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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

TALENT SHOW - The legal market is far from settled after the haunted roller coaster ride that has been 2020 thus far. But, as Andrew Maloney reports, that uncertainty has not stopped elite law firms from continuing to peacock for legal talent throughout the fall. Just last week, Latham & Watkins became the latest firm to announce fall bonuses for its associates, matching the scale set by Davis Polk & Wardwell back in September. And while we've previously discussed the dangers of joining the Big Law bonus battle at such a precarious time, Michelle Fivel, a partner at recruiting firm Major Lindsey & Africa, told Maloney that upper-echelon firms like Latham may not have to worry as much. "The firms that are doing these special bonuses are the ones that are doing extremely well financially. They're very busy. Some of them are above their pre-COVID budgets. So I don't see risks to [handing them out]," she said.

WILL IT WORK? - A growing number of lawsuits are taking aim at employers for allegedly failing to mitigate COVID-19 risks in the workplace. The claims are typically brought by employees who contracted the virus and claim their bosses didn't take adequate measures to keep them safe. But will these lawsuits catch on? As Charles Toutant reports, these claims face significant hurdles, from causation to the standard of proof under the workers' compensation law. "I think the plaintiffs are going to have a very, very difficult time proving causation, or proving the point of contraction, for this purpose, when it's flying around in the air, which we know the COVID virus does. How do you prove how you picked it up?" said Cynthia Jacob, a labor and employment lawyer at Fisher Phillips in Murray Hill, New Jersey.

UNWANTED COMMUNICATIONS - Verizon Communications was sued Tuesday in New York Eastern District Court over alleged sexual harassment. The court action was filed by Slater Slater Schulman LLP on behalf of Angela Black, the sister of one of the exonerated defendants from the Central Park Five case. Black contends that she was subjected to inappropriate comments by a colleague, which worsened after ABC's airing of a special on the Central Park case. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 2:20-cv-05309, Black v. Verizon Communications. Stay up to date on major litigation nationwide with Law.com's Legal Radar.

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