Law Firm Collections Are Going Great—So Far; How Legal Tech Providers End Up On Thin Ice; Another Hotel Company Hit With Class Action Over Automatic Gratuities: The Morning Minute
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November 03, 2020 at 06:00 AM
5 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
Happy(?) Election Day! Here's something to read through your face shield while waiting in line at the polls this morning…
CALM, COOL AND COLLECTED? - At least up until now, law firm collections season has not been the catastrophic cluster some might have assumed after such a tumultuous year. Firms have reported that, so far, clients have been very responsible in paying their bills promptly. But if 2020 had a slogan (that wasn't allowed to include profanity) it would be "Don't Get Too Comfortable." As Dan Packel reports, the combination of a COVID-19 infection uptick and the potential fallout from today's U.S. presidential election could still make for a particularly crunchy year-end crunch. "Even in normal years, December has been a 'make-or-break' month for financial performance. Historically it's the month that decides whether a firm exceeds plan or falls short," said Citizen Financial Group senior vice president Jay Benegal. "This year, I expect there will be even more emphasis on the December collections push."
OUTAGE OUTRAGE - The only things certain in this life are death, taxes and IT outages. Most legal tech clients get that and will not hold the occasional blip against their vendors. But, as Victoria Hudgins reports, one too many outages or system errors—particularly if it's not promptly communicated and resolved by the provider—can be a deal breaker. This is especially true if the glitch significantly inconveniences the lawyers who use the technology. "Are attorneys as forgiving? Maybe not as much as IT because we understand what goes into the creation and maintenance," said Jeffrey Brandt, chief information officer at law firm Jackson Kelly, adding, "If it's early in a case, a 24-hour outage may not be as significant. But if I'm about to go to trial or in trial, it's a really huge deal. I would say anyone that experiences something like that isn't likely to return unless there's a significant explanation of why that occurred."
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Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
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