Lawlytics, a website design and management firm specializing in the legal industry. "They may not call it a UX [user experience] problem, but on a subconscious level that can manifest in frustration. This is true whether it is an individual consumer or an individual representing the largest companies in the world."

AN OVERSIGHT OVERSIGHT? - Much has been made of the productivity of lawyers working remotely during the pandemic—but is anyone really tracking it? As Victoria Hudgins reports, some corporations, including ALSPs, are leveraging more productivity and timekeeping technology to monitor their now largely remote workforce. But most boutiques and midsize firms aren't deploying software to keep track of their nonlawyers, preferring instead to continue to measure staff productiveness by the work produced. "For most law firms I'm confident it's a very manual process," said LeanLaw CEO and Givens Pursley partner Gary Allen. "They have a hard enough time keeping track of the lawyer's time."

HOPPING MAD - Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan filed a trademark lawsuit yesterday in California Central District Court on behalf of Playboy Enterprises International Inc., which apparently publishes some kind of wildlife magazine. The suit takes aim at Fashion Nova Inc. over its alleged sale of knock-off Playboy bunny costumes during the Halloween season. According to the complaint, the costume is advertised using the description "Bunny of the Month." Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. Stay up to date on major litigation nationwide with Law.com's Legal Radar.

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