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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK - Connecticut: concrete jungle where dreams are made of. Well, maybe not quite. But with COVID-19 making NYC feel a tad claustrophobic, New Yorkers are fleeing to the Constitution State in droves—and that includes lawyers, Robert Storace reports. Andy Corea, incoming managing partner at Murtha Cullina in New Haven, said his firm has had "two to three times more quality resumes from New York City since the pandemic." But it's not just the close quarters prompting lawyers to make a change. "About eight months of working remotely has shown some attorneys that they don't need to be physically in New York City to thrive," Corea said. "Meetings are being done remotely, and business development is being done remotely, and people are communicating by video links. They are comfortable with their clients, and can continue to succeed even when they don't have that physical presence in Manhattan." Not to mention, Corea added, that billing rates are substantially lower.

MEET THE NEW BOSS - The U.S. may currently be in the middle of a septuagenarian "Game of Thrones" reboot, but transitions of power don't have to be messy. In fact, as Patrick Smith reports, a number of law firms have perfected the art of the smooth, thought-out and process-driven leadership change, recognizing that anything less can lead to hurt feelings, low morale and even departures. Unlike political elections or corporate changes, most firms don't clean house when a new leader is appointed, which makes buy-in from the partnership particularly important. For example, Bruce McLean, former longtime chair of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and current consultant at Zeughauser Group, said that when the firm transitioned from him to current chair Kim Koopersmith, it wanted to make sure the partners, in addition to the management committee, had their say in the matter. But rather than hold a contested (and possibly contentious) election, McLean said, the firm hired Zeughauser Group to design an orderly transition process.

CREAMED CORN - Archer Daniels Midland, the agricultural and commodities trading company, was hit with an antitrust lawsuit yesterday in Illinois Central District Court. The 63-page complaint accuses the defendant of manipulating and artificially depressing the price of ethanol in the U.S. The case was brought by Michael Best & Friedrich and Levin Sedran & Berman on behalf of United Wisconsin Grain Producers, Ace Ethanol and other local and regional corn farmers who claim ADM's actions hurt their businesses. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 2:20-cv-02314, United Wisconsin Grain Producers LLC et al v. Archer Daniels Midland Company. Stay up on the latest litigation with the new Law.com Radar.

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